The Pandaemonium raid series in Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker gave us a lot of development for Lahabrea as a character. Let’s explore the journey of the ascian in ancient times, along with his wife Athena and son Ericthonios. Hope you’re enjoying Patch 6.4!
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This is the best divorce I've ever served.
I was kinda hoping for pandemonium to go a different route based on the information we had in the first tier.
Like lahabrea being obsessed with trying to resurrect athena, only to make an abomination of her thats like the first voidscent or something.
My only correct assumption was that athena would be the final boss of the raid series
Between Hermes and Athena. There is a theme of how destructive bad parenting can be running through EW. In both cases it took the WOL's guidance, affection and trust. To set the wayward children upon the right path. It's also chilling that in the end. Neither Athena nor Hermes ever truly sought to rectify their mistakes with their children.
What do you know, I was just in the process of NG+ing the Pandemonium story (for an analysis of my own hehe), when this dropped. Good timing!
I do like that the… "Lahabreas"? all use chains in their magic, Eric as weapons, Laha to hold his gross body together, and Athena for explosives…
Focusing on Lahabrea, this Raid series fixed for us the character and it was very well done imo. Also was completely thrilled of the origins of The Heart of Sabik. I can lookback to ARR and HW and see Lahabrea and think about all these experiences we had and what we know now and we can begin to comprehend more of his attitude and ambitions.
ELIDIBUS FULL LORE WID WHEN??
Don't think I forgot you said you'll do it after his character is fully wrapped up!!
The thing I like about this story is that it allows us to have a full understanding of where we stand with each of the Paragons. Emet-Selch someone we hold much respect towards, and quite literally in another life we were fast and loyal friends, yet we are destined to be enemies. Elidibus, once blinded by his sense of duty, reconciles with us in understanding that his duty to the star means that we don't have to be natural enemies, and we end things off as friends. Then you have Lahabrea, who is stalwart in his loyalty to the star, and it ends on an interesting note in that both of us fully understand that our alliance is only temporary, and that us being fated enemies is something that we both accept and respect. I really love how the story allows the Paragons to be in that funny gray area of being respected enemies.
I love love LOVE what they did with lahabrea's character in this raid, they FINALLY gave him depth that made me understand him and love him in not just-a-meme way <3 also, i always thought that him and elidibus were closer to each other than to any other ascians, even given the very short time we've actually seen them interact through arr and hw… And now i kinda got that confirmed and every interaction between them in pandae was delightful <3 Now the only thing i need is a side quest or side story of how lahabrea and igeyorhm became friends and how can we connect them merging into ascian prime to laha mind merging with athena, because the animation and their lines were almost the same and i need to know the meaning :v
I can't be the only one disappointed that the design of the Heart of Sabik turned out to be basically just a scuffed chunk of burnt iron.
Can you please, make a video about the heart of Sabik and Athena's final transformation, her savage final form, or the Arena where there is a giant snake eating itself? I would love the lore behind that. <3
Pandemonium has been one of my favourite side stories of any game ever anything to do with the ascians gets me hyped but fighting alongside elidibus and lahabrea after what we’ve been through it gives an opposite perspective that i really like and makes me fall super in love with the characters. Seeing lahabrea the way he is here is almost unbelievable after what he does in arr but he admits himself for the start he may do it. P11 is by far one of my favourite fights too what feels like a friendly spar with an old enemy in Themis is a beautiful fight in the seats of the convocation it’s amazing
What a quick turnaround on this video! I love the depth this raid series gave a pretty shallow villain. Plus yet another Elidibus gut punch. I can't wait to hear your coverage of the Heart of Sabik.
What type of armor was the warrior of light, your character was wearing? the armor looks something out Warhammer?!?
I LOVED this Raid. More then any other. It was a beautiful tragedy.
