Primals - A Discussion on Ethics & Philosophy (ARR & HW Spoilers)

[Delily]

Thordan received a pretty raw deal. .

You completely missed a key difference between Thordan and Ysayle. Thordan knew quite well that the Dragonsong War was based off a lie. He was more than content to keep that lie going so long as it kept him in power. The Ascians provided him with a way to increase his power namely to become a primal and then end the war, which would drive Ishgard into a fervent state and allow him to wage a campaign of conquest. With war ended, he could shift to use the Garleans as his reason for conquering and "unifying" Eorzea. There was nothing redeemable about Thordan, he was a power hungry man who would use whatever means, including genocide, to get more power.

At any rate, 4.0 handled the antagonists far better. It helps that they received a greater amount of time on screen this time around and the protagonists are at least attempting to understand their point of view. It remains to be seen what becomes of those particular plot points, though.

That's only because Zenos didn't have the same motivations as everyone else.