“Hear… The song of creation’s end…
Feel… The sorrow at hope’s demise…
Think… And find your way in the Darkness.”
00:00 Intro
*PART 1: Venat’s Story*
00:01:51 Part 1a: Lead-up to Endwalker
00:08:16 Part 1b: Venat Pre-sundering (Elpis)
00:16:55 Part 1c: Venat Sunders the World
00:22:19 Part 1d: Venat Post-sundering
*PART 2: Venat Critique*
00:33:32 Part 2a: A False Hero? (Was Venat Justified)
00:52:15 Part 2b: Sundering Scene Lost Potential
*PART 3: Hydaelyn Fight*
01:08:28 Part 3a: Hydaelyn Fight
01:22:41 Part 3b: Hydaelyn’s Death
*Extra segment: Symbolism & Music*
01:32:38 Extra Part: Symbolism & Music
01:39:11 Conclusion
Sources/resources used:
– Hermes hated by 80% comment and on Endwalker being 2 expansions:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/tg7lgz/spoiler_60_famitsu_interview_with_yoshida/
– On Flow and Flow Together being separate recordings:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/stv3fa/famitsu_ishikawa_and_soken_talk_about_endwalker/
– The Q&A livestream right after Endwalker – mentions Hydaelyn’s supporters being fully dead:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/rzqccd/spoiler_60_yoshidas_comments_on_endwalker/
– On them not coming up with Dynamis until ShB and rerecording most of Venat’s lines:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/xsssix/yoshida_comments_on_reasons_for_endwalkers_2_week/
– On taking a month to make Hydaelyn based off of Amano’s art, and on Yoshida’s tear glands running dry when checking Hydaelyn’s death scene:
https://ff14net.2chblog.jp/archives/58893083.html
https://www.reddit.com/r/ffxiv/comments/rzqccd/spoiler_60_yoshidas_comments_on_endwalker/ (translation)
– On Hydaelyn not being based off of Venat’s face:
https://twitter.com/aitaikimochi/status/1508800643045421067
– On Venat’s soul being completely gone (Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LXVIII):
https://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/threads/456921
– Exodus caster LB:
https://youtu.be/9uxkPRX7kDQ
source
hell yeah, i knew the venat analysis would eventually come!
Glad to see another video. Today is going to be a good day
If I was to add in my own 2 cents in your part 1d section. Because of the way the story of the Arc was written, Venat did everything in her power to stop the release of Zodiark for millennium but failed every time. The giant crystal from Master Matoya is a crystal that belonged to a WoL in the past. This means she put a lot of her energy to past heroes, but they failed to stop calamities from happening. So the energy drain on her wasn't just because of the Calamities but the power she put into past heroes who failed again and again to stop calamities. Next is the Dragonsong music when fighting Nithogg. The song was originally assumed that Hydaelyn did not know why people would cause suffering to themselves when peace was at hand. Now with how the story played out, Venat is lamenting another failure to bring peace to the world when she would of course assumed she was getting closer to stopping the Final Days.
Another addition. Making this in parts to not create a wall of text. To your part 1a. I would say the first time you are to think about Hydaelyns intentions is in the dungeon scene of the Anti-Tower. The reason I say this is because at the end, before she fades away, she tells you to "Seek the Truth of the World yourself." Meaning to go and learn yourself of what the secrets to the story arc, are. There are a lot of little things people miss that ffxiv plants for the players. ^-^
Some 2 cents on part 2a. Will have a lot of separate parts on this because this part alone has a lot of Official Forums and Reddit feel to it that had me face palm. Nothing against you directly, just heard these opinions and there are a lot of weak points in their arguments. For whether Venat was justified? Yes, I would say Venat was justified. But at the same time, I will not say her decision was dumb or short sighted. Justified: "having, done for, or marked by a good or legitimate reason." People focus too much on the "good" part and not the "legitimate" part, which is a neutral statement. Something can be legitimate but can be seen as morally wrong. i.e. The trolly problem for example. We also have to remember what Emet Selch said and what the ancients said themselves.
Emet Selch:"Before the Great Sundering, there was one world. A world that knew naught but peace and prosperity"
Ancients:"We can't accept this. We won't accept it. It will be our again, a world free of sorrow"
The story makes it clear that not only did the ancients see their world as perfection, but it is not a possibility for their world to ever be imperfect. They will do whatever it takes to keep the image of a perfect world. The ancients are not capable of living in a world that is, well real to our own standards. To live with limitations. All the ancients had to do was not see themselves as Stewards of the star and creating life as their leisure. Remember, every monster that came into existence was only created because an ancient tried to make something out of Aether. No aether creatures, no Abominations. But as you can tell from Emet Selch and how the ancients reacted, it's not a possibility for themselves to give up on their status. So for the Ancients to keep their status, they were in the middle of starting their "spell", if you will, to sacrifice another set of lives. So either Venat has to put her foot down at that moment, hehehe, or watch them sacrifice another set of new lives again for their own needs. Yes she was justified, but that doesn't mean the justification was morally good. Even Venat tells you herself there was no justice in her decision, as in the morally good side of the subject.
