What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Teraq]

I think she was aiming to prompt some 'deep thinking' with Hermes but he was under-developed, the civilisational backgrop against which they were trying to demonstrate these points was poorly suited to it and so it came across as relentlessly pretentious and self-indulgent. At least in my eyes.

Exactly. I tend to like the "humans are bastards" misanthropic villains, but the premise of the trope sort of has to involve a tragic backstory that would justify it, or at least showing me that humans are actually bastards.

I'm just seeing gentle weenwoons wrapped in snuggies living happy lives creating and debating things and attempting to use their natural powers in the best way they can, and this one dude who appears to feel extreme empathy for arcane entities but can't be bothered to talk to people around him while being weirdly anxious about death for an immortal guy.

Oh, I suppose you could try... but that would largely undermine the sympathy of much worthier villains.