Quote Originally Posted by KizuyaKatogami View Post
No, we would be dead were it not for Elidibus sacrificing himself to help us time travel. We would be dead were it not for Zodiark shielding us from Meteion. The fact is they constantly talk about how the story isn’t black and white and both sides are morally grey yet they paint one side far better than the other and don’t give the opposing side the credit it’s due.
This entire game is about the gray of everything. Both of what you say are correct, and i don't think anybody disputes those. What is coming up to be disputed a lot is that Hydaelyn is an uncaring villain when everything in the game is showing that, just like Elidibus, Emet-Selch, and Zodiark, she was a good person put into a difficult position and made a hard choice that is controversial. She cared about people a lot, to the point where she was willing to force the Sundering to make sure people lived on. That act was cruel (she herself acknowledges it), but led to the current world the WoL and Scions know.

Her actions since then have been benevolent and attempts to keep people alive. To make her out as a complete uncaring villain is disregarding all the dialogue and lore by the writers pointing to the opposite up to this point. You can still make a horrible choice and attempt to atone for it, we've seen this time and time again in game with multiple characters across the entire story, with notable examples being Gaius, Fordola, Alphinaud (Crystal Braves debacle), Julius, the SAM 50-60 trainer, etc.