Edit: Now is there proof of a "perfect" society falling apart? No, since there has yet to appear this "perfect" society. But what if we look at what makes a society, which is people. Now think of this. Do you know a person who was doing well and had a curve-ball thrown into their life and just fell apart from it? It could of been minor or major but they just couldn't handle the change in their life? I know I can name a few, heck we can see that from Youtubers as well. So if the society that is perfect was thrown a curve-ball in life, it's a safe bet to say they are going to have a drastic reaction to the change in situation. Sure "perfect" societies is a writing trope, but it's easy to see where it comes from since a person can over-react to a change in their life.
Why venat simply didn't recommend creating dynamis familiars: So at this point of time, there are already hundreds if not thousands of Metieons far more experienced in using Dynamis then anything the ancients could create and know how to corrupt dynamis sensitive or aether weak familiars. That is what the creatures were on Ethery's, very weak aether creatures who were twisted by Dynamis. If anything, such a plan would of just empowered the Meteion even more. If real world is an example of anything, when scientists try to solve "pests" with a stronger "pest", the stronger pest tends to make the situation worse then it originally was. i.e. Cane Toads in Australia. All you need is just 1 of the Etherys Dynamis creatures to fall to corruption and everyone else falls like a domino effect.
Why didn't Venat sunder specific people?: Why didn't she just lets say, target the Convocation only? So unless the story mentions it somewhere I may have missed. All of Etherys/ancients had the same mindset as the Convocation of 14. Just that they let the convocation deal with grander issues while everyone else lived their daily life. There is nothing that I have scene that implied otherwise. Only after the lives were sacrificed that the world was split in 2. Ancients happy to sacrifice and those that were not. The ones that were happy to sacrifice, would not stop trying to sacrifice. Now, the only way to just target 1/2 of the world is just Anime levels of bad writing. Venat was just barely created as Hydaelyn. To have such a mastery of her potential at that time is Goku levels of Venat needing to be a Saiyan level of competency with power. Also with Emet Selch saying that, "They fought and they fought and they fought" tells me that she had to put her all into her attacks to defeat someone twice her strength. Some people forget that Zodiark/Elidibus was easily twice as strong as Hydaelyn. With Venats years of battle/adventure experience being the only way she would of beaten him. So if you are half the mass/muscle of your opponent, you will have to put your all into the fight to win, no holding back at all.
The only thing that I have to say: turn off your color mods, everything is either too bright or too dark XD
As for the rest of the video, of course:
I suppose that developers (and writers?) had to rush some stuff. Your idea sounds good, but the video would have been even longer. Honestly For how it looks like, I have the feeling that we were going to see the end of times with Venat, that would have given time to let us see all the events that happened in the past but in the end they went with the cs explaining "relevant" events.
1:02:36 I will say that the fight was never promised or at least I don't recall the game promising such a thing. It would have been cool to see:
The great sacrifice to hold the end days.
Watch how messed up the world looked like.
The creation on Hydaelyn.
The fight between Zordiak and Hydaelyn.
Depression Beam: I'm confused by this honestly. Game made it very clear that Zodiark created a shell to protect Etherys. Dynamis also very very, very weak to Aether. To the point that the ancients saw Dynamis the same way our own scientists see "Chi/Ki". As far as I know, sundered doesn't mean dead or not possible. Just means a weaker version of a whole. The shell on Etherys just needs to be strong enough to stop Dynamis. Aether doesn't need to over-exert itself to push against Dynamis, it's the other way around. Aether just needs to be strong enough, that's all.
Now on part 2B: This is an interesting one since I see a lot of people miss the small things in the sundering scene for the sake of wanting a spectacle instead. When the WoL tells Venat and the rest his story so far, Venat does not understand why she would make the decision to sunder the world. It's such an action she sees as out of character. Then later when the WoL and Venat are alone waiting for the ancient who saw the Meteion. Venat talks about everything she experience and how much love she has for the world and how going on adventures had opened her eyes to the potential that mankind had. She loved the skies, the land, the sea and the people in them. Now the scene that plays and Venat watches as the Ancients are attempting to sacrifice lives that were not theirs to bring back the dead, Venat comes to a realization. She loves Etherys. She loves the skies, she loves the seas, she loves the land and she loves the people in it. To protect these things that are vulnerable to the Ancients, she will have to keep the ancients from desiring the paradise they lost. The only way to do that is to sunder their existence to keep them trying to enact another sacrifice. For should they remember, as emet selch told the scions about sacrificing more lives. The 3 Ascians are living proof that the Ancients desire for their paradise comes at the cost of everyone else. So even though Venat does make the decision she does, it is a harsh decision that is not out of character.
