is childe REALLY morally ambiguous? or is he just EVIL? | tartaglia character analysis

[@Vickyef619]

The main Hoyo character trope - a multilayered male character that has his lore only in friendship stories and sometimes events, so most of the community mischaraterizes them so badly one cannot help but be pissed off if that's their favorite (or one of) character. Aka Kaeya, Tartaglia, Xiao, Diluc, etc.

[@zillynfox]

I hate it so much😭

[@dot2604]

i woudnt say that this goes for kaeya anymore tbh. with caribert and his hangout quest ppl have noticed his clear connection with khaenri'ah. i feel like most players are versed when it comes to his story (at least from all the vids and tweets i have seen) and hes not seen as just a hot pirate alcoholic anymore

[@Vickyef619]

@dot2604 I believe that his Hangout event dies more for him than Caribert. No matter how much I live that quest, it alone is not enough. But ppl don't do hangouts a lot, as far as I know. I agree that this issue is not so bad these days, but some segments of fandom can't let go. Let's hope both Childe and Kaeya, with their new appearances in quests, will fix that problem of mischaraterization

[@Sickness4daThickness]

​​@@dot2604 you give too much credit a community that to this day, unironically, believes archons grant the visions, even after literally seeing Wanderer get his from a shining light in the sky.

[@dot2604]

@@Sickness4daThickness there was a voiceline (forgot whose) that said that the archons do grant visions so ppl got confused.

[@Precelek]

In the beginning I didn't approve Childe lying to Teucer about his job, but after thinking about it I realized how important it is. Childe, as an older brother, is a role model for Teucer, and kids shouldn't be exposed to the violence and fight. Childe knows he's fucked up, and he wishes for a better life for his younger brother, so he's trying to be a civil, caring older brother in front of him. Thank you for the video

[@ryankwon8785]

Still, a lie is a lie. I understand Childe’s motive but Teucer is going to find out one way or the other. He almost did many times in Liyue. This backfire might be shown once the Traveler arrives at Snezhnaya where they might meet Childe’s family. Plus, Pulcinella is theorized to hold Childe’s family hostage. Childe’s main flaw is not thinking of the long term consequences of his actions or reading the room. I’m not saying he is dumb but he is somewhat disliked by the other harbingers for a reason.

[@lancerguy3667]

It’s worth noting that “release Osial to attack the people of Liyue” was Zhongli’s plan, as well. He wanted to test the new generation, prepared to step in if they failed. The only difference between them was that Childe did it under the assumption that only Rex Lapis could fight Osial off, so he did it to lure him out. Not justifying anything, personally. Morality is more interesting and nuanced than “good person”/“bad person”, but if your hallmark for irredeemable evil is “being indifferent to the potential suffering and death of countless innocents as you pursue your own aim” then Zhongli and Ei are just as irredeemable as Childe.

[@Cyrus_T_Laserpunch]

It's rare to see someone who actually knows why Childe released Osial, even the 2nd top comment on this video shows the community's ignorance on the matter.

[@nunobatista5822]

If the xhngli fans read this you are in trouble xD I spend 3 hours trying to explain that for some people but they used the excuse that he "was preparing his people" and guess what, they didnt understand

[@Eldr1tchGl1tch]

thank you!!

[@reactiondavant-garde3391]

I mean, if we going with this then Tartagla still will be the worst one from the three, because if his assumtion about Rex Lapis being alive would be false the city would been destroyed at least from his perspective. Zhongli at least knew he can stop Osial any time and in case of Ei she was never close to cause such amount of harm, because she was never close to nuke a whole city, like she doesn'T wanted destroying Watsatsumi island either even if they rebelled agains her. (Mind you I don'T defend the Vision Hunt Decree, it was messed up)

[@nunobatista5822]

@@reactiondavant-garde3391 yeah thats basicaly the story

[@Tartaglialover13]

I love Childe, he’s such a cool character, I love him 😍 ❤

[@otsuucurry]

You have very good taste, Tartaglialover13🤩

[@illmentaly]

He might be missed up and evil-ish but that dosent mean I don't like him as a villain I just dislike him as a person

[@Seth069]

what happened to your username? The first 12 were taken?

[@Tartaglialover13]

@@Seth069 idk

[@dramatic._.feline6764]

I think this person likes childe 😂

[@commraderanrin]

This is why I love him as a character. So many chatfic authors mischaracterise him as the dumbass of the group and it really frustrates me given the may layers of his personality. I have seen varying personalities of him in different works, but one of the most common and possible ones is that he sees himself as only a weapon of the Tsaritsa and as someone who deeply cares about his family and often pushes aside his personal feelings regarding pretty much anything. Hope Hoyo gives us more lore about him in Sneznaya because I’m kinda desperate to understand his character fully

[@fangirlapocalypse]

> chatfic authors tbf if you're reading a chatfic you should expect some extreme mischaracterization

[@commraderanrin]

@@fangirlapocalypse It happens so much and it hurts like what did he ever do that's so stupid

[@fangirlapocalypse]

i still read chatfics anyway but mischaracterization makes me wanna cry these authors MASSACRE them you see this is actual character assassination.

[@commraderanrin]

SAME LIKE CHATFICS ARE SO FUNNY BUT THE MISCHARACTERISATION IS CRAZY@@fangirlapocalypse

[@fangirlapocalypse]

@@commraderanrin they sacrifice quality for making it relatable 😭 sometimes the characters are all so OOC and talk the same and it drives me NUTS

[@mundurekk]

i think hoyo is going for this morally grey approach for most of the harbinger's and im all here for it

[@otsuucurry]

Yes me too! Hoping that all of the harbingers stay morally ambiguous & hopefully still playable too

[@BulletSponge71436]

Yeah, but not all Harbingers though. Dottore is, as far as I remember, a pure evil character.

