Terra Isn't Dumb | Kingdom Hearts Character Analysis 

Don't worry! Undertale/Deltarune content isn't going anywhere- I just wanna branch out and give some of my other fandoms love on occasion. :) Wanna see more KH content? Lemme know what sorta topics you'd like me to cover! Don't forget to visit my Patreon if you wanna support what I do: patreon.com/dorked If you wanna check out my Kingdom Hearts fics, I have two main projects, Antipode: archiveofourown.org/series/18376 and Hurricane Heartbeat: archiveofourown.org/series/1607731 Hurricane is on hold while I rework the plans for the sequel, and Antipode is ongoing (though the first fic will eventually be remastered). I also do an Undertale webcomic at invertedfate.com/chapters If you missed my latest video, check it out here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-bc6E7bQg3HA.html

have i played kingdom hearts? no. do i have a disturbing amount of knowledge on the franchise regardless? yes. did i enjoy this video no matter what? also yes.

"Hades! You WERE just playing me!" That wasn't surprise in Terra's voice, it was confirmation. He was suspicious of Hades from the beginning but couldn't be certain until that moment.

Dark road explains a lot about why Eraqus makes the mistakes he does, but it’s his lack of faith in Terra that destroys their family. When Terra expressed darkness during the exam he immediately suppresses it he made the right choice. Eraqus fails him out of fear and his own phobia’s because of Balder. His actions in sending Aqua to spy on Terra served only to alienate Ventus and Terra. The next saga of games should show the bbs trio growing beyond their masters teachings. The three friends mastering the darkness that afflicts them.

I really liked that you mention Terra empathy and emotional maturity. I really love that one scene when Cinderella talks about her dreams and Terra is just so invested in helping her. Terra have high awareness about emotions, and in the series, light and darkness, that makes the two draw to him, and that's why during his journey Xehanort and Eraqus tries so much to influence him. During Terra adventures Terra is not just falling into darkness, he's experiencing the conflict between light and darkness I also like to metion something about the "setting" with the Birth by Sleep cast. They show in the clothes and fighting style more a samurai inspiration. I may not know the full picture, but I see that in a lot of East stories the classic villain is someone manipulative that uses compliments and small talk to get control, while in the West they're more direct and lie outright, so when in the start Xehanort start influencing Terra, it's not to show that Terra is "dumb" but that Xehanort is being evil and Terra is falling into some tragedy. Meanwhile, when Eraqus tries to kill later Ven, it's more of a surprise, showing that even the more serious, demanding master that is usually the "ideal" teacher, has also failed Terra. Eraqus expected to Terra just surpass the Darkness, and didn't understand how to guide his students into a better way of dealing with it, and the BBS trio suffered for that, but even then Terra still kept on as the Lingering Will. If the intention was just "Terra is dumb. Look how dumb he's" he would just had fallen into Darkness with no resisting or persistence against the wrong doings he sees, but instead he fights the Darkness, trying to find the best way to do, and in that confusion someone more experienced like Xehanort manipulates him, and even after that Terra continued. He's a traffic hero by every definition I can see (Sorry if that was big or confusing XD) For more KH ideas for videos, you mentioned about Eraqus and Xehanort during Dark Road and I don't see a lot of people talking about ways or how these two characters have changed so much from their younger to older selfs, nor the traits they had since young and that only got worse as time has gone, but this is just a idea. The Replica Riku seems interesting too. Great video, and you expressed well into words what I felt was the intention of Terra journey, thanks

When Eraqus said Terra was obsessed with obtaining power, he was 100% just thinking of how much Terra worked out to get that sick set of side abs.

Thank you for mentioning Aqua's role in pushing Terra away and her willingness to attack people she hasn't even met yet. People act like she's this perfect soft mother figure but she functions very much as an echo of Eraqus' voice for much of Terra's arc

I would love to see a video on Yen Sid’s inactivity. He passively has allowed a lot of horrible things to occur, despite having the ability to do something. He’s the representation of “the good man doing nothing.”

I'm glad to see you able to branch out to more fandoms, like Kingdom Hearts. The way Terra is flanderized to be this bumbling fool in the Fandom feels like an injustice to his character. I also like how he's characterized in Antipode, for instance.

An excellent analysis! Terra is honestly one of my favorite characters in the franchise and I've always been firmly of the opinion that he's not stupid even a little bit. He's a TEENAGER being emotionally manipulated and abused by the adult authority figures he should be able to rely on and trust. Eraqus says it outright at the end of KH3, apologizing for failing the Wayfinder Trio and trusting TERRA with looking after Aqua and Ven.

Terra is my favorite character in the entire series. He's not dumb, but he does come across as naive at times. I jokingly refer to him as that one home schooled kid who finally gets to go to college. Also, glad you pointed out Aqua's most infuriating flaw, that no one else ever seems to talk about. The fact that she took the words of an obvious villainess, over someone who is practically her brother and has supposedly known most of if not her entire life, about an incident. Hell, she never even asked Terra, "So, what happened?' Terra: "I was being mind control."

