Are They The Same Thing?? | WoW's Jailer vs FFXIV's Endsinger 

Thinking aboutit, it's very fitting that the final boss was sent into space with a question from her 'father' while the hero was sent out with an answer from their 'mother'. Suddenly it makes so much sense to have Flow playing over the last scene with Meteion. The WoL was Venat's answer to Hermes's question. Dang that story works on a bunch of levels 🤣

Endwalker has a single dungeon that accomplishes exactly what Shadowlands should have done with their entire DLC. The Aitiascope delves into the 'afterworld' and in the 45 minute dungeon you're helped along by the lingering spirits of those you've loved and lost, and those you've challenged and felled. How an entire expansion doesn't even do as much as a single dungeon is beyond me.

While both Endsinger and The Jailer were both inserted into the immediate forefront of the story, the Jailer only received an articles worth of dialogue to the point where the player was openly confused and puzzled by his motivation and character arc. Endsinger however received a novel's worth of dialogue and we as players got to interact with her on a personal level and truly understand her motivations and goals which made us not only sympathize with her, but she helped conclude the FFXIV story.

Zenos being your biggest fan still makes me smile. His absolute certainty that you will be beat any obstacle in your path is oddly heartwarming. There's no doubt, no hesitation. He's honestly _baffled_ that your enemy still stands.

Zenos behavior actually is shown since after Zodiark where he walks away from us because he knows we are too busy thinking about the final days and he'll come for us once we have resolved the situation. From the very start he knew we would succed

So you're telling me WoW and FFXIV both let you visit the afterlife, the former through an entire expansion and the latter in a single dungeon, and somehow that one dungeon had more fanservice than almost all of Shadowlands?? How is that even possible??

Im waiting for jesse to just make a lore series about FF14 explaining every single aspect of teh story. That is all I want in life

In the endsinger fight when the 2nd phase starts. It’s more than just a the power of friendship moment. What the Scions did there was complete something they started all the way back at the opening cinematic of A Realm Reborn and failed at… …they did the evocation of the 12 and succeeded this time. It also served as a great callback.

how can a 10 second clip of a guy seeing another player in game, over and over again, make me tear up all over again

The "power of friendship" moment at the end of Endwalker is perfectly set up because we are currently in a realm that *LITERALLY is influenced by the strength of one's emotions.* The Scions praying for you to remain safe is a direct callback to the original leader Louisoix, who sacrificed his life to seal Bahamut and save everyone. They weren't able to save him then, but they are able to do so now.

I think it's also because, in my opinion, Zodiark wasn't really the "big bad" for most the story, it was the Ascians. We fought them, they were in every expansion and no matter what expansion we were in we were waiting for them to appear. So it makes sense that the 'true' ending was putting them to rest.

I remember the phase transition in the Endsinger fight. It was like almost midnight, I was emotionally drained from all the stuff on UT, and, as the music ramped up to 11, all I could think was “gods, I love this game.” 😭

Even after 1 year, and finishing endwalker 3 times now, "the walk" end the endsinger always makes me cry. Light the way my frends will we see you again. This was a story that took 10 years, and I will always keep thous in heart.

I think another good point as to why Endwalker worked so well is giving you power creep with out "giving" you power creep. When you fight the Endsinger, "Who is this universal threat", you do so in a realm of dynamis. Dynamis being this force this is shaped by the will of those around. You the player character are not strong enough to beat it because you have some unapproachable, but because those around you believe you can't loose. To me this is a big deal because it lets Final Fantasy still have not galactic threats that can still "threaten" the player.

Man, even your 5-minute animation of the jailor being beaten by all the past forces of Azeroth gave me chills when the music swelled. I'm convinced, they should have gone full fanservice, as cheesy as it would have been it would have been awesome nonetheless.

The thing that helped 14 work so well is that they were willing to end the "but there's someone bigger!" trope that the structure of MMOs seems to make mandatory. You finish the big bad in an epic finale, and go on a whole new adventure. There's no "oh, you beat despair but behind the scenes urianger was actually manipulating her to get back at all the people who ignored his dialogue and he's actually even more powerful and is betraying you for skipping cutscenes in ARR!"