[@AA-cf4es]

​@@noidea5927no, we know plenty. He tortured children, killed Kolleis mother just gor convenience and brought to madness people in the desert. You just don't know enough.

[@noidea5927]

@@AA-cf4es yeah that's all true but I meant we don't know his backstory and stuff. I don't like him for his doings myself, honestly. And I don't want his story to be a "good boy does bad things" trope. But I would love to see his path as a villain, how he ended up with Tsaritsa and what was a reason behind his philosophy

[@hi-ug4yi]

@@noidea5927well yeah but he’s a piece of shit and also he’s implied to be the scholar known as ‘zandik’ who is some guy that got outcasts because he just can’t stop blaspheming like a goofy silly little boy but like.. bad. also its implied he went on a date with a girl to ignore her and then come back to the date just to choke her to death over an argument they had

[@mariapazgonzalezlesme]

First of all, thank you so much for creating that essay calling out the Xiao's character and the misunderstanding of his character! Thank you so much for this! An important character trait about Hydro Users that all seems to share: they are like water, people only bother to see the surface of their personality, but have hidden depths that few bother to see. And he is no different, Tartaglia, Childe and Ajax are merely sides of him, but forms a part of him. Glad that you also pointed out his parallel / foil with the Traveller, and showed through the story. Such as: Childe is the middle sibling, so regardless of Lumine or Aether, he understand what is like to be the older or younger sibling and their family dynamics. Their opposite color palettes in their character design. Childe is silver, red, black and grey. And the Traveller (Aether or Lumine) is golden, white, blue and black. And both wear scarves. Both characters have experience dealing withe Abyss. Both characters are outsiders and like adventures. Both characters are able to wield more than one element. With the Traveller are the elements, but only uses a sword. While Tartaglia can use Hydro, Electro and Foul Legacy, and mastered all the weapons minus the bow.

[@otsuucurry]

Thank you for watching!! And yeah i find the parallel between the traveler & childe super interesting, hopefully hoyo will explore their dynamic more as we inevitably bump into childe later on in the story

[@gl1tchspectre_]

Actually, I think it's implied that the traveler knows how to use at least a bow as well, because they're canonically the one that teaches archery to the Resistance. If so, that's an even neater parallel.

[@-alovelygaycat-]

Wait, doesn’t Childe say he’s the oldest? We know for a fact he has three younger siblings (Anton, Tonia, and Teucer) and I don’t think there’s a mention of other siblings? Genuinely curious.

[@namikkou]

​@@-alovelygaycat-nope! He has three younger siblings, but he also has like 2 or 3 older siblings

[@-alovelygaycat-]

@@namikkou Where is that said? Not necessarily saying you’re wrong, I was just always under the assumption he was the eldest. He has that vibe, you know?

[@Laerei]

Childe's just misunderstood. All he wants is a good battle to the death and if he loses, he nukes the nearest city out of spite. Perfectly normal behavior. And he loves his family, I guess.

[@saveriocarro9399]

He kinda sounds like Vegeta if you say it like that lmao.

[@Yepitsmedude]

So mass Genocide

[@TheGelieace]

when did that happen? anyhow, he said the outcome doesn't matter, he just wants to fight strong people

[@majorblitz3846]

Ah, a murderhobo, classic move, Mr.Tartaglia.

[@LittleSparklingStars]

Uh I thought he literally just did that to lure out Rex Lapis after he found out the traveler didn't have the gnosis. He's a total himbo cause he got clowned on so hard by Signora and Zhongli. Scaramouche also thinks he's dumb.

[@chumbum3041]

All I see Childe as is that he’s a wild card, we don’t know what the hell is going on in his head

[@archonic_]

this still holds up considering the most recent quests will we ever know what the hell is going on in his head? who knows

[@yournerdking218]

I've always seen childe as a simple character He cares about three things his family, the tsaritsa, and fighting in that order I actually think he might be the best realized character bc that's just so human

[@LittleSparklingStars]

also a bit of a himbo, getting tricked by signora and zhongli. But there's also a lot to him. And I never had the impression he was the worst, but like kinda dumb and very weird.

[@yournerdking218]

​@@LittleSparklingStars I never really saw him as dumb more short sighted

[@Aurirang]

@@yournerdking218 Inexperienced and still quite temperamental is what i'd describe him as. He certainly can be sneaky and at least be moderately smart. I mean, he did manage to release Osial right under the Quixings noses without being caught at all. And par tof that is to figure out HOW to do it withour raising suspicion.

[@kamikazeyo1379]

One of my favourite characters in the entire game, he can either be a malewife or a battle junkie, he's a very flexible character, the most contradictory person. He became a fatui harbinger not out of vendetta to the world like the other harbingers like signora and scaramouche but out of his family's wellbeing but also get into more battles and fights than most other people in other organizations and serve the Tsarita till his last breath as her weapon of war. The gameplay too with the Riptide mechanics and how visually stunning it is and satisfying it is to see how an entire army get blown up by his might as the name "Childe" is highly feared on the battlefield. The decision between endless battles and family is a dilemma that only HE can choose for now

[@hayond656]

I fuckin love Childe, He's my favorite Character right now His Character to his Combat Capabilities, His lore I like them all

[@mintaglia]

here after Fontaine’s archon quest… so, comrades, who’s coming with me to break Childe out of jail?- c:

[@sanae_406]

Sign me up lol. Nobody gets to arrest him on my watch and get away with it XD

[@Shitophobic]

Haven't done the archon quest yet since I play at a slow pace, but i'm so joining you!!

