An Analysis Of Hector: The Mask Of Strength

[@compsognathus3106]

Lyn: "Hector, hit me!" Hector: "No. You are a game over condition."

[@mattdeluccia153]

Also Hector: “I can’t. I have 5 skill and use axes.”

[@randomcatname7792]

@@mattdeluccia153 yeah but his game has swordSLAYER

[@IamHattman]

In my game, this scenario ended up with Lilina. 😂

[@Lorekeeper_GGuy]

“If you go back to ancient Egypt you’ll probably find a story written in the hieroglyphs featuring two men like this” This dynamic even goes as far back as the world’s first legend with Gilgamesh and Enkidu It’s the protagonist and lancer. Which one is the cool, collected one, and which one is the brash, eager one swaps around with every story, but yeah, the dynamic itself is quite literally as old as fiction

[@LucarioDoT]

Red Oni, Blue Oni?

[@mpnuorva]

@@LucarioDoT That's a specifically Japanese variation as a stock character pair (hence "Oni", and the Red and Blue Oni are antagonists in the story of Momotaro not protagonist and deuteragonist) that was probably the basis for Eliwood and Hector. Generally speaking the two characters are somehow contrasting though like Gilgamesh being a king ie. born and raised in civilization and Enkidu a wild man that comes to civilization from nature.

[@eleonorepb4565]

"No one in fire emblem has parents" , yep and Roy still has his father because he is actually a Smash character

[@Jadanbr]

makes sense

[@shanegiorgio4713]

Literally the only other exception is funnily enough Eliwood since his Mother doesn't die through FE7 (and Maybe Claude too, it's been a while since I played 3H)

[@eleonorepb4565]

​@@shanegiorgio4713The two lords from Warriors also finish the game with a parent alive

[@Caddance]

​@@eleonorepb4565 we don't fucking talk about those rips off of Eirika and Ephraim

[@elivcdxv1852]

​@@Caddance nooo, Rowan (who I only remember thanks to Pokemon's professor by the same name) and his sister (who I do not remember) are so close to being Shez-pilled! kidding I didn't really mind them but I would rather they have some actual presence instead of just kind of being there

[@adlez47]

6:55 Fewer people still know that there's unique dialogue if you visit that house with Matthew or Serra. Serra's is particularly funny because Hector hides to avoid having to deal with her.

[@Lorekeeper_GGuy]

Okay but what if Hector was just so cool that he broke Armads’ curse with raw swag?

[@devinbuettgenbach2941]

Honestly I kinda think with how he did end up dying it did technically break the curse. He didn't die in the midst of a battle, he made it back at least for a little while and he died without turmoil in his soul. His sole desire was to see his daughter one last time, there was no rage or despair.

[@mobgabriel1767]

plot twist:there never was a "armads curse", the amads was just messing with hector...and then he actually died

[@Okada_Caelun]

​@@mobgabriel1767 I like this interpretation, as it could also be read as the axe essentially assuming "All who use me become intoxicated with my power, becoming addicted to war and will fight until they die" rather than imparting an actual curse.

[@addambarcelos]

Hector pretending to pick up a fight with florina's pegasus just to make her talk is one of funniest things in fe7 for me, no doubt xD. Also eliwood and him trying to raise the score in his favor saying hector sucks at math

[@LealFireball]

Makes sense to interpret the "curse of the armads" scene as something literal, but from the characterization of the armads through durban's apparition, it feels to me that he's just saying that those who seek greater power are cursed to die in battle for that's the way of those who seek to prove their strength. It seems that the kind of guy Durban was, a battle crazed berserker who fought for the sake of power. It doesn't look like many of the eight legends were exemplary good folk, so that to makes sense to me. Hey, as long as the dragons are dead am I right?

[@spiderzsonic6581]

Huh, i never think it that way, that also makes more sense that why is not i fe6 because is not a literal curse

[@Pepisis]

You have to understand that fire emblem fans don't know how to read the dialogue

[@Caddance]

For realllllll I'm still incredibly pissed off people geniuely believe that Lucina loves Chrom more than Robin if they are her mother because of the judgement scene ignoring the fact she literally can't bring herself to do it because she loves you too much, where as opposed to the OG version of the scene where you have no relationship with her she was ready to kill you and would have done so if not for Chrom's intervention

[@iamthehobo]

That's why they love tier lists

[@catman9222]

"No one has parents in Fire Emblem." Nils and Ninian's dad is such a big part of the story through.