It's crazy how just a summery of endwalker can make me well up.

I remember when I was in the middle of the Elpis section, that I was thinking: "Is this where the game is heading? The big baddie is just a menace from outer space?". But after the report, everything made sense. Meteion and Hermes reasoning, why the Ancients summoned Zodiark, what motivated Hydaleyn to sunder the world, etc. Not only that, but the way Endwalker handled FFXIV most beloved villain was stelar. Imagine how much different Shadowlands would have been if Arthas would have been given just a fraction of the treatment Final Fantasy gave to Emet-Selch.

RIP to all the WoL we lost along the way that didnt get to see the end to the journey. and thank you for this video in general, such a great break down on what makes endwalker, no, all of 14 so great.

I played WoW for almost 17 years at the time I quit, and have just played FFXIV for a year now, and I can't agree with you more. I think a big part of it boils down to the fact that Warcraft can't close a story line that is satisfying to the player, where as behind the Jailer there's something else that's WORSE that we know nothing about while not caring at all for the villain we just killed, while with the Endsinger, you did it. You defeated the big bad of the universe, but that's NOT the end of the story, YOUR story. There's still more to the world, the universe, more to do and see, but we can move away from the Final Days and the Ascians and explore the same world with new eyes. I think for me, and something you touched on here, a lot of it is that it felt like I mattered as a player, that my actions drove the story, where as in WoW I felt like I was a background character and being thrown at anything that was remotely a threat. Even now looking at Dragonflight.. it feels like a new direction, but very much the same, as we will fight this villain, find out something deeper is going on, be thrown at them-- rinse and repeat. Where as in FFXIV I have no idea what is going to happen in the Void, where the story is going to take us next, and I'm excited for every minute of it.

I think another reason for Endwalker working is that it fits the overall themes and development of our charackter. ARR-we were the wide eyed adventurer starting our journey HW- we learned the world can be a hard place and for what we stand SB- we became a guardian of the people and champion of good ShB- we were broken and beaten down we learned we cant do everything but its important to get back up. EW- we are done, we beat our weakness we grew we learned that not magics pr big swords make us strong but our hope and friendship lets our heart shine bright into the darkness we are not the warrior of light or darkness we are the Warrior of Hope and we are here to kick ass and repay estiniens debt! As epic and as sad as many moments in EW were it felt like our charackter was just in peak condition to beat up whatever comes along. I mean remember sharlayan we went there and didn't take shit from them, the epic entry into garlemald and later on soldiers shitting their pants when they realize who we are and then the final area were the big bad basicaly panics because we get closer and closer and can't get beaten down. Like our friend realized we are in for the thrill of adventure and nothing can stop us

Zenos coming to us in the end was my absolute highlight. i did not expect that one bit. and when the music started i was like "wait, that sounds familier?" and i literally screamed when he broke through the barrier so that my housemates came to check on me xD And those moments are missing in wow. everytime someone shows up in wow its more of a "who was that again?" or "ah ok cool"

God FF14 music is so good. Some of the music in the background still gives me chills just hearing it.

(XIV SPOILERS) It was so insanely brave of them to let Zodiark end the way he did, and it speaks volumes towards the confidence the writers had in knowing that they could make this work. It would have been so easy to infuriate everyone by letting them down so hard, yet they nimbly bypassed all of the potential pitfalls to make everyone love the story. I think what helped more than anything is that Zodiark had always been a faceless McGuffin though; since they never fully fleshed him out it also didn't bother anyone too much when he was cast aside so easily. It was a masterfully constructed twist.

something else btw, The Endsinger wasn’t even THAT out of left field. She’s not JUST a “Villain whose always been the real villain” . She’s another product of ascian hubris. I think everyone always thought that the end of the ancients would of come from ancient hubris. Unlike the jailer, who has nothing to do with anything from what i can tell lol

