Esthar – Sorceress Memorial
-To be honest, this wasn’t my first stop. I went to see Tears’ End. Went inside, met an Iron Giant. Defeated it with difficulty and bolted. Creepy place.
-Music here at the memorial sounds… noble. Reminds me a bit of the
-We get inside. Squall tells some scientists that we’re taking Rinoa. They say no, and Quistis busts out some sweet whip action to scare them.
Whip it. Whip it good.
-She’s inside a circular containment thingy. Squall can’t break it open, so he goes the Gordian knot route.
-Rinoa falls out of the unit, into his arms. Hey, it’s the logo!
-This is nice and all, but I still think it’s a bad idea. I worry that Rinoa will go into Ultimecia mode before too long now.
-Some silent dude in an awesome robe and hat comes and beckons for the guards to back off. He lets us pass. His silence plus the Law of Conservation of Characters makes me think he’s someone from the Galbadian Trio.
He’s a big dude. My money’s on Ward. I don’t know how that’d make sense, since he is a Galbadian who worked later at the D-District Prison, but it’s still my best guess.
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The Ragnarok
-I do like that Rinoa acknowledges the uncertainty. She expresses confusion – she was so certain staying in Esthar was right, and delighted in equal measure when the team came for her.
-What now? Zell knows what to do.
ZELL: “Let’s go kick her ass! We’re SeeDs! We’re here to destroy sorceresses, right???” Dude. I appreciate the sentiment, but Rinoa’s standing like two feet away from you.
Lol everyone yells at him. A bit of tact maybe. But that’s not really Zell’s forte.
-First stop: Edea’s house. Rinoa wants to get herself a bit isolated in case Ultimecia possesses her.
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Edea’s House
-The team arrives. Zell and Quistis leave Squall to get Rinoa. (She wasn’t in my party when I came in.)
-This is excellent because it gives Squall some alone time with Angelo.
-Rinoa comes in. She’s worried about being a sorceress. Will she be corrupted? Will she be possessed? Will we have to fight her? (This is a particularly interesting one. I could see having to fight Ult!Rinoa.)
SQUALL: (Rinoa… even if you end up as the world’s enemy… I’ll be your knight.)”
THE PLOT THICKENS! Hot damn, I didn’t even think about that. What if Rinoa becomes possessed by Ultimecia, Squall becomes her knight, and I have to play as Angelo to save the world?
-Some major gender-swapped Buffy/Angel vibes as she talks about whether she’s okay with being killed by SeeD for the greater good.
-For such a morbid topic, it’s a really sweet conversation. I really like Rinoa’s body language – the way she kind of leans in and cocks her head to the side when she’s trying to make a point that Squall should know.
It’s a small design element that fits her so well.
-Rinoa relates a dream. Shooting stars. They plan to see them together. She puts on his ring, but can’t remember where to find Squall. She runs across the world trying to find him and can’t, eventually waking up screaming.
-Awww! He tells her that if that ever happens, he’ll meet her here. At this spot in the ruined orphanage.
-Zell interrupts. Esthar contacted them. They have a plan to defeat Ultimecia and want SeeD to execute it.
HOLY FUCK THE PERSON WHO CONTACTED THEM WAS KIROS!! This certainly lends credibility to that other dude being Ward.
-Time to head out. Before we do, Edea comes to say goodbye.
-Oops, not just that apparently. She tells us that she became a sorceress as a child, and again (???) 13 years ago. Did her power get locked away?
-13 years ago, she encountered a dying sorceress in this house and took her powers. Voluntarily. And sacrificially! The children her were terrified of that sorceress and so Edea took the powers to shield them from receiving the powers involuntarily.
EDEA: “Therefore… Squall? You must fight to the end! Even though it bring tragedy to others!”
There’s no way we’re getting a completely happy ending to this game, is there?
-I head to the back to the house. Rinoa asks advice on being a sorceress. Edea suggests finding a knight. Past sorceresses who didn’t have a knight ended up often turning their powers towards evil ends. Adel didn’t have one, and Edea thinks neither does Ultimecia.
-At first, this bothered me. A sorceress needing someone (specifically, some dude) to protect her above all else? Nah. But the more I think about this, the more I like it. It’s about connection when you have such overwhelming power, not about “needing a man” or anything like that.
This isn’t new. This theme of connection doesn’t come out of the blue, and it’s far from one-way. Hell, it applies to Squall as much as any sorceress.
I have a vague theory about Ultimecia. I think Ultimecia is future Rinoa. I don’t know how it’s possible, but with all the recent talk about Rinoa searching everywhere for Squall, I can imagine a scenario where Rinoa gets imprisoned, wakes up alone in the future, and becomes corrupted with rage in her search for Squall.
It seems unlikely to play out just like that, but it’s just a general theory.
A chosen knight.
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Next time: Esthar, to learn about Operation: Kick Ultimecia’s Ass.
