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He's not commenting on your time in Elpis, if that's what you're thinking. Since he's not aware of you being there. Especially since he's also talking about Amaurot, and we were never there during Elpis. So the only thing he could be talking about is us being sundered. Hythlodaeus' shade in Amaurot makes it apparent that while they have the same skill, Emet's isn't as keen as his, so Emet cannot tell we are Azem until we get another rejoining from Ardbert. Ergo, he's just assuming we're a sundered who can't remember the glory of Amaurot. Which makes sense even in present context. If you are attempting to derive further meaning with additional context, you are mistaken. It's impossible.
@@svengermc.spazzy2352hey likely had a storyboard completed a long time ago likely going back all the way to stormblood. The major characters like him were carved into stone lol
He killed his best friend 7 times in the Calamities. His heart broke every time. His heart broke when he lost Hythlodaeus to the sacrifices made to summon Zodiark. He lost everything he held dear. Not to mention Venat becoming Hydaelyn and sundering the world, an esteemed colleague who he also once cherished dearly, that betrayal also sundered his heart. He was a broken man with a broken dream trying to fix a broken world to mend his broken heart and put back together the broken soul of his friend as part of repairing his broken life.
This was the scene that sold me on Emet-Selch. He lets that mask of 'oh I'm a goofy spooky ghost man look at me being a silly' drop, and he bears his heart to you.
He's easily one of the most sympathetic villains in media. I recently realized that the story in Shadowbringers reveals that the Ascian's story can be considered a zombie survival story - where we are the zombies. Emet basically plays the role of Will Smith in the movie I Am Legend: the last survivor of humanity after a plague ravages the population and leaves the survivors changed into mostly feral beings, only coming out at night to hunt and war amongst each other in the ruins of civilization. And he tries to save them - kidnapping the changed in an effort to create a cure during the day when they're hiding and fending off the hordes that come for his flesh during the night. But at the end he realizes that he has become a monster in the eyes of this new form of humanity, a monstrous being who is a relic of the past, wielding ancient technology none today could even begin to understand, one who walks in the day, stealing children and wives and loved ones from their homes, never to return. That the hordes that swarmed his home night after night weren't mindless ravenous beasts hungering for human flesh, but desperate husbands and wives, banding together with their communities in an attempt to save their loved ones from a monster. Not a great movie, but an awesome twist on the zombie outbreak story that Shadowbringers did much better.
Between Emet-Selch and Ardbert, and even G'raha Tia to an extent, we got some really great characters this expansion. (I know Ardbert is technically from Heavensward, but he's expanded on so much here)
Yea, he was more of a side character in HW, really glad they expanded on him so much tho.... They really went all out on ShB, makes you wonder how, or even if they are able to still top that in 6.0
@@Rin_The_Pianist hopefully we'll see a little more of this side with Elidibus. My prediction is that WoL and the Ascians will eventually work together to take out Zenos, but that's just a theory.
@@Rin_The_Pianist "Makes you wonder how, or even if they are able to still top that in 6.0" Better buckle up, because you're definitely in for the ride of your life when you get to Endwalker, and that is all I'll say about that (other than the fact that EW MSQ was the most I've cried since my mom passed away 4 years ago).
Imo, he did get a happy ending. He was finally granted the wish he's been wishing for. To pass the stars to a new shepard so the Ascians could live on peacefully without a burden to carry.
His sadness makes me wanna hug him and tell him I am sorry for all the terrible things that happened to him. Our goals can never align but he still deserves to be told that his pain is acknowledged.
i never thought they would make an ascian likeable, but i really liked emet-selch at the end, and everything he said was true, whenever exposing what the source and all the other worlds actually were, the nature of man, and that he truly wanted his world to come back no one is evil purely without reason, and he's right, any one of us would do the same given the same circumstances he was in, and even then you can argue he had compassion for us when bringing back yshtola, who couldve easily de-railed his plans denying us from absorbing more light from the wardens, but it was unavoidable that his time and his people were done, and that even with sacrifices to zodiark their end was coming one way or another, and it was our time to live so far he's the best antagonist in the series, and elidibus is going to have to really pull a miracle off to take that spot
@@BHFFS He's not a villain. He's an anti-hero, and antagonistic to the player, but not a villain. For true villains you want those who don't get redemptions arcs like Sephiroth, or Kefka.
