Quote Originally Posted by YianKutku View Post
As mentioned, the issue isn't just that Ran'jit has given up hope. It's that he actively goes out and crushes hope from people who still had it. He certainly didn't "rest"; he was very much busy leading his army and invading other lands to subjugate them and make sure they submitted to Vauthry. The expedition into Il Mheg might be justified in his mind by his chasing after Ryne, but the alliance with the Everlasting Dark in Rak'tika was an obvious power grab.

Magnus from Twine is an example of a broken man who has given up hope. Ran'jit is, at best, lashing out and believing that if he cannot have hope, then nobody can. That is why I personally believe he is a character to be hated, rather than merely pitied.
There's no evidence that Ran'jit was invading other countries until the Scions - and most specifically, the Warrior of Darkness - started stirring up trouble. Remember, the whole reason Alphinaud was investigating Eulmore was because no one knew anything ABOUT Eulmore; what its policies were, what its leader was like - all they knew is that a once-great ally had holed itself up in its castle and stopped talking to anyone. Once we actually got inside, in fact, dialog in Eulmore suggests that the army had been placed on the back burner ever since Vauthry took the throne, since they were no longer being used to engage the Sin Eaters. He and the army WAS resting - up until the point where we actually took down a Lightwarden.

THAT was when Ran'jit came out of retirement, when the peaceful, quiet end he was yearning for was placed in jeopardy. That was when the army was brought back into action and mobilized. That was the point at which he made his move to recover Minfilia, and to make efforts to protect the remaining Lightwardens - the latter, of course, was the main reason for his move in Rak'tika, not Minfilia. Remember, in his mind, defeating the Sin Eaters would NOT spare the world from doom - in fact, it would just make things worse, as the remnants of humanity tore themselves to pieces fighting each other as resources dwindled. Crushing hope WAS one of his goals, at that point - but entirely because it was a FALSE hope, doing more harm than good, setting the survivors of the world up for a painful end rather than a peaceful one.

Ultimately, as Riastrad implies, it's a matter of opinion; we'll have to agree to disagree. I think there's plenty of room for a "tragically broken old man" interpretation for Ran'jit.