The Endsinger fits a perfectly Square peg that the writers left a long time ago. That's how they've always done their story structure - how to make things open-ended so that when they've finally figured out everything they need they can make sure that it doesn't contradict with what was established before. Zovaal on the other hand, tried to force his way into fitting inside the peg toy, ultimately ending up destroying both himself and everything that was already laid out before. I can't spell enough how much I hate that they tried to shoehorn the Jailer across the many events of not just WoW but also WC in order to make sure he was present since the beginning while absolutely giving ZERO hints. Nobbel TV has a good video named "Puzzle and Lore - FFXIV vs WoW"- you can skip to 3 mins, 30 seconds where he explains this analogy better than I ever could (Keep in mind that that video was made just after him seeing the "Henceforth, he shall walk" part so he was missing some key information that happens much later). Edit: Jesse's suggestion on how Shadowlands could have been handled was miles better than... whatever we got now. How many expansions do we need to wait before we return to the "Bigger threat than the Jailer" storyline? Do people even want to go back? Dragonflight so far is an amazing distraction but, like Sargeras' Sword, sooner or later we're gonna need to deal with whatever got the jailer so spooked. Hope the writers of WoW are up for the task.

Where Endsinger brings an arc to a satisfying conclusion, Jailer reveals that the arc is being dragged on even further. Good musings Jesse. I can only hope that one day we actually stop getting "but wait! there's an EVEN BIGGER BAD GUY THAT I WAS PROTECTING YOU FROM!" in Warcraft.

Just the fact that we, the Warrior of Light, have our own theme song is the most badass and emotionally powerful thing to be able to wield when telling a story. We heard the leitmotif at least once every expansion, but they sure saved the best for last.

I couldn't have said it better, FFXIV is about hope. Not for your character, but for us, the players. After all we've made it this far. As Raha said, "you stand where you stand by virtue of the road you walked to get here." EDIT: This was, at least, the message I got from the game as someone who has depression, anxiety, gender dysphoria, etc. The message felt like, the past has been rough, almost breaking at time, but we've made it this far, and that has to count for something, right? Another good quote is from Alisaie when she tells the Endsinger "No one is unbreakable, what pains one may weather, may bring another to tears. Therein lies our strength, when we fall, our brothers and sisters [and nonbinary siblings] are there to raise us up. Again and again. Without end." It's all a message for the player, one that suffering exists, but we're not alone, we don't have to be. It's a message more personal than anything WoW has done. You see bits of yourself in the experiences of the people you meet in FFXIV.

"Endsinger" just sounds cooler than "The Jailer."

The making it about you part, I hadn't even thought about. One of the first parts that hit me with happiness was the first time all the NPCs gatherer together to support you and all my job trainers were there. It made me so happy that the people who were important to me were there.

That scene where Shinryu talks to WoL before the Endsinger still gives me goosebumps.

Endwalker helped me confront my extreme nihilism and hatred of existence. Actually changed my life. I don't think I've ever cried so much in my life. The Shadowbringers + Endwalker wombo combo is a masterpiece

Jesse describing his variant of the Jailor actually gave my goosebumps. Fantastic stuff.

That was an absolutely beautiful dissection of the differences and the narrative beats running through both XIV and Warcraft.

Jesse spouting ideas about how to improve SL alone gives me more tears of awesome and feels than Blizzard could ever manage in one of their high quality cutscenes.

God the Zeno's part where you team up is still such an amazing part. I love rewatching it and watching other people go through all of Endwalker for the first time.

16:41 Never forget the dancing imperial soldier, always there to make you smile, even at the end of it all.

The true best-in-slot gear was the friends we made along the way.

Mind blown, Jesse puts so much work into these!

I cried when I watched the end of endwalker with you. And now I am crying again with you and your montage of dancing with the same friend throughout your travels! You pull at my heart strings so!

I come from ffxiv. Man.... I started crying just re-remembering Endwalker. There were so many details you pointed out that re-contextualized my feelings on everything I experienced irl and in the past 8+ years I played ffxiv. Venat's question from the moment she asked it still sits with me. "Has your journey been good? Has it been worthwhile?" .... Good video. 😭

A couple of weeks after I finished Endwalker, I got "Forge Ahead" with the Azem symbol tattooed on my inner wrist. That story moved me, and even this video still made me cry. Thank you for this!