Emet-Selch is maybe the most likable misanthrope ever in gaming. I adored this cranky man even before the denouement of ShB... he has so much character -- it was obvious to me from the moment he started talking about how things were in the distant past. As someone else said in comments below, he is _very_ relatable once you realize the nature of his character and why he is copping the particular attitudes he does.
* HEAVY SHADOWBRINGER SPOILERS * Argh, Emet-Selch (Hades) is such a good Tragic Hero!! Everything he did, he did for a reason. 1) Emet-Selch never once lied. He was very upfront and honest about everything from the beginning including who he is, about the Ascians and their goals and objectives, about Zodiark and Hydaelyn, about The Source, and about Amaurot. He didn't necessarily go out of his way to try and deceive or hide things you (the player) or the Scions either. 2) Emet-Selch “said what he meant and meant what he said.” “While it is liable to be troublesome, I have settled upon a different approach. Cooperation!” He would in no way interfere with you (the player) or the Scion’s efforts to rid The First of the Light Warden’s. In fact, if you so desired it, Emet-Selch would even lend you his knowledge and strength. “Just once…might we not seek to find common ground?” “This time, I thought I might instead try to see eye to eye. To understand what drives the hero of The Source. To determine if our goals are truly incompatible.” 3) Emet-Selch opened up to you and admitted to you (the player) at the elevator ladder in Kholusia that perhaps his methods of conquering nations, in creating and ruling the Garlean Empire with an Iron Fist, and that causing calamity’s weren’t the only way to bring about peace or the rejoining. That for the longest time, he believed that that was the only way. But after meeting you and seeing first hand your accomplishments, perhaps it was possible that there was another way. Emet-selch then revealed to the player a very human side of him in a significant cut scene where he says: “Ahh, the vibrant energy that fills the air when like-minded souls gather. To think back on that time before time fair brings a tear to my eye.” “What? You thought ancient beings like us incapable of crying?” “Well, rest assured that if your heart can be broken, then so can mine!” "Back when the world was whole, we had family, friends, loves…Men knew peace and contentment, and with our adamant souls, we could live for an age.” “There was no conflict born of want or disparity. Our differences paled in insignificance next all that we had in common.” “And then there was Amaurot…Never was a city more magnificent. From the humblest streets to the highest spires, she fairly gleamed.” “…not that you would remember any of this.” “The point is: the world of old was a far better place than what we have now. I believe you would like it, having witnessed the things you have.” 4) If Emet-Selch's plan all along was to simply bring about the rejoining at all costs, then he should have killed you and the Scions while he had the chance to do so (and there were numerous chances). Especially while you (the player) were down and struggling w/ becoming/turning into a Light Warden after the downfall of Vauthry in The Crown of the Immaculate Trial. It would have made things easier for him and the other Ascians. But he didn't. 5) Emet-Selch saved Y'shtola (Master Matoya) who would have been lost to the aetherial currents. He went out of his way to rescue her (and even recreate all of her gear) after your scuffle with Ran’jit in the Rak’tika Greatwood. 6) The Crystal Exarch's (G’raha Tia's) end game was to sacrifice himself by absorbing all the light from the Light Warden's within you (the player) and then teleport himself to an isolated dimension, thus saving you, but killing himself (Win/Lose). Emet-Selch actually spared The Crystal Exarch's life by interrupting his ritual. By capturing The Crystal Exarch, Emet-Selch gave you (the player) a reason to follow him into the Tempest and learn about the Ascians (the people/race) and Amaurot (even though he also wanted to learn how The Crystal Exarch was able to transport beings through time and space). Hell, he even gave you (the player) special permissions in his recreated Amaurot. 