Quote Originally Posted by Cleretic View Post
All of this is also true of Elidibus... but despite this, the game never turns that same critical eye to Themis. Even in Anabeisos, when we don't have the argument of 'he hasn't done those things yet', because it is confirmably exactly Elidibus, who already did those things. We basically just skip over the many times when he tried to destroy our world (and sometimes us specifically), with the casual wave-away of 'oh he wasn't all there', and... no, that doesn't fly with me, especially because he's the reason he was in that state in the first place. If the game wants me to look at a villain as a sympathetic person, it needs to not ignore the villainous things they did, and while they did well with that with Lahabrea, 'ignore the villainous things' was exactly what they did with Elidibus.
I'm pretty sure they never look at Themis that way due to the various circumstances behind it. Originally he became the heart of Zodiark to save the world. Then he basically was recreated out of Zodiark to act as a mediator and set the world on its rightful path, as he always did as Emissary. He wasn't even openly villainous to us until the end of Stormblood, as before he took over Zenos it felt like he was just a passive force moving pieces on the chessboard. When we see him again in Shadowbringers, we find out about what he is, and Y'shtola even points out that his will may likely not even be his own, but instead the will of the souls that were sacrificed to create Zodiark. All of this gives him a bit more leeway, because it's very possible that he wasn't even in full control of himself.

Basically Lahabrea proved that it was all him when he fused both his halves together. Everything we have seen of Themis paints him in a kinder light, and makes him feel less like a villain.