I was happy they fleshed out Lahabrea more, and I was surprised to find myself balling at the end for him along with Eric. Even more then I cried for Themis, and I consider him my son! Then again I feel he got true closure and was happy at the end. Anyways. Lahabrea doing what he though right for his son in the beginning but being shown it was doing harm to him, THEN acknowledging that and correcting his ways and supporting his son… just break my heart with these characters SE! I really like Lahabrea by the end, I see him as a good dad. Not perfect, but he did learn! I choke up when think of father and son still. I loved it. And in the end, Lahabrea came to respect his son and support him. Just thinking that he ripped his soul in half to help his son and star, makes him loosing himself in the future much more understandable and painful. Like I get it… and I'm gonna cry again.
People want someone to hate, they don't want to redeem bad guys. I don't think this is redeeming at all. But I love when there is this kind of background, it give the characters depth. The Ancients were not a perfect people as we can see with Athena. But they really loved the star, and were willing to sacrifice so much. That is why I find the Ancients and Convocation members to be my favorite part of this game.
I can't wait until you do a Themis video.
Hope to see you make the Heart of Sabik video sometime, its one of those things in xiv that I never really followed or understood very well. I would also be super excited for an Elidibus vid too though given how much more attention I paid to him, I don't "need" it as much as the Heart of Sabik one lmao.
I appreciate that Yoshi-P and Koji Fox decided to go a different route with Athena's character. instead of trying to give her the same complexity and depth that other characters have, they decided to go the route of " fuck that, she's just crazy"
And in a game like this where most of the antagonists have Shakespearean levels of complex it's nice to have the occasional token bog standard "I'm evil just cuz" antagonist(s)
My favorite part of the story is the implication that the Rejoinings and the Ascian Prime forms were based on Athena's fusion magic.
One of the best things about the Pandaemonium story is how it makes older cutscenes and stories better with hindsight. More so than Endwalker itself, even.
Just watching any scene with Elidibus or where he is mentioned hits a lot harder now. "Solus" mentioning how "Elidibus's decisions as emissary seldom err" when we first meet him at the end of 4.4 seemed to be referencing his decisions as Elidibus the Ascian back in Stormblood/Shadowbringers, but now can play this raid series with Themis guiding us and see how rational, thoughtful and pure he was, and it makes rewatching what he (and the others) became, very tough.
One version of Ericthonios has Hephaestus assaulting Athena, not completely successfully, and Ericthonios is born from her thigh.
I appreciate that they added to Lahabrea without redeeming him. I think that was an interesting choice, especially after Emet-Selch and Elidibus. We see who he was, what he was dealing with, and how he got to be the unstable madman who eventually caused his own death. And instead of having him in a state of clarity deny or defend himself, he simply acknowledges it, then sends you back to confirm what he did next. I appreciate tragic characters. I appreciate that he is one of them.
But, my favorite part is where Themis calls us his friend and says everything was worth it. God. I cannot believe I like that absolute dork as much as I do. Fleeting Moment had me crying while raiding *yet again*.
They really did Lahabrea justice after being considered a laughing stock after Heavensward. And holy hell, can we agree Athena is absolutely vile here? She's down there with Asahi and Valens as some of the biggest scum of the earth evil in the game.
Honestly, this is my favourite raid series of the whole game. And I will say that I appreciated how the story didn't try to make us feel better or 'redee'm modern Lahabrea, but to simply contextualise and give us a more informed perspective. It now makes much more sense why Lahabrea was such a nutjob in ARR/Heavensward. Gone half insane due to the strain of time and stress (like Emet and Elidibus), tempered by Zodiark, but also afflicted with the 'corruption' to his mind by Athena after rejoining with his past half at the end of the raid, and carrying with him the Heart of Sabik, which we now know it was an extra corrupting influence as white auracite (and containing Athena herself!).
I'm pretty happy coming out of the raid liking Ericthonios, loving Elidibus more than ever, and liking ancient Lahabrea while still being 'able' to hate post-sundering Lahabrea.
The story is really good and the way it's pieced together felt like there was definite care to detail to it, I was surprised someone I know gave it a 2/10, but I don't think they remember things that well