7) Emet-Selch deeply loved and cared for his home, his people, and his friends. He recreated the original Amaurot in the ruins of Amaurot on The First in part to preserve the city and the people he loved from his memories, but also in order to educate you (the player). As Emet-Selch has explained on numerous occasions, “The gulf between us is a reflection of the disparity between the world as it was and what it has become.” Emet-Selch and the Ascians DON’T hate anyone or view anyone as evil or wrong. They view their existence as the resulting mistakes between the battle of Hydaelyn and Zodiark that sundered The Source. They are, at least in Emet-Selch's eyes, incomplete beings who are hollow shadows of their former selves that or ignorant and blind to the truth. They are merely one small fragment or piece of the larger picture. “For we who have known perfection, the shattered source, and these shards are ghastly mockeries of the true world.” “The ephemeral lives you exalt are pale imitations.” Alphinaud was incorrect in his assumption that Emet-Selch was lying or was trying to insult them with this information. 8) Emet-Selch had an inkling that you were also a fellow Ascian. At the very least, he knew “you were of The Source. Unlike the half-men of The First, you (the player) stand only to gain.” Stating that “should you survive the remaining calamities, you will become our equal. A complete existence in a complete world.” Emet-Selch also already knew that you (the player) would eventually end up vanquishing him. However, he had to make sure that you were worthy to take up the mantle in his stead as the new stewards of the star (explained later). Thus, he went out of his way, expending a significant amount of aetherial energy, to recreate/reconstruct not only the city of Amaurot, but the dungeons Akadaemia Anyder and Amaurot, and the Trail The Dying Gasp. All of which was in order to test and educate you (the player) on the history and plight of his home and his people. (after Emet-Selch is defeated in the Dying Gasp, the player finds themselves outside on a platform in the ruins of Amaurot (with his illusion/recreation completely dispelled). Emet-Selch knew that you (the player) were capable of significantly more than what you were struggling with and verbally told you numerous times how disappointed he was in you over such menial/trivial things. Which is why Emet-Selch kept pushing you repeatedly (like a father). He kept telling you how he had such high hopes for you and that he was disappointed in the current you (knowing what you COULD do and what you could become). He even hinted at it with the line: “your performance was underwhelming and I remain unconvinced of your worthiness.” Leading to one of the most revealing and heart-wrenching moments when Emet-Selch breaks down emotionally in the Capital at Amaurot and says to the player “Look at me! I have lived a thousand, thousand, lives. I have broken bread with you. Fought with you. Grown Ill, grown old, sired children; and yes, welcomed death’s sweet embrace.” And then reveals to the player his true intentions and goal - to find someone worthy of inheriting his legacy, the Ascians legacy, and serve as the NEW stewards and caretakers of The Source for which the Ascians were originally charged. “For eons I have measured your worth and found you wanting. Too weak and feeble-minded to serve as stewards of any star! Have you not learned that your ignorance and frailty beget only misery?” “How long do you mean to perpetuate this farce? How much more must I endure your bumbling interference?” (Aka, stop preventing dad from doing his duty of restoring the Star). And then, Emet-Selch speaks to you (the player) and the Scions as a father would to his child and asks them, who question his methods, “Let us imagine that the laws of reality are again undone (as shown in the Dungeon of Amaurot), and the world faces true annihilation (again). Do you honestly believe that even half your number would sacrifice themselves to save the other (as my people/my generation did before you)?” “Of course they wouldn’t! “And if you have witnessed history unfold as I have, you would reach the same conclusion (that this must be the only way).” And in a very disappointed and dejected father kind of way, Emet-Selch reaches the conclusion that “You cannot be entrusted with our legacy.” “I will bring back our brethren. Our friends. Our loved ones. The world belongs to us and us alone” (as Emet-Selch believes he and the other Ascians are the only ones who have the power, knowledge, and foresight to do so). 