So, I Said I Was Going To Talk About This And Here I Am. Edelgard's Death Scenes, Japanese Vs English

So, I said I was going to talk about this and here I am. Edelgard's death scenes, Japanese vs English script. First off, let us remember the translation we were given. Quote:

“It looks as though... my path...will end here. My teacher... claim your victory. Strike me down. You must! Even now... across this land, people are killing each other. If you do not act now, this conflict will go on forever. Your path... lies across my grave. It is time for you to find the courage to walk it. If I must fall... let it be by your hand. I wanted... to walk with you...”

Now the Japanese, using Wordvice as my translator.

“My path is... Is it going to end here...? Master... The duty of the victor... Defeat me, Master...! Even now... Many people are still fighting and killing each other in various places... Unless you defeat me, the battle... will not end... Your... Your path... Can only be found beyond my corpse... So, at the very least... With your own hands...! Together, we will... Walk, and...”

First of all, Edelgard is surprised she lost in the Japanese text. She expected that she would win.

Secondly, she uses the same duty of the victor line we see in Hubert's letter, which combined with her telling Byleth to kill her. The word she uses for defeating her, I've had other translators say it was her telling Byleth to avenge her. If we take “duty of the victor,” which will be soon used for taking down TWSITD and later Byleth taking ruling over Fodlan in order to prevent it's collapse, it ties her words together more. Killing Edelgard and going on to defeat TWSITD and then being crown ruler is Byleth's path, and unless Byleth goes down this path Fodlan will never know peace. If Edelgard lives, she'll try this again. If TWSITD get away, they'll try it again. And if Byleth doesn't accept the crown, then Fodlan will fall into chaos causing the people to suffer.

Then there's the last line, Edelgard will let herself be killed by Byleth and this will be them walking the same path together. Edelgard accepts that her death will help Byleth end the suffering that's happening, and with this they'll work towards the same goal. This is not her expressing sadness Byleth didn't support her or how she can't join Byleth.

I mean, she could still try to side with Byleth, live and make amends, but as she's saying this all she's activating her weapon. It would tie into her not having the self-control needed to accept her loss and live, and how she'd keep going until she either dies or wins.

But what gets me is that this same scene happens in Wind, not just Snow. Is it just a lazy reusing of the scene? Maybe, I feel it could also be calling out the similarities between those routes. The Alliance is the underdog in the war, to the point that Claude points out that the Empire would not accept losing to them, foreshadowing the loyalist movement mentioned in the route's endings. Byleth's conversation with Claude about not wanting to kill Edelgard the same as the one with Seteth, putting the onus on Edelgard whether they will walk a path together or not.

Edelgard does not in the Japanese version, though chooses to die.

It would set up a contrast between Claude and Edelgard as well. Claude's first impressions of the Church weren't good, and he wouldn't fight alongside them in Snow leading to his defeat. In Wind, Claude goes against his instincts and works with them instead, putting the trust in them that Edelgard says she never could with Rhea in the Japanese text. It marks Claude walking the path of enlightenment himself alongside Byleth, while Edelgard walks the path of the animal (with Claude joining her in Hopes). It sets up that Claude and Edelgard's beliefs, their ideals, are different as well much like how Edelgard pointed out in the Japanese version.

But I think that's the core of why this scene happens, Edelgard's ideals. Edelgard believes that relying on others teaches people to be weak, and the Church is bad because it's beliefs encourage people to not rely on themselves and even does charity. Edelgard did what she did, and helped TWSITD, because she believed that doing so would give her the strength needed to change Fodlan into what she believed it should be. The Japanese theme, that plays it's full version at the end of every route bar Flower, does mention she hesitated to go through with the war, due to her time at Garreg Mach regardless of route by implication, before finally deciding to do so. Yet despite all the horrible things Edelgard has done for the power she's accumulated, Edelgard is defeated either by the Church itself, with no real army except for those who supported them, or the Church aligned with the weakest army.

The meek shall inherit the Earth perhaps?

She was forced in that moment, facing a loss she can't believe is happening, to see that everything she has done up until this point has been for nothing. Her ideals fucking lost to the beliefs she damned.

In contrast, look at Moon. Dimitri was able to take back the Kingdom territory she had conquered, force her army out of the Alliance while at the same time killing her ally. And as the territory Dimitri controlled increased, so too did the size of his army whereas Edelgard's army was exhausted following Gronder. Edelgard is now facing half of Fodlan's might on her own while her own forces are diminishing.

So, she throws away her humanity in exchange for power, becoming the Hegemon Husk. And with that Edelgard loses what self-control she had. Dimitri offers her his hand, she instead tries to kill him. No accepting of her death, no duty of the victor, no joining hands to walk the same path. Just her wordlessly making one last attempt to win. The end, as Dimitri puts it, of Edelgard's path sees her come a beast. Hell, the Japanese name for Hegemon Husk is Hegemony Corpse Emperor, making it seem that who Edelgard was is now dead (just like her being brainwashed in Hopes when it shows up now that I think about it).