Absolutely amazing essay, on both Terra but also bbs as a whole too. Can't even choose what I like more, the acknowledgement of Terra being a sweet clever gold hearted sweetie, giving more light to aqua's main flaws who are not talked about enough around which make her more interesting, and the supreme smackdown on all the mentors, ESPECIALLY yen sid, who btw should also get all the "hate" that Mickey gets from fans and antiaqua lol (even if making fun of the rat is always funny) on top of what yen Sid does to Sora. Generational trauma and mentors and adults being absolute failures may as well be kh's subtitle, it's a super interesting topic to me. Would be great for a video topic too I think! I think the only real nitpick I would have to mention about the essay is whenever the topic of terra's own darkness came up, you tried to deflect and justify it by using it as being like artificially implanted at the beginning or maleficent, which I don't think that's the case. It was simply terra's normal natural and healthy darkness coming out to the surface in the match with aqua, since he was almost hit to the face by her and he most likely felt a pang of likely involuntary fear, jealousy and wish he could be strong enough to match or beat aqua and become a master, which are pretty reasonable emotions to feel at that moment. On top of this, the thing of "Terra being greedy for power" is pretty sure meant to imply that Terra wants to be strong to protect the people he cares about, which as a desire can be darkness, like how he gets all darkness-powered when protecting ven and it's not evil on its own, but eraqus' speech on the topic, which is overly exaggerated and biased, gaslights him into thinking this desire of his is wrong and evil. This is made clear when this disposition of Terra gets paralleled with riku's desire for strength to protect the things that matter later on, which Terra also realizes at the point. Gosh what I wouldn't give for naminè and Riku to just get everyone together to explain (especially Sora needed it the most) that light and darkness are supposed to be used together and neither should be demonized. But that would not allow the characters to reach that on their own, so thats fine ahaha About possible topics, I personally would love something about Riku and Sora, either by themselves or together, since there are nowhere near enough analysis on them, even if they are who the series is about, but that may be kind of extremely long and complicated since that's kind of the whole series, so the mentor thing may be better. But I do have a question for you! Since you went through mainly bbs in here, have you read or know about the backstory and actual motivation the bbs novel gave Vanitas? Which kh3 and dark road have heavily implied to be Canon, which makes sense since the novels are written by the cowriter of days and the kh3 profiles and more.

The Wayfinder trio were not dumb Xehanort just took advantage of everyone’s vulnerability to have the events play out the way they did.

Rage Awakened continues to hit different regardless of context. Excellent video, I enjoy the defense of Terra. My boy gets too many unjustified accusations, and Aqua gets too much of a free pass for her own character flaws. I love both of them dearly, but discussion about the two often doesn't feel like it's in good faith. By all accounts I want all of the videos you mentioned, but I'm especially interested in that Riku Replica video. The utter indifference towards his entire existence within the fandom is frankly depressing, and I'd love to hear more appreciation of his individuality, how significant he was towards Riku's arc, the narrative themes he introduced to the franchise, etc. The boy did so much for this series, yet people like to pretend he doesn't even exist. Full bias, though, if I may make a suggestion, I'd really like some analysis of Ansem Seeker of Darkness, personally. I don't really know what on specifically, but I feel like he tends to get overshadowed by the other Xehanort incarnations, when there's still plenty to analyze about him as an individual that tends to go unacknowledged.

This is now my favorite video about Terra! I love how thorough you were in detailing Terra's ACTUAL actions and mindset in regard to Disney villains and Xehanort. As well as his insecurities from his exam failure and being "othered" by Aqua (and by order of Eraqus). Eraqus taught his students that Darkness is the enemy and should be feared, hated, and destroyed. If Terra has darkness in his heart, to the point where he failed his exam because of it, that may give rise to fears of being seen as a problem, even an enemy, by his family. Aqua admitting to keeping tabs on him, and even doubting him for no good reason, firmly cemented his idea that he was now seem as a problem by his family (aside from Ven). I'd also like to add that, in the case of Deep Space, Terra had been imprisoned with no reason as to why. He can't really trust those that imprisoned him. A fellow prisoner tells him that the System of Law they're victims of is corrupt, as they imprison anyone strong enough to potentially oppose that system. Of course he's going to investigate the lead he has with the fellow prisoner, as interacting with the seemingly corrupt Law Enforcement would likely only lead him back into a cell or to a fight with an established society that he shouldn't be messing with, nor has the time to. Terra was only ever successfully manipulated by three people, Xehanort, Jumba (I think I spelled that right), and Hook. Each time was perfectly understandable.

Honestly, Terra has always been my favorite character in the series. I’d say he’s a bigger tragic hero than Roxas because unlike the latter, Terra’s downfall is because of the active decisions of everyone involved. In the grand scheme of things, he doesn’t do a whole lot wrong. Mostly he just trusts his mentor’s goth friend and runs into the worst possible people on his journey (barring my girl, Cinderella). However, the preconceptions and abuse surrounding him set him on the track to being stripped of his personhood. In contrast, Roxas’s entire being is tragic due to his nature as a Nobody and what that means for Sora. I personally like tragic heroes whose fate could’ve been avoided if one of the supporting cast loosened their grip just a smidge. I appreciate that you called out Aqua’s flaws while acknowledging that she’s a victim of Eraqus’s teachings as well. Painting her as a flawless sweetheart is a huge disservice to her character and her role in the story. BBS is a story of flawed people striking against each other until each of them are pushed over the edge to their tragic fate. It’s not a pretty story…. …..which makes the Guardian scene all the more worthwhile in KH3.

Thanks for this video, I've always been on the 'Terra isn't dumb' boat. Between Xehanort's machinations and the Light side's tendency to be tunneled visioned, Terra with his own need to reaffirm his worth as a Keyblade Wielder was almost bound to be taken advantage of in some form. It almost reminds me of why Anakin Skywalker fell from grace, with having his insecurities being played into by someone with power and authority. He's more interesting than either Ven or Aqua to me on that basis alone.

