It is without question that this character is both intended to be interpreted as one of the game’s main protagonists and it is also without question that he has extremely polarizing and unlikeable qualities. For a character whose growth over time is so praised, that praise falls flat when he appears to learn the same lesson each expansion while only ever really growing in terms of how overt his preaching becomes. I will attempt to revisit this character and offer an alternate view of how his characterization could have been handled.

By the end of Heavensward, I think many of us would agree that it had felt like Alphinaud had learned a great deal on how to not only keep his arrogance in check, but also on how to be a more effective teammate. He is a character heavily driven by his ideals – so much so that he appears to go through the same arc repeatedly. No instance of this was handled better than in Heavensward so I will pick up at the end of that expansion and look back on what was written in some of its short stories:

“Though he had trained in the martial applications, it had ever been purely as an academic exercise. But with Ysayle's encouragement, he had resolved to pursue a more practical education. Mayhap not today, nor even tomorrow, but one day...one day I will stand at your side.”
So, not only ideals drive him but we’ve also established the goal of one day being able to share the battlefield with the WoL as a competent ally. (Granted this is essentially happening with the addition of Duty Support to pre-Shadowbringers content, but it does not address the glaring issues of his arc and growth beyond 3.X). We also now know that he has some general combat training. Combining these factors together, I believe that a decent way to move his arc forward after Heavensward would have been for him to focus on obtaining the strength to act as a better combatant, and consequently serve as a better ally to the Warrior of Light. Having witnessed so much loss over the course of the Dragonsong War, naturally at his age you could weave in the desire to protect his allies as well. I feel like this would be a natural sentiment for a teenage boy his age after all that he had experienced.

His initial job was an Academian, focusing on putting up shields and flinging spells...from the back row. Given his long stay in Ishgard, I don’t believe it would be unreasonable for him to seek out additional martial training at some point between Heavensward and Stormblood and become a Paladin, of sorts. (No I do not mean a literal Paladin of Ul’dah before anyone attempts to argue this.) Perhaps this could be taught to him by one of Count Edmont’s knights, sons, or even the Count himself. Alphinaud would become an honorary temple knight perhaps, a fighter driven by chivalrous virtues and combined with healing magic, what better class could there be for a young hero to graduate to if his goal is to grow stronger in order to stand by and protect the people he cares about? This wouldn’t necessarily erase his other roles as a diplomat or mediator – these roles are pushed too heavily at times and have become quite tiresome over the course of the story, especially given how many nations’ governments the Scions have toppled in favor of setting up republics. This added facet to his character would do a lot to make him more palatable by taking attention away from all that without completely doing away with it all.

In Stormblood, it would have been possible for him to display this growth by not only taking to the field with the WoL but also challenging Hien in terms of Doma’s future government. Doma is one of the few nations in this game that were able to retain or revert to their original system of governance but doubtless Alphinaud would be driven into conflict over this due to his ideals. This would have presented a learning point for him that he is in no position to supersede the will of the people he is attempting to help. Freedom means just that, the freedom to choose one’s own path even if it defies what he thinks is best. Ultimately, he would learn to be satisfied in leaving these nations in the hands of just rulers, and accept Hien taking up his throne. Taking his growth in new directions like this by pitting him against other characters makes for less of a diplomat who wields the WoL like a weapon, and moreso the little brother and comrade in arms we are intended to view him as.

Alisae is comparatively so much easier for the player to get along with throughout Stormblood because of her taking an active role and facing these challenging situations instead of being obligated to hang back. She is easier to view and accept as the “little sister” of the party because being an active character who doesn’t preach the same ideas each expansion makes for a more entertaining and tolerable experience. You can’t dictate the same ideals with as much repetition as Alphinaud and expect for people to merely accept it, it became too grating over time. An ongoing game like this one should be more careful in making sure that characters do not become stagnant in terms of the direction they are headed in. There is always room for new lessons and growth.