[@Jade-kp6cg]

I'm 48 seconds in and I already feel so seen by this video lol He's my favorite character in Genshin and (unfortunately) one of my favorite characters is all of media, and it hurts me to my core every time I see the fanbase characterizing him as just a stupid meme guy when the max he's done to deserve that is be friendly, get fooled by Zhongli + the Fatui one time, and have a voice actor who sings song covers. No one thinks of Childe mains and imagines someone who's interested in lore and character analysis. Partly because a lot of his lore is hidden behind a wall of text as well, haha (liking any Genshin character is hell).

[@Wolfiechrm]

Watching this after the 4.0 trailer dropped makes me so excited to see him in the quest

[@walteranurantha5014]

And what's funny about Childe in the 4.0 Archon quest is that he didn't get immediately arrested nor recorded of his destructive actions in Liyue on the steam bird newspaper report earlier in Fontaine, never to be mentioned again.

[@udavol5]

​​@@walteranurantha5014Xinyan and Yoimiyw doesn't even know what Childe did in Liyue, so the only people that knows what he did is probably just Zhongli and us

[@_bfchilde]

@@udavol5 Yoimiya knows what Childe did actually, but she said that she's willing to treat him nicely as he was good to the kids (although she promised Traveler to keep her guard up around him).

[@gl1tchspectre_]

We stan the traumatized, unhinged ginger chaos bean

[@bshthrasher]

He's a good guy for his countrymen, family and friends, a loyal warrior, and he doesn't really care what others think about him. He has a purpose to serve his country and Tsaritsa, but not to care about foreign citizens, that's not his responsibility. As Putin said not long ago: "I’m not your friend, or your bride, or groom. I am the President of the Russian Federation, of 146 million people who have their own interests, and it is my job to protect those interests."

[@AnArtistInAVoid]

I really hope we get a rematch with Tartaglia in the future. It’d be a really fun to see the rivalry between him and the traveler end in an epic duel.

[@Lynemn]

I don't know about you, but I tend to have a rematch with him every week, and it just becomes easier to defeat him over time. At this point in the story, the Traveler is canonically so much more powerful that any rematch would be a curbstomp.

[@AnArtistInAVoid]

@@Lynemn i think there’s a possibility for him to grow stronger, after the first part of the Fontaine story

[@Lynemn]

@@AnArtistInAVoid He might grow stronger, but let's be real... no one is growing nearly as fast as the Traveler, who can now use four different elements. Traveler was able to beat Ajax back when s/he could only use two elements... now you can (at least) double his/her raw elemental strength, and then add in all the combat experience collected from fighting two gods, a much more powerfully ranked harbinger, and two elemental dragons. They'd have to upgrade his number from eleven to like, three or four, to justify a fight against the Traveler on even terms. I also doubt we'll fight Arlecchino (at least not by herself), as she is too weakly ranked (ten) and we already defeated rank eight. Although, perhaps your rematch idea could work if we fought Tartaglia and Arlecchino at the same time? That might be a fun fight, actually.

[@AnArtistInAVoid]

@@Lynemn good points

[@cajunseasoning1846]

@@Lynemn Knowing what we know now after the archon quest. I want to know what 'awakened' Childe looks like, whatever that means. This man is still hiding his best cards.

[@Silber_Ag]

Childe withnessed the absurd dangers that lurk just beyond the world and came away from that almost normal

[@sebay4654]

My personal interpretation of childe is that of a trauama victim who's constantly puts up walls around others very rarely showing his compassionate side beyond a few he cares about and with those walls he creates the child personality which is a distillation and focus on the traits that allowwd him to survive in the abyss and has developed into a borderline pathological obsession with fighting and if something were to happen to his younger brother or someone he cares about it would break him as the very thing that keeps him together falls away and all thats left is a monster created by love

[@sebay4654]

Tldr his father's the true bad guy here as rather then getting this kid therapy for his likely post traumatic stress reaction to immediately prepare to fight he instead sent his kid into a job where he's more likely then not going to reinforce that trauama through violent experiences

[@emiliabaran6830]

I just wanted to say that I absolutely love your channel and character analyses. So many people mischaracterize so many of them and your takes are extremely accurate. I'll definitely be sticking here 😊💕. Childe is also one of my faves in the game and I hope we can get a 2nd story quest when Snezhnaya drops (or earlier, I wouldn't complain). I also personally believe that Childe has potential for a redemption arc, however I don't see him surviving at the end of one XD. I think that he may die near the end of the story while protecting his family from the rest of the Fatui or while sacrificing himself for the Traveler or for the greater good, for example during something like a final battle (or something like that idk). But then again, it's debatable if Hoyo would kill off a playable character in Genshin specifically (even if they did so in Honkai before). Anyway, sorry for the long comment XD.

[@otsuucurry]

Thank you so much!!🥺🤍 i also don't really see him surviving at the end LOL while it has become a meme that childe has a lot of death flags i think him sacrificing himself at the end would be a good conclusion to his arc (as long as hoyo continues to give him proper set up so that his death doesn't feel cheap like signora's🥲). Also yes!!! We need that 2nd story quest hoyo! it's been almost 3 years😔

[@emiliabaran6830]

@@otsuucurry Exactly

[@igorbezmozgy3326]

Our friend group comes from the homestuck fandom and tbh the fact that we all agreed that "childe is just a russian vriska" is kinda telling

[@cursedcontent4207]

Fun fact you might already know but definitely didn't ask for, Beidou's and Shinobu's VAs have done homestuck voice acting.