The problem is with Eraqus. Eraqus is repeating the mistakes that Keyblade wielders have made for generations. They become so devoted and blinded by light that when the darkness comes they are unprepared to deal with it and become infected and consumed by it. We saw this in KHx with the Keyblade War. We saw this in Dark Road with Baldur. Eraqus came to hate darkness so much they he could never have been able to train someone like Terra properly. Xehanort on the other hand realized that if one did not want to be consumed by darkness, they had to learn to control darkness rather than it control them. Thus spending his life studying it and mastering it. And as we saw by them he reaches his old age, Xehanort is always in control of the darkness and can control darkness in others. Sadly, he also came to conclusion that since the current state of the worlds was built on the misguided ideology of the ancient Keyblade wielders, he would need to destroy the worlds as they are and create a new shaped in the image of his own ideology. Xehanort wasn’t necessarily wrong, he was just an extremist. Neither Eraqus or Xehanort came to the right solution and thus why Eraqus told Xehanort in the end it was too late for them to solve this, but not for Sora and his friends. Ironically I think the person who has come close to achieving true mastery of darkness and light is Riku. Riku gained such control over his darkness that Young Xehanort admits in KH3D they are unable to manipulate him like Ansem did in the past. Riku continues to use darkness in combat, yet the threat of it consuming him is gone. In a lot of ways Riku is what Xehanort and Terra should have become.

I always found it funny how people took issue with Terra trusting Xehanort, Maleficent, and Hook because they're "obviously evil" when worlds like Halloweentown exist.

It’d be awesome to see that Yensid video. He REALLY should’ve done so much more during the events of all the games

One of the most telling moments in BBS to me is the scene at the keyboard graveyard just before each character's respective final clash. Aqua implies that darkness is nothing more than anger and hatred, refusing or failing to acknowledge that, like light, there's more to darkness than meets the eye, and perhaps things like fear, doubt, uncertainty, regret, and powerlessness. It always felt extremely dismissive of everything that Terra goes through as just impulsion and anger. It doesn't help that a lot players start with ven's quest line first and see the splitup at radiant garden and aqua's quote of "I've been to the same worlds you have, I've seen what you've done" and automatically assume the worst, that he's willfully helping those aligned with darkness, just to gain power. On the gaining power note, it's worth noting that eraqus saying that is likely him misinterpreting Terra's constant want to better himself and be stronger as seeking power when, as evident during the scene on destiny island, it's his desire to protect the things that matter, like his friends, that drives him on. Also, weird thing, but Terra almost seems to have some foresight? I remember in addition to the scene on destiny island where he sees a vision of young Xehanort, then older riku, there's another scene where he has a vision of the battle at the keyboard graveyard. I feel like that isn't acknowledged in general as much as it should be I refuse to edit out the keyboard graveyard typo, it's way too funny

I've been looking forward to this, and as we discussed already, I share many of your thoughts! It's great to see this put together in a video!

I'm late at founding this video but I'm glad to found it. Esp regarding Aqua's flaws, I always thought about it but now sure how to convey it to words. Wayfinder Trio is my favorite trio (maybe due to BBS being my introduction game to the series), but I slowly have a hard time seeing the fandom favoring Ventus and especially Aqua over Terra. I never saw him as stupid, and it's just sad how to the fandom treats him as such. Recently I have been seeing more Terra appreciation content. I appreciate it a lot. Thank you for making this vid!

oh i'd love a video about riku's and kairis relationship! honestly feel like it's been neglected in the last games and am hoping them growing apart is acknowledged

Ive always seen Terra as a very trusting but sheltered guy. Like he was probably taught to see the good in everyone because of all the talk of light in everyones heart plus why would immeditaly doubt the first people he meets at the different worlds. Then finding out your "dad" doesnt trust you to make the right choices and have your sister spy on you would piss off anyone. Terra has always gotten the short end of the stick from the fan base but Ill always fight that Terra is the best🤎

Terra doesn't judge people by appearances, and ends up helping villains because of it. He aids people unconditionally, and is willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. Riku, however, knows for a fact that the VIllains Vendetta are all very bad people, and still chooses to help them by doing bad things, because they can benefit him by finding him Kairi. I feel like people don't address this enough. Riku KNEW that these people wanted to manipulate him, but still chose to work with them and let them convince him that his best friend that he's known his entire life had immediately replaced him with new friends. And yet, Terra is the dumb one? To be fair, I'm pretty sure Riku was younger than Terra was at the time he went on his adventure, but he still seems very aware of what's going on with the villains. But Riku learns his lesson, eventually... Y'know, after almost allowing the entire universe to be snuffed out by Ansem.

I've been playing through BBS again and you upload this video, I didn't even know you liked KH! This is great timing and super exciting

Out of the three, Terra is my favorite. He is so misunderstood and stomped on so much, and it sucks. You said everything I think about when people say the Terra sucks, so very well done. Also, I would love to see the other Kingdom Hearts video ideas you have (since it is my favorite franchise and have been playing it since I was 4)

Thank you for the amazing Terra analysis 🙏 Dark Road definitely showed more to Terra & Aqua's experience as they weren't fully prepared to experience the outside worlds. Terra's story is very much about how a fresh adult thinking they're smart enough to not be manipulated only to find out that it's not true & was already happening before he even got a chance to leave. Also, I'm glad you pointed out how Eraqus could have been wrong for calling Terra out for being so caught up with power. I never realized there's a chance that he could have been wrong; it's always good to remember that KH is purposely full of unreliable narrators so that people can search more depth into this series to come away with your view on it which is the way Nomura creates this story. Like, on purpose lol But yea, thank you so much for creating this vid & hopefully you make more! (altho ofc you don't hafta ^^b)

By far my favorite character. I’ll never not hate how the fans treated my boy. As much as I love Aqua, her fans have made me dislike her a little. But then I try to remember what really happened and she becomes one of my favorites again. She’s his biggest supporter and his polar opposite I’m almost every way, but because of that they become even more compatible.

