Dead characters should stay dead (spoilers?)

[Cilia]

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you.

But, I'm super interested to hear your thoughts on Louisoix vs. Gaius when you juxtapose their objective positions versus your subjective analysis of them. [...]

Gaius' situation was profoundly more complicated than Louisoix's, and didn't have the easy out of "magic" either. (Damn deus ex machina...)

Louisoix was trapped on the Cartenau Flats staring down Bahamut. He's a bit tired after using Sacred Soil to protect himself and the 1.x Warriors of Light, uses a powerful seal to temporarily restrain Bahamut, and then sends the WoLs into a separate space-time to keep them safe. Flash to white, nobody knows what happened. (Deus ex machina! Kind of...)

Gaius is trapped in the exploding Praetorium. He's exhausted after fighting the Warrior(s) of Light hand-to-hand, then twice in the Ultima Weapon. There's fire and explosions everywhere. Airships are falling out of the sky. The entire place is falling apart, and he's just left there. Even if he didn't get killed by some explosions, there was always the possibility of being buried under rubble, and there has to be a limit to what his enhanced Garlean constitution allows him to tank. Hell, he appears to pass out before we fight Lahabrea he's so exhausted. And, unlike Lousioix, his inability to use magic means that can't be used as an easy way out - he'd have to still have the stamina to withstand the explosion(s), the luck to not get buried under rubble, and some way to get out of Eorzea back into Ilsabard (sp. the Burn) without any money or support while attracting no attention to himself. Somehow, Gaius managed all that... and, other than his clothes in being in tatters, little worse for the wear. It beggars my belief.

(And it's true the Warrior(s) of Light can do that kind of thing and often, but they have literal divine assistance. Magic, folks!)

In short... Louisoix was able to use magic and thus cheat via deus ex machina. Gaius was, for most intents and purposes, playing by real-world rules, and there was a lot more he had to deal with and without the easy out of magic. Neither were confirmed alive or dead, but Gaius had a lot more going against his survival. (And for the record I considered them both gone after their first "death.")

[LineageRazor]

and some way to get out of Eorzea back into Ilsabard (sp. the Burn) without any money or support while attracting no attention to himself.

Well, this, at least, isn't THAT hard to explain. Remove armor: Gaius -> Garlean. Wear hat: Garlean -> everyman. The fact that high-ranking Garlean officers are never seen without their armor makes it awfully easy for them to shed their identity when needed.

Don't get me wrong - I still think Gaius would have had to work hard for his escape - but maintaining anonymity was not a particularly tough nut to crack.