Claude's Dream Realized: The Fate of Fodlan

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

GD and VW were my first routes and I love them all...except maybe Lorenz, but he is ok. It's truly the best Ending for Fódlan for a lot of reasons but I want to analyze video first: 1. Every House is a microcosm for each Country, Claude himself said that the officer's Academy is Fódlan in a nutshell. The devs confirmed this in an interview: How did you go about creating each house and its students? Kusakihara: We started by using the rough drafts for each character as a base and expanded upon them from there. Depending on the character, some of the more prevalent details had been decided upon in advance. Take, for instance, Mercedes’ background: she bears the crest of a family that no longer exists… That kind of thing. From there, we could expand upon and flesh out other concepts like her older brother, Emile. Following that process would lead to how things ended up looking in the final product. Let’s use the Black Eagles as an example: it’s a house filled with strong people that hold even stronger beliefs. It almost feels like certain characters belong in certain houses… Kusakihara: Each class’s students make up a microcosm of the country that they represent. Since Faerghus is a country of knights, its students are a little more disciplined. The Adrestian Empire once flourished but over time lost some of its holdings, almost as if the sun is setting on it as a nation. At its core, it’s a bunch of nobles coming from a country in decline. (laughs) As for the Leicester Alliance… Just imagine a group of people with a few colorful individuals holding the rest back. All: (laugh) The Golden Deer are different people and deliberately so, because they are all misfits, with different Talents and backgrounds, who have to work together, as all of Humanity in some way, so in a way, the Alliance is sort of a summarization of Humans and how they fight and stick together to achieve that goal. Also here is the Idea behind the Alliance that fits your analysis: Kusakihara: Originally, the concept behind the Leicester Alliance was a “republic based on round-table governance where the nobles are all out to get each other, so nothing really gets accomplished.” That was the key idea we started out with, but they all ended up being good kids! (laughs) The goal was to have each class’ students embody the characteristics of the place they come from. So it was the House of memes in the end LOL. Claude is beyond smart, so smart that he was easily able to figure out how Crest and Demonic beast functions, DURING THE VERY BEGINNING IN THE GAME, Edelgard gets nothing right and Dimitri has a bigger in-depth understanding of Crests than her though, so I can see Claude figuring out a way to reform the system by giving people with no status protection..i.e Affirmative action. Byleth would be able to change the world better as the next Sothis and they would rule as some benevolent ruler, though I would have preferred it if they created the Republic of Fódlan with both Byleth and Claude ruling for one turn and after Claude has left Fódlan, Byleth becomes a teacher and advisor to the future rulers of Fódlan from Garreg March, thus solidifying their role as Professor and having found a new purpose of life. On Claude not understanding Fódlan I can agree on that to some extent as seen with Hilda's death in CF the devs explained very well: Yokota: Claude’s exchange with Hilda at the battle at Derdriu on the “Crimson Flower” route is really powerful… Especially when he says to her, “But you were supposed to run!” Kusakihara: Yeah. I think he has a different set of values compared to typical Fódlan people. On these grounds, I would agree and he would as well, hence why he never wanted to stay in it and fix his country of Almyra, because his Motivation was born in that country: Kusakihara: He probably does. He has several half-siblings on his father’s side and he was constantly discriminated against by those around him, which are the roots of his character. The Claude we know today had many rivals to contend with, forcing him to use his cunning to devise schemes and come out on top, all of which is tied to his ambition. The theme of Claude’s story is him learning how to fight against xenophobic mindsets, and his original motivation for that lies in his homeland. The scripting team said that they used both Yang Wen-li from Legend of the Galactic Heroes, and Rajendra from The Heroic Legend of Arslan as a reference for Claude’s character, and it really feels like they combined the two. Claude sees things from a rational point of view, so if things got dire, Claude would beg for his life because the real victory is surviving. That’s why the one who can go on to survive in every route is Claude. He isn't