Grynewaht on the Steppes

It really bugged me to let that guy go AGAIN in the Steppes. We let him go once- fine, maybe he learned his lesson and we had to deal with more pressing issues anyway. We let him go twice- uh, I guess we just didn't want to deal with him since we obliterated the real threat (the mechs)? Should probably have captured him at least- he's clearly a ranking officer that has a personal vendetta against us. But whatever I beat Raubahn EX gonna finally move on! Then we let him go YET AGAIN- okay this is just stupid, SE pls. He's a flippin' nuisance wasting time and resources despite his bumbling, let us get him out of the way so we can deal with the real threats please. I imagine the WoL as a hopelessly nice guy who would rather talk things out than fight but at that point I'm pretty sure most people would have at least conked him really good on the head and left him to the Alliance. I was enjoying the story until we had to just watch that idiot stumble away twice...

I think some of you are overthinking it. Grynewaht was something of a recurring comic relief figure - a bumbling brute who showed up multiple times before meeting a grisly end. This is hardly something new for the franchise, let alone the genre. If the protagonists are going to be encased in plot armour then it's only fair that the antagonists, too, get to enjoy that selfsame luxury from time to time. Either temporarily or permanently.

Plot armor should still be explained otherwise it will be bad story writing. Ysthola for example only survived thanks to healers being there. No amount of plot armor should have saved her without healers. (Even though others did die from same kind of wounds while she survived long enough until Krile was there. So she has the case of a verg strong plot armor)

Gosetsu surviving the fall of a builing, multiply shot wounds and being stranded on an isle without any medical help is imo a very bad plot armor.

One could argue that Grynewath had the plot armor thanks to us not seeing a big threat in him but why would the rebellions and the alliance just let him go? Why would the Xaela warriors that have no regrets of killing their own kind in the tournament, let him run?

I'm more surprised the empire allowed him to live after messing up multiple times more than us letting him go...

Well, we know that Zenos showed 'mercy' to Yotsuyu and Fordola by sparing them despite their failures. His intention was to drive them further and further towards desperation, anger and hatred. It worked. It's likely the same for Grynewaht. Almost certainly, in fact, since he outright asks Yotsuyu how long it'll be before Zenos reinstates him into his former position.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

I think some of you are overthinking it. Grynewaht was something of a recurring comic relief figure - a bumbling brute who showed up multiple times before meeting a grisly end. This is hardly something new for the franchise, let alone the genre. If the protagonists are going to be encased in plot armour then it's only fair that the antagonists, too, get to enjoy that selfsame luxury from time to time. Either temporarily or permanently.

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ANd this is why I disliked him. Even in 3.56, he wasn't funny, he was distracting. Every time, all I could think is "why is this guy wearing blush on his cheeks?" I guess it was supposed to be.. anger marks? Or something? I'm not sure. He just felt really off in tone from the rest of the story. Shinra is bad.. fight the comic relief squad. *sigh*.

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Originally Posted by Theodric

Well, we know that Zenos showed 'mercy' to Yotsuyu and Fordola by sparing them despite their failures. His intention was to drive them further and further towards desperation, anger and hatred. It worked. It's likely the same for Grynewaht. Almost certainly, in fact, since he outright asks Yotsuyu how long it'll be before Zenos reinstates him into his former position.

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And instead of killing Grynewaht he decided to kill the officer that defended him..Zenos is truly messed up.

If I'm going to be honest, it seems to be mostly a plot armor sort of deal. He needed to survive until he finished his story (even if his end was rather tragic) so he does. That being said, I thought I might have remembered some sort of statement about him being 'way faster than he looks' after that fight, implying that he might have just managed to escape more or less on his own merits. They could have made this more clear by having the WoL offer to go after him and then have the other Xaela say something like "we'll take care of it" though.