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Honestly, it took me months till I finally properly appreciated Focalors' character. (And it was probably obvious for most people but I'm an idiot who took a while to realise this. Lol)

Back when we first met her, something felt a bit off about Focalors. At least, that's how I felt. Her calming demeanour, the way she sounded so neutral about her crazy plan, how she never wavered a single time when explaining Furina's role. (Heck, the "So anways, then I cursed her" line became a meme. Lol)

Compare her to Neuvillette during the scene. The Hydro Sovereign who once never cared about humanity, was absolutely distraught once he realised what Furina went through. He sounded like he was in the absolute verge of tears the longer Focalors talked.

I think it was the first time I saw a God act like a benevolent, all divine being in the game. The other Archons, for all their developing understanding of humanity, still felt flawed and human under all that divinity.

That's when I finally realised what Focalors lacked throughout her scene: Her humanity. She truly felt like a God above her people, who had plans for her people and there was barely an doubt for failure because it felt like she was truly in control. For all her talk about saving humanity, she sounded so weirdly detached, even when her actions said otherwise.

Do not get me wrong, this is not a complaint on her character. It was just an observation I had. I was alright that Focalors felt different from the other Archons we met during our journey. Similar to how I was alright if we saw Ei under an antagonistic light.

But then it hit me like a brick thrown from across the room and I'm an idiot for forgetting this fact whne it was clearly stated... Focalors' humanity wasn't lacking, just removed from her entirely. Her humanity was in the shape of Furina.

Before everything that has happened, Focalors was once a human. Before she was even human, she longed to live life as a human. And when Egeria granted that wish for the oceanids, it was a dream come true. Her wish was to live and feel her humanity. To feel the everyday emotions and experiences that every humans encounter, to laugh, to cry, everything. Even when she sounded so neutral during the scene, she clearly expressed her love for humanity.

And honestly, it must've been difficult to completely split her humanity away from herself, the very thing she longed for, all for the possibility that Fontaine could be saved from the prophecy. For all the messed up stuff she had to put Furina through, she too screwed herself.

So let's imagine this:

If Furina was a representation of Focalors' humanity, and Furina was an absolute emotional mess during it...What did Focalors feel when she came to the conclusion that her humanity had to be seperated from her?

From everything we learned about Focalors, I think it's safe to assume that it was probably one of the most heartbreaking things she had experience.

And just like Furina, she sacrificed it for her people. It finally made me appreciate Focalors more.