9) After battling with you and seeing a shard of another WoL/WoD/Ascian (Ardbert) rejoining with you (the player ...aka a piece of your former self) in The Dying Gasp, Emet-Selch finally accepts that you are an Ascian and are worthy of being capable stewards of the star. However, not before Emet-Selch finishes one last task… Once defeated, the player suddenly appears on a platform outside in the ruins of Amaurot with Emet-Selchs recreated illusions dispelled. Emet-Selch says to the player with his dying breath: "Remember…Remember us…" “Remember…that we once lived…” before he gives the player a somber smile as if to say: “Thank you” and “Come now, don’t give me that look. The rest I leave to you, hero” before he died. 10) To follow up the points above, Emet-Selch saved not only the Crystal Exarch's life, but yours (the players), the Scions, and many others as well. All the while helping to educate you, empower/strengthen you, and helping you regain a piece of our former self. He knew that by battling him in an all-out battle of Light vs Darkness, that the corrupted light aether in you would be expended and your aether would return to equilibrium. He died entrusting you with his/the Ascian’s legacy. A true Architect unto the very end.
"Everybody is the hero of their own story." I'd like to think that's what SE was going for with Shadowbringers. The parallels of the WoD being good, light being evil....trying to find the moral grey area between everything. Is Eulmore good for accepting it's fate and trying to find a modicum of comfort til the end, or is the Crystarium right, throwing bodies into the pyre against a foe that can corrupt them into a horrid fate regardless? From ARR, to Heavensward, to Stormblood....we've marched on inextricably toward our own goals, thinking that since we were a chosen of the light, that we were "the good guys". I like Shadowbringers because it reminds us that we are easily corruptible and manipulated, and that our ideal of a greater good may always inextricably lead to the downfall of others. That darkness isn't evil for evil's sake, it's just the opposite perspective on the aetheric compass. Just as light must exist, so too must darkness, just as much as anything else. And then you realize you're all the same. Light, Dark, Ice, Water, Lightning, Fire, Earth, Wind. They're all elements. The Ascians, Garleans, Eorzeans.....they're all living entities, struggling to fight for a common goal, but each with their own perspective on how to achieve it. The beastmen aren't any different, just more desperate to employ a means of shifting power to allow them to live without adventurers kicking over their home and stabbing them in the chest. I think that's what's always kept me interested in the game, even in a passing sense. It's just really nice to be involved in the worldbuilding as a character. Better is that I was a White Mage to start and a Warrior since, and...well, both really hit home in Shadowbringers. I hit the jackpot in personal character motivations.
Regarding #8: apparently the English localization was very vague on this and the original Japanese was explicit. Emet-Selch knows exactly who your soul used to belong to back in the original world. In Japanese, he was shocked by the appearance of your Ancient form since he couldn't believe your original self had suddenly appeared. He dismisses it when you go back to normal because you are still sundered and still a failure. Hythlodaeus (the 'sentient' shade) even says you are someone Emet is/was attached to and that line was completely cut in English.
This moment certainly has more weight knowing what lays beyond. I can't help but like Emet despite myself and despite what he stands for. Thank you for uploading it.
Hes like the best character made in 14 or even final fantasy as a whole, i really wonder how they are gonna top him with a new expansion/story to come i just dont see it happening.
I don’t think we need to top him. Just the story as a whole is top quality then it’s fine. The game is about the big picture of the game universe not solely focusing on an antagonist too much like Lich King in WoW?
@@tuck295q we don't need to top him but its weird they brought Zenos back - especially with how he exited. and we are supposed to be afraid of someone we already beat?
