Revolutions Hype Thread

[Theodric]

-snip-.

It's more nuanced than that. People are very biased - and understandably so - because so far we've only really seen the situation through Eorzea's eyes and easily fall into the trap of looking at it through the perspective of real world modern day morality which is very different to how things play out in a fictional setting. Eorzea's own history is laced with controversies, both recent and distant. Garlemald has made mistakes, yes, but it has done so due to a combination of well intentioned extremism and misguided self defence. Garleans cannot use magic, bar certain exceptions. Their homeland is a wasteland. They cannot grow crops. They were displaced from their original territory and forced to carve out a living for themselves in a location that made it incredibly difficult to keep their numbers up. They had to do whatever was necessary to survive and at some point they discovered the potential of ceruleum - thus bringing forth the wonder that is magitek.

Still, that doesn't solve their plight. They still need resources and their neighbours did nothing but antagonise them - likely in large part due to being perceived as 'easy' targets. So they sought to expand, leading to the acquisition of fine foods and drinks, leading to many Garleans finally being able to lead comfortable lives. This plays out in the real world quite often when you see how various nations came to improve and expand their operations. Does this excuse Garlemald on every level? No, but they're not without their own justifications and seemingly many people here expect them to have simply rolled over and died out or allowed themselves to be tormented again and again.

It is very likely that the Garleans attempted diplomacy and it did not benefit them in any way. Ultimately people do what it takes to survive which is why morality is considered to be so complicated. Murder and theft are wrong - but it becomes much more murky in terms of morality when the specific circumstances are considered. It isn't rigid. There's often two sides to every story. I have little doubt that - once again - I will be proven right in regards to Garlemald being much more nuanced than many here pretend. It wasn't so long ago that some people were saying that Garlemald was a stereotypical evil organisation without any redeeming qualities or justifications for their actions. Then we got the lore book and it rendered a lot of the theories proposed by Garlean enthusiasts as canon such as the likelihood that they suffered immensely themselves before securing the power of magitek.

It happened again with Regula. Many of the same people were saying he had no redeeming qualities and would betray the Emperor. That didn't happen, he turned out to be very honourable and even sacrificed his life for the sake of one of the Warrior of Light's allies. I have little doubt that it will happen again in 4.0 and things will be very complicated. The lyrics of the trailer even imply as much.