Fordola (spoilers)

[VargasVermillion]

Heck some people actually become best friends in life despite that these people may have one thing they will never forgive each other for so they just look past that and look to the future instead of the past.

Look up the railway man as a prime example of this

[Aquaslash]

I pray to the twelve that Lyse doesn't forgive her after what she did to Meffrid.
Anyone else agree? I just get a feeling Lyse's too nice and will forgive her.

They make a point of explaining that in war, it's killed or be killed. Meffrid's demise was his own doing because he came at her with intent to kill, but wasn't skilled enough to follow through.

I think at the very least, Fordola will be kept around to try to understand that artificial Echo she has.

[Mholito]

I lost all respect for Fordola after her rant when she was asked why she gave the order to fire the cannon. "It's not enough to simply do as you're told" would have been an ok explanation if it wasn't for the fact that pretty much everything she did (firing the cannon included) was just her doing exactly as Zenos told her.

[Vulcwen]

...

But did Zenos actually give her that order? We only see him say "there is something else I want you to do", and then Fordola claimed it was Zenos that gave the order when she communicated it at Castrum Abania, but what if that was her own idea, or at least her decision. I mean, it was her idea to attack the Reach as well. Her own initiative put her ahead of other commanders in the eyes of Zenos, but she was still not accepted by most Garleans, they still think of her as a savage, not a Garlean citizen, something she officially was. Is that not a reason for revenge and hate? She was finally in a position of power where she could get her revenge, on those that treat her like dirt, and the people she was associated with. Then she might finally get the respect she wanted, even if it was just out of fear.

Knowing that Zenos likes to play with people, I don't see it unlikely that he presented her the choice.

[Odstarva]

I feel like some of you might have skipped parts of the main quest and a few side-quests.


At one point, there are ala mhigans who were born under the garlean occupation that try to ambush us - in their eyes, we are the invader.
There is also a side-quest where the locals are urging you to stop the alliance from executing one of the enemy commanders, whom according to them always treated them fairly and found a way to give them their lives back, going out of his way to ensure none of the grunts abused them.



There is plenty of grey, most of it feels obfuscated by the main scenario quest but if you go looking for it it's definitely there.



Furthermore, on an earlier side-quest there is also mention of how Gaius stopped eorzea from being attacked with chemical weapons, act he condemned - the fact zenos didn't pursue the same avenue goes to show that (at least to some extent) they too follow some form of war ethic (but that's just speculation).

[Reynhart]

At one point, there are ala mhigans who were born under the garlean occupation that try to ambush us - in their eyes, we are the invader.

No, they don't attack us because we're "invaders", they attack us because they're convinced we will lose against the empire, and that they'll suffer even more as an aftermath, so they try to stop us before.

There is also a side-quest where the locals are urging you to stop the alliance from executing one of the enemy commanders, whom according to them always treated them fairly and found a way to give them their lives back, going out of his way to ensure none of the grunts abused them.

Oh yeah, sure. Not all Garleans are douchebags. But the most important ones (Basically, the ones with actual voices) are jerks.

Furthermore, on an earlier side-quest there is also mention of how Gaius stopped eorzea from being attacked with chemical weapons, act he condemned - the fact zenos didn't pursue the same avenue goes to show that (at least to some extent) they too follow some form of war ethic (but that's just speculation).

I don't think so. Zenos just likes to fight. Killing masses with chemicals just isn't interesting to him. This is not ethic, this is just a whim.

Frankly, compared to Gaius and Regula, Zenos is just a really bland villain.

[Akonyl]

Frankly, compared to Gaius and Regula, Zenos is just a really bland villain.

I kinda agree with this. I have nothing against villains who act on whimsy and just wanna have fun / stomp people / etc, but this seemed like kind of an odd incarnation of that role, with how it was merged with a villain who's apparently been efficiently snuffing out rebellion for years. The kind of "mad dog" villain (for lack of a better name) is best when they answer to no-one, which is the case with Kefka in the last half of FF6. With Zenos though, while he certainly does things his own way, he's ultimately shackled by the job he's been given, even if he does make use of that job to his own ends.

It makes it feel like he's two villains who're kinda just smashed together, the guy who's this cold rebellion-crushing dictator, and the guy who couldn't care much less about a province rebelling if he could trade them for a good fight. (Which...)

[Lambdafish]

Frankly, compared to Gaius and Regula, Zenos is just a really bland villain.

The last few cutscenes hinted at zenos becoming a very memorable villain IMO, though we we won't get to see that

[Reynhart]

The last few cutscenes hinted at zenos becoming a very memorable villain IMO, though we we won't get to see that

For me, it felt like a cop-out.
"See, I'm not a total jerk after all, my one and only friend" What ? Friend ? Ok, give me that katana, I'll cut your throat for you...

[wereotter]

Slightly tangential, but I promise it ties back. Castrum Abania was full to the brim with references to the Magitek Research Facility in FFVI down to the bosses and seeing people that were enhanced by some process I still don't entirely understand.

Fordola agreed to this procedure even though it's still experimental after which she mercilessly kills her own people just to make sure that her enemies die. This is another FFVI allusion from when Kefka poisons the water source of Doma Castle to ensure an empyreal victory knowing that his actions would not only kill the Domans but also his own men. While there are definitely distinctions between the two, I do suspect that we're seeing the beginnings of this game's version of Kefka, and we're definitely not done with her. Kefka was also locked away for his crimes only later to be let go and he then went on to destroy the entire planet.