[@TheActualDogempire]

Childe is sort of a "By any means necessary" kind of character when it comes to his Harbringer duties. He'll do anything to carry out his orders, including murdering thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people, if that's what the situation calls for, but in the same vein, he'll try to avoid it if there's a way to avoid unneeded bloodshed. It's honestly understandable in a way since his loyalty lies with the Tsaritsa, and considering that his pay as a Harbringer allows both him and his family to live comfortable lives and be completely taken care of, and also lets him get into the fights he loves so much, it's a situation of "Well, I don't like the less savory aspects of this job, but it also aligns with my interests so I'll do what I have to." Heck, I'm pretty sure a lot of people, if given a chance, would take a job that pays $2-3 million a year despite the fact that murdering people may be necessary (And assuming that your murders won't be punished by the law) Childe isn't a bad person, but he's also not a good person, he's just simply someone who looks out for himself, his family, and those he's loyal to first and foremost, and only considers others when there's actually room to help or spare them.

[@coriakacoron5851]

it's rumoured that Childe will get a fair amount of screen time in the Fontaine archon quest, in which he won't be able to use his Vision because of some disorder going on in Fontaine

[@wxndplumes]

I really enjoy tartaglia as a character! Hes one of my favorite characters in terms of designs and lore so it sucks that people just strip his character of nuance to be either a completely evil and irredemable person or just babyify him... Like yes , his actions are unjustifiable. Do i think hes completely evil? No. God I remember seeing a post saying that Childe is a horrible brother and i got SO mad bc did you even play attention to his quest. Yes hes lying to teucer , but imagine telling your younger brother that your job isnt actually selling toys and that you actually kill people .... OBVIOUSLY to protect his ypunger brothers innocence hes going to lie because theres no good way to tell a child that without ruining that trust. All in all i think hes fascinating as a character but also hes just some guy. Love that for him

[@namikkou]

This video definitely needs to have a part 2 cuz of the Fontaine archon quest, because I feel it showed off his character in a different light and may have changed a lot of peoples opinions on him Also he was totally a golden retriver seeing the Traveler in Fontaine, feel you could practically see the ears and tail when he noticed them and was so pissed off at the random guys for interrupting his convo with the Traveler Hell he even gave them his vision! It may not have been working, but it clearly shows he trusts them. There was nothing stopping the Traveler from just taking it and never giving it back😊

[@BlurryfaceOfc]

Yes, Childe does a make deal out of ice fishing. We meet him in Fontaine and the thing he is most eager to talk about is his time ice fishing with his little brother. Then a bunch of guys kept interrupting him and he just beat the heck out of them. That describes his character in a very simple way 💀💀💀💀

[@ColorCodeWhite]

I absolutely hate it when people humanize villains just because they sometimes show compassion or friendliness. Just because someone shows empathy or show favorable actions to some, does NOT make them a good person. Hitler was well known to be a vegan and a lover of animals. Does that make him "complex" and "morally grey"? There are also many different examples of these very well known evil-doers irl that has done irredeemable acts of pure insanity and evil, yet also known to harbor some odd sense of empathy and care for some certain things in their lifetime. Empathy and friendliness does NOT equal to being good. If their actions have caused grief and loss for others, by definition, they are not a good person.

[@iamhere4427]

He is like that meme from lilo& stitch , [ this is your badness level it’s quit high for someone your size ]

[@NoNameCherry]

If any, I love him more than ever now. The very unpredictability that puts him in that gray area fascinates me, and well, the good sides to him are endearing. Even if our Traveler who has a mind all her own does not agree to this and keeps having those negative lines about him. He's one of the pulls I don't regret in-game, and I am NEVER a bow lover (Mobile Genshin did that to me with its wonky aim and delays). But aside from Tighnari that I am still waiting to lose to get, I adore him. He's complicated and it speaks to me in so many ways. I'm glad he's re-running. WITH ZHONGLI no less! I have them both so defo pulling Tartali cons. I missed them both. I wish they can have that story together again. Their interactions are very amusing... 🥰🥰

[@ryomahoshi643]

I’m really glad that Fontaine is doing Childe justice (pun very much intended). I love how his lore is being brought into the main plot, and the game’s making it clear how truly important he really is. I still think that we’ll need to wait until Snezhnaya to get the full picture of his character, since we probably won’t meet the rest of his family or Pulcinella before that, but I feel like we’re making progress.

[@yoonglie]

not to mention the mischaracterization due to griffin’s (his eng va) memes and tiktok. most of the fandom thinks childe himself is a chaotic and silly guy, but in actuality he’s pretty normal. no hate to griffin, i even met the guy! he was great! but its a shame that he’s influenced the fandom is such a huge way. from the very beginning too.

[@ditul]

tbh, never loved a character so much like Childe Tartaglia Ajax..

[@NerdEmoji1067]

I feel like he was almost brainwashed by skirk (the lady in abyss who trained him). But underneath his bloodthirsty facade he’s still the 11 year old boy at heart.

[@massimilianoreali4398]

I think the problem is the monoceros caeli when he marked young childe

[@karisaysthings]

Nothing is ever black or white in life. That's why I find morally grey characters so fascinating. If written well, they're not meant to be simple or straight forward. They challenge our point of view in life and get us to see from a different perspective. It's interesting. That's why, to this day, Tartaglia is still one of my favorite characters.