(I love how France puts it, Shadow of the Conqueror).

In the animal realm, the weak fear the strong who prey upon them. Edelgard was afraid at the end of Moon, plain and simple, and that fear stole away the last of her humanity.

Even with the parley, she says she showed because of a whim. She did it on an impulse, and it's clear from it that she really hasn't thought through her ideals at all. She'll blame the weak if her ideals don't work, and she has no idea what shape her reforms will take. All she's focusing on is increasing her own power, so that she may become strong herself. It's why she's pleased when Dimitri calls her such, acknowledging her strength. Edelgard doesn't think things through, much like what happened with hiring Kostas. Meanwhile, it's Dimitri who points out the flaws in her ideals as well as what Hopes!Claude plans to do. And it's Dimitri who cares about the sacrifices she is making, whereas all Edelgard cares about is her goal.

Dimitri's humanity is what turned him into the boar tearing enemies apart, but when he's freed of his misconceptions about his duties as a leader it leads to him being the savior king. Meanwhile, this route sees Edelgard lose hers making it so that she can't have the last minute realization and acceptance Snow and Wind afforded her. No redemption for Edelgard in Moon.

Meanwhile, Flower encourages her to keep doing what she's been doing because it fucking works. This is where the translation changed things, making it so the player could redeem Edelgard here rather than in Snow or Wind. To have her change her ideals somewhat, while toning down her manipulating her allies. It gives her no reason to change, so she does not and will go on to implement her ideals even if she had the appearance of growing out of them.

@pandp-author replied to your post “Just thinking about it but - UO : MC learns the...”:

@themoomoorn If it's not too much asking, what is it about Petra's support with Claude that you don't like? I'm rather curious.

​If I can jump in, for me it'd be this :

Petra : Harming Trees is bad because they have spirits and it's important, the tree gives us food and shelter but it also needs us. We live in harmony, all those things.

Clout : Ah yes, you're close to the nature, unlike those stupid Fodlan people who believe everything comes from their goddess and forgot nature.

Petra : Remember when I said Billy-sensei turning green looks like the spirits I am often talking about? And how the Fodlan Goddess basically made and created those spirits? - Who am I kidding, I can't tell you this, we're in a Fodlan game, you must always have a point and Church BaD.

Clout : Of course!

Clout : I mean, imagine if the Hresvelgs could trace their lineage to Saint Seiros herself, who is said to be, in her own scriptures, a Child of the Goddess aka not a human herself or at least a divine being. I'd look like an imbecile, right?

Also fun how "uwu nobility isn't a matter of birthright, status doesn't matter uwu" when the same guy tells to Cyril :

"nobility doesn't matter we're all equals uwu except when I could use my status to compel a random to do things he doesn't want to".

But back to the Petra support :

Clout : I've heard Hanneman say the same thing to Doro.

Petra : Wow you're so strange for saying those things! And you are a noble who can climb to trees! So weird!

Clout : Are we sure Caspar can't do the same? He knows how to pummel someone to death with his fists, maybe he'd also know how to climb trees or something, given how he didn't receive any education befitting a heir of a house, since his brother is the heir and he is naught but a spare. But hey, I'll totally call you strange because you are a princess of Brigid, nevermind the link I cannot tell you about between you being the princess of a foreign land and me.

Petra : But you know how to climb trees and take care of your equipment ! I'm so impressed, I've never seen any noble take care of his own stuff before. What is that? Ferdie oils his own weapons and armor? Who is that Ferdie you're talking about?

---

Granted, given how Petra was trashtalked by Hubert (or trash thought) when he first met her and was around the most, uh, decadent part of Adrestian Nobility, I can't fault her for thinking Claude climbing to trees and tending to his own bow is extraordinary - but I suppose if she ever went to see any BL what she finds "abornmal in Fodlan and totes only Adrestia because that's the only place she visited" wouldn't be so... abnormal.

The Bakugou Experence(TM)

Bakugou: *punches Izuku*

Izuku, starry eyed: "Woow, Bakugou, that was so cool!"

Kirashima: "What a manly punch!"

Eraserhead: *grumbles, but is secretly impressed by how good a punch it was, even though he wants to improve his form a bit*

Shigaraki: *nods* "I can see why you're the one closest to Deku."

All Might: "What good friends they are!"

Only related to a post I saw but it IS wild that

Things that Dimitri Fire Emblem can rightfully be criticized for:

Using excessive violence against his enemies

Dedicating a massive amount of his life to revenge

Actively seeking death when he’s made promises he needs to be alive to keep

Leading people who loved and were loyal to him on what is essentially a suicide mission

Being a dick to people trying to help him

(All of which are acknowledged by the story and he changes)

Things Dimitri gets criticized for:

Defending his home country against imperialism

Some bullshit “status quo” argument

Being mentally ill

not a fan of how EVERYONE acts like this exchange didn't exist

"Claude was right about Rhea and the church promoting isolationism"

okay, Frieza.

Feather Shields and Bows for the win!

