Ever since Varis's scenes in both SB and SHB, there has been a lot of debate on whether or not he's a great villain. Some argue that he was wasted potential and was shafted, others argue that he was never a compelling villain, and served his purpose.
As much as I have enjoyed Zenos as a villain, one of the problems of his character that I will admit to, is that he's not really a compelling metaphor for imperialism, since he really does not care about the ideals of the Empire, even to the point of respecting Fordola just a bit more than the rest of the racist Garleans. Sure Zenos can be a good metaphor for the might of the Empire such as how he takes over Shinryu, something that Ilberd intended to destroy the Empire, into a tool for the Empire, but as a thematic villain, Zenos really doesn't resonate with the themes of anti-imperialism simply because he does not care. Imperialism is bad, but Zenos does not properly send that message as a character because he doesn't believe in the cause, in a way, he's a strawman when it comes to portraying Imperialism. Imperialism while terrible, has a certain logic and pragmatism to it, something Varis properly represents in his arguments against the Alliance.
Even if he eventually learned it was all a lie, Varis remained resolute and firm in his convictions and the righteousness of the Empire. Whether or not you can agree with him in his parley scene, it cannot be denied he's certainly charismatic and a very aggressive negotiator who can shake even the Alliance leaders without even a single weapon raised. That is the type of villain who should have been the Big Bad of Stormblood.
The themes of Stormblood are of freedom and the evils of Imperialism, thus Varis would have been the thematic villain opposed to the themes of the story. A lot of the problems that some have with Zenos would have been fixed had he been positioned as the enforcer of Varis rather than the outright main villain. A Darth Vader to his Father's Palpatine. Having Varis ordering Zenos to hunt the the heroes through both Ala Mhigo and Doma, Zenos would provide the physical threat to the heroes, while Varis would provide the thematic threat. Think about how different Stormblood would have been had Varis been more prominent in the base MSQ, he's already been established as a villain through both ARR and HW, so it would be pay off for those scenes.
And with Varis as someone who believes in the cause of the Garlean empire, this in turn would affect Fordola and Yotsuyu's characters, Fordola actually has someone who would improve Ala Mhigo to be loyal to, while Yotsuyu would have a cause in addition to her lust for revenge. This would help the themes of Imperialism because we have characters who actually buy into it.
And in relation to the heroes, Varis could make an excellent foil to certain characters, such as Lyse. But most prominently I feel, Varis should have been built up as Alphinaud's nemesis. There's a lot of thematic similarities between their characters if you look closely. Both are scions to very powerful political families, both are from nations that look down on outsiders, both are charismatic political minded individuals with their own beliefs, both are inspired most prominently by their grandfather's actions,(for a given value of inspired in Varis's case. and lastly, both have a very powerful warrior at their beck and call, but only Alphinaud can claim genuine attachment and care for the Warrior of Light, while Varis does not care for his own son and uses him as a tool. Varis is every bit the user that certain people claim Alphinaud is, so the narrative contrasting Varis and Alphinaud's actions and beliefs is a massive missed opportunity.
Of course, in this version, Zenos wouldn't be demoted to extra, I'd envision him as mentioned earlier as hunting down the heroes throughout Stormblood, and cutting out Grynewacht who is kinda pointless. A lot of Zenos's writing problems would be resolved had he been promoted as a rival character to the Warrior of Light I feel. Plus this version actually lets Zenos do some hunting, something that despite all his metaphors and obsession, he actually hasn't done.
However, I do feel that post 4.5 having Varis willingly align himself with the Ascians and ready to cause Calamities despite how it's quite clear it would also hurt the Garleans too, dealt a fatal blow to his character. Had he survived 5.0, he would have merely turned into an inferior Emet-Selch. Someone who wants to turn the world back to the old one, create the master race, and cause rejoinings but just without the history and character that made Emet-Selch so compelling, and it would also be repetitive. And thus, that's why I feel Zenos killing him was the better option.
