Why do the writers hate Foulques?

[Belhi]

Also Nidhogg wasn't even close to justified his actions after he basically threw his brood, forced or killed his brother's brood for a thousand years against Ishgard to punish them for the betrayal when Thordans knights didn't stomach it well land some of the original left and even the pope said the betrayal was wrong.

I wasn't trying to defend Nidhogg's actions but if seen in context you can understand why he sees mortals as he does. This is a dragon that has lived through brutal abuse of his race, first by the Allag and then from betrayal by the Elezen who became Ishgard. The betrayal of Thordan simply cemented this for him. His mistake is he judges all mortals because of the actions of a relative few. His hate has consumed him and he is willing to sacrifice his own peoples future for a hate buried in the past. Being trapped in the past seems to be a common issue for the celestial dragons. Every one we have met so far is so tied up in events of the past that they fail to tend to their peoples needs in the present.

Then again when we say 'Gridanian's are xenophobic' the same issue applies. Xenophobia is far from universal in Gridania. Hell the current leader of Gridania, Kan-E-Senna saved both Garlean and Alliance wounded in the wake of the Fall of Dalamud. One of her elite guards is one of those former Garlean conscripts she saved.

Best my husband and I could figure is, SE was trying to hammer in the "Oh my god look at how evil he is" line. Which, already feeling sympathetic to him, just kinda grated on my nerves more than anything. xD I feel like that was a cheap tactic.

On another note, wow I love that I woke up this morning to find such awesome discussion in my thread.

I do feel like I need to make a point clearer, however. I'm not criticizing a story for having morally grey, complex characters. What gets me is that Foulques's issues and the sympathy he stirred in me did not actually seem like they were deliberate on the part of the story. The writers seemed to be doing everything they could to drive home this idea that Foulques is bad and oh he went through lots of crap but he's a bad guy, remember! It's the dismissive way the story addresses deep, complex issues (like the systemic racism in Gridanian society) that bothers me.

The issues of the City States are stories we will see play out over a long time. This is true for all three plus Ishgard. We made some major impacts into Ishgard society but its a LONG way from being reformed from it flaws and a zealotry xenophobia that makes Gridania's seem mild. We see small steps. Ul'dah is another example. The issues of Ul'dah's corruption have been a developing plot in the game since 1.0 and they are still playing out across though both the main story, side stories and even job stories.

I also think its important for the narrative of the world that we don't always manage to reform or save lost souls. Not for the sake of sad stories but because those loses set context for our victories. The WoL doesn't always win but s/he always tries and never gives up.