The first half of the Dawntrail MSQ strongly feels like filler, but I think the criticisms of the whole story are hyperbolic and overblown.

Yes, there is a "seven Macguffins" plot in the rite of succession, and Wuk Lamat carried a barrel of shonen tropes while taking up much of the screen time. I'm not swayed in either direction by Wuk Lamat, nor do I care either way for the English VA. I don't feel love or hate, but indifference.

Is it an issue of pacing? Probably is, but I managed my own expectations and didn't set a high bar in light of Shadowbringers/Endwalker tying up a very lengthy story block around the Ascians' meddling.

I would like to see more FF9 references around Alexandria, but the obvious bit of Alexander doesn't work as we've already had a raid series around it in Heavensward. What, then, did Alexandria symbolize in its Dawntrail appearance?

The Iifa Tree.

The entirety of the Kingdom wasn't itself part of the Origenics structure, but Alexandria's present status quo is deeply rooted in soul commodification. This hunger for souls also drove the warmongering and expansionist nature of the kingdom, which itself is a reference to Queen Brahne's overt villainy - all right down to the mechanical soldiers being a stand-in for the mass produced black mages.
We just assumed that Alexandrian king was the sole warmonger.


I look forward to further MSQ development past the initial release, and for what it was worth, the gameplay was phenomenal.