Hell yeah! Terra! Yeah I’m kind of a Terra simp lol It honestly makes me glad to see others shine a light on Terra and break down the criticisms towards him. To me: Terra is a complex character, and to me, the most human. One with insecurities, doubts, and real emotions. I know there are more complex characters in Kingdom Hearts, but Terra is the one who caught my eye the most. And after playing Birth by Sleep a few times and really appreciating his character (more than his good looks), I think it’s safe to say that I really appreciate how complex and human Terra is. And that’s why I love this character so much! Sorry for the ramble, like I said in the beginning: Terra simp lol😅

Congrats on the vid, Dork! Been looking forward to it since seeing the WIPs on Pateron! Terra is honestly my favorite character in BBS, and it's about time someone spoke up for him!

People also ignore that Xehanort, deliberately used Terra's trust to drive him to the edge with darkness. Imagine being pretty much betrayed by the man you considered a mentor. It was Xehanort plan all along - so Terra's rage will make him a nice vessel. Well, worked a bit to well with the rage part.. I'm sure Xehanort didn't count on Terra being too angry to die and becoming the Lingering CHAD.

Honestly, part of why people look at Terra and say he is dumb all around is also... The fact that we see a LOT more than what our characters do. We see Xehanort manipulate the orbs,the people and doing other evil things like creating Vanitas all the time and often, so we, the player, KNOW that Xehanort is evil... Which makes this discussion complex when you consider that, as you explained, if you read it carefully it's the opposite in universe. The context of the scene says "manipulation", but the game too often mixes it with OUR context, which makes the wrong message arrive. That is not to say that a game of thing kind could have avoided it easily. Once you play one campaign the issue returns to square one, but it's just something that is too in your face to really distinguish it easily

Been excited for this. I like Terra and hope we get to see more of him in the games going forward. Just got to the point about a potential yen sid video. I hope you make that,yen sid is responsible for so much because he NEVER does anything despite having power and knowledge of certain things.

can always appreciate a good terra defense video

You certainly have convinced me. It definitely makes sense when you consider how well respected Xehanort is by Eraqus, Aqua, and Ven. Aqua is similar, yet different to Terra. Her desire to protect and do good in the worlds is a fault to her. She is arguably more impulsive than Terra and has insecurities as him, being so afraid of not being able to protect others that she takes words at face value and rushes off before she hears the full story. Terra on the other hand, listens to people, gives them a chance to explain their stance, and reflects on things before coming to an informed decision. On the topic of Yen Sid, my friends and I have joked that he is actually a villain by not telling people things, like Aqua about how Master Xehanort has been trying to recreate the keyblade war. We also use Yen Sid making Sora start over at the beginning of every game. "No doubt you fancy yourselves masters already... forget what you know about the keyblade, and begin your training again with a clean slate." I'd like to see a video on him.

JUSTICE FOR TERRA!! My boy did nothing wrong!

Dorked seems to be consistent in liking characters with bravado that outwardly appear dumb but are actually pretty smart, yet are misinterpreted by the fandom.

A Terra defense video?? The recommended tab does good sometimes

I loved Terra because I related to him the most out of every kingdom heart's character. I even have his good luck charm.

Yeah you make really great points! I honestly really relate to Terra in this aspect. I love Terra, he's one of my fav KH characters (along with Ven and Aqua), and I do find it important to acknowledge in-universe context as well and dive into the bigger picture. I just love all of the Wayfinder Trio, I love and appreciate their characters and arcs and their dynamics, and I just love Birth by Sleep so so very much! Definitely one of my fav KH games!!! I really hope the Wayfinder Trio makes more appearances in a future game!

Terra gets a lot of flak for basically no reason. I’ve always likened him to basically being an Anakin dumped into KH (which is funny with mark hamil as Eraqus), someone who is very compassionate but prone to being manipulated due to a lifetime of needing to be someone he isn’t and searching for his validation, something his mentors never really trust him with. His friends not trusting him makes him feel even worse but he still tries his best to move forward. Terra is calm and stoic unlike every prejudice against his darkness, and never acts in genuine anger until the tail end of the game. I actually do like how he isn’t immediately talking down to the villains and trying his best to understand their arguments for the darkness, while also sympathizing with the disney princesses/zack with their plights. He has the more balanced story between the three with the other two characters not really having full interactions. I’m also a huge sucker for the fact that his compassion and will was so strong that it managed to defeat Xehanort single handedly. Plus he gets to beat the shit out of Peter Pan. He’s a great character and my second favorite KH member next to Roxas.

A very insightful and in-depth analysis of Terra's character and his multiple influences. Enjoyable and well written. I like this!

