Why Emet-Selch Is The Best Villain (FFXIV Lore)

Comments · 1.1K

• EP

  @Eppon6 · 4 years ago

  I'll never forget the first cutscene with Emet-selch in it. Mostly because it involves him proudly monologuing in front of the Garlean throne before being unceremoniously shot down by his grandson, his lifeless body comically flopping down the stairs before resting by Varis' feet with an utterly goofy expression. Only to for him to port back in with another body and continue monologuing, although a lot more bored now. And nobody even remotely mentions or references what happened. It was a masterpiece.

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• ZE

  @Zeppelee · 4 years ago

  Fun fact: Emet-Selch/Hades ranked #1 in a character popularity ranking of FFXIV characters, and is ranked at #5 in the Final Fantasy series overall.

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• DA

  @danielpina95 · 4 years ago

  One thing i loved about Emet’s design was his constant slouch, like he’s carrying a great weight throughout all that time.  Not till you finally face him does his slouch disappear, like he can finally put down that weight at the end

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• ET

  @EternalFellows · 4 years ago

  Emet-Selch: For those we have lost, for those we can regain.<br><br>WoL: For those we have lost, for those we can yet save.

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• RA

  @Ranixo286 · 4 years ago

  Elpis Hades: &quot;Why would I do something so Asanine and Megalomaniacal?!&quot;<br>Me: &quot;EMOTIONAL DAMAGE.&quot;

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• GA

  @GarredHATES · 4 years ago

  Kefka: “I’m the best villain because I destroyed the world!”<br>Emet-Selch: “only one?”

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• MI

  @MieHanz · 4 years ago

  There&apos;s a disappearing amaroutine shade that reenacted his goodbye with Hythlodaeus. You cant approached them too close or they&apos;ll disappear. It&apos;s near the &nbsp;lift to the top where we first descents down to Amarout street.

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• DE

  @devilry7111 · 4 years ago

  One of the things I really like about Emet-Selch, compared to many &quot;redemption arcs&quot; in other games, is that his experiences never become fully reconcilable with the WoL&apos;s. As much as he comes to believe in the WoL&apos;s ability to usher in a better future, he knows that it will still never be the future he wants, which lies in his past. The fact that he still gives everything for the WoL in their time of need (albeit not without sass) speaks to the depth of his friendship with Azem. To understand each other is not to pretend that the differences magically go away in the face of a &quot;common humanity&quot; (like so many redemption arcs do) but to believe that one can forge friendship without erasing those differences.

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• AN

  @antonyocallaghan · 3 years ago

  The reason he helps you against Elidibus is because now that he finally rejoins the athereal sea, he remembers the events of Elpis, and so, knows the WOL is the only way to stop the endsinger.

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• YU

  @Yuyurox · 4 years ago

  Emet-Selch is hands down the best Villain in the entire Franchise imo, I doubt they can ever top him. The fact they made me care so deeply for the &apos;bad guy&apos; that I was crying when he died, and crying again when he said his goodbyes in Ultima Thule is just mindblowing.

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• DE

  @Derpinator01 · 4 years ago

  I think another reason Emet-Selch resonates with players is that he echoes that part of us that clings to what we grew up with, both the bad and the good. He&apos;s the fan that loathes a sequel for doing something too new, he&apos;s the parent that forces his children to have his old hobbies, and he&apos;s the gamer that attacks the console lines that he didn&apos;t grow up with. On the other hand, he&apos;s the fan that cheers for a new release of an unpopular franchise, he&apos;s the parent that keeps old toys so others can play with them, and he&apos;s the gamer that keeps games he&apos;ll never play again.

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• AV

  @Avresem · 4 years ago

  What resonated the most for me in Emet Selch was the desperation. &nbsp;Not the pleading of someone about to die, or the frustration of someone that&apos;s been inconvenienced by life and the world. &nbsp;This is a man who lost everything in the process of trying to save it. &nbsp;This is a man who has no refuge from the reminders of that failure save what his memory can conjure up; and even such daydreams are ephemeral and a pale shadow of what he wants. &nbsp;He tried to move on, he tried to make due with what the world offered now, and everything he saw was insufficient. So he clung to his dream; at the expense of all else and of everyone else. He became bitter and spiteful, in the service of the one thing he felt could fix things.<br><br>Emet Selch is someone I am deeply sympathetic to, and one of the most relatable antagonists I&apos;ve ever known.

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