On Venat's Role in the Story

[Cleretic]

I’m just tired because the same people who were saying that “Venat/Hydaelyn is a big meanie and the Ascians were right” before are still saying it now and Endwalker made everyone on both sides double-down on their opinion. No amount of “debate” is going to convince anyone here to change their mind so it just comes off as a rant post. Endwalker showing Venat’s side of things as promised by the writers couldn’t do that so I don’t think mutual randos on their internet can.

As expected, Veloran already dismissed my statements where I said he misunderstood the game so my going through the rest of his post is not worth my time and will not be constructive.

For what little it's worth, while I am ultimately in the same position as I was before in going 'Hydaelyn ultimately made the right choice and the Ascians are ultimately terrible people', I have shifted considerably on where I stand within those points come Endwalker.

The post-Elpis Venat scene did a lot to reflect for me that the opposition to Venat had a real point, even if I disagreed with them. She did end a great civilization of caring people, even if they were on the road to destroying it by their own hands anyway.

And for the Ascians, I finally landed where I think Shadowbringers initially wanted me to, in considering them tragic, misguided figures who just want to go home, that chose to enact horrific crimes to do so. Sure, Emet-Selch was a jerk I don't want to talk to even back then, and he would go on to cause pretty much every problem and atrocity the post-Sundering Source has ever seen, but there was a time when he was a man with ultimately a good heart and intentions. He wasn't born a war criminal, he just became one.