Endwalker's message (spoilers!)

[Iscah]

First off, the themes of loss: There was a lot of loss in ARR and Heavensward but after that not much, not for the WoL. We keep seeing it come up that the WoL has suffered immensely but did they? Their life isn't easy but most of the people closest to them are doing fine. They lost three companions: Haurchefant, Papalymo and Minfilia. Minfilia happened more in the background, Thancred felt that loss the most.

Wilred, Moenbryda, everyone at the Waking Sands... just because the number of named characters dying has stopped going up doesn't mean there isn't a lot of grief still to bear.

Even these trips to the past come with their own strange experience, almost like a reverse mourning: we know how these people's lives will end, but we bond with them all the same.

Additionally I feel like the WoL is the type to be invested in every person they meet – everyone they've been forced to fight or failed to save. They keep it close and don't let it break them, but they remember.

For the record, I didn't care about the scions' "sacrifice". It was obvious they'd be back and I don't think they were what mattered at that point.

This is a common sentiment here and I get it to a point. From a narrative standpoint there's no way they're going to just kill off the whole cast like this – but the characters don't know that. They don't know if there is a way back for them – as a character you doesn't know if there's a way back for them – and they are willing to risk their entire existence to give you the chance to overcome this.

The first few didn't hit too hard but once we got to G'raha... maybe because he's a favourite of mine, maybe the poignancy of that earnest 'promise' of future adventures together as he prepares to go to what might be his death, maybe the power of the music with the lyrics kicking in... I was in tears all the way from there and through the following climb to their restoration.

And really, as much as we-the-player could be fairly certain they would be revived, there was always a chance that their sacrifice would be permanent and they'd only be temporarily restored to us as spirits for a final farewell. So I still feared for them and was ultimately glad to see them safe.

That was the most potent and emotional part of the game for me and unfortunately the ending (from the dungeon to the final fights) failed to carry it through. The dungeon felt disjointed; the trial I had anticipated to be another full-team trust battle turned into pushing them away and having to rely on one of my least favourite characters for assistance instead, and then have him upstage the ending.