I suspect you may be waiting for more details of Azem's actions before making a video about him/her. I am looking forward to that.
Hearing you say "apathy leads to death" and being instantly smacked with Kreia flashbacks
Here's something to think about for time travel and the way the story is written in ffxiv.
Time Travel is usually themed about a person's actions being predetermined. No matter what you do, you'll always do it. Then, there is the concept of the universe suffering an eternal freeze where nothing you do matters in the end. Both of these tropes play with the idea of you losing yourself or self-worth, autonomy. At the same time, ffxiv enforces the idea that regardless of what circumstances you are in, to appreciate what you have. Sometimes, it's the small things that matter. Then you have Hydaelyn talking to the WoL directly since 2 expansions to tell him he is free to decide what he wants to decide. On one end, it is "no" choices because of predetermination. The other end, your choices don't matter in the great cosmos. In the middle of these themes is the WoL making their own choices, regardless of what anyone else has to say, to try to make a better future. To be hope and potential for others. It is a story that even if your life is predetermined or your choices don't matter in the end. To be happy and enjoy your own small things in life.
I can simplify it for you even more. It's a choice between choosing life, choosing the future (delayed gratification) and throwing a toddler tantrum because you don't like the present. The reason I can forgive Venat is that she made a very hard choice and chose a future with life in in and Emet-Selch was more than willing to slaughter millions of others so he could live in the past, never having to accept how he got to stay there. Venat knew what she was doing. Emet-Selch went mad trying to deny what he'd done.
Another on the topic of tropes, this case with Time Travel and Villain. I never saw tropes as good or bad, just a tool for telling a story. Any trope, if used in the most general term, can devalue a story. i.e. The Lord of the Rings movie is just a story about a mismatch set of adventures. Said this way, you'd assume that the LotR trilogy was badly written, when it is not so. So time travel in ffxiv was used as more than just simply a plot device. There are lots of things we learned because of it. Ancients were "perfect" in their eyes alone, ignoring what they do to others for the sake of the star. Venat/Hydaelyn was an adventurer and a mother like figure, so well suited to the role she would play in the future. Hermes exposed how very little anyone cared for the creations they made. Emet Selch personality was not a quirk of his long 10K years of duty. He was always cheeky from which he used to cope with his loneliness. If given the chance and circumstances were different, would we of been close friends with these ancient friends? Answer is yes, something I'm sure people thought about during all of Shadowbringers. Time Travel was a tool used to explore the ancients, not simply a tool to move the plot forward with no substance. If you want to say all Time Travel does is move the plot forward with no substance, then you have to make an argument on why The Terminator and Back to the Future are bad movies because they include time travel as well
Now speaking of The Terminator, he is a good example of why Emet Selch is the villain of Shadowbringers. An antagonist is simply a broad term used for an opposing force to the protagonist. If we go deeper to try to figure out what part the antagonist fits in the story, we can decide if he is a villain. Now villain doesn't mean mustache twirling 2D bad guy. All it means is that they are normally a person opposing the hero, but do deeds we would consider evil. In emet selch case, he did do a lot of evil acts. Not only destroying worlds but using an unborn child as a tool to push the calamity. These are villainous acts, we can still sympathize with Emet on why he did these things but that doesn't mean his acts were not evil. We can sympathize with villains, it's not a binary choice to automatically hate a villain no matter what. So what does this have to do with The Terminator? The Terminator is the villain of the first movie, no doubt about it. But, he is a tool following a program. He does very evil actions and there are no limits he would not push. But there is no joy in what he does, no pleasure, no hatred, no sadness, his actions are never based on emotions. He is a tool to kill Sarah Connors and either shut-down after or return or any other option after he kills her. He is villainous and does evil things, but we cannot easily classify him as mustache twirling villain because there are no emotions on what he does. He is almost just a force of nature. A villainous force of nature. All this to say that "villain" encompasses many things and not just 2D personality bad guy. Antagonist encompasses things that oppose the antagonists. The movie Twister antagonist is the tornado, but the tornado isn't a villain, not a person, but simply a force of nature for the protagonists to over-come.
hell yeah brother. thank you for all you do for the ffxiv literacy group