Quote Originally Posted by Lauront View Post
I mean, the same could be said of Nero. Neither of them are accepted anymore by the Empire and Cid is quite rightly seen as a traitor. Plus, even if he were not, his father's actions did not sit well with the current reigning Emperor. I don't think he has any standing to speak of within the Empire. If we do side with some faction in the Empire, perhaps they will accept his counsel.
Unfortunately he is still regarded quite highly by many in Garlemald. It's why I put him in the same category as Lyse - both are very bland characters designed to move the plot along and end up overstaying their welcome whilst conveniently never having to face the consequences of their actions.

I'd love a scene long the lines of Cid having to confront a little Garlean girl who doesn't understand why her beloved father was killed or horribly injured as a result of Cid effectively selling secrets to the Eorzeans and Domans despite his supposed distaste for violence and weaponry. Though I won't hold my breath as the 'defector' trope is rarely done well and often serves as little more than an excuse to grant one faction access to knowledge or skills that they would not otherwise have themselves.

It's a shame, since previous Final Fantasy games handled the trope very smoothly. Reeve in FF7 never truly defected from Shinra. He simply exploited the protagonists as a means to an end and didn't want to see Midgar or Shinra destroyed as it would negatively impact the people he served and cared for. He pushed for reform instead.

Larsa, Drace and Gabranth turned against Vayne in FFXII though they did not turn against the Empire itself. They remained fiercely loyal to it. FFXIV needs more Garlean characters along those lines, instead of sniveling wretches like Cid.