[@basilsflowercrown9310]

Well we just got confirmation that Childe will be in Fontaine. I wonder if he’ll have to make the decision between family and fighting sooner then we thought. After all, you’d think that being on the travelers side would be the best place to get into fights, seeing as we became enemies of all the places we traveled to in some way and then saved them. Choosing the Fatui is choosing his family because it seems like they’d be killed if Childe defected. I wonder if we’ll be able to do something with Childe’s family in Snezhnaya, allowing Childe to defect without any worry. If he gets killed in Fontaine I will scream. I’m really excited to pull him and if he dies the moment I get him I will simply perish.

[@aleksamilosevic8792]

I do want to mention some things A lot of the reasons he is with the fatui and loyal to Tsaritsa is because of his dad. Yes he would ``get into fights`` but getting into fights isnt the same as almost drowning a nation So yeah his dad saw him being mentally unstable and decided lets send him to an evil organization instead of therapy. I really cant blame him for a lot of stuff.

[@andromeda_va39]

Childe is the definition of a good bad boy

[@walteranurantha5014]

And a definition of a good bad brother to Teucer;)

[@acerunraldmage]

I think he is more of a bad good boy.

[@Rpground]

I don't get how anyone could like Signora. Even if you give her the Crimson Witch backstory...it just makes her worse. "Oh no, I lose my boyfriend...time to murder everyone!"

[@massimilianoreali4398]

And she also blamed not the abyss or gold but venti that is the only person that is not blameable for that disaster

[@LowYummy]

she’s hot… literally she’s on fire

[@jadecoolness101]

Except she originally didn't harm people. She sacrificed her body to hunt monsters, and was rejected by humans for becoming a monster herself. Maybe if you read her lore you'd get why people might like her.

[@Rpground]

@@jadecoolness101 "Except she didn't harm people." Of course, guess we just ignore everything about what Signora did to innocent people, right? The entirety of what happened in Inazuma, the war? All those people who died? No, don't count? Even if you argue she didn't "directly" do anything...she still helped it happen... So, no...she deserved death...and deserves to stay dead.

[@jadecoolness101]

@@Rpground Love how you conveniently remove the word "originally"to twist the statement into something that no one even said

[@bunnysammy_]

Childe is literally the reason I started playing the game back in 1.1. Definitely one of my favorite characters when it comes to personality and lore. Glad to see him show up again the Fontaine archon quest

[@Azaleaaah]

This is very detailed. You're so underrated Its true that hoyo just left him like that, so I hope he gets something in Fontaine

[@risetteP]

I love childe so much and the way people mischaracterize makes me so mad. He has so many layers that are overlooked just to be either a murderous monster or omg just a little guy by the fans.

[@jamesreese4170]

I think the Fatui in general is a bit misunderstood. I think mostly they have a communication and process problem. I'm thinking they are not really up to no good, but are less sensitive about how they accomplish their plans. A lot of times the Fatui say things that sound like they feel threatened by the MC and are defending themselves when we come across them. Always makes me stop and think, that we are the bad guy.

[@professionalocchiolist4104]

"There you are, easedropper!" Is probably my favourite mob voice lines. It makes me feel like the bad guy when I come near the cicin mages

[@ryankwon8785]

Nonetheless, the Fatui leadership are still guilty as they committed war crimes and human experimentation left and right. The misunderstood part are merely Fatui soldiers who grew up wanting to be genuine patriots of Snezhnaya.

[@jamesreese4170]

@ but we learned from the Captain now in Natlan that the tsraritsa allows the harbingers to pursue their individual goals. So I’m not sure all of the fatui and harbingers are evil, clearly the Doctor has issues, everything you listed is specially linked to him and his ambitions whatever they maybe. I don’t think even the Doctor is traditionally evil. His problem is more that he places more importance on study and goals and everything else including life is inconsequential to him. I don’t think he’s motivated by heinous acts he just doesn’t care who gets hurt. Scara when he was a harbinger was motivated by selfishness to avoid emotion, but because of the harm done to him. Thus far Genshin hasn’t given us any outright evil enemies. Mostly misguided and selfish ones.

[@ryankwon8785]

@@jamesreese4170 Nonetheless, the Fatui are hated by every other nation. They have nothing but bad things to say about Snezhnaya and merely tolerate the nation’s presence in their individual nations for political, diplomatic, and economical reasons. Also, if the Tsarista just told her Harbingers that they can do whatever they want as long as they obey her, that is just her being an apathetic and indifferent ruler. Apathy is death as not caring of what happens in the long run can cause dominos of chaos and ruin. The Captain may seem honorable but he did give a whole speech of burning the entire world to forge a new one. He is clearly a fanatic but a far tempered one. Heck, the Genshin Impact title intros state that the people of Snezhnaya have no love left for the Tsaritsa who feels the same way for her people. This can be somewhat seen as Childe does not want Teucer to see the Fatui as role models. This shows how bad the organization is.

[@jamesreese4170]

@ are they? Mondstat let them have a HQ in the city. Liyue a bank. Zhongli made a contract with them. The fatui we meet in the Sumeru desert seem willing to exchange things for artifacts and relics but it was the matriarch using the fatui to gain what she wanted not the other way around. The captain is now in Natlan helping the Natlan people. Arlechino was respected in Fontaine and allowed to run her orphanage there and seemed to mostly want to help Fontaine she was just frustrated by lack of action. Other than Ventes gnosis all the rest were given to the tsarista and many believe Venti could have put up more of a fight if he wanted too. But I think he didn’t want to blow his cover of who he was right in the middle of the city. Only a select few know his real identity.