completely ignorant of the culture and even embraced some of it, hence why he fought against Nemesis with all of his might and not backing down, so that argument takes it a bit too far, especially when using Edelgard, the Emperor of unreliable narration as she criticized him for not understanding the history of Fódlan, yet she had no clue about the real history and as such spreads half-truth and outright lies she had been fed by the Agarthans, look no further than CF before the attack of Derdriu. She is a hypocrite, a massive one of that, and should be taken with a microgram of Salt. United is a relative term and could be interpreted as a mutual understanding rather than Political one and your analysis assumes like most people that Culture is stagnant. Cultures change all the time and when the people change, so does the society, hence why the Belligerent Vikings became one of the most progressive countries of Europe and Germany, once having been the proto-Agarthans, became more progressive afterward. His deeds as well as Byleth will change the people and thus the culture, so the old prejudice could be very easily forgotten. The reason why it did not happen within the U.S is that the African-Americans never had been really been seen as Human and with the end of slavery, the racist White Americans used other methods of discrimination as they didn't want to abandon their dogma of white supremacy, though today it's more and more contested. Fódlan and Almyra going to war now are very unlikely now as they realized how similar they are actually through Hilda's and Cyril's support. Oh funny that you mentioned Rhea, Dimitri, and Edelgard because there is something I find odd with them in relation to Claude. Starting with Edelgard, you have the option to kill him and that's it with him, so the idea of Character deaths being worse in VW is not wholly true since you can kill more people in CF than VW, that it's optional is done, because the writers are a bunch of chickens regarding war and failed to represent this theme correctly in that route. Also, I will not comply fully with the Idea that Claude will achieve his goal in CF because unlike the other routes, an Almyran attack followed after Claude's departure or death( I will touch upon that in your CF video in more detail) and her lack of understanding of other cultures, due to her flimsy and naive hope that the Almyrans are more reasonable than the Church of Seiros, because they don't have the same fate...yeah I dislike that route and I want to touch upon that much more. point is that it's not really likely that Claude will interact with Fódlan again after all what happened there and his departure seems more of a man with crushed hope for peace rather than one, who believes in Edelgard, hence why he never gifts her his Bow. Speaking about that Bow, He gifted that bow to Dimitri, after the Lion King saved the Deer from the ravaging War Eagle, that seeks to conquer all of Fódlan. He also granted him the alliance without a fight mostly because he actually trusts Dimitri to make things better and actually hopes to meet him someday afterward, suggesting a possible future of Almyra and Fearghus to work together, as both of them love some fighting. Also, Dimitri is actually much closer to Claude's ideals than you think as Dimitri wanted to also bring equality in Fódlan and create a society that hears out the weak, thus being completely in line with Claude's view, but due to Dimitri`s trauma, he couldn't see it and die in VW on the battlefield alongside his friends. Also, Claude fulfills his revenge by killing the main conspirators behind the tragedy, though I wish we would have gotten his Herorelic after he entrusted it to Claude and begs him to avenge the fallen and that he should ensure something like the Tragedy of Duscur and the Punishment of Duscur will never happen and Claude agrees. Actually, Rhea helped his goal more than you think. The history of the Nabateans and the Agarthans, as well as the truth behind the Herorelics and Nemesis, could allow a lot of historical revisionism to follow and reduce the emphasis on Crest and similar to Germany, develop an empathetic shame that will see a lower, if not non-existent overvalue of Crest in the future, though they would remain as powerful weapons unless Hanneman develops some javelin of light to replace them. We even see Ignatz understand what the Agarthans thought about themselves as they saw themselves as the only true Humans and in their mind, it was enough to justify their atrocities. We have people defend Voldemort, so I don't see how it's bad that people don't agree on something. Also, the game has the "History is written by the winners" approach, so you can see every ending as good this way, though that is IMO bad history, that's how it rolls in with FE3H.