[@eleonorepb4565]

At the end of the game they are orphans

[@NarrowSpark96]

I might be reaching a bit, but I think there's an intended explanation as to why Armads' curse isn't present. The Elibe legendary weapons have obviously degraded in power, but at the time of FE7, Armads had done so considerably less. Armads has 25 durability in 7, but only 20 durability in 6, implying Hector did a lot of the work against the fire dragon (which he probably does in gameplay too, if not Luna). All the other S-rank weapons have 20 durability, in both 6 and 7. It's subtle, but it's there.

[@arikaaa69]

A cynic would say you're giving the writers and designers too much credit here, but I think its a cool explanation. Maybe all the other legendary weapons had curses too once, but with time and use they've somewhat faded away

[@spiderzsonic6581]

I don't know, why armards of all the weapons would be in better condition, especially considering their original wilder?

[@QwertyCaesar]

I think Farina's support is putting a mirror up to Hector. She's a lot like him, putting up a show of strength and hiding her vulnerability. Hector, being the person he is, is having none of that and doesn't want her to put up those kind of walls because he knows what it is like and is miserable.

[@mobgabriel1767]

plot twist:the armads curse isn't real,armads was only messing with him....and then hector ACTUALLY died on the battlefied and armads decided to shut up in FE6

[@bibohbi-br9gj]

4:41 quadrupling with a steel lance is crazy

[@femspaint2911]

I needed footage of Barth or Astolfo for that moment and Barthe randomized into himself in my randomizer Let's Play so I figured it was good enough

[@Kryptnyt]

Stoic actions are often frowned upon today. It's kind of sad to me. Hector doesn't even tell anyone of Uther's passing in Eliwood Mode and you learn he dies in the postgame slides. He doesn't share his distractions because there are more pressing responsibilities. Hector makes me think of how the term "Constant Companion" can be somewhat mistakenly taken or said to mean "one who is always tagging along." Hector is very constant, because, like a stone, you can rely on him to be a certain way. He will always consistently act in a way that supports his friends, to a fault. He even does this politically, getting his hands dirty with a team of spies- he'll be that bad guy doing the thing that keeps the good guy safe if he has to.

[@Tyranogre]

So sorry to hear about your brother, FEMSpaint. My girlfriend collects Funko Pops, too. I know how you feel.

[@pukozzz]

fe let roy have two dads just to make one of them die

[@eleonorepb4565]

Honestly Eliwood would make sense as Lilina's mom, they have similar personnalities

[@Crimson-Hat]

My theory is that because Hector broke the seal on Armads is why he's cursed by it. If he handed it over to someone else he would still hold the curse. Of course the fact his family carries a terminal illness this curse could have saved him. Can't die to an illness if you're cursed to die in combat.

[@the_wake_]

Counterpoint: EVERY reason is the right reason to love Hector!

[@Barrylocke]

Years ago when I first did an Ironman of Blazing Blade, Matthew died in the second trip did Dread Isle at the end of the game. I had a headcanon that Hector would find Leila's burial spot and dig it up to rebury her with Matthew. It's a bit of a gruesome idea but it's cool/funny knowing that it's not totally off the mark

[@hadoukenfighter]

Hector is unironically one of my favorite lord's due to his underrated mental development, I'm really sad that we just don't get MC's like this anymore, his character is way more down to earth and relatable then he comes off as initially.

[@proteanalias]

He is a blue guy with a big axe. Thats all I cared about when i was young. Still my favorite fe character and i know exactly squat about him

[@coldeed]

Buddy I'm real early into this and lemme say some man to man. Hector is a brute because hes a sensitive guy. This is just what a well-written emotional man is in Media. Stories where they try to portray an emotional guy that has absolutely no sense of anger and frustration are badly written a good amount of the time. It's just a bad thing when a story talks about a guy who embraces what he feels, but somehow is like perfectly stoic when it comes to frustration and anger. That's what actually makes a well-written emotional character that's a guy. The actions actually being driven by personal purpose.

[@DoofeFlussferd]

Dude I would kill for a character analysis of Alva, that one line of dialogue he has when escaping brings tears to my eyes every time

[@PumpkinFox]

I do much prefer it when KZbinrs speak positively about characters they love, but I'm also interested to see you tackle a character you don't like and how that would fare. Only problem is that this is the Fire Emblem community, so that's a death sentence.