It worked because m the endsinger isn’t a last minute shoe in. It was foreshadowed from the very first line of the game: “hear, feel, think”. Those three words Hydaelyn says are the antidote to the song of the end despair. That our suffering has meaning if we want it to. It’s the things the WoL and his companions feel for each other, the beauty they hear and the thoughts they think that validate their experiences in spite of all things ending. That’s why the ffxiv story is so powerful

Honestly, that bit when Zenos appears at the end really elevated him for me. I already liked him as a villian because sometimes I like having a villian who just wants to fuck shit up for no reason, no grand schemes or anything but just because he can and he is bored. But when he appears at the end, when all your friends have been (naturally) worried about you taking this thing on by yourself, he has such faith in your abilities he is just confused as to why it still lives. No doubt in his mind whatsoever that this thing would have a chance against you and no "hee hee hee you are distracted so now I will get you" type bullshit either.

I think the main difference between the Endsinger and Jailer is that they tried to give the jailer more importance by retroactively saying he was manipulating every major power that we've had until now. Endsinger affected the ascians, but she wasn't controlling the ascians. And no other villain was related to her in any way.

Endsinger doesn't even feel that out of nowhere to me because it was an answer to a question that was asked in Shadowbringers. And it finishes explaining the Ascian backstory we've had since the beginning.

The ending of Endwalker was just so well done that even now being reminded of it brings a tear to my eye, with the focus so heavy around the importance of the player, and yet giving every character that was important to us a part in the ending. World of Warcraft with nearly a decade of story on them and dozens of larger-than-life characters and it feels like they didn't take advantage of it nearly enough.

There is another VERY important reason on why the story turns of Endwalker work so well, on why fighting Zodiark at level 82 is an intriguing twist other than a disappointing waste of an opportunity, and it has to do with where the investment and interest of the player lies. I believe it is fair to say, that the average player of XIV has never really particularly -cared- about Zodiark, the entity. It was always a non-entity, at best a cool XII and Tactics reference, but it was never a storied character with whom the player has had any chance to develop any kind of emotional or narrative attachment, be it of appreciation or distaste, the way that Sylvanas undeniably was. The ASCIANS, however, over the course of Shadowbringers, very much became that. When people lavish praise upon XIV and Shadowbringers in particular, they talk about Amaurot, they talk about Emet-Selch, about Elidibus, they talk about all these characters and concepts that we have been able to spend time with and learn about and form an attachment to. And through that entire process, that hook is present, of the WHY Zodiark was created, of the tragedy it was meant to put a stop to, of the tragedy its existence caused, a compelling story of a people falling from Eden and turning from all-loving brothers and sisters nurturing their world in peace to shadowy monsters plotting to destroy everything. We have been told from a very early point in Shadowbringers, that from the villain's point, "there was a reason for all this. We have Motives. What we are doing is Right." Endwalker puts a stop to Zodiark very early on, but by that point the player's investment is no longer with Zodiark, the entity, if it had ever been. Zodiark himself is dispatched at level 82, but the story of the ascians, the ancients, of Amaurot, of those things we learned about and grew attached to, continues up until the very end of the expansion itself, until the very final boss battle. There is no break, no stark moment of "okay player, you think you care about this, nah, you should actually care about this OTHER thing", there is no "I can't wait to go beat up Sylvanas, wait, what do you mean she's actually just a pawn to this big villain, wait, what does he actually want? Why does he want it? What, there's an even BIGGER threat coming we're never told about? What?". Endwalker knows VERY well where the player's emotional attachment is likely to be during the course of its story, the parts of its plot that players are likely to feel hooked in, and knows to resolve all the plot points relating to it with a flourish and bow in a way that respects the parts of the plot that players feel investment in and resolves them to the end. Warcraft, in the meantime, keeps simply grabbing the player by the throat and trying to go "alright, direct your interest here. Now here. Now here. Oh, and by the way, this guy? He planned everything from since the days of Warcraft 1. Why? Don't ask question. Just be a good boy and love whatever we tell you to love."

