"The moons full of ascians." WoL comes back from the moon, grabs a spear, "Moons haunted" Alphinaud: "wait, what?" WoL, Graha, Alisae, suiting up: "Moons haunted."
@@meilaolsen2212 People have said things, and they were never heard from again. Let this be a cautionary tale, lest you end up like them too. *Nods sagely* In other words: Mods are watching.
Why does it feel like you have a little tally sheet of right and wrong theories, and in the inevitable full spoiler cross over you're gonna dig them out and sit the boys down to give them their grades.
I love when people guess on the rest of a story. I have no choice but to let you cook; I'm not touching the pots, pans, or seasonings. I'm glad you guys are having a blast!
Right? How right they are at times, and how wrong they are at times too, and how some of it may tie in to the future that not even those who are caught up fully understand yet... It's amazing.
I never found it to be "he died for fun", it always felt more like "he kept trying, and trying, and *trying* to live in this new world and it was never enough, it was always a pale imitation" and that was a huge factor effecting how I feel about the guy. Poor (genocidal) Emet.
I took it as wherever you go you're still you. Like his goal post will keep moving, his families will never be good enough, death will never be restful enough, because in the end Emet has already decided.
@@MirroredDreamscape in the short story about Emet there was actually one moment where he was actually happy with something in this new world. He actually felt hope, but he didn’t know for what. However, it got cut short too soon and from the way it was written, that was sort of the final nail in the coffin for Emet. The short story is called “Through his Eyes”
@@OddManeuver Yeah, I think that after suffering the loss of eternal paradise, every shred of hope he could possibly have being as fleeting as a mortal life must eat at him.
I love how in your early videos there was a sense of "I mean it's alright. I'm starting to see why people might like it" and now you're coming to these videos with multi-sentence lore dialogue quotes prepared haha
Amaurot isn't just a monument to Emet's failure in the sense that it's a reminder of what he lost -- I think it's also meant to be a reenactment of him losing it. He built it on a dying world he fully believed would soon be rejoined with the Source. He rebuilt Amaurot just so he could watch it fall to calamity again, like building a sand castle just to watch the tide destroy it. On the other hand, it was an extension of his test for us: if we could stop the First from rejoining, and therefore save his recreated Amaurot, then we will have done something he wasn't able to do many thousands of years ago, and we will have proven ourselves worthy of carrying on the legacy of his people.
Fun fact, Amaurot is the name of the capital city of Utopia from Thomas More's 1516 book ....Utopia. The narrator is told about the island nation of Utopia by a fellow traveller Raphael Hythlodaeus. 👀
@@Deuzen_FIN I mean, he does kind of obfuscate the whole Hydaelyn thing a bit. "We would offer up some of the star's living energies," Oh yeah? What energies? Who? When? How? Little bit of conveniently ambiguous wording there. Was it flora? Was it fauna? Was it soylent green? Come on now, you're being a little cheeky about this thing. You had no issue explicitly emphasizing the noble sacrifices that brought forth Zodiark and healed the world, but then it comes to the sacrifices to bring them back and you get awfully vague." In that sense, he speaks nonsense, I suppose.. sorta.
"Time wears you down, aye. But solitude eats away at you. It was this close to finishing me off. But as bad as it got - as empty as I felt, I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for Emet-Selch. All of which is a long way of saying: don't make a choice that leaves you alone. Nothing is worth that, especially not eternity. " - Ardbert One of my favourite lines in the game and I think Ardbert is a great foil to Emet-Selch. Brings a different sort of perspective to his motivations. Also, you're so right about making a wall of fire work. I was one of those who got burned by all the lacklustre FF games and FF14 just comes in with nothing but outdated looking graphics and I'm still crying every other minute. Story is so important.
They even held back during the MSQ to make the wall of fire land! We had the big fire in the trailer that burnt down the village in Rak'tika before the Night's Blessed went to Slitherbough, but that wasn't even in the MSQ either and was more of a "This is what they were up to in our absence"
A bit of clarification. The thirteen red masked Ascians are all former convocation members. 3 (Lahabrea, Elidibus and Emet-Selch) were able to avoid being sundered. The remaining 10 were sundered(that’s the category that Nabriales and Igeyorhm belong to. )
Garret and Kyle talking about tropes they hate in past streams and how they're scared Shadowbringers won't land for them for being such a cosmic story Me: /eating popcorn and laughing THEY DON'T KNOW
Right? I see them kind of bracing for things that suck and I'm over here like, "Guys? Guys. Hey. That part that sucks? It's not coming. Enjoy yourself." LOL
The bit where it really clicked for me was actually the boss battle, where you're about to win, you summoned your light and it's the last moments of the in game boss battle and he calls out "That light split the world, and every life upon it!" That's when the real "every villain is the hero of their own story" feels hit me. Because he's right. To him, that light represents evil, his past being taken away from him and everything he knew being broken.