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@PumpkinFox Wining everyday about a character you dislike is allowed in the fanbase if said character is an allowed target, you can't however if it's not an allowed target. You can trash on Corrin everyday, even if you don't have anything new to say, but you can't complain about how bland is Lilina

[@freetoplayking7362]

Makalov... Enough said

[@absoul112]

25:30I don't know who the dig is aimed at, but I love it.

[@Artemas_16]

Is there that many FE characters analysts?

[@femspaint2911]

@Artemas_16 It was not meant to be at FE analysts, it was meant to be a dig at analysis videos in general that bloat their run times and basically just read wiki. I wasn't thinking of a specific creator when making that joke

[@davidgoldammer348]

36 minutes long? You cant fool me at all. This is just the next episode of FE6 Randomized!

[@chocolatethagod345]

Love these analysis my dude! You have such a great eye for detail

[@dmas7749]

i always liked Hector, he's a very good look into positive masculinity.

[@Teon5072]

Oho!

[@MilesHuenefeldt]

But I'm already awake, Google Translate!

[@awesomehazimex7410]

I live!

[@dankaroos]

Finally, I love these analsysis videos and Hector is my favorite lord, so i've been waiting for this

[@philbuttler3427]

I totally ship Hector and Eliwood cause my.brain is broken by modern society interputing men being each others favorite person must be romantic.

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@philbuttler3427 Honestly they work better together than with Ninian and Florina

[@clairevoyantarachnea]

"All the other fire emblem Lords were pretty boys who didn't even like doing violence." Anyone who thought that clearly never played FE4 and experienced the insatiable bloodlust of Sigurd.

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@clairevoyantarachnea Spoilers : Sigurd was actually the Cornelius of the game, after his death you get a typical lord.

[@franbh94]

"I'm a 27 year old man and..." Excuse me? Jesus, I'm ancient

[@jacksonhorrocks4281]

What? Hector was definitely my main character! Elywood was the vanilla formula story lord!

[@comradeflamer1973]

Now that youre one FE7 I'm sure you'll listen when I once again ask for Renault

[@sundownchild5012]

THE BOY

[@92nicu17]

I'm sorry, Jeralt's death, well written? What have I missed? That aside, good analysis. I've needed a refresher on Hector. Nicely done.

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@92nicu17 I think it's because Jeralt had screetime before his death and because it impact the apparently emotionless Byleth

[@AxeDatcm]

Why liking hector - Axe - Sweet sweet battle animation - And those dashing haircut, and remember he get badass beard when he older and his hair still dashing as ever, compared to eliwood who look like he smoke weed too much

[@freetoplayking7362]

34:56 please don’t do that Make one for Ronan, it gives us 30 seconds more content

[@usvidragonslayer3091]

Nice. Hector is one of my favorite of the three lords of FE7.

[@eleonorepb4565]

@@usvidragonslayer3091 yes he is also in my top 3 of the best FE7 lords

[@raydespoir]

lol I can sense the sarcasm here

[@usvidragonslayer3091]

@@raydespoir nope. No sarcasm.

[@war_master_9]

I like the theory that armadas cured hector of his families sickness

[@nevrikx]

Hector has magical ability He is doing an Oracle here

[@nevrikx]

"They annoy him more than they annoy the audience" one of them is SERRA... one of the most annoying characters in the series

[@Artemas_16]

LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LAAAAA!

[@Pogma776]

Hect

[@YoonSnake]

As a 33 year old man that collects Figuarts and Figma, I'm tremendously hurt. T.T

[@femspaint2911]

@@YoonSnake nothing wrong with figmas, just funko pops

[@tylerferguson3193]

Hope you're having a good day c:

[@philiphunt-bull5817]

Geralt's death was terrible, Byleth only using a single Divine Pulse makes it look like they don't care.

[@Kakashi10ist]

I hoew you get well soon

[@lolbittheglitchqueen6871]

Hector, the guy who only gets by because the enemies are very slow.

[@timotheebrasseur6188]

26:38 He's doomed

[@AzumarillConGafasBv]

Hector is based and Lyndis is cringe

[@RaineyDaysStudio]

Don’t slander my queen you damn cur

[@Clexie368]

Axe good sword bad