These are very good points. Other people have mentioned similar viewpoints in the past when it comes to KH character analysis, but I can appreciate a new perspective that understands subtleties that many people tend to overlook regarding characters that are easy to brush off and label as stereotypical or naive. The circumstances of the initial mark of mastery exam are very particular, with the Wayfinder trio not suspecting Xehanort of wrongdoing and manipulation due to Eraqus wanting to give his estranged companion the benefit of the doubt, all intentional on Xehanort's account. I never saw Terra as being power hungry, despite Eraqus's paranoia of anything related to the darkness. Terra had good intentions with wanting the power to destroy and vanquish darkness in order to protect Aqua and Ven, but his misstep was believing that power alone would be enough to thwart all of Xehanort's plans, leading to the body snatching due to being goaded into embracing anger and rage. To compare, the Riku of KH1 was power hungry in terms of wanting to be so strong as to have nothing to fear from the dark, while all of the Xehanort incarnations wanted to possess knowledge and influence for the sake of having it at the expense of people around him. Your points about Terra's interactions with the Disney characters are very true. You've identified a lot of subtleties that a lot of people missed from how he acts and his decision to keep quiet about certain things, and that led to people assuming negative things due to word of discussion. The misunderstanding at Radiant Guardian can be seen as frustrating for some, but it's understandable due to Aqua's assumptions based on her loyalty to Eraqus's values and her strong faith in her status as a keeper of the peace. Terra shuts her and Ven out due to his self-loathing, and Ven (rightfully, to some perspectives) tells Aqua off for being cruel. I don't know why people would say things about Terra that weren't true given the context, but I think it would be good to have honest conversations about it instead of asking rhetorical questions about 'playing the same game.' The point about Olympus coliseum is also true, as well as the important context for Neverland. I liked the content of your video, how you talked about the full context of the connections between Terra, Aqua, Eraqus, Xehanort and Yen Sid, things that people have mentioned in the past but are often forgotten by many people passing through the discourse. One thing I've always appreciated is that Nomura had a very particular eye for subtlety and symbolism as he weaved the very elaborate, tangled tapestry that is Kingdom Hearts. It can be interpreted as very ridiculous and absurd due to the nature of the many plot twists (which is true), but there is a lot of powerful meaning that a few people have already picked up on, just as more will likely do in the future. It feels... more fulfilling than the various, blunt, unsubtle almost didactic postmodern works from irony-aligned creators such as... fwug radiation and other similar creators. It's the little things that earn people's respect in the long run.

I was convinced that Terra isn't so dumb earlier this year, but seeing more people covering it makes me very happy. Especially from a channel that I don't follow for Kingdom Hearts content, but for content on a completely different game series. Kingdom Hearts fans truly are everywhere. :D

I find both hilarious and sad that the fandoms view on Terra trust in Xehanort is so infamous that it takes the main image on TV Tropes article on Horrible Judge of Character. I found it refreshing to see this analysis on Terra -- a character that has been mostly written off as an naive idiot by the fandom and i would like to see more of Kingdom Hearts content.

Would love to see more KH stuff and those ideas that you have at the end would be great!

Said so much better than I ever could articulate. I remember being floored when I saw the amount of people who dismissed Terra as being an idiot and the outright hatred for the character. He's been my favorite character since I finally got to play BBS when it released as a part of 2.5, and your highlighting his emotional maturity just makes me appreciate him all the more; it's been years since I'd played, so I'd forgotten that aspect of his character. Great essay!

Thank you for making this video! I'm a big Terra fan and Terra cosplayer too! This character is so underappreciated.

2:30 I think Xehanort having messed with Terra's heart at this point might be speculation, & needs more evidence. Anyway, excellent analysis video! Thanks for uploading! Looking forward to more from you, & good luck!

Glad I finally got around to watching your KH stuff after being introduced through all the UTDR content, you have a great perspective on the characters and I’n glad to see someone spread a greater understanding of one of my favorite characters in Kingdom Hearts! You put to words what makes Terra so great and Aqua actually very interesting of a character in properly looking at her flaws instead of brushing them aside, and I can appreciate both of them far more for it. Great stuff, hope more people can get into this series like I did and check out your great work around it!

I love this video!!! terra is my 2nd favorite kh character, and I am very passionate in insinuating that he is not stupid, hes just a sensitive little man. I feel like you got all of my thoughts in this video perfectly. your videos never miss; I felt similarly about your alphys video, its nice to see misrepresented characters analyzed in a more accurate way. cant wait for the "roasting yen sid for 30 minutes" video lol!!

I want to say thank you for this wonderful video of terra not being the fool almost everyone in the kh fandom claim him to be like terra is my fav character in the game and it hurts of hearing so many people will misjudged him and usually think he an idiot for the events that happen in his journey he not a bad person and has full trust in his friends even if sadly the feeling was mutual on his part beside that even if he has darkness not once he used it to hurt others but to protect those around him he kind person that just want to help people like his friends do

Terra’s fatal flaw is that ONLY he’s over trusting! While, I do agree he’s NOT dumb. I find it frustrating he DOESN’T realize that Xehanort sabotage his success of The Mark of Mastery. Even, when the Seeker of Darkness LITERALLY stabs Master Eraqus in the back!

9:25 This line here that Terra says is even more evidence that he wasn't just following blindly. He suspected Hades from the start!

I always understood Terra as craving validation/approval, not power. The fact that Aqua calls/thinks of him and Ven both as "boys" at one point is something that I think backs that up. Also, I'm really impressed with your insights on Aqua at the end. I'd never considered a lot of that very thoroughly, but it makes a ton of sense! And you know what, I'm down to hear more salt about Yen Sid! 😆

Terra has been my favorite KH character since BBS came out. Goofy is a very close second. I like them both for the same reason, they will give up everything to protect their friends.

Definitely subbing to someone who understands the depth of Terras character. As great as aqua is, I feel that ppl idolize her and bash Terra, when Aqua was just as manipulated by Eraqus.

The only dumb thing of Terra was that he was at the wrong places at the wrong times. If he didn't meet the villains first and if those who guided him were wiser, he'd singlehandedly carry the plot of bbs on his (broad) shoulders.