@@AutumnSteven or the agonizing despair after the trial is over.... The despair that everything he'd done would be for nothing... that he had finally, finally, failed his people yet again... Failed Hythlo.
Seeing both Garrett and Kyle vibrate with excitement and crushed by the weight of how hard it is to explain why this game is so special is so cathartic. One of the highest form of joy this game can give us, as fans, is to see other people finally have the entire experience click with them. The moment they understand why so many of us elevated this to a near cult-like status. You just can't put into words the entire adventure. It is something to be lived and, let me tell you two, you both lived it perfectly. From taking your time to checking out everything the world could offer. From spending time alone together off-streams to discovering new things with a plethora of fans with you. You two are blessed with such a great first playthrough. And we're just getting started!
We can never experience it again ourselves, but we can experience it again vicariously through other people, and streaming is the absolute perfect medium for that.
When Y'shtola chimed in on what she was seeing when Amaurot was revealed.. oooh.. chills every time. All the way up to this point Emet Selch has shown he is powerful but you almost feel like he isn't as strong as you're worried he could be. And then Y'shtola tells you this city, larger than anything habitable you've ever seen up to this point, is actually just an enchantment being sustained by Emet Selch and you're just like "Oh shit.. and I came here to fight this dude?"
“I need to talk to *anyone* about the experience I just had” is exactly how I felt about it. And the problem is that you have to try to be normal about it but how can you be normal about something that affected you so deeply? It can be hard for me, and others I’m sure, to talk about this game in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m exaggerating in order to get someone into the cult.
I remember my own journey through this expansion, from when the Scions were spirited away to the first credit roll. What struck me was how important all the characters were to my journey, and how much I relied on them. Having the choice of "standing together" with them and not being alone even when all hope seemed lost was so monumental.
I think it took me a little bit longer because some of those early dungeon mechanics (mostly tower of zot) took a lot more adjusting than what I was used to
Endwalker dropped on a friday, and I was done the MSQ monday morning. What a fucking RIDE, I swear I spent like 20% of the time weeping and about as much cheering lmao Also, the queues were incredible... I would probably have been done sunday night if I didn't have to wade through it 4 times lol And good lord, the queues for the trials were like 40-min waits, as a tank of all things.
Very few plot threads get left behind in FFXIV, including the completely optional micro-plots, like NPC's moving to specific places and doing their own thing while the story moves forward, which a lot of people won't even see, read, or experience. There's always a side-quest, role-quest, blue-quest or main-story quest resolving something or other - and so much of it is purely options. That's just one of the many things that make FFXIV so good, and it's satisfying when you hear someone say "They didn't explain X", and all you can do is smile, knowingly.
It's crazy how this music (Neath Dark Waters) can trigger this feeling akin to nostalgia towards a city you are seeing for the first time. This melody, along with its leitmotifs, invoke tears in my eyes like 50% of the time.
I remember Garret voicing his dislike of precursor races in an earlier video and sweating a bit wondering how he would take the Ascian reveals. Glad it landed.
@@DiMacky24 Endwalker devasted me so much but I can't even explain to my co-worker why it was so heart-crushing. Even spoiling the entire plot doesn't even do the story justice.
@kkcat Haha yep. I don't know how Yoshi-P and team will get around this in the future. At some point they need to abridge the previous expansions so new players aren't overwhelmed. They just miss all the stuff that made that story so impactful.
@@thatonegeeksite5251 Hard for me to choose. I'm going to be a dirty cowardly fencesitter and say "Shadowbringers and Endwalker are good as one complete package so I'll judge them as it, not apart."
I fully agree with the book analogy. When I was about halfway through Shadowbringers, I began to realize that I felt as if I were no longer playing a game but experiencing an incredible novel through a game. Like most great novels, it is an experience that I will carry and cherish for the rest of my life.
You guys might have missed when Emet said "*Should* you survive the rejoinings..." implying we might not be able to. His plan was just a chance not a guarantee
Loved the discussion here, I feel like it probably could have gone on for hours more and I'd be happy but you gotta cut it somewhere. I'm glad you talked about how it's so hard to express all the emotions that come with playing this game - it's so frustrating trying to tell my family "no but it's REALLY GOOD" without being able to back it up with anything. I think that's why this game has so many "emotional vampires", because knowing that someone else will come to understand this crazy impressive experience is almost a comfort in a way.
Preach's reaction to first time seeing Amaurot will never not be an amazing moment to behold. His love for the Bioshock series made this reveal even better. The art deco style architecture of this zone was a perfect fit. The aesthetic may look alien to the scions or the Ondo but for Emet it's a constant reminder of his and his brethren's milleniums long burden and responsibility to return their world to what it once was. I absolutely love Neath Dark Waters theme. That music just gives off a very calming vibe so much that I always play it in the background whenever I'm reading or about to go to sleep.
I have only a single critique of this video: I want the next one right now. You did too good a job prepping me for the rest, and I don't want to wait a week! Seriously though, great job and fascinating discussion!