[@ordinaryunits4341]

I liked your analysis of my video, it was very in depth and you established your thoughts really well. I agree with most of what you said with some exceptions. I agree that we'd sooner see cooperation between Dimitri and Claude than Edelgard and Claude because when Dimitri is in his right mind he's far more open minded to different world views. Also I didn't mean to say that Claude learned nothing about Fodlan because he learned a lot about the history of fodlan while he was at the academy in a short time. I meant to point out that he is an outsider as far as fodlan goes which can potentially alienate him from understanding the full extent and worth of Fodlan's values; which could present some barriers to breaking down fodlans barriers. Also I don't necessarily agree on your point about culture, not in that its stagnant, but rather that every global culture has defining characteristics that can sometimes be incompatible with the values of other cultures. In the case of Almyra and Fodlan it seems that there might be some barriers to understanding each other, with Almyra seeming to have more overt displays of power through combat and Fodlan having more ingrained systems of etiquette that reinforces established power. But I can definitely see an argument as to how this can be supplanted. Also I don't necessarily agree that the narrative necessarily implies historical relativity, as in history being written by the victors. I think that the narrative reinforces the importance of understanding underlying beliefs and values behind conflicts to have a clear view of what's going on. Playing only one route creates an incomplete picture of what's really happening in Fodlan and ultimately obfuscates the truth. No path is explicitly written to be the best, but instead provides reasonable pros and cons that someone can evaluate under their own philosophical schema. Finally I'm glad that you agreed with some parts of my analysis and I appreciate the disagreements in your comment, it gave me more to consider.

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

@@ordinaryunits4341 Thanks for your post, though I might explain myself better with the post of mine above Claude being an outsider is not ignored, though he knows that and actually does his best to hide it because some malicious Noble or ambitious Emperor might use that info to blackmail him..come to think about it, why didn't Thales investigate his Origins when they were so busy killing off all Potential Heirs to the Riegan House? I think he doesn't have to fully understand Fódlan completely since no one is perfect and despite disagreements, Humans can work together. Cultures are no absolutes and change over time with the people in it, they are expressions of people and even the values change with them, hence why Cultures with a lot of barriers can find common ground with one another as Cyril noted, people are different from one another, even outside and inside Fódlan. Incompatible values change, heck our "western" values have not a fully "western" Origin at all. I agree that those cultures do have differences to overcome, but Inflexible are they not, as seen with Duscur and Fearghus in spite of their most recent conflict. To understand the game, you have to play all routes, what I was saying is that the player can decide, who is going to be the winner in the end and that's true, though I find Edelgard`s ending the most incompetent and disappointing, because she doesn't deliver her promises at all. Dimitri has to see his descendants to content with the Agarthans, unless he does his research and eradicates them, but for now, his Kingdom experiences it's Golden age. Verdant Wind actually sees a Revolution that the world has not seen before, since the times of Sothis, so it leaves a lot Open. Speaking about the things left open, We seriously need a Fire Emblem Almyra game, I even have an idea on how it will play out.

[@leoistari]

What I like of Azure Moon is that Claude must survive, And he ends up in pretty good terms with you, everyone can be spared except Hubert And Edelgard, which means less cassualities

[@ordinaryunits4341]

That's what I like too, as far as casualties goes azure moon the route with the least if I remember correctly.

[@sparkybolt2085]

I would say that Verdant Wind has my favorite ending overall for Fodlan. Silver Snow is basically VD, but worse. Edelgard's social Darwin system (see Yuwan's comment below) is inherently unequal and will easily be corrupted (or work exactly as as social Darwinism works). Azure Wind, while good, doesn't deal with the Argathians in a satisfying way, and whose to say they won't pull what they did in Byleth/Claude's paired ending? Claude's ending brings about a lot of change, while keeping the institutions that help bind people together (i.e. the church). Also, I agree with Yuwan that a more satisfying ending would have been for Fodlan to become a republic. While a strong monarch may have been needed in the first several years, I can see Byleth shifting the kingdom to a parliamentary system. I wish there was more space in the endings to give more information because I'd really like to know more about Fodlan in Byleth/Claude's paired ending. Do they ever marry? How would they govern both lands if they are a couple? Are the kingdoms still separate or were they unified? I wish the ending card was more explicit on those fronts. Also, doesn't Claude just abandon his dreams in some of his paired endings? It's interesting how that happens. Also, does anyone else find Byleth's immortality depressing? I feel like Claude would be the type to like immortality, so I like to think he receives some of Byleth's blood to become effectively immortal like her in their paired ending (basically what happened to Jeralt). And when their kids are old enough to rule, they both step down. A system in which power is centralized in one person for a long time creates dependency and is not a secure system. What happens if that one person is captured? Or they are somehow killed or fall asleep again? Anyway, rant over. Golden Deer is best house.