In conclusion, I feel Varis should have been the big bad of Stormblood because he actually has the character to be an imperialist bad guy and be the thematic villain to properly condemn Imperialism than Zenos, and would make a great foil to the heroes, while Zenos could be the Warrior of Light's nemesis.
submitted by /u/MegaGamer235
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As much as I have enjoyed Zenos as a villain, one of the problems of his character that I will admit to, is that he's not really a compelling metaphor for imperialism, since he really does not care about the ideals of the Empire, even to the point of respecting Fordola just a bit more than the rest of the racist Garleans. Sure Zenos can be a good metaphor for the might of the Empire such as how he takes over Shinryu, something that Ilberd intended to destroy the Empire, into a tool for the Empire, but as a thematic villain, Zenos really doesn't resonate with the themes of anti-imperialism simply because he does not care. Imperialism is bad, but Zenos does not properly send that message as a character because he doesn't believe in the cause, in a way, he's a strawman when it comes to portraying Imperialism. Imperialism while terrible, has a certain logic and pragmatism to it, something Varis properly represents in his arguments against the Alliance.
Even if he eventually learned it was all a lie, Varis remained resolute and firm in his convictions and the righteousness of the Empire. Whether or not you can agree with him in his parley scene, it cannot be denied he's certainly charismatic and a very aggressive negotiator who can shake even the Alliance leaders without even a single weapon raised. That is the type of villain who should have been the Big Bad of Stormblood.
The themes of Stormblood are of freedom and the evils of Imperialism, thus Varis would have been the thematic villain opposed to the themes of the story. A lot of the problems that some have with Zenos would have been fixed had he been positioned as the enforcer of Varis rather than the outright main villain. A Darth Vader to his Father's Palpatine. Having Varis ordering Zenos to hunt the the heroes through both Ala Mhigo and Doma, Zenos would provide the physical threat to the heroes, while Varis would provide the thematic threat. Think about how different Stormblood would have been had Varis been more prominent in the base MSQ, he's already been established as a villain through both ARR and HW, so it would be pay off for those scenes.
And with Varis as someone who believes in the cause of the Garlean empire, this in turn would affect Fordola and Yotsuyu's characters, Fordola actually has someone who would improve Ala Mhigo to be loyal to, while Yotsuyu would have a cause in addition to her lust for revenge. This would help the themes of Imperialism because we have characters who actually buy into it.
And in relation to the heroes, Varis could make an excellent foil to certain characters, such as Lyse. But most prominently I feel, Varis should have been built up as Alphinaud's nemesis. There's a lot of thematic similarities between their characters if you look closely. Both are scions to very powerful political families, both are from nations that look down on outsiders, both are charismatic political minded individuals with their own beliefs, both are inspired most prominently by their grandfather's actions,(for a given value of inspired in Varis's case. and lastly, both have a very powerful warrior at their beck and call, but only Alphinaud can claim genuine attachment and care for the Warrior of Light, while Varis does not care for his own son and uses him as a tool. Varis is every bit the user that certain people claim Alphinaud is, so the narrative contrasting Varis and Alphinaud's actions and beliefs is a massive missed opportunity.
Of course, in this version, Zenos wouldn't be demoted to extra, I'd envision him as mentioned earlier as hunting down the heroes throughout Stormblood, and cutting out Grynewacht who is kinda pointless. A lot of Zenos's writing problems would be resolved had he been promoted as a rival character to the Warrior of Light I feel. Plus this version actually lets Zenos do some hunting, something that despite all his metaphors and obsession, he actually hasn't done.
However, I do feel that post 4.5 having Varis willingly align himself with the Ascians and ready to cause Calamities despite how it's quite clear it would also hurt the Garleans too, dealt a fatal blow to his character. Had he survived 5.0, he would have merely turned into an inferior Emet-Selch. Someone who wants to turn the world back to the old one, create the master race, and cause rejoinings but just without the history and character that made Emet-Selch so compelling, and it would also be repetitive. And thus, that's why I feel Zenos killing him was the better option.
In conclusion, I feel Varis should have been the big bad of Stormblood because he actually has the character to be an imperialist bad guy and be the thematic villain to properly condemn Imperialism than Zenos, and would make a great foil to the heroes, while Zenos could be the Warrior of Light's nemesis.
submitted by /u/MegaGamer235
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Continue reading...