@@saturatedwithsound Since Zenos has controlled a primal before and has a version of the echo I shudder to think what may happen now that he knows the truth about the past and now that he knows Zodiark exists. Here's to hoping he eventually becomes as interesting as his great grandpappy.
saturatedwithsound yeah that was dumb i already didnt like zenos after he pulled a uchiha eye ball controlling something like the nine tails in naruto plus he rage quitted himself off lol so im like why bring this clown back after making him suicide i dont get it
That moment when he looks back to ask his question before leaving was the first moment his smile felt geninune instead of fake or sinister. That moment I had the thought that back in the day before the sundering we were probably good friends. It was that moment I felt maybe he wasn’t as bad as I thought
I felt that too, that we were friends. Emet-Selch said he would never lie to us and that line felt personal, so deeply personal. And after Endwalker, re-watching this...it hits harder, deeper. He knows who your soul is, and that is why he wants to be open and honest with you. He was always honest with his friends, and its even mentioned that should s/he call, he(Emet) always answers (possibly with a spring in his step). Emet was our friend, or maybe even our lover. I love how when he says this, he's looking away, into the distant past when he recalls 'us' but for everything else he looks at us. But at this distinct moment, he can't bear to look at us, lest he reveal too much.
It's incredible how the context of all of Emet's scenes in this expansion get turned on their head in Endwalker. He wasn't trying to get you understand him, he was trying to get you to *remember* him.
**BIG SPOILERS** Me just before I fought him: oooh it’s the last boss I can’t wait! It will be so epic! Me after I fought him: what have I done....He just wanted a friend....
I was not sold on FF14 untill Shadowbringers. Both that expantion and Endwalker have blown my mind. Yoshida and team have done a dam good job. Best MMO story i have had the pleasure to go through so far imo.
Here's the thing about this scene. It's one of those that you revisit and suddenly see it in a different light. Is this a cry for help? An attempt to reach out? But then, it also is subtly manipulative. Hinting that if we wanted, we could obtain immortality as a little carrot, though I doubt he expects us to grab it. But moreover, he clearly is trying to push us away from the Exarch. We know he doesn't quite know the Exarch's plan. And he understands how strong G'raha is. And I also think as the expansion wears on, he regularly sees his old friend in us. Hence, even though he doesn't see us as complete, we are close enough that he is clearly hurting. It's a complex scene. Just like the man who stars in it.
"Do you know the most reliable way to deal with those who stubbornly refuse to see reason? You conquer them - crush them under heel, but conquest is the easy part. The true challenge begins once the dust is settled. , Quenching the glowing embers of animosity and maintaining a semblance of peace. This requires the conqueror to treat the conquered with dignity, and the conquered to let bygones be bygones. A difficult feat to achieve." Def one of my fave speeches in all of ff14. it's strange to think he's not only describing alag or the empire and their apparent need to conquer eorzea, but also us. how many times have we turned enemies into allies just because we won but never held a grudge and instead offered redemption and a way to rebuild with us. Gaius, Nero, the Dragons, the warriors of darkness, Eulmore, the remains of the Empire and Meteion. top tier among all FF games not just ff14.
The best part of Shadowbringers and why it's still king is the personal conversations you had, all the times you existed for yourself and not the story at large.
Thank you for posting this. Having finished the MSQ, it's been interesting going back and finding some of the hints dropped about this particular metaplot. Like, forever ago Nabriales said that Elidibus and Lahabrea were "of this world" so they would have no issue getting into the Scion HQ, but he was only able to because the WoL didn't have the Blessing of Light at that point. Now we know why there's a difference between them. Also damn, Emet-Selch has easily become of of the best tragic villains I've ever met in media.
@@MrDarkwizard22 No, no i finished the MSQ pretty early, tho i got spoiled from another youtube videos Thumbnail....you know people that post boss themes with the boss name and the design in the thumbnail like 2 days after early access.