Early on in Shadowbringers the artist facet of his character was able to be explored a little more, and his initial face off against Vauthry would have been a lot more tense if in fact he was more than capable at this point of ending his reign of terror then and there, but chose not to in order to focus on saving Kai Shirr and sparing the onlookers of unnecessary bloodshed. The lesson there being restraint, and acting as a further check on his growth by overcoming the guilt of not being able to do more in that instant. Assuming the character is still a Paladin of sorts, I do not necessarily believe his role would clash with Thancred’s given that they are both motivated into evolving into protectors for different reasons – Thancred for Minfilia and Alphinaud for us/the party in general. Throughout Shadowbringers I never felt like the relationship between the twins and Minfilia/Ryne was fleshed out to the extent it could have been, wouldn’t it maybe have been possible to make of them a close-knit trio of friends? Having him act as Ryne and Alisae’s reliable protector whenever Thancred isn’t around would’ve added a much-needed layer of interaction between them. It would have also allowed for Thancred to “pass the torch” to Alphinaud after his battle against Ran’jit, and thus free up an extra slot in the party. After a sequence like that...it’s just another in a long list of examples of when sacrifices by the main cast are not respected and waved away with magic gizmos rather than letting them count for any degree of substance.

By Shadowbringers’ end, the now full-fledged Alphinaud has matured into a dependable protector and (hopefully) the player can view him in that more brotherly role. What then of Endwalker when we introduce Estinien as a party member? We could see them revisit their “big brother/little brother” dynamic with them bouncing off each other and acting as checks on their respective negative traits. While Estinien’s instinct may be to slay the enemy outright, Alphinaud could intervene (rather than Y’shtola making a ‘sassy’ comment) and spare them in order to prevent again the spilling of any more blood than needed. Why not have the two clash over a situation like this? Then at some point later on the line be able to apply that lesson of when to finish them off and when to spare them. It would also have made Alphinaud so much less of a pushover in Garlemald and would have given him a firmer standing when pitted against the character of Jullus. It would have been a situation in which he had the power to physically overcome him, but chose not to out of his need to stay true to his ideals. In Garlemald it would also be a perfect opportunity for him to apply his earlier growth from Stormblood and decide to not interfere with whatever government the Garlean people choose to adhere to moving forward, rather than once again reverting the nation to a republic. The erasure of all surviving members of the royal family, combined with the deliberate decision to not allow Gaius to play a role in Garlemald’s story were questionable decisions themselves but that is another topic entirely.

Also, having Endwalker open with Alphinaud referring to Estinien as “Lord Estinien” was so ridiculous that I could hardly believe it. It’s as if he forgot how Estinien likes being treated despite having already gone on an adventure with him in the past. That in particular stuck out and bothered me.

Throughout the rest of the expansion, it would be better to use him more as an active character rather than too much of a prolonged absence – having Alphinaud as our protector (in absence of Thancred) chase after us to the moon while leaving Alisae to focus on restoring the tempered would have fit a lot better. There on the moon, as a younger and less stoic personality than Thancred, he would have acted in anger at hearing of the plan to abandon the other shards. The sort of “coolness” with which Thancred reacted has been written off by some players as a display of maturity yet I cannot help but view that scene and his behaviour in it as anything but baffling. This is why fleshing out the bonds between the twins and Ryne would have been so important back in Shadowbringers, so that they can care and show it where Thancred chose to...conceal his emotions at a time when any other father figure would have howled in rage at the thought of condemning his adoptive daughter to such a fate.

In any case, these are just my ideas on how this character could have been done better. Putting him more in the player’s line of sight and giving him different lessons to learn instead of hammering the same ones over and over again. A more meaningful class change to display his growth and to somewhat reduce the oversaturation of this game’s scholarly types by playing up different facets of his character. Alphinaud didn’t need to be such an overt mouthpiece for this game’s morals and could have acted as a better storytelling element if only things had gone differently. At the moment I am extremely sceptical if anything meaningful can truly come of this character in the future given his handling so far. I do not have the confidence in him being a worthwhile member of the main party in Season 2, this is not a character that will be able to carry this game for another 10 years when new cast members have the potential to do so much more.