Quote Originally Posted by Zevox View Post
So, I've finished chapter 20 of Golden Deer. Saving a lot of thoughts for when I finish, but a few things I wanted to throw out now:
Spoiler: Late Golden Deer and Black Eagle
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They got my hopes up for a second when Byleth and Claude said they'd rather not kill Edelgard if they didn't have to that I'd be able to spare her, like Claude on the Black Eagle route. Sadly not the case I see. Oh well.

I was also worried for a second there that the route wouldn't actually properly resolve the Slitherers subplot, despite LaZodiac having accidentally indicated that it did to me earlier, since dealing with the Empire took so long (the route is already 2 chapters longer than the Black Eagles' Edelgard route). Seeing that it does is good - but also makes me that much more annoyed that it just gets dropped in Edelgard's route, since obviously this is just going to be another chapter or two to handle the Slitherers, and Edelgard's route is already shorter than the Golden Deer one. Really makes it feel like there was no reason not to include that.

Finally, really not sure why Rhea was still alive if the Empire had captured her. Toppling the Church and killing her is kind of Edelgard's whole goal with the war - she's the final boss of Edelgard's route, for crying out loud. There's no reason for Edelgard to keep her alive. There wasn't even any implication that the Slitherers wanted her alive for some reason, either, which is the only thing I can think of for why Edelgard might not kill her as soon as she had the chance (and even that's iffy as heck given she's only allied with them as an "enemy of enemy is my friend" kind of thing until the Church is defeated).

Also, Caspar's father died off-screen? Kind of lame. They've built him up so much, I was looking forward to seeing him. I mean, it's great to hear that he sacrificed himself in such a meaningful way, but still... off-screen.
Spoiler
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You can't spare Edelgard because Edelgard without Byleth to moderate her darker tendencies is pretty much a fanatic. She makes reference to this a couple times on her path and it shows up elsewhere as well. If Edelgard initiates the war by herself, she becomes isolated from the world and becomes a much colder person than she was even at the academy, and as her plans collapse she goes nuts in much the same way Rhea did on Edelgard's path. She's not unique in this - as you've seen already, Dmitri without Byleth goes absolutely WHACKO and starts mowing down friend and foe alike in his quest for vengeance, and eventually comes to a bad end. It's something I quite like about the game - Byleth doesn't move the plot apart from winning battles, because they're a tactician and not a strategist and are not personally invested in the war. Byleth shapes the plot by having a positive influence on everyone around them, causing them to be better people. Any changes in the timelines are a direct result of either Byleth's presence or absence.

Claude is actually unique in that he isn't as invested in the whole business as any of the other leaders. He cares about Fodlan and the Alliance, but at the end of the day he grew up in Almyra and is perfectly happy to cut his losses in favor of planning a new scheme outside of Fodlan. There's no way to spare Dmitri, Edelgard, or Rhea because none of them would accept being spared. Edelgard would rather die than come to some sort of negotiated compromise or be allowed to run away and live out her days in obscurity.

On Rhea, I can only assume that she did so at the Slitherer's request. Dragon blood is very valuable, and it's implied pretty heavily that Rhea has been getting experimented on and/or tortured. Flayn spent an entire month in their tender clutches, and I don't see any reason why the same wouldn't be true of Rhea. I think it's also consistent with Edelgard's goals - Edelgard doesn't appear to have a personal vendetta against Rhea that I can tell. Rhea never did anything directly to Edelgard*, it was just the Crest and noble system that allowed the Slitherers power to torture her family to death. I've never quite understood why Edelgard places so much of the blame on the Church for this while being willing to work with the Slitherers, but that's really a discussion for another time.

The main point I'm trying to make here is that Edelgard doesn't care what happens to Rhea - she only wants her out of power and the Church crushed. Rhea in a prison cell in the most secure location in the world is just as unable to influence world events as Rhea in a grave. Lord Arundel would have presumably come to her after the monastery battle and demanded Rhea be handed over to him as a condition for the continued support of the Slitherers and the wonderful monstrosities. I assume that if Edelgard had won on the other routes, she would have quietly offed Rhea at the same time as disposing of the Slitherers.

I don't think Caspar's father ever appears in any route. You don't get to see his sacrifice because they want to give him voice lines (or do character art for him). Sucks, but there it is. There's a lot of little touches like that where I wish the budget was ever so slightly larger.

*at least, not prior to Edelgard declaring herself the Church's enemy.