Who knew the 6.15 Omega Quests… (Spoilers)

[Rulakir]

It shows us a flawed Venat, but it works, characters obviously not always making the best decisions.

Except we don't get "flawed" Venat. We get 'tragic heroine' Venat who is venerated. Despite what's been said in interviews and the seeming walk back of the positive narrative surrounding her, all throughout 6.0 she is treated as benevolent, kind, loving, and good, who made the best and only choice (despite evidence to the contrary). The Scions kick into full hypocrite mode in regards to her despite the fact she is the embodiment of everything they have historically fought against and condemned, the WoL is not given any dialog options that aren't favorable to her, and Emet-Selch's characterization was completely broken in order to "commend" her in UT. The single only person who calls out what she's done is herself and she has no regrets, her ending is exactly what she wanted.

Nuance was stripped out of EW in order to prop up her character, so we're left with what is essentially an antagonist (regardless of whether or not she was well-intentioned) being presented as a protagonist and there was too much dissonance for a lot of people for me to agree that it 'worked'.

[Vyrerus]

Except we don't get "flawed" Venat. We get 'tragic heroine' Venat who is venerated. Despite what's been said in interviews and the seeming walk back of the positive narrative surrounding her, all throughout 6.0 she is treated as benevolent, kind, loving, and good, who made the best and only choice (despite evidence to the contrary).

Been replaying EW recently, and the craziest thing to me related to this is the fact that Krile praises her like a sycophant.

In the level 83 quests, Venat takes over Krile's body, uses almost all of her aether to teleport to Tower of Bab-il, and then to redirect Fandaniel and Zenos to land a crater away. Leaves the body like, "I asked much of her." Krile is then bedridden to recover for a bit, and compares it to G'raha Tia nearly killing himself to give all of the people in Tower of Zot a cushy landing.

So Venat literally almost kills Krile.

Later on at the level 89 quests after the Garlemald Final Days instance, the WoL informs all the Scions about their Elpis ventures. During the following discussion Krile asks, "Do you suppose Hydaelyn's given up her pursuit of Meteion?" You're given dialogue choices to respond to this. They are:

1. The Venat I know would never give up! (The WoL has known her for a day and a half. Simp much?)
2. No, but Meteion is still out there.

Selecting 2 yields this response from Krile:

"Aye, though not for lack of trying on Hydaelyn's part. Surely, that's why She used me as a conduit for Her will, and provided such clues as the Elpis flower. I believe She has been waiting... ...For mankind to answer Hermes's question."

More discussion about how to reach/deal with Meteion follows, and then the optional talking with the Scions in-between quests yields this from Krile:

"After you left for Garlemald, I went to Labyrinthos and tried to reach Hydaelyn using the Elpis flowers. Alas, my attempts were in vain. I can only assume that She spent a vast amount of Her power in the confrontation with Fandaniel and is presently unable to communicate. Indeed as Her presence left my body, I could feel how faint it had grown..."

So... after Venat used almost all of Krile's corporeal aether, Krile still thinks that Hydaelyn was using her own power, that Hydaelyn is on the verge of fading away, so much so that she cannot talk to us. Turns out not to be the case. Krile continues to be a lemming.

[Rulakir]

Been replaying EW recently, and the craziest thing to me related to this is the fact that Krile praises her like a sycophant.

Krile is basically just Minfilia 2.0, or Mini-filia. :P It's why I don't like her. The end of ShB they're supposed to be questioning Hydaelyn's motivations after discovering she's a primal only for Krile to find her so irresistibly charming she gives her body to her.

The Scions have always been zealous towards Hydaelyn, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised when it comes to her all logic and conviction go straight out the window. The fact that they never had an issue with her telling Minfilia to kill herself or abandoning her until she let Hydaelyn use her body as a vessel is hand waved as Minfilia "following her heart" and somehow "free will" (despite Minfilia initially yelling "No!"). Thancred, the one Scion who should have anger issues towards her due to his obsession with Minfilia, refuses to even think about it (literally, he says as much after Qitana Ravel). Minfilia is Trashcan Man from The Stand, "My life for you!" and Thancred just goes along with it.

I still maintain that EW would make a lot more sense if Hydaelyn tempered and it's laughable to me that she is seemingly the only primal in existence with no negative side effects. Hell, Emet essentially describes Venat as a Mary Sue in Elpis. The whole thing is just ridiculous to me. I've never seen a narrative so contorted to try to force people to love a character as much as EW is.

At least Ardbert was based.

[SentioftheHoukai]

Krile is basically just Minfilia 2.0, or Mini-filia. :P It's why I don't like her. The end of ShB they're supposed to be questioning Hydaelyn's motivations after discovering she's a primal only for Krile to find her so irresistibly charming she gives her body to her.

The Scions have always been zealous towards Hydaelyn, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised when it comes to her all logic and conviction go straight out the window. The fact that they never had an issue with her telling Minfilia to kill herself or abandoning her until she let Hydaelyn use her body as a vessel is hand waved as Minfilia "following her heart" and somehow "free will" (despite Minfilia initially yelling "No!"). Thancred, the one Scion who should have anger issues towards her due to his obsession with Minfilia, refuses to even think about it (literally, he says as much after Qitana Ravel). Minfilia is Trashcan Man from The Stand, "My life for you!" and Thancred just goes along with it.

I still maintain that EW would make a lot more sense if Hydaelyn tempered and it's laughable to me that she is seemingly the only primal in existence with no negative side effects. Hell, Emet essentially describes Venat as a Mary Sue in Elpis. The whole thing is just ridiculous to me. I've never seen a narrative so contorted to try to force people to love a character as much as EW is.

At least Ardbert was based.

The particularly egregious part is that they're still doing it. In the revised Porta Decumana that was originally a part of the Praetorium, she talks the usual spiel of "I haven't the strength to shield thee again"..... but apparently her and our "hope" (dear Gods every time I hear the words hope or despair I just cringe now, like I'm suffering PTSD) still yet possesses the power to fully fill our LB3 bar to full and fully resurrect us when Lahabrea kills us. In the Myths of the Realms they're connecting old quotes and plot points to Hydaelyn and the Endwalker's plot points when they had nothing to do with each other before. So yeah, for a saga that's apparently over and done with after 6.0, the patches content has an awful lot of moral wankitude and backwards retcons going on to prop up a dead woman yet further.

[Misplaced_Marbles]

Krile is basically just Minfilia 2.0, or Mini-filia. :P It's why I don't like her. The end of ShB they're supposed to be questioning Hydaelyn's motivations after discovering she's a primal only for Krile to find her so irresistibly charming she gives her body to her.

The Scions have always been zealous towards Hydaelyn, so perhaps I shouldn't be surprised when it comes to her all logic and conviction go straight out the window. The fact that they never had an issue with her telling Minfilia to kill herself or abandoning her until she let Hydaelyn use her body as a vessel is hand waved as Minfilia "following her heart" and somehow "free will" (despite Minfilia initially yelling "No!"). Thancred, the one Scion who should have anger issues towards her due to his obsession with Minfilia, refuses to even think about it (literally, he says as much after Qitana Ravel). Minfilia is Trashcan Man from The Stand, "My life for you!" and Thancred just goes along with it.

What happened to Minfilia was basically entrapment. You know, just trust the inscrutable voice in your head as you've always trusted (for no discernible reason)...aaaand now you'll "live" and die as her puppet or you'll just die in the lifestream achieving nothing and helping no one as your soul gets reduced to nothingness. It makes me sick just thinking about it again. Everyone who's dealt with Hydaelyn has met with a terrible fate, one way or another, whether they were against her or her allies. I'm so glad that monster is dead.