[@siyuren7723]

I think morally grayness is the best and there is nothing wrong with a chaotic good or lawful evil, heck, even the true middle is great. A person could sacrifice their family for the greater good, and another could sacrifice the world for their loved ones, to understand them and to see who and what they are from your own perspective is the fun part.

[@Not_A_Friend0777]

The walking spoiler for fatui lore. This man is the first character that make the fatui story significant in the game. Although Signora is the first to appear but we don't get any solid info from her.

[@kokoro7996]

Can’t wait to see what he gets up to in Fontaine.

[@CamieChuu]

i can already tell that this channel will grow .. A LOT im just happy i can see it happening ^^

[@hopes_peak_akademie__6646]

I feel like he is a rare case of a anti-villain

[@_pyroxenic]

I love this video and your other ones! I binge watched all of them and your content is defo one of the better ones when it comes to lore in genshin IMO. Also, are you going to do a follow up video (or at least part 2) of Childe's character? Fontaine realised and Childe already has a bigger spot in the new Archon quests. Was wondering when Fontaine story concludes will you expand on this video? Cant wait for ur future content.

[@SilverDroid14]

I just came across your Ei video after watching another saying Ei is the most badly written character. I like how you make your videos. Very light and short. Im definitely gonna subscribe. Looking forward to more analysis. ❤️

[@roseemmett5662]

I’m deeply devoted to him

[@maasikalama]

He's soooo so so cool :D I always get excited when he shows up!

[@bonk8311]

I will never accept the fact he has 261739101 death flags. If he dies I’m actually gonna cry sob vomit puke seize go into cardiac arrest and get liver failure

[@hermeschase4113]

I find Childe to be a very amusing and entertaining character, ever since i encountered him for the first time i noticed his lack of highlights in his eyes, in comparison of other playable characters, that followed by the fact he was very nice to the player even after he was revealed to be a fatui made me think "Alright dude, what's your deal? Something's up and i'm all here for it." lol I think when you have an ambiguous enough character you get to a point where you no longer give a damn if they're good of bad, as long as they are well written and interesting your only concern's going to be "Aight dude, am i in you good side or your bad side today?" I think Childe is one of my favorite Genshin male characters overall, as you put it, he's a wild card, instead of talking about his trauma and putting up an edgy persona, he talks about fishing and how much he values his family, at the same time he puts hundreds of thousands of innocent lives at risk, yet he makes sure to tell you he only wants to fight you becayse he sees you as a worthy rival and not because he has anything personal against you. I like to see Childe as just some regular guy who just happens to be a massive sociopath and an adrenaline junkie, but the fact he knows his priorities so well is what makes him not being straight up evil, i think that's what makes Childe so interesting, he's self aware, he knows what he's doing he is and what he wants. Even tho he felt perfectly comfortable gambling the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocents in one particular circumstance, he's also someone who doesn't regularly goes out of his way to harm innocent people on his day to day life even tho he'd be perfectly capable of doing so if he wanted.

[@extrajava9175]

Look at this guy! You cant tell me hes done anything wrong ever! No one that good looking is unambiguously evil!

[@serenum.tea.]

The thumbnail art is so fucking good woaaaah I love this silly lil guy

[@karaelzexceed666]

1:59 the funny thing is Zhongli actually stole that land from Osial and then randomly decided he's tired of ruling it so who can blame Osial for wanting his land back lol - like build ur slums on ur own land, sorry not sorry

[@emmanemonie6153]

9:27 “and whatever the hell this guy is” that’s just evil professor flitwick 🤷‍♀️

[@nailigniststarzear6689]

He is something like Chaotic fighting maniac....lol

[@soullight4158]

I mean.. to be fair there were theories that Childe s family is more of in a hostage situation back in Snezhnaya and from recent quests in Fontain we even see that Arlecchino can lay hands on his correspondence with the family whenever he is absent and she was planning to forge (?) a letter from him to them (we may thik she had good intentions but celestia knows if that s true)

[@dominickroberts4653]

Hes a bad guy, but this does not mean hes a 'bad' guy

[@crimeandpunishment-123]

Finally a good analysis, love that u stayed unbiased for the most part lol )))

[@charitysantos2101]

thank u for doing such a good analysis of my boy

[@TimeLords910]

to explain if he's evil or not i recommend playing his story quest first and then come to a conclusion

[@justapotato1176]

omg i love your channel character analyses are so interesting

[@crazypuppet919]

Finally someone pointed out how Childe seems so NORMAL among other harbingers. He's only opponent in this status is Pantalone which is semms to be JUST the rich guy, who somehow managed to be at 9th place above both Childe and Arlecchino. Which is what interest me in him. Harbingers are rated by power level so that means that Panties are STRONGER that Childe. And he looks even more normal than Ajax

[@weirdfish09]

Childe is good character both lore and gameplay. The only con that holding me to pull for me is SUPER LONG COOLDOWN.

[@bullymaguire3867]

I mean the toughest bosses die before his ability ends....

