A thing or two about Werlyt

[Veloran]

Does Gaius even need "redemption"? I struggle to think of anything he's actually done that even warrants that sort of arc. He's consistently been portrayed as a good man working in a flawed system, you can say his subordinates or colleagues have done things that are morally reprehensible but I've never really gotten the sense that he would condone their actions had he been there as witness. At most you can say his vaguely "might makes right" philosophy was wrong, but even then he was more in the vein of "the mighty have the responsibility to justly govern the weak."

If Gaius has any issues with his character it's only that he still has a sense of duty and patriotism towards his homeland, which has increasingly spawned a ton of psychos into the story for quite some time. On that front I'd blame the overall direction taken with Garlemald by the writers rather than Gaius. I mean when you have Zenos explicitly trying to make life in the provinces he governed as bad as humanly possible to incite rebellion, and the cursed VIIth legion which seems to only end up with complete psychopaths as legatus', it really overshadows any sympathy you might have for the nation. I mean there are tons of examples of individual Garleans being normal or good people, from people across the chain of command, but personalities like that really just leave you thinking that everybody at every level must be crazy to have let them anywhere near a position of power.

[EliTheGunbreaker]

I mean... His rule of Ala Mhigo certainly was bad. Also violence towards beast tribes. Mass murder and conquest? These are not exactly the makings of a good person. And he was a bad dad.

[Veloran]

I mean... His rule of Ala Mhigo certainly was bad. Also violence towards beast tribes. Mass murder and conquest? These are not exactly the makings of a good person. And he was a bad dad.

His rule in Ala Mhigo is generally considered far better than his contemporaries, especially since he took the country without bloodshed. It was Nael and Zenos that completely ruined the territory, though I'm not saying there weren't issues like some of his men being willing to just look the other way instead of take action against a mob. As far as the Beast Tribes go, the entire idea of the Ultima Weapon was to absorb their Primals so they wouldn't have to constantly go to war against them.

Yes, because Gaius is a murderer and warmonger.

Who exactly did Gaius murder? I think it was stated he was ordered to kill various heirs to the imperial throne, but I'm pretty sure you're talking about killing people in imperial invasions here. The Waking Sands maybe? But that was Livia, we don't know what orders he gave her in that regard.

[EliTheGunbreaker]

Just because something was better than the other things following it doesn't mean it was good. Lots of people still had shitty lives back then, as shown in Stormblood. And... Livia did that on his orders, ya know. Just as others did things on his orders. Just because something isn't done by someone's direct hand doesn't mean one is not complicit. Besides... I am certain he did his share of fighting and killing in his younger years, because nobody instantly rises in ranks from nothing.

[Kesey]

Does Gaius even need "redemption"? I struggle to think of anything he's actually done that even warrants that sort of arc. He's consistently been portrayed as a good man working in a flawed system, you can say his subordinates or colleagues have done things that are morally reprehensible but I've never really gotten the sense that he would condone their actions had he been there as witness. At most you can say his vaguely "might makes right" philosophy was wrong, but even then he was more in the vein of "the mighty have the responsibility to justly govern the weak."

If Gaius has any issues with his character it's only that he still has a sense of duty and patriotism towards his homeland, which has increasingly spawned a ton of psychos into the story for quite some time. On that front I'd blame the overall direction taken with Garlemald by the writers rather than Gaius. I mean when you have Zenos explicitly trying to make life in the provinces he governed as bad as humanly possible to incite rebellion, and the cursed VIIth legion which seems to only end up with complete psychopaths as legatus', it really overshadows any sympathy you might have for the nation. I mean there are tons of examples of individual Garleans being normal or good people, from people across the chain of command, but personalities like that really just leave you thinking that everybody at every level must be crazy to have let them anywhere near a position of power.

Yes, because Gaius is a murderer and warmonger. Even if he is a good person in a flawed system. But as said above, its whether you as the audience are willing to forgive him or not, but the story is going to go down that path regardless.