[6.0 - 6.4 Spoilers] An interesting video detailing Venat's polarizing reception

[Cleretic]

At the end of the day, the biggest condemnation for Venat will always be she didn’t even try to help her people.

Forgive me for having to break out some formatting for this one, I hope it helps you understand this.

SHE DID!

As evidence: The final cutscene of Beneath the Surface--the Anamnesis Anyder quest, and the first time in which Venat was ever named:

Distressed Ancient One: Nay. Should we continue down this path, our fate will be the same.
I said as much to the Convocation, of course, but the stubborn fools turned a deaf ear to my warnings.
I had hoped that the defector, at least, would side with us, but I regret to report our overtures have gone unanswered.
Whither tend your thoughts, Venat? Where you lead, we will follow.

Venat:
I shall not speak ill of the Convocation─they too seek only to secure the future of our star.
Yet it is plain they will not countenance a permanent solution. That being the case, we must ask ourselves a simple question: are we prepared to pursue our chosen course, even should it mean suffering the eternal condemnation of our brethren?
If so, I see no further reason to demur.
Let us bring forth the Light that shall ever after keep the Darkness in check.

The text of this is, I thought, clear as day: Venat's crew literally were trying to warn the Convocation, and were getting nowhere.

One might ask why they took so long, as this was after the second sacrifice. And the answer to that lies in the first of the cutscenes in Thou Must Live, Die, and Know--the quest after Ktisis Hyperboreia. I won't quote the entire passage, because it's rather long.

[...]
With Meteion free to pursue her designs, 'tis only a matter of time until the Final Days are upon us.
We must be ready. From fortifying our defenses to securing our escape, there is much to be done.
In spite of this, we cannot allow the report that set this calamity in motion to become common knowledge. Were the masses to learn the fates of the other stars, I fear the situation would spiral out of our control.
I must carefully consider who can be trusted, and bring them into the fold.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't hesitate to call upon the Fourteen. However, it was the desire for a fair determination that drove Hermes to attempt to erase our memories; were he made aware of his actions, there is no telling whether he would remain a friend or become a foe.
Alternately, we might try to alienate him from the Convocation. Yet in doing so, we would deprive ourselves of a brilliant mind who would be invaluable in the crises to come.
Quite the dilemma... Which is why I must work independently of the Convocation.
[...]
We could not hope to survive the Final Days, much less take the battle to Meteion at her nest.
We must find a way to defeat despair. To unite and prepare as many as possible for the struggle ahead.
Heavy will weigh the burden of guiding this legion of souls...
Yet I have faith in mankind's potential. As long as he believes in himself, there is naught he cannot achieve. So I will not give up on him. On us.
You may find your world to be very different. Or perhaps the erasure of our friends' memories has sown the seeds of a conjunction between us.
We cannot know until the moment is at hand. So shall I strive to do my best, taking naught for granted as I walk my path.

There's a lot of things being said here, but fortunately, it's all directly in the text, not the subtext.
1. That immediately, she wants to 'fortify defenses and plan their escape'. This is very clearly a plan of action at an early stage; she doesn't know how to do this, only that it has to happen.
2. That she can't just tell everyone, because that's only going to cause mass panic. (She's right.) As a result, she has to pick carefully for secrecy and emotional integrity if nothing else.
3. While the Convocation would normally be her go-to, she immediately rules out talking to or working with them at this point, because their standard procedure both would and already has caused problems; we'd just see a repeat of the exact same responses that led to Ktisis in the first place. This clearly changed by the time of Anamnesis, but is true at the time she said it.
4. Hermes also can't be alienated or excluded, because he's integral to protecting the planet in the first place. Venat actually didn't have material evidence of this, she doesn't know how he'll be important, just that he will be.
5. She's doing her level best, and clearly not putting reliance on the time loop situation; in fact, she's clearly willing to strand us if that's what it takes, and just hopes that it doesn't.

Therefore: yes, we can safely and confidently assume that Venat tried to help her people, and just couldn't be open about it. All evidence about this leads towards 'she tried her best, and her best wasn't enough'.


I'm going to request that if you reject any of this, you do so with actual in-game evidence, rather than just broad dismissal and denial. I'm trying to put forward my viewpoint, readings and evidence in full view and in good faith, and I hope you are, too.