[@tahamohammad8842]

I thought rhea survived VW. The events that lead to rhea’s death in VW and SS are very similar with the only difference seeming to be that rhea is the final boss of SS. From what’s implied it wasn’t the injury’s that killed her in SS but rather the fact that you killed her. This is further evident by the fact that she actually can survive this battle if you have an A support with her and the avatar. Considering rhea isn’t killed by the avatar as the final boss and the fact that the other events are the same, wouldn’t it be logical to assume she lives? Maybe she goes into seclusion link indech or macuil but still?

[@darkstorm2579]

She survives VW if Byleth has an A support with her. She dies otherwise.

[@GreenWolf2k]

My thing is why did he fight Nemesis? I feel like Silver Snow should've allowed the player to have Rhea as unit and fight Nemesis for the final battle as Rhea has history with Nemesis. I wish Claude's route had more interaction with the Almyrans (is that how it's spelled).

[@ordinaryunits4341]

Yeah I wish Claude had more involvement with the Almyrans because a lot of Claude's backstory isn't clear and I think it would be interesting to develop it more. As far as the Nemesis fight at the end of Verdant Wind goes I think it represents Claude literally defeating the old world by getting to the root of its structures so that he can create a new one, but it still would have been cool to see interactions between nemesis and rhea.

[@tahamohammad8842]

@@ordinaryunits4341 yeah I think the VW and SS final boss should switch. Even in VW nemesis doesn’t shut up about killing serios and considering nemesis doesn’t give a fuck about who Claude is(he’s the only final boss in 3H who doesn’t have unique dialogue with the lord) it’d be cool to see rhea fight nemesis. Considering claude’s views on the church and the goddess and rhea’s view of non believers it could easily create a conflict, especially with rhea’s extremely bad mental state due to the isolation she’s suffered.

[@nicktoons125]

It makes perfect sense (IMO) that Claude fights Nemesis because - He's a foil to Claude: He is very much a dark embodiment of Claude's ideals. Claude seeks to overthrow the established system of the Children of the Goddess and replace it with a new order; Nemesis did just that. Claude tried to be a figurehead who would unite nations and bring people together; Nemesis did that, too. Claude believes that people are stronger when they unite; Nemesis draws strength directly from each of his allies. However, where Nemesis was a selfish, genocidal thug who achieved everything through violence, Claude genuinely wants to improve society for everybody, and believes in doing so through dialogue and diplomacy.

[@GreenWolf2k]

@@nicktoons125 Yeah but Claude and Nemesis have no connection. Nemesis didn't give a damn who Claude was and was purely focused on killing Byleth. It would've worked better in Silver Snow because of the connection the characters in that path had with him.

[@nicktoons125]

@@GreenWolf2k I still think it makes perfect sense, even with the "they don't have a connection." And I never will get the "VW and SS should have switched final bosses" but that's just me (know you didn't mention that last bit, but have seen people say that).

[@thatonearanara]

Fear the deer

[@isaaclemmen6500]

I thing about Claude's ideas that is easy to miss is that they probably mandate something similiar to the British empire for thier survival. It probably begins by trying to create trade networks around the world, which gradually leads to the alliance or the united fodlan gaining power over these places almost accidently. However as they start to get more power, they begin to accept that the whole world system is dependent upon them. Eventually this leads them using thier newfound position to get rid of the worse parts of foriegn cultures such as slavery, or widow burning. (Much like how in the post Napoleonic world, Britian crusaded throughout the world to destroy the institution of slavery)

[@ordinaryunits4341]

Yeah I think you hit on something pretty important, that being how Claude's philosophy is simultaneously highly tolerant while also being universal and all consuming. While allowing for cross cultural contact and cooperation, his system also assumes certain valuations and he fundamentally wants the world to acquiesce to it. He's certainly not as aggressive as edelgard when it comes to unification, but he's definitely more ambitious and far reaching.