[@unstable7505]

Just because it was a hard decision for Childe to wipe out the entirety of Liyue doesn't mean he is "morally gray". He's not. He's an evil genocidal maniac. (i'm not saying he is a poorly written character, he's clearly not. he is multifaceted in all the best ways. if he was poorly written we wouldn't be having this debate). From a purely ethical and moral standpoint, there is just no way to justify genocide. Even if you had a gun to your head or a trillion dollars in the trunk, it is still not ethical to take another human's life. It is so utterly selfish of Childe for him to think that his life or his reputation in the Fatui is more important than the lives of countless innocent men, women, and children. I'm not saying anyone who thinks Childe is morally gray is unethical, all I'm saying is that we need to rethink how we view morally ambiguous characters because Childe is NOT one of them. A morally gray character is not someone who does good and bad things, they are someone whose actions are not easily categorized as good or bad. (im glad you pointed this out in the video as it is an extremely important distinction)

[@valdsforest]

watching this video now after fontaine 4.0 came out, very interesting to see where it will go with this guy

[@melmelon3393]

Hes a family man and loves the Traveler. That's all i need. Idc if hes "good" or not 🤭🙋‍♀️

[@themelancholyofgay3543]

Childe gets into fights after leaving the abyss... imagine the boys he fought... dead

[@bloopa7011]

Hes not pure evil but he sure is a terrible person who does evil acts. People are so used to the black and white straight forward tropes of good and evil and the evil not having a shred of humanity and if they are anything else they are morally ambigious. I think of it like this: real life villains arent the monucule twisting guy in a big seat behind a screen. They often think what they are doing is justified they have people they care about but if they still participate in evil acts with no twisted context behind it, Im sorry to say they still do evil acts. Childe knows full well what he does and does it anyway. "Hes just asilly guy who loves his family and loves to fight" people says as he casually will just kill whoever and summon a god to threaten to kill a whole nation just to get a fight and whatever the hell he does as a harbinger.

[@GrogieSnople]

What I'm hearing is that Childe needs some serious therapy

[@EifieDM]

My primos has all been dedicated to him. Playing him and making Childe strong makes me happy XD

[@caramelcwossont]

Childe is just a wild card. There’s almost no way to tell what is going in his mind besides wanting to fight and protect his family. Childe is very aware he has a lot of loose screws. It doesn’t help that weather if he is really evil is based on what would be considered evil

[@fpanda]

underrated chanel

[@theov3rcoat]

I love him so much ong☹

[@MSSProductions1]

WHATEVER, I WANT TO MARRY HIM LMAO

[@xFoul_Legacy]

Evil or not, I like him

[@runnerup15]

The framing about him is always weird; he's not a member of "the evil fatui" he is serving his country as a military man. From his perspective the deaths of thousands of other country men is no difference from all the people the us military kills every year. Most people dont think of the air force members as evil yet they kill a bunch of innocent people all the time

[@rajaryan-fe1oy]

Childe's character is truly complex and even fascinating to me, I just hope that since he's playable Hoyo doesn't lean too hard into his sweet boy side as they have been doing after the Loyue Arcon quest, to the point I sometimes forget he's the same character, and don't forget that he has this dark side to him aswell

[@kenzie_gxmer]

He has more of his dark side being portrayed but I’m excited for snezhnaya bc it will be crazy

[@SirsasthNigam.]

if Childe 's reaction to Arlecchino 's statement on Rooster doesn't tell u he loves his family and is just a "Thrill-Seeking Fighter" type of Villain i dunno what does

[@SirsasthNigam.]

Goals Steal the Geo Gnosis from Rex Lapis and deliver it to the Tsaritsa (failed). Serve Tsaritsa with the best of his abilities and protect his family in Snezhnaya (ongoing). Enjoy another fight with the Traveler In Snezhnaya (ongoing). Help Tsaritsa to conquer the world (ongoing).

[@wolfwoof2000]

when Childe skin 🔥

[@faerieinwonderland]

I don’t like Childe the character from the game but I like how Childe mains act in co-op lol

[@Vazecrow]

Morally grey very fitting for hydro archon as well

[@cursedcontent4207]

I like to imagine that someone on the EN translating team said "Hey guys, watch this" and translated him to sound like a psycho after the Golden House.

[@robertcampbellii9787]

Childe isn’t evil. I’ve said this a thousand times and I’m going to say it again. Zhongli used Childe and the traveler as a test. Childe did multiple things that Zhongli could have prevented. Did he do so? Of course not. He let Chide fight the traveler and he allowed Childe to summon the overlord of the vortex. All these people saying Childe is just a murderous psychopath are either lying and being dishonest or forgot about the second part or the archon quest.

[@amouramarie]

You're thinking of it from _Zhongli's perspective,_ not Childe's. Did Childe _know_ all the people of Liyue would be saved when he released Osial? That is the point where you need to judge where Childe lies on the spectrum of good to evil.

[@robertcampbellii9787]

@@amouramarie Childe was purposely left in the dark. This is made clear by his conversation with Signora with Signora even making fun of him for getting to cause chaos as he saw fit. Even if he chose how to create that chaos, both Signora and Zhongli were made aware of Childe's "participation" even with her mocking him saying along the lines of, "You should be thanking the Lord of Geo for letting you cause havoc." So, they both knew what he was going to do and what he was capable of. Now, Zhongli, at any point, could have said something to the affect of, "I don't think Childe should do this" or "I am aware that Childe is going to release Osial to attack the harbor, but I don't like that idea." Zhongli let it go through because of his "test" So, even if Childe was "being evil" Zhongli allowed it to happen even though as the Lord of Geo, he could have prevented it.

[@amouramarie]

@@robertcampbellii9787 Yes, I know all that. The difference is, Zhongli knew Liyue would be safe, even if he had to step in. Childe did not know this. It's the difference between pushing someone off a ledge because you know there's a net below them, and pushing someone off a ledge _to find out_ whether there's a net below them or not. Or, to put it another way, Childe fired the gun _without knowing_ Zhongli loaded it with blanks. Having said all that, I don't think Childe is evil. I think he's... amoral, maybe.

