Revelations from Patch 2.55 [SPOILERS]

[axemtitanium]

I don't think this is a Juliet situation. Forgive me if I say I don't think Nanamo is clever enough to fake her own death. She's too naive and earnest, methinks. And while I understand Gameplay and Story Segregation for why the players can still waltz around Ul'dah, I think it's a bit neater that the Monetarists DIDN'T smear your name through the mud to the public as the justification for why we're able to move around Ul'dah/Eorzea with impunity.

@Fenral: I'm not sure I understand. I didn't ask any questions in the part of my post you quoted?

[Fenral]

@Fenral: I'm not sure I understand. I didn't ask any questions in the part of my post you quoted?

Poor choice of words on my part. You mentioned yourself that the monetarists need the monarchy to stay in power, but that the only reason they would withhold announcing Nanamo's death is because she's alive. Isn't that backwards? They need her, but TelAdel killed her, so now they need some new way to keep her as a figurehead for as long as they can. The ruse probably can't hold.

On the subject of the poisoning itself:

If it was Somnus, then she could very well be "alive" but in a comatose state. There is a huge problem with the credibility of this theory, and it boils down to a contradiction in the established facts. Somnus is described as a recreational drug, capable of inducing coma in sufficient quantities. While it could have been used, there problem lies with the depiction of the poisoning itself. A "natural causes" type poison, like arsenic, or the oft-embellished cantarella, could induce a death-like sleep, but those are slow-acting poisons. Whatever was used to poison Nanamo hit like Doomtrain going at full speed.

What they showed us on screen was a rather specific type of poisoning: sudden seizures, followed by loss of breath, ending with cardiac arrest. These are all symptoms of poisoning by cyanide (or, as George RR Martin calls it, to get around the glaring anachronism, "the Strangler"). Cyanide poisoning... is final. There are antidotes, but nothing that can save a patient from a dose large enough to cause the immediate onset of symptoms.

If she's not dead, then there's definite necromancy involved. This would not be unusual for Ul'dahan politics at this point. The only way I can see them revealing her to be "alive" without cheapening the emotions of 2.55's events is if Lolorito is keeping her as a trump card to destroy the credibility of anyone who tries to prove otherwise. If that is his plan, there is no way she'll be anything like she was before.

We may see her again, but I don't think they can pull a happy reunion scene for her after that.

[axemtitanium]

Somnus was introduced in 2.0

Seems like a Chekhov's Gun notably unfired at this point in the story.

Poor choice of words on my part. You mentioned yourself that the monetarists need the monarchy to stay in power, but that the only reason they would withhold announcing Nanamo's death is because she's alive. Isn't that backwards? They need her, but TelAdel killed her, so now they need some new way to keep her as a figurehead for as long as they can. The ruse probably can't hold.

"The ruse probably can't hold" is the key here. If Nanamo is in fact dead, "she's just sick! I promise!" is an excuse with a time limit. She has to either die from her supposed illness or get better. The cover-up would only delay the succession crisis for an indeterminate but finite amount of time. Either way, a succession crisis is inevitable and that's bad for the Monetarists. If she isn't dead, the Monetarists are free to trot her out at some point in the future to quell the rumors/crisis.

On the subject of the poisoning itself:

A wizard did it. It's a fictional poison with a fictional method of action. Any resemblance to real or imaginary poisons is purely coincidental. However, I won't discount the possibility that necromancy will be involved with Nanamo's return since that has become such an essential part of Ul'dah's history and storyline. Brainwashed and/or zombified Nanamo? Thatsmyfetish.jpg

I'm kidding.

You sicko.

[Fenral]

"The ruse probably can't hold" is the key here. If Nanamo is in fact dead, "she's just sick! I promise!" is an excuse with a time limit. She has to either die from her supposed illness or get better. The cover-up would only delay the succession crisis for an indeterminate but finite amount of time. Either way, a succession crisis is inevitable and that's bad for the Monetarists.

So, if she did die, it would be better to just let the world know now and get all that sordid business out of the way, rather than consolidate as much power as you can in the time you have. Again, there's a flaw in that reasoning, that was actually pointed out by this fine lady here. Whether or not she's dead, they are currently using a time-limited excuse to maintain control, and time will run out in the expansion, no matter what truth plays out.

We're clearly both set in how we see things playing out, so there's no point in beating on each other.