I think it all boil down to the fact that the story of Endwalker respect your time and your investment into the storyline since AAR, while World of Warcraft was always extremely bad with that. Blizzard understood the fan service aspect of it, but it was always to bring x or y character as raid boss or to corrupt them or kill them of. It doesn't help that your character in WoW is more or less a spectator or a helper to other heroes or storyline where you don't have any agency. In FFXIV, you *are* the Warrior of Light and it's your friends and found family that are fighting by your side and you are never side stepped or made to feel like in the grand scheme of things you don't matter.

I remember doing Endsinger with my friend and thinking “oh, we lost…” but then the music kicks in and we got so much more hype from it. And to finish it all with that long awaited fight with our rival, beautiful.

What a hopeful video Jesse! You brought back the feels with just your synopsis of Endwalker and then got me to clench my fist and pump the air when you brought in anduin theme for your idea of a final boss, great stuff.

Great video and well done picking out just what it is that makes a game resonate with the players. Just seeing characters from the different jobs in cut scenes that have nothing to do with them gets me giddy in FF. It's just them walking in the background and me going "I KNOW THAT GUY!" to my friend who hasn't done the job is such a treat. It doesn't have to be big, they don't even have to have lines, just the fact that i have worked with them in the past and they are not forgotten by the writers, that they (the writers) acknowledge that i worked through leveling that class with them means more than it really should to me. Well done and thought out Jesse!

I remember fighting Endsinger for the first time and we got to phase 2 and like, I was drowning in emotion and music. I was tearing up and forgetting my rotations. I was like "F my rotations, you are going down!"

Such an excellent video and comparison break down! And I think Jesse you highlighted one of the reasons Endwalker as a whole resonated with me so deeply: it's a journey for the player. Having played this game for about 7 years now, seeing it all come together, all the people we've helped and inspired and befriended in that time, seeing *my* journey progress as well as our WoL's, was incredible and really packed an emotional punch. It's been almost cathartic for me, this expansion, learning to carry on despite it all, that there are people who still believe in you, was so powerful. It really felt like a massive love letter to the franchise, to the game and every expansion, and to us as the players as well. Beautifully done.

This is a fantastic video! Great work to everyone involved!

Jesse, thank you so much for this. I’ve had a strange and up and down journey during my life and while playing FFXIV, but this video and analysis reminded me of just now deeply Endwalker impacted me and reminded me of how despite it all, we can continue to have hope. and we are still here to tell our story. I’ve been away from 14 for a while because it brought me so much sadness, but I think I’m ready now to dive back in. you are incredible. thank you.

I love a good long form Jesse Video. Thanks for your hard work on this! This hit the nail on the head. Great editing too. I'm glad people are enjoying Dragonflight now and hope it succeeds. That said I'm hella hype for the FFXIV LL coming up!!

Endwalker still gives me goose bumps when revisiting it a year later.

This was such an excellent video, and I would actually love to see more videos comparing the villains of both games.

Even just watching this video and hearing you explain the stuff in FF14, I can feel that same feeling I had when I went to fight Endsinger and our theme song started up. It's already been a year, and that feeling still shows up every time I do that fight, or I hear that song. And I love it.

Amazing video Jesse. Never crossed my mind how similar Shadowlands and Endwalker were.

Any game that people can go and say "This is not the final boss... YOU are THEIR final boss!" gives me shivers of joy.

May this glorious video be the video that gets our boy Jesse to a million subs.

The Endsinger is what I feel is a last minute bigger bad done amazingly, not only tying her to what is effectively the entire story but also she was given the space she needed to be understood and connected by the player and to make this even worse looking for the jailer this was all done in a single patch cycle whereas the Jailer failed for the entire expansion. Edit: I just realized something, technically speaking Endsinger had half of the runtime of the start of Endwalker as the first half was dedicated more towards Zenos and Fandaniel with no mention of Endsinger. This in my opinion makes the jailer look even more like wasted time and space storywise.

This video that I have fully watched was engaging and wonderful! Keep up the good work I love you Jesse :D

M8 your description of how the last fight with the jailor could have been actually gave me goosebumps. Just imagining this, damn!