*Thank you* for this! I always felt that Terra was given too much flak during his story, and Aqua being held on a high pedestal. I played through BBS shortly before Kingdom Hearts 3 released mostly blind on the general meat of the story, and only knowing the major story beats (largely at the end of the game). I was very, *very* quick to regard Terra as my favorite Kingdom Hearts character (and he still is today) while playing through his story. The fallout in Radient Garden still upsets me. What detractors don't understand is that trust goes *both* ways. Terra had just learned that Eraqus pretty much never had faith in him, to the point where he sent one of his closest friends to spy on him. *Of course* he would turn to Xehanort, he and Ventus were the only two people that actually trusted him. Even Ventus told Aqua that she was terrible for what she was doing.

would LOVE to see the Yen Sid roast

Reminding me why I always loved Undertale so much, and Kingdom Hearts content to boot? Where have you been all this time!? Officially subbed 👍

Ngl I was surprised by the fact that this is (apparently) your first KH Discussion video, so well put out, well thought with great points, would love to see more of these

As a KH fan, really good video! I have to say, while as is I try to give Terra some credit, this definitely helped clear a lot of misconceptions even I had about Terra, and has definitely given me a much better appreciation for his character and even a bit of Aqua's character, too (And funnily enough made me realize Terra is even more like Anakin Skywalker than I thought). While I'd like to see more KH stuff, I'll prob dip in to some of your Deltarune content since I like DR too. Edit: A video on the Sea Salt trio would be pretty awesome, but I don't really think there's many misconceptions in terms of their characters besides Xion, at leas those that can really draw in as much interest as Terra. Maybe a video on Ven would be good tho? Either way, in general another KH analysis would be awesome!

Terra and Xion are tied as my favorite characters mainly by comparison to everyone else, their the most underrated, yet we're important enough to be a part of Xehanort's real plan. Terra in particular though out his journey that there is a clear difference between a fool and a simpleton. A fool meaning someone who has lacks intelligence or judgement, while a simpleton is someone who lacks common sense. Admittingly he leans more towards the former than the latter but that just shows he only truly knows WHAT is right not WHO.

I don’t think Terra is dumb at all, and you’ve reinforced that well. I think he has a very true-to-life tendency to base his morality and self-worth on external forces and doesn’t stay true to himself in the end. I do also think Aqua tempers her flaws better and also has internalized Eraqus’ morality, so she can evolve. Terra keeps readjusting based on what people tell him. When he makes his own decisions, they’re good, but he’s so quickly leads astray. I think the trio are surprisingly nuanced for video game characters.

Well. This actually made me reconsider my views on Terra.

I always found Terra interesting because his actual stregnths aren't how strong he actually is but how ernest he is about everything he does.Constantly doing everything to meet the expectations set for him to a fault. He starts to tone it down about after he realizes what he did to Auroa. Becuse after that point he never takes anyone directly at face value again with few exceptions. And is focused on doing what ever he can to make those things right whe he does. The Lingering Will is his regret for not being able to do the right thing to the point it becomes the most badass character in the series to fix what Terra was trying to do. For all the flack the writing of these games get, Terra is written very well as a young adult going out on their own for the first time and just being told "Just figure this thing out somehow." Aqua is a yound adult who has a clear goal so doesn't have to added complexity of having a massive open ended goal: "Follow Terra around and be a snitch." She just has to decide what Terra is doing bad or not. Which fits into the black and white mindset she shares with Eraquis. Ven is just a kid going for a joyride to hang out with his oolder brother. He just wants to enjoy the time they can have together and is crushed because he sees aqua as being a Narc, and refusing to talk to Terra, and doesn't really know how to navidate the conflict his older siblings are having because he wasn't in the know from the start. He's just worried about something happening, and he doesn't really take it seriously until radiant garden. The ernestness made Terra relatable too, because I was the same way around his age(20ish), by the time the games came out, even my relationship to my sister was, and still is kinda of the same. (He's constantly faced with situations where he is challenged on what it means to do the right thing, same as aqua. I find it interesting because he comes to his conclusion first and potentially stops a lot more tradgedy happening than what could have. Aqua is left behind picking up pieces and lost because she kept being stubborn about it until the last. Terra's storyt hits hard because now that I am much older. I have lost full use of parts of my body protecting younger siblings from danger and it put a lot of what his choices where into perspective. Thank you for the video, I haven't gotten to go back to this game in a while, but it's always nice to think and talk about.

What a great video and well thought out argument! I really enjoyed watching this and agree with you. 😌 Just found your channel by chance, but would totally like to see that Yen Sid video. I have so many grievances with that dude. Also definitely going to try your fanfics.

Terra acts dumb like once or twice and everyone goes nuts. It's not like KH characters otherwise always make the right call either, it's just always within the realms of believability when they make mistakes. He also sorta gets done dirty in the game itself. Terra visibly did manage to push the darkness back, but he still doesn't get the pass because the darkness was simply there. "Retweet picture of Riku being MVP to scare Master Square." Master Xehanort is right about everything he says, but only gave him the thumbs up to manipulate him for an evil masterplan, lol. 3:47 Even tho BBS has some bigger writing problems, one can really appreciate the proper usage of a character doing some serious mental gymnastics. Terra wants power to keep peace and protect those close to him, basically the best reason to search for it. And it's really the essence of all of this. Going back to the exam, one could argue that Xehanort rigged it against Terra(to get the plan going) by raising the concern to begin with and possibly voting against him behind closed doors, but logically, this guy could have reasonably dismissed it with "Remember when you used darkness? I also have enough unbiased reason to let Terra pass as the host of the test." But the entire situration just appealed to his own ideals too well. "Is it my mistake? No, it must be the darkness!" 7:03 People said what exactly? Aqua is so wrong here that I sometimes question if this moment originally came from a mid-revision of the script where Terra was infact more sus and Nomura and co just missed the scene when rewriting stuff. The literal only thing that could correspond to what she is talking about is Maleficent saying he cooperated. And that is HER blindly trusting the villain, since there was not even the slightest evidence of that being legit. 10:18 There's also the nuance that Terra himself has been captured, even tho he really didn't do anything besides flying around in space. For all he knows, Authority does whatever it wants in this world and may as well be disregarded. He has no further context with no way to get it. 12:52 Another bit of Terra getting the short end of the stick. He doesn't have the position or the time to explain the nuances of what is actually going on, so he has to just take the moment of oof where Aqua genuinely believes that he cooperated in this(even if it was to protect Ventus), instead of him only being involved by technicality. Btw, the thing where Eraqus(Square) and Yen Sid(Disney) are the most wrong characters on the good side of the cast, yet never get called out...I always bashed it because it's very annoying writingwise, but I actually got the mindwave right now that it may have actually been intentional on Nomura's part. It would make sense, considering the behind the scenes-conflicts going on.

