*spoiler* What was the point of making Yda... *spoiler*

[daltonjl]

My take on it is that they did it to further separate her from Papalymo, and also try to give Papalymo's sacrifice more weight. Basically, he was watching over Lyse, and giving her the appearance of a Sharlayan Archon. By removing those marks from Lyse... if she'd actually been Yda, it was established that Yda actually did earn Archonship. Then Square would have had to explain why she didn't have them in the Stormblood trailer, but let's forget that for a moment. This would mean that for Yda to be believable as a Member of The Circle of Knowing, she wouldn't need aetherology explanations, and should technically have been nearly as learned as Y'shtola or at the very least, Thancred.

Oh! That's a very good point about her total lack of knowledge on aetherology.

As for your point about, "could have saved Papalymo." No, you should replay the story. That was a sacrifice he was willing to make, and Thancred takes her by force to the airship. If the WoL tries to stand by and stop/save him, he blows them into the airship with magic. What Papalymo did was suicide by sealing spell.

Sorry, I should have clarified - my point was not about saving Papalymo directly in that moment or even saving Papalymo at all. It was just a part about what a hypothetical Yda's thought process would be following his death. Maybe if it were Yda all along - an Yda who became complacent in the Scions like Raubahn became complacent with the Flames - then she would feel that she could have done more for Ala Mhigo and stopped someone like Ilberd from creating the very circumstances that led to Papalymo's death. Then, she would have felt more resolved to do more from that point on than she had in the past. It was all just a hypothetical scenario that I feel would have been more consistent with the themes in Stormblood. Papalymo dies regardless.

But I think it's one of the few times they had the plan for the character all along, because it fits fairly nicely with all the previous scenes with the character, where she is notably less learned than the other scions, unwilling to show her face, and only really excels at fighting.

This actually does make me feel a little less negative about the character. I still feel like the real Yda would have had more potential as a character, though with what you said in mind, it really wouldn't fit as well with previous scenes and been inconsistent with her status as a member of the Circle of Knowing.