@@Rin_The_Pianist they actually do that bcs they could risk getting copyrighted by SE but yeah, people posting the boss faces AND THEIR NAME IN THE TITLE were dicks, disgusting scums!
This is what makes Emet Selch such a great villain. He opens up to you, genuinely believing that you might see things his way. He arguably tries to level with you because he sees that you both want the same thing: a better. happier world. In a way, his trust was critical in the adventures to come.
Coming back here while on Lvl 90 MSQ. I couldn’t connect with Emet well in ShB, even in this scene, even though he plainly pointed here that the Ancients were people like them sundered beings, except their world was perfect. Now in EW… (Spoilers) My stint at Elpis finally made me happy to have Hades not only as a good ally, but also a good friend.
"the world of old was a far better place than what we have now. I belive you would like it" It's interesting, because after Endwalker, we know now that as a society they had a very...utilitarian view of life, one which we know not every person in their society shared, and one which at least one person who bore the the title of Azem didnt agree with
Honestly, as strange as it may sound, Emet in this scene (and many other mid-ShB ones but esp here) plays a lot like what I've seen of people who are family members of people with Dementia/Alzheimer's. Interacting with someone who they know and care for deeply, but who has no idea who they are or their mutual connection. So they try to be helpful, patient and not to spook the afflicted, but every once in a while they can't help but probe a bit and see if that spark is still there, of the person they knew and loved. I seriously doubt it was intentional, but the parallels are there. Spoken from personal experience.
I also love the idea that each rejoining has made the souls of the source more complete and closer to their ancient origins, to this point, where youre finally strong enough to stand up to the ascians. And right before you fall, Ardbert, your shard of original soul merges with you, bringing you closer to the ancients than any mortal after the sundering and giving you the strength to not only stand against them, but win
Feels weird to realize how deep in his nostalgia he was at 2:41 Not everyone prior to the split was happy. I doubt Hermes was the only one who felt different. And what did it matter if you could live forever if you were pressured into resigning your life after your "greatest works were complete."
Same lol The WoL was even thinking about it too. I think if he had said more, or said that we were an ancient in a past life before getting sundered instead of saying "nevermind, that's a story for later" I think it would have been a serious persuasion deal. (But of course the story would remain the same. It's not like the WoL would change sides so suddenly lol) I just think they wanted to hint at us being an ancient before later updates to the story
Emet: "Well, rest assured that if your heart can be broken, then so can mine!" Me: Mate...yours is broken...its been broken for ages and its still breaking...im sorry for breaking it more
I will never admit it to my friends... but I LOVED Emet-Selch. Hated him for an age, but he weasels into you, to the point his sassiness is welcome in the dreariness that is the First.
And when he was truly defeated, in that ocean of fire and starlight, he simply asked to be remembered. For you to remember all of them, and that they lived.
"Men could live for an Age, There was no conflict born of want or disparity. Our differences paled into insignificance next to all we had in common." Uhhh you sure about that Emet-Selch?
he became my "husbando" and the man i simp for in the game as soon as he had entered. my heart only grew stronger as we saw more of his character unfold. then EW happened......... what one hell of a rollercoaster
It is wonderful when we as humans come together when we can look at the entities that surround us and treat them as valued and treasured as our dearest friends and family best of all when we accomplish tasks so monumental no one of us can achieve it alone but together create a force of such might and will that the deapest ocean the highest mountain or even the farthest star is no challenge to us. Perhaps someday we'll have something similar to what emmet-selch dreamed of Wouldn't that be something?
I just recently learned they have names for trial things for some content to avoid spoilers a couple weeks ago and I thought that was neat. Anyways I hope everyone is enjoying the game.
This scene made me laugh the first time I watched it, because I couldn't see the dude on the right gearwheel cover without thinking "Everyone's here working, and this guy's just here making noise." xD
Geez after seat of sacrifice I came back to check. I thought the dude that brought us back was hythlodaeus or Axel. Nope. That wave is Emets. What do ya know...