YES, THIS IS INCREDIBLY VALIDATING. I'd love to hear what you think about yen sid and riku replica

Yeah I have always defended Terra because when you look at the contexts of the game, it makes sense why Terra listened to Xehanort, why Terra was "trusting" of the obvious to us Disney villains, and why he did what he did. As much as I like Aqua (she is my favorite character), she does follow Eraqus' thought process of how to deal with darkness to a fault. Great video.

I would love to watch a character analysis on Aqua titled she's not as smart as she looks. I swear that radiant garden cutscene made me dislike her character. The "I've been to the same world as you and seen what you've done." Made me just not care about her character. Not only that, but she messed up a good plan that Terra had. As he wanted Ven safe back home and to work with Aqua to go find Master Xehanort and fill her in on what he knows. Great analysis video, I'm glad Terra is shown some love.

Randomly stumbled upon you, happy to see another Tera defender, people really act like Tera isn't getting gas lit by Xehanort the whole game.

Can you also please adress the meme that Aqua cleans after Ventus and Terra? this meme never made sense cause she never really cleaned after their mess. 1. stealing Aurora's Heart... but Aqua didn't even fix that, Ventus was the one that gave Aurora back her heart and beat Maleficent, she saved the prince and fought Maleficent again. 2. Dwarf Woodlands? She did literally nothing, her visit is one of the most filler in the series. 3. Castle of Dreams? She saved Cinderella's life, but that wasn't anything caused by Ven or Terra, an Unversed simply had appeared. 4. They all entered Radiant Garden close to each other and beat the Trinity Armor. 5. Nothing bad happened in Disney Town, Terra just did some racing and Ven made ice cream. 6. Terra was the main hero of Olympus, he saved Zack from Hades's grip, Ventus helped Zack & Herc save olympus from the Unversed invasion, Aqua beat Hades and his Colossus. 7. They all ended up helping Stitch escape, only "wrong" thing that Terra did was release Jumba, but given Terra was wrongly imprisoned too, it makes sense (also many does not mention that Aqua captured stitich, and Ven is the one who set him free, i know Aqua meant well but since the fans accuse Terra of helping villains unkowingly, then that's why i will count this part with Aqua as her mistake which was cleaned by Ventus). 8. And once again, they all were in separate spots at Neverland, Terra just helped Hook a bit by guarding a chest and gave Peter a (deserved) beating, but he still saved Tink anyway, Aqua went on a treasure hunt and beat Vanitas, Ventus defeated Hook. 9. They all kept saving each other's butts in Graveyard, and also, Ventus and Terra literally did more there, Terra fought Xehanort, then his own body and KOed him, which made the X-Blast send him to Radiant Garden, Ventus fought Vanitas who had the freakin X-Blade, destroyed his own heart and killed Vanitas while shattering the X-Blade... Aqua and Mickey just didn't die from Ventus-Vanitas, and Ven basically saved her because he shattered the thing rigth when Aqua did the last clash. 10. Then she beat Terranort... but only cause of Terra's help, and also that amounted to nothing else but her saving the main villain and kickstarting the saga, and her deciding to take a holiday on Hell.

Terra is sufficiently intelligent to be a double agent to Disney Villains, while being actually siding with the heroes.

very glad you're branching into kh videos!! i love antipode very much and need to catch up honestly ive been stuck trying to reread up to all that's left for a while now

I’m so glad someone finally made this video. Terra definitely isn’t as bad of a character as a lot of people think and while he’s not exactly the most fleshed out character of the series he had the second best gameplay of birth by sleep. Aqua still being first and foremost with Ventus being my least favourite. Hope I’m not being too harsh there…

I didn’t think terra was but more misguided and over the course of the story he actually fixes that misguided nature while aqua actually is the one that becomes so one sided being named master n having it go to her head the roles where actually reversed here for there characters

You're points about his insecurity and single-mindedness on his mission make sense and I agree Terra is smarter than people give him credit for, especially to do with making snap judgements about new people in an entirely foreign world. Aqua was pretty terrible in Radiant Garden, not even asking her friend about what she'd heard he'd done and doubting him without any real evidence. Plus, Xehanort isolating and manipulating him is a totally reasonable explanation for Terra giving his trust. His emotional journey makes perfect sense. A lot of his characterisation is subtle which is rare for this series, though this is still juxtaposed by some more on the nose parts. to me the overall the concept of BBS has always been a tragedy that wasn't the fault of the main trio. At least in so far as they didn't do anything especially illogical or morally wrong. However, you're other points about his character flaws that are directly stated not being accurate aren't backed up by anything but wild conjecture. Sure, he's not overt about his need to win and be recognised but your points about his insecurity and dedication to duty could just as easily be connected to the source of his 'darkness'. It may be that the games did a poor job of portraying it (show don't tell) but that's clearly the narrative being portrayed.