[@Vigilanteblade]

With Golden Deer, it reminds me of the negative aspects globalization can have on many cultures despite noble intentions. Canada is a pretty god proof of where it can go wrong. Reccord levels of unchecked immigratons has contributed to history's worst housing crisis in history and a dwindling quality of life for its citizen. The "post-national" mindset of Canada has led them to willfully nearly eradicate first nation cultures, and they are currently working on the eradication of the Quebecois minority as well. When you talk to Canadians, they'll say two things at once: "Immigration is great! We must welcome more people and be open and kind!" Then the very same people turn around and demand the assimilation of Quebecois and call them unreasonable for trying to simply ensure their survival as a culture. Immigrants are used to drown out the Qubecois culture, to prevents its attempts at independence, and then sadly, a lot come to uebec hoping for a better life, which they do attain, and then proceeed to refuse to learn French and attack the ones that greeted them and gave them said better life. Borders exist for a reason, and while I understand his idealistic mindset, it's also not realistic. Fodland honestly could have gained much if they were to open up more, but tearing down every barrier is just as bad. A balance is required. Under Claude, you're to expect insane growth for a time, and then future generations will pay the price.

[@weeniehutjr.jr.4526]

Amazing analysis! I often see the Verdant Wind pointed to as the best ending Fodlan-wise, but I think there were some really good points brought up here. Personally I think that easily the greatest achievement of Verdant Wind is the complete destruction of TWSITD in great detail, as opposed to Azure Moon basically “accidentally” killing off every important member, Silver Snow not going as in depth as Verdant Wind’s final map, and Crimson Flower basically viewing TWSITD as a footnote. I do agree though, that a lot is left up to player interpretation in regards to what exactly Claude’s Fodlan will look like. I think that the reason this ending is often viewed as the best is because it relies heavily on what each players interpretation of Claude is and what ends he will use to unify the world. Claude very much strikes me as someone who believes in equality through diversity, and that the differences people have between each other should be celebrated. Meanwhile it seems In my view, Edelgard is much more in tune to the idea of equality through solidarity, the idea that if everyone can unite under one just flag or territory, there will be less conflict. Both sides have various positives and negatives. In the end, I think that Fodlan has so many problems within it’s structure as a whole, through the kingdoms horrible ideology’s on knighthood and chain of command, to the Empires severe discrimination based on class. Claude’s ending proves great for the overall world, it goes to show that Fodlan is looking to build bridges, not walls. In doing that though, it ignores the problems both Azure Moon and Crimson Flower deal with beautifully: the reliance on nobility and connections with those in power. In the end, I think that if you agree with Claude, you’ll find Verdant Wind most fulfilling. This was a great video and I hope you’ll continue this ending analysis series. I think that Crimson Flower was very much lacking in content and could do for an analysis (Hint Hint ;)) Keep up the great work man! And don’t overwork yourself! The quality of these videos is astounding and they come out so frequently, it must be very difficult. Take a break if you need to, we’ll be right here patiently and eagerly awaiting whatever your next content is.

[@ordinaryunits4341]

Thanks for the thoughtful comment! I generally agree with your take on the golden deer ending and I'm really glad that you enjoyed the new series idea. The golden deer route definitely obliterates TWSITD and that's the strongest draw of the route for me because I don't see much of anything redeemable about the agarthans lol. Also I appreciate your being understanding of the process of making videos. I'm doing well enough with the schedule as is now, but to hear that its ok to take longer is definitely comforting. As for the next video in the series I'll take your suggestion to heart.

[@basilofgoodwishes4138]

I personally disagree that Edelgard wants Equality because her system isn't about that, it's about the Strong being at the top, so her view is much closer to social Darwinism but more moderate than say Ashnard.

