When people say that Lyse didn't do anything I wonder if they have amnesia or selective memory. Saying she did nothing is wrong entirely.
Printable View
Lyse had two major problems.
1 - She was set up to fail. Much of SB's story was about losing and having to go back and play catch up. That meant most of her victories happened off-screen while her failures were front and center. We're told she's a good commander but we rarely see evidence of it, leading to people thinking she's useless (see also, Minfilia.)
2 - She didn't live up to the 3.5 hype. Papalymo's death was intended set Lyse free to be her own person, but that entire plot point ended up falling flat. Making a new character in Lyse rather than just having Yda leave the Scions to help the resistance still baffles me to this day.
I think this has a lot to do with anyone who was familiar with the lore of the game knew there was something not right about Yda. The historical figure we knew fought back against the Garleans when they invaded Ala Mhigo, but also that event occurred 20-ish years prior to the start of the game. The Yda we knew in the story was clearly not old enough to be that character, so just leaving her as being Yda would have been a lore incongruity. So they had to do the whole reveal of "I'm not Yda"
But I do feel like if you didn't know all this going in, it was a reveal that seemed to really come from left field.
I think for me it was that the reveal really didn't lead to much. Her "development" afterwards was so shallow that it was physically painful. I enjoy a strong female character, I really do. But they handled her poorly. I don't care for Alisaie either (and I find her to be extremely annoying) but I can admit that they took the time to develop her character. My character and hers just don't mesh well in my head is the thing. She's...not the type I picture him becoming best friends with. lol Y'shtola, Urianger or even Estinien I guess would be more his speed since they can appreciate personal space. They can be social without being overbearing.
To be fair on the voice bit, everyone got new English voices going into Heavensward. Since she was gone for most of the expansion, we never had the chance to hear her saying anything until right before she unmasks. It's hardly her fault.
My main issue with Lyse is that most of her development is tied to the Ala Mhigo arc, resulting in her story getting rushed and crammed in at the end. If they'd paced it a bit better, it might've been easier to swallow. Maybe, say, if Conrad had survived until the fighting to retake the city and fallen there, and Lyse had taken up leadership on the battlefield and grown into it over the course of the 4.1 patch, instead of just shoving it down our throats all at once. I dunno, spitballing here.
Its not only that (though i admit its probably part of it) as Yda she gave the impression of a bit of an airhead (i mean that affectionately), while Lyse seems to take herself a lot more seriously.
While I understand that it had to do with the stakes of the story, it all felt a bit jarring. More than once I wondered if she acted like a ditz on purpose because she didn't think highly of her sister and was making fun of her.
I would have liked it if she kept her ARR attitude until she saw the horrors of Ala Mhigo firsthand and then dropped the facade.
Stormblood had an issue that it was two expansion separated into one. So neither the ala mhigo or doma side got the full attention it deserved.
That being said what it did serve to do it develop characters and plot points which were revisited in later expansions in the same way ARR did. So that’s a positive in its own right