Fordola

[Savagelf]

do I smell a redemption story in the works

[ErryK]

I had hoped she would have been written out of the story entirely, I really don't like her backstory.

[Fjaere]

I really hated like her in the msq and hope she dies in her dirty, lonely prison cell

[Lazaruz]

I wouldnt be opposed to getting some redemption for Fordola, or atleast SE better trying to establish that her enlisting with Garlemald was not just "because she's evil", but more "What choice did she have?"

But lets not kid ourselves. The girl has willingly aided in the opression of her own country, and has god knows how much blood on her hands

And once the Resistance learns she's the one who ordered the cannon at Castrum Abania to fire on Specula Imperatoris, I cant imagine they're gonna go easy on her, since she's killed, or attempted to kill, her own countrymen, and willingly

[TheCount]

do I smell a redemption story in the works

I don't see how she could be redeemed when she made it a point to have herself and her group be as brutal as possible to her own people because of some very lacking reasons.

[Theodric]

It's almost as if these things are more nuanced than black and white scenarios.

[ThirdChild_ZKI]

From a writer's perspective, there's the saying that "No villain is truly evil". Sure, modern works give us sociopaths (Zenos) and "just want to watch the world burn" types, but most if not all villains have some sense of "right" behind their actions.

In Fordola's case, remember, she grew up in occupied Ala Mihgo. For her and others like her, Garlean servitude was the better option (with total oppression and/or death being the worse options). She knew this, and she knew who she was working for but in her own jaded way, she too had pride for her homeland. Notice how she was visibly upset when Garleans talked down to her and her unit? The opposite would be Yotsuyu, who - by her own admission - got dealt such a crappy hand repeatedly in life that she just became a mean, selfish woman who really only cared for herself (in before hard Tsundere switch with Gosetsu, calling it now).

[TheCount]

It's almost as if these things are more nuanced than black and white scenarios.

Do tell what nuance there is to the actions of Fordola and her group and how you can excuse their actions in any way or make it understandable. It's not like a gun was being held to their heads every time and told to do x and y, no they made it purposefully their own goal to opress and make it as bad as possible for any of their own people they encountered in their tasks. Take that tax collection bit for example, they could have collected it and been off again but they made it a point to stomp and beat the man half to death, all the while one ranted about ala mhigans being stuck in the past or somesuch

So it was their own view that their people were mongrels and deserving of the punishment their group gave them so liberally. Their own actions got them a reputation as some of the most cruel amongst those loyal to the Empire.

I could understand if they were legitimately a group of people that weren't liked by both sides and just tried to carve a position of respect and maybe 'going easy' on their own people despite the way they were viewed because THEN there would be some nuance to the actions they might have done, good or bad, but they purposefully didn't do any of that. In fact they fully sided with the Empire in every way and made it a point to hand out punishment even where it was not demanded by their own will. They were complete d-heads for no good reason.

[Savagelf]

when everything one work for is destroy one pride become like deflated balloon. One must slow begin to realize when one is wrong and start make thing right. I believe Genaral Rauban will be and advisor to the new leader of Ala Mihgo Lyse but what title will Lyse take Duchress of Ala Mihgo. I doubt she want leadership now it be thrust on her. sometime the great leader is those that have leadership force on them though I think be interesting is for twist in story she married the king of Doman

[Lan_Mantear]

And once the Resistance learns she's the one who ordered the cannon at Castrum Abania to fire on Specula Imperatoris, I cant imagine they're gonna go easy on her, since she's killed, or attempted to kill, her own countrymen, and willingly

She already admitted to Lyse, that she was the one who gave the order.

I can see Fordola getting a redemption story. Her motivations were to 'free' her people by forcibly paving the way for the Ala Mhigans to be wholly part of the empire and not just a controlled province, and she used any means necessary to accomplish her goal. Including sacrificing her conscience. It's a fairly common anti-hero plot line.