Ilberd

[Kallera]

And this is why my lance will sing the hymn of the reaper if and when we take action against them.

genocide on the garleans?

[CyrilLucifer]

genocide on the garleans?

Because criticizing the Garleans for genocide and then threatening mass murder in return is all the rage, donchaknow?

[MaikoRaines]

genocide on the garleans?

No, just ones that get in my way. As I mentioned I am sure not all Garleans are bad people. But good people follow horrible orders and uphold horrible values in service to that evil ruler. It doesn't mean they're all bad... and it's nothing personal.

[Theodric]

No, just ones that get in my way. As I mentioned I am sure not all Garleans are bad people. But good people follow horrible orders and uphold horrible values in service to that evil ruler. It doesn't mean they're all bad... and it's nothing personal.

There's nothing to suggest that Varis is 'evil'. He's simply very driven and more than willing to make harsh decisions and sacrifices for the 'greater good'. Something that the WoL and Scions do themselves on a smaller scale. Like I mentioned earlier, though, most people here don't have a clue when it comes to the morality that comes with war and all the nastiness that accompanies it on both sides. People also like to cling to their personal headcanon to push the agenda of most Garleans being 'irredeemably evil' despite us knowing very little about their motivations, justifications or history.

This is a setting that explicitly avoids painting any character or faction as outright evil. It's highly unlikely that the Garleans will turn out to be irredeemably evil. They're antagonists rather than villains. I mean, sure, it might be the case that they're all deranged and unstable - but until we get actual confirmation for a bold claim like that then it's a moot point. Go back a year or so and people would think that the Dravanians were mindless, evil and without any justifications for their actions. Some people thought the same of the Ishgardians - and yet when we actually saw them both in action things were much more morally complex than a lot of people initially assumed.

Say what you will about the Archbishop's action's but his reasoning was pretty sound. It wasn't the best route he could have taken but it's not as if he was doing what he did for the sake of being irredeemably evil. For all we know a similar tale will play out with Garlemald.