I did not ask for this video...but i desperately needed it and enjoyed it

I always loved this architect of character Who had good intention and kind heart ,caring person falling to the darkness due to their surroundings hurting and looking at them with a blind eyes and refusing to see that there is more

i'm suprised how interesting this was considering i know nothing about kingdom hearts, but terra's a pretty cool character and i like him that being said all the talk about the lore sides of things like on the yen sid video made my head feel like it was on fire trying to process a million things at once

Yep, nothing new that I didn't already know, but still a good video to watch. :) I have no objections to more. One thing you could have brought up when you mentioned that Terra had no idea if Maleficent's appetence was the norm in her world or not, would be to mention Halloween Town, That entire world gives off roughly the same, if not more Darkness vibes then Maleficent dose (do the point that the heartless aren't even attacking anyone when they appear, they are just chilling), but with the exception of Oogie and the twerp trio, every resident there is a perfectly reasonable person where none of them could be considered evil. So the mear existence of that world would probably prompt Keyblade lessons to include a healthy dose of "don't judge a book by it's cover" somewhere in there. Really curious to see a deep dive of the Yen Sid stuff... especially since you are making heavy use of it in "Hurricane Heartbeat". From what I recall... there's not much info on him from any real form of cannon (Kingdom hearts or just Disney in general) so he's a pretty blank slate with not much to go off of. From a large lack of justifications for his inactivity... but also maybe a lot of room to fit one in there? Maybe "retired" is just a nice way of saying "So far out of his prime he is basically useless for any direct support outside of this ONE special world where his magic rains supreme"... I mean, even when he finally got out of the tower in KH3 to help directly, all he really did was make a barrier to keep heartless back so that the other characters can get to the Xeahnorts... there's got to be some sort of justification for this, but we aren't given much for it.

YES, a Yen Sid video, that big ass has been sitting in the same chair for 10 years literally, he needs to be brought down to JUSTICE XD

I did always felt that Terra was too hated, and I admit that I too felt that way a little bit. But this video really does put him into perspective and I probably now like him way more than I do with Aqua and Ventus.

One of the best re-review and discussion video about Kingdom Hearts. Also, it actually does make more sense about BBS characters' behavior and actions. Thank you very much! I pretty enjoyed it.

I haven't played Kingdom Hearts, but I do know the story of the games (somewhat) and I agree with everything here. And watching this, I realized that Yen Sid barely does anything about Xehanort. I'd like to see a video on that.

Ever since I first played BBS, Terra was my first pick since he seemed like the strongest in physical strength (I rarely use magic in KH). The moment Master Eraqes denied him the Mark of Mastery, I felt bad for Terra. Having darkness in his heart and not using it is like seeing someone else’s answers for a test; he saw it, but decided to do away with it. He found out that he was a puppet in Master Xehanort’s plans, tried fighting back, and ended up losing his body and heart to him, and manifested into his Keyblade Armor to demanded a Round Two. Imagine my absolute fright and ecstatic surprise to learn there and then that he was The Lingering Will in KH2. 😱🤩

Finally, my boy gets the acknowledgement he deserves

Yours isn't the first "Terra is not an idiot" analysis I've seen, but it is the most well organized and well scripted! I doubt you'll ever even see this comment, but I just wanted to get it out there and say I appreciate your video - I found especially interesting the bit about how Terra and Aqua are sort of subversions of the type of character you'd expect them to be based on their designs/gameplay styles, which makes me appreciate both characters even more

Before I watch the rest of the Video. I just wanna say that I personally always thought of Terra as a selfless Badass.

thanks for making this accesable to people who dont care about kingdom hearts !!! i was worried coming in that most of this would go over my head but you surpised me ❤

I completely agree 😊I always saw this deeper side to Tera and how he embodies true ambition. Glad to know that wile bigger voices in the community where bashing him, there where more like me who saw his drive and torment. He is actually a very well written character once you take the time to peel back the layers and understand him. Loved the video and the way you layed out your points. Really gives new light to an under appreciated gem of a character 😁💚

yay! KH analysis! I'd be really interested in more like this!

yessss this is the kingdom hearts content i crave

IT ALWAYS BOTHERED ME HOW EVEN IN TERRA FAN SPACES PEOPLE STILL CONSIDERED HIM TO BE DUMB like that's a major reason why I rarely seek out Terra content anymore. Because no matter who it's made by it's all so painfully mischaracterized. This video is like a breath of fresh air honestly, even if I already knew all of this it's still refreshing to see someone actually. Say it and make me feel less crazy for seeing Terra as smart. Before I played KH i was still aware that people considered terra to be dumb and I kinda just accepted it until I played the game and was like "he's actually rather clever what was everyone else even thinking..." And thank you for acknowledging that Aqua has like. Flaws. I love her a lot too but she DOES have flaws they are a PART of her character they're a part of the reason WHY she's an interesting character. I swear that this insistence on acting like every female character is perfect is just another flavor of misogyny.

I never saw Terra as a bad guy when I played this tbh. Maybe he should've shown more trust towards the evil guys so him channeling so much darkness would've made more sense to me, because him being quite neutral in worlds he doesn't know stuff about didn't make me believe he should have dark powers in the first place but anyway thanks for the summary, it was a nice video and greetings from Germany

Wow. You actually really did a good job analysing. I'm impressed to have part of my perception changed, especially regarding aqua. I thought before that Terra isn't that stupid