Was here for the stream upload, it was awesome!

one simple reason i feel it works in FFXIV and did not work in WOW is because FFXIV did not negatively retcon/destroy very well established lore and motives of beloved characters. WOW writers gives off the impression that they do not care about ANY of the characters in the game and they are willing to destroy them and kill them off just to move their narrative forward. the last 3 expansions in WOW just turned sylvanas from a brilliant strategic ranger general of silvermoon into yet another lunatic warmongering warchief of the horde. FFXIV writers on the other hand feel like they care about the characters in the game as much as we do and pour over all the established character development before they decide what to do to move the story forward. on top of this they give characters the respect they deserve and dont just kill them off screen, possibly worse actually, unceremoniously getting stabbed in a cutscene like a scrub, in some obscure side quest or their favorite make you read a book to find out. can you tell i'm salty about what they did to half the horde cast?

The only issue with what your version of Shadowlands ends is that you think Danuser actually knows how a story works

That was a great video Jessie, got me tearing up a bit at parts!!

12:05 that ost gets me all hype up and teary-eyed whenever I hear it. Love the vid Jesse!

Thanks for the quality content as always!

Fantastic work and great analysis!

20:10 Come to think of it, I just realized Garrosh and Zenos have some parallels themselves lol, that would've been a great sendoff for Garrosh.

Another fantastic comparison video! I was shopping and had to keep myself together as you were explaining then ending of 14

Nothing to this day has guaranteed goosebumps all up my arms more than Zenos' "So come, let us dispense of this distraction you and I!" That along with the Shinryu theme just hits so damn hard

Lil JC is just the cutest.

Your uber hype recounting of the themes of endwalker brought back all those emotions and I'm now sitting here sobbing. Well done

New Jesse lore video?! Let's goooooo!

To expand on this, by the time you were fighting Endsinger in FF14, you are emotionally drained at this point. Perhaps even tired from trying to binge through it. And the whole 2nd phase gave that motivation you needed to keep going. It's the element of 4th wall as a player that resonated with a lot of us that made that final battle near perfection.

Ironic that for the latest expansion that had heavier emphasis on souls and shit, Shadowlands was soulless. Not a FF guy, but when devs do cool shit like this, I just got to commend them for going ahead with it.

Zenos line about why is that thing still alive is so perfect it can't leave my mind

Why am I got the shivers hearing your story. Its like im reminiscing the story once more.

I think there's more to it than that. Endwalker had a message that we all needed by the end of 2021. How to hold on to hope in a hopeless world. Most of us are still a little scared of COVID and after world wide lockdowns, we were all a lil'bit lonely. Endwalker touches on all of this and the irony is that it was mostly written before the pandemic even started. Now, we've finished the story with messages of forgiveness and second chances and Dragonflight has started strong. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years of MMOs brings to the table.

I think another big difference is the scope, Jailer was presented as this uber evil pulling the strings of every single villain and evil deed throughout the entire history of WoW. Suddenly Arthas wasn't a badass doing the 'necessary evil' that lost his way, now he's just a weak minded understudy being puppeted by the REAL villain to the point his soul itself had to be destroyed because the Jailer wore him like a jacket. Sylvanus has been doing a lot of evil morally dubious shit and is actively getting worse and worse but we've been told it's for a greater good... OOPS turns out she was just mentally handicapped and got used by the Jailer. Sargeras the Mad Titan turned to destruction and mayhem because he was told the eldritch truth of the Void Lords and their nightmarish evil by the Nathrezim, except, in a plot twist no one expected, the Nathrezim are under the control of the Jailer's buddy, WHAT A COINCIDENCE! That is to say if you can think of a villain and their motivations chances are it's really the Jailer's fault and he himself is an idiot being controlled by his fear of an unknown ultimate evil that is probably the Void Lords... It cheapens everyone involved, even the Jailer is rendered a joke the plot and he was supposed to be the culmination of everything. Endsinger on the other hand wasn't controlling anyone, she was a naïve hopeless creature sent on an impossible task by a depressed God and in turn found despair and sorrow. She may have wiped out countless worlds and ended the Ancients but she wasn't in the shadows guiding Emet-Selch to commit war crimes in the hopes of getting his loved ones back. She never whispered sweet nothings into Zenos' ear to drive him insane, she never toyed with Bahamut's endless rage to destroy the world, she literally has nothing to do with the vast majority of the storyline beyond being a catalyst. No one is cheapened, it adds depth to what we already knew, villains aren't puppets, they had their own motives and reasons even if we disagreed with them and ultimately it's the culmination of more than 10 years in the making. That's a much more fundamental problem...