You're absolutely right they're ridiculous, and super fun to use! And also kind of game breaking... which goes to show that sometimes the only way to balance something is by limiting your access to it. Think of Quick Riposte in Three Houses.

I do appreciate that the game gives you the option to let yourself go to your desire for vengeance, because it does make it more meaningful to choose not to and then be rewarded with the good ending. It's cheesy, but I like it.

I adore the final battle for the fact that everyone is coming together to defeat the big bad boss, even the zenorian people.

My final squad was Alain, Lex, Chloe, Scarlet, and Clive!

Despite still standing on the hill of Gryphon Knights being the best class, I ended up using Liza a hell of a lot. Arbalist/Shield shooters are jack of all trades, but rather than being average in what they do, they do everything competently enough that they are something greater than their sums of their parts.

I do need to make a NG+ run, I was terrible with managing my money, equipment, everything! It was straight up impossible to unlock all raptors and I think I was handicapping myself trying to get them all in a single playthrough. I'm having similar troubles on my first Engage run, and I did not have any of these issues in Three House because I was able to internalize from the very beginning That I couldn't get all the supports. The things I do to myself...

At the end of the day... I'll say my favorite character is Clive. He's my best boi.

What about yours?

WDYM only Alain can get the killing blow on Baltro???

TFW the Tricorns keep on whacking him to no avail, ditto with Magellan :(

even if plot wise it makes sense

@pandp-author Feathershields are absolutely ridiculous lol, Fodoquir basically exists and makes mage teams/teams where Sorceress try their "surprise you're frozen !" combo completely meaningless !

Sanatio's healing is completely stupid too lol, too bad we can't play more maps with the angels/feathered people, because they're fun to use!

I'll make a more detailed post about the epilogue later but plot wise for the final chapter, as expected, Gharnef Baltro backstabs the Red Emperor, it is revealed Ilenia - Alain's mom - survived in the prologue, but Red Emperor Galerius Galvius when defeated body/soul hopped on hers so she became his unwilling medium (which raises all sorts of questions here, when Alain kills Galvius during the "Rescue Scarlett" mission, did he aleady kill Ilenia and Baltro resurrected her, but she's somehow still alive and not a zombie?) but ultimately she is free when Baltro uses Galvius' soul to open the "gate to the netherworld" or something, to use the souls of the Zenoiran currently in limbo as fuel for his spells.

Given how Baltro notes that the Cornian Royal fam has the blood of the Maiden who survived the sacrifice of the Unicorn and its curse 800 years ago, I guess he implies that is the reason why Ilenia makes for a better host than the random Valmore - the previous human who was Galvius' host - but then it raises the question of Giethe hunting Virginia : wouldn't she have been used as a spare ? Granted, given how Galvius incarnates in the flesh of people who defeat him, the only way to incarnate in Virginia would be for either her or a random to kill Galvius while he's using Ilenia's body (and Virginia would later kill the random).

So I guess if Giethe brought her head Baltro would have been "you dumb fuck", but Alcina's plan to uwu with Gerard in Alain's body wouldn't put a dent in his plans, since he could get rid of Gerard in Alain's body to put Galvius instead if needed.

As cheesy as it was, I liked how the plot unfolded here - despite his "perfect lord" appearances, Alain still wants revenge for his mom and didn't forget what happened 10 years ago : if the player chooses to give Alain his vengeance, despite learning the plot and the truth about Zenoira, he... actually kills his mother, and Baltro is still Baltroing around.

If he acts as the better person and the "saviour", he tries to offer mercy to Galvius, despite him killing his mother and plunging the continent in a sea of blood, which gives Baltro the occasion and opportunity to betray Galvius, thus freeing Ilenia without killing her, and it gives the party the occasion to kill/banish him to oblivion instead.

The usual "follow the plot = you're rewarded + vengeance is meaningless" trope.

Of course I can't talk about the final map without ranting about the green NPCs that are here to "help" you - nice nod to have them be Drakengardians to echo Gilbert's earlier (at the end of arc 2!) words of sending Drakengard's help to help Cornia when it will be needed - sure his help is green units + Hermann (one of his retainer that is blue this playable \o/) but it's a nice nod to the former plot and you can honeypot about the political ramifications of this move (the Liberation Army led by the Cornian prince helped free Drakengard, so now the Drakengard Army will help the Cornian prince to free his country?).

No such lines about the enemy Bestrals - who as Bestrals can't be soul snatched - who are recruited by Dyna who basically tells them "wtf dudes stop fighting with them and join us instead!" but I confess I laughed at their names (il y en a qui s'appelle Paulo mdr, pourquoi pas Bébert pendant qu'on y est?).

Too bad the named minibosses aren't more developped, but I wonder if in the Norbelle aka worst ending we get to fight Reimann and pals instead.

Oh well, I'll have other occasions to replay that map to get the different endings - at least the normal one on this PT (the one where Alain kills Galvius but fights off the possession thanks to his magical plot ring that resonates with the plot ring of his partner).