[@weeniehutjr.jr.4526]

Yuwan Y’know what, I agree 100%! I think Azure Moon sums up both my thoughts and yours together. During the meeting between Dimitri and Edelgard before the final battle, he talks to Edelgard about how people are not as strong as she thinks they are, and that her path is the path of the strong, and can therefore only benefit the strong. While I think that’s true, and that Edelgard’s future relies on darwinism in the idea of weeding out the weak in order to preserve the strong, I think that Edelgard believes that this annihilation of the weak willed is the foundation on which a new Fodlan can be built that in her eyes, can be equal. Throughout any route in three houses, it is apparent that Edelgard dislikes those in power, and believes that they exploit the weak in order to reach their own ends. The church is the biggest example of this, where she believes that Rhea has purposefully divided Fodlan only to unite it under the church and procure gold and extravagance from those who believe in the Goddess. Other examples include the social divide between nobles and commonfolk in the Empire, and maybe even the reliance on chivalry and sacrifice of soldiers in the Kingdom given her time there. If I had to guess what her thoughts are, it’s that, “Nobody can take advantage of the weak if there are no weak”. I believe Edelgard’s goal is to make the citizens of Fodlan reliant on themselves and not necessarily some higher power. Of course, that’s incredibly ironic given her status as Emperor, but that’s just my two cents. In a way, I suppose that is Edelgard’s equality. The idea that nobody has special privileges, whether crest or social status. In the end, I love how open ended each character in Three Houses is, and how anyone can derive anything about their motivations since the game never explicitly spells it out for you most of the time. :)

[@joaocisne556]

I hope to see Sethet, the papa dragon and Yuri, the final house leader soon

[@ordinaryunits4341]

You definitely will, I just got a little sidetracked with this video, the next video will be a character analysis.

[@joaocisne556]

@@ordinaryunits4341 no problem

[@rirayejohnson8079]

Verdant Wind is my favorite playthrough so far and I'm glad that you made a video on it. Claude's motivation for globalization is compelling and understandable. Although his dream might not become fully realized, his efforts in uprooting the Agarthans leaves Fodlan in the most stable position imo.

[@ordinaryunits4341]

I think verdant wind is great too! Claude's motivations and dreams are clearly shown making his radical ambitions understandable.

[@chromxrobinandcorrinxcamil9031]

Ah yes, Golden Deer, best route and house.

[@ordinaryunits4341]

We love to see some conviction.

[@chromxrobinandcorrinxcamil9031]

@@ordinaryunits4341 So glad to hear.:3

[@lunarking29]

Ah yes golden deer, the same story as Church expect with a decently written lord.

[@tyrianprotectionsquad8938]

Wait Rhea died? When did she die in Verdant Wind? I thought she just stepped down or something, because she didn't die on screen. Was it in the credits?

[@ordinaryunits4341]

Her death is never explicitly recounted, but I believe that she herself mentions that her injuries from the attack on shambhala left her in a condition that she can't recover from. There's definitely room for further clarification, but I think most evidence points to her passing away in the golden deer route.

[@chromxrobinandcorrinxcamil9031]

Also, Crimson Flower sux and is worst route, VASTLY inferior to this magnificent ending.

[@ordinaryunits4341]

Imo silver snow is pretty weak to play, especially after playing verdant wind.

[@chromxrobinandcorrinxcamil9031]

@@ordinaryunits4341 Silver Snow is bad, but Crimson Flower is even worse.

[@lunarking29]

@@ordinaryunits4341its literally the same story with the only addition is that theres a lord and Hilda (a good character is most routes but this one) is only there to be an expedition dump.

[@summonerfraco3603]

I liked this so much! Looking forward to the next one, good job!

[@ordinaryunits4341]

I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for your support

[@lunarking29]

Theres no route that is the best? Theres literally only one route that has a good story, and thats azure moon. SS and VW are literally the same story with the exception that claude doesn’t disappear. And edelgards route literally and i mean literally makes no sense. The way she goes by achieving her goal is idiotic. Literally the only route that makes any sense and has a good story is AM. The other ones are actually trash.