I love this almost discussion/deep dive into topics I hope you do more

Actually got goose bumps hearing Jesse describe the redone finale for Shadowbringers.

Hey Jesse I know you probably won't see this but I've been watching your stuff since the OMFGCata days (when I was a literal child) and just wanted to say I think this is my favorite video of yours. Clearly you have so much love for both of these franchises and you can just feel the emotion coming through as you talk. As a long time WoW player (still call myself a Wrath Baby) I totally felt what you said about WoWs story and I think you may have Finally gotten me to try out FF14. Seeing how your rival comes in and just understands and appreciates how strong you really are and is like "let's take this fool out together so I can have another go at you" is such good story telling I was feeling the emotional weight of it despite knowing basically nothing about FF14. All of that to say, keep on doing great Mr. Cox!

Our song of hope, she dances on the wind. Higher, O Higher.

I can tell how excited you were to talk about it and how you were flailing yourself doing it because at like the 10 minute mark I felt you move around the mic in my ears

The Jailer was a mastermind who got retconnected into being relevant. The Endsinger is an explanation to the whys of the problems we have facing since Venat sundered the world, let alone the rest of the game. Better yet, it is pretty signaled that Meteon and her sisters found a manifestation of the void at the very edge of the universe and that contact changed them somewhat, basically dynamis (who we have been playing with since Limit Breaks were introduced in game, we just didn't know the name of it yet). Meaning that yes, Endsinger was a problem that we knew little about, but not only it connects to every nook and cranny of the conflict, it also hints that we just put out a fire, versus eliminating the 'evil' at the end. Which, by Endwalker's ending, is also hinted at as a natural force of reality itself. Nothing one can do to stop the heat death of the universe. All the Endsinger was doing was accelerating it. To say "FF14 made the mysterious villain work' is a bit silly considering the Endsinger is but one aspect of the story, one that moves its themes to its conclusion. We could've ended the story with Shadowbringers and in my opinion, we wouldn't miss much 'story wise' because the reasons to WHY the Ancients did what they did, from our perspective, were of not importance. But WHAT they did and how to properly combat their world view is where the main conflict lingers. I won't deny that Endsinger enhanced the story, but I legit feel it was merely a punctuation to a well constructed plot.

part of the problem i found with the Jailer was also they retconned the whole story before, while with the endsinger, they did a small retcon. Edit; also keep in mind; the only person that actually knew of Endsinger was Hydaelyn(and also the WoL too but not till after you see it happen), and Zodiark was still a danger because he was a primal out to destroy. part of what made Zenos good too was in EW, he wanted to fight you so bad, he tried several time but he knew he couldn't get that fight he wanted, even taking the remaining power of Zodiark, you would not give him what he wanted. he wanted to fight at your absolute Peak.

Amazing. Video. And i was there all the way through enwalker streams. What a ride.

That no matter how far your journey may take you, you stand where you stand by virtue of the road you walked to get there.

It’s actually great to see so many people not feuding over these two games but enjoying the heck out of both.

What a wonderful video. Such a good job.

Thing is they also managed to make me care about Meteon, because despite becoming the Endsinger, she's also just an innocent child that just didn't know any better. I wasn't just trying to beat her to save the world, i was trying to save her too. And i was so happy to see her after the whole Zenos fight was finally over.

This was a wonderful video, and I agree with you 100% Thank you for putting into words, in a video to an audience, what I have thought for years.

Thanks to you I just realized that Endsinger Phase 2 is the most literal definition of "Wait, why do I hear boss music?" XD