[@robertcampbellii9787]

@@amouramarie so, wait, are people arguing that even though Childe was a "puppet" that it was his fault that someone else was pulling the strings?

[@amouramarie]

@@robertcampbellii9787 He wasn't puppet. Puppets don't have freedom of choice.

[@anesa1069]

Can you analyze dottores character? I feel like he’s a good character to analyze

[@someoneyoudontknow7049]

I dare to disagree with the fact that Childe would become a more wholesome person if it wasn't for that fateful fall into the Abyss. As stated in his Character Stories (namely the 4th and the 5th), he had always been a troublemaker ('burning ambition', 'trouble-mongering nature'). The Abyss didn't change him per se, but rather - strengthened the already existing traits. Well, maybe he could've 'outgrown' them as some sort of natural child characteristics, while the Abyss and Skirk only encouraged him to develop them and never actually mature, but I still believe that he would become, more or less, the same person some other way, even without the Abyss experience (for ex., he'd decide to join the Fatui voluntarily, seeing the possibilities for traveling, developing his skills, and testing his limits, or would encounter a sword master somewhere in Liyue while adventuring as a member of the Adventurers Guild). I think the detail that the Abyss didn't distort a tootie-patootie boy and rather allowed a little rascal to unleash his chaotic potential adds depth to the character, sparing us that 'some dark force possessed him, otherwise he's an angel' trope. Like, imagine Darth Vader being a villain just because he was hypnotized or something, and not because he had already had that seed of darkness inside, with the social surroundings and further events only serving as catalysts, not the reasons on why he chose his path. Also, I have a sappy headcanon on why 'Taglia may be so drawn to to his family while staying kinda full of himself and arrogant, as well as why he is the only Hydro character so far with so much chaotic energy, atypical for other Hydro Vision bearers. His Vision could've been granted him after some incident with one of his family members where he saved them from danger, and after that he realized that his parents and siblings are, in every possible way, one of the sources for his strength.

[@Eduardomscarvalho]

whatever remnant of a good person he was died when he fell into the Abyss. he's just a sociopath now, really

[@seonjuseo7270]

His whole lore is that the man is just a dude on a 9 to 5 of evil

[@nunobatista5822]

I dont believe he is straight evil, he does not hurt people just becuse he wants, still he is far from being a good person, the dude has a few screw loses, he cant think straith, when he invoked osai what the hell was he doing? He lost a bunch of energy and power fighting traveller, even if Zhongli appeared what then? He would make zhongli give him the stone? And he puts his own brother in risk to reach his objective of "being a good brother" the dude does anything to reach his objectives, whitout even thinking, he will kill himself and a bunch of people because some stupidity

[@bearKJi88]

It was such a good video until you brougth up Pulcinella having his family hostage, it's such a dumb theory especially since it stated in his character lines he wants to conquer the world which perfectly alines with the Staritsa's goal about fighting against the heavenly principles, and as stated in lazzo creating a new world. If Pulcinella ever thinks about harming his family I think he would settle it with him personally and wont go and side with the Traveler for whatever reason especially since she/he wants to stop the abyss order which may as well can be the same as what Tartaglia's goal is in the long run if we go with the theory that his "I will conquer the wolrd" thing is influenced by the abyss. Also he is loyal to the Tsaritsa, very much so, thinks she is a gentle person and admires her as a warrior too. If he ever swithes sides or betray his archon it would probably be for his master Skirk or the abyss as a whole.

[@sabahadeel2142]

Child is the zuko of genshin

[@LordNeltharion]

I personally love and hate him at the same time, on one hand i like his simple desire of fighting for the sake of fighting strong opponents as it reminds me of the FF14 Villain Zenos, on top of his family bonds shows that he's still human, mostly. On the other the pure fact that he was willing to doom an entire nation to death for the CHANCE of it's God showing up after being told they are dead makes him unforgivable in my eyes but it doesn't make him pure Evil either, Scara is far closer to pure evil than he is.

[@inigocraft2446]

I genuinely think that he isn’t truly evil since there are MANY other characters willing to murder btw I mean characters from Sumeru as the characters get darker and darker with each region and I don’t think I have to remind anyone but he is from snezhnaya a very unforgiving nation being home to the fatui the freezing temperatures and the continuous danger that his family bc of a certain Pinocho like godfather

[@Vivan-8492vk]

Boxing him into such a narrow trope is unfair to his character.

[@faithfulw1shes]

Tbh I feel like he’s more morally grey leaning to the bad side

[@cheetin6553]

wait didn't childe and zhongli have a deal to summon the monster so that childe can have the gnosis

[@FirstLast-wk3kc]

It is hard to label anyone evil, cause the definition is interpreted in many ways. I personally think usually that naming any real person evil is off limits. With fiction? Yeah, it is much more plausible. Altho I don't think Ajax is evil. He is really messed up, unhinged and really selfish sometimes and etc, but he's not really evil, there is too much morality in his worldview. It is flawed morality, much more flawed then normal one, but it's enough for me.

[@juliekm6495]

Well Childe is unrepentant. He tried to kill the Travelers and everyone in Liyue and still to this day has not apologized or shown remorse. He thinks that dying in battle is the height of what he can do with his life, another adventure, and of course he wants to rule the world. Other than being a murderous maniac, he loves his family- sort of. He is not quite the “evil” Harbinger, but could still be turned if offered the right things. He does care for the Travelers, but not enough to travel with them.