That line, "welcomed death's sweet embrace," gave me chills. Cause he's talking about his death as Emperor Solus. If you go back and watch his introduction scenes, he is telling Varis that his death was meticulously planned and he saw it as a REST. A rest Elidibus called him back from when Lahabrea died. By the time we confront him in Amaurot he just wants this to be over. He wants to die, but can't allow himself to stop and he knows he probably has another few hundred years before his work is finished.
12000 years and he was only half way done , i think its more than a few hundred away. especially given how long it would take for the source to recover from the black rose calamity.
Note just hisbdeath as Solus, though thats the moat recent/relevant. Hes insinuating hes done this many, many times. Lived full lives as a "mortal" in disguise and weclomes death mutliple times. This is a cycle he has been in for a LONG time.
@@ogrimbothesour2976 I reckon they were speeding up the plan, since the eighth calamity was coming just five years after the seventh, but yeah. No guarantees of that.
Yeah, Emet-selch when you get to Amaurot seems like a conflicted man. Stuck between wanting to just go, to rest, to forget about it all, and his solemn duty, his thousands upon thousands of years long promise to bring his people back. The WoL is the tiebreaker here, which is why when he goes out, he offers a smile. He effectively was warring internally between the decision to die and keep fighting and he commits suicide by WoL, allowing him to rest while also reassuring himself that he gave it his all, that he doesn't need to feel guilty for going out.
Emet knew what he is doing is not right, but felt its his duty to his people, even if it means becoming monster. He wasnt mad, just desperate. Abandoning his quest would mean his people are gone for good and everything he have done was futille. Only at very end he realizes it was just hopeless dream, his people are long gone and nothing brings them back. Thats what his last words meant.
I like the implication a figment of his imagination subtly sabotaged his plans simply because the people he was trying to save wouldn't approve of how far he was going to save them.
No, he literally said that he doesn’t think murdering people is evil because he doesn’t see them as truly alive. He doesn’t think what he’s doing is wrong. Not sure how you come to another conclusion.
@@salami155 I mean he says alot but it doesn't mean people believe him 100%. To me it just sounds like copium. It's like how Emet goes "Imagine clinging to your friends lol" and everyone just going "Bruh".
@@salami155 "Look at me", Look what i have become. Emet-Selch doesnt try to excuse to you, he tries to excuse to himself. I will kill, murder milions, because thats all i have left. Thats what monster i become in my quest. Its called 'reading between lines'.
It's not often you see the Antagonist's best friend in any media. Someone who is the Garrus to the villain's Shepard. Someone who genuinely cares for the villain, and vice versa. It really humanizes them, and is a great tool for writers to make sure the villain is understandable and relatable.
This is like seeing a little kid go to the pool for the first time. They have their feet in the water and it's the most amazing thing to them but everyone around is waiting with baited breath for them to submerge and see how deep the pool really goes. I'm going to have to load up on so much popcorn. The Hythlodaeus thing has always fascinated me. A character is introduced that you have never heard of. You spend 4 or 5 minutes conversing with them and in that brief time the writers managed to make him one of the most memorable and endearing characters in the expansion.
Emet wasn't killing parts of his buddies to bring back the other half. He was rejoining them. Meaning 8/14s of Amaurotine souls, that are some people in the Source, would be Rejoined through Calamities, each representing a single 1/14th of a soul that is to be rejoined back into full Amaurotine/Ancient souls. Souls return to the aetherial sea when people die, they don't disappear. Hence why Emet doesn't even consider us alive. We're fragments that can be rejoined. Also, Emet wasn't dying for fun. He tried his best to try and understand fragmented people, but he wasn't able to because they waged war constantly unlike the Ancients... So he started feeding into it to bring the Ancients back, because he thought we weren't worthy to be the new stewards.
@@Loki_Trickster Also let's not forget his easily calling back Yshtola's soul from the Aetherial Sea. As Hades who has dominion over the souls of the dead, Emet-Selch non-chalantly peering through the aetherial sea and plucking her soul back is super on brand.
He understood them pretty dang well if he had kids with them, created elaborate scenarios to manipulate their emotional state, and also funded theater performances for his favorite acting troops. He's full of shit, he just didn't care.
Big same. I love a good melancholy piece of music, and this is for sure one of my favorite melodies - and I love that it's got multiple incarnations in the game.
When you guys finally finish Endwalker, I NEED a video going over how wrong (or right) you were in your speculations. Like there were so many points in this video where I was like "Yes!" only for you guys to immediately swerve left. Hope you guys are also checking out Tales of the Shadows, these little side stories add so much to the overall story, like perhaps giving voice to what Lahabrea was like before the sundering and the marked change in him (it's not an exact answer but simple observations from the other paragons).
A thing you wondered about: Emet _is_ tempered by Zodiark, as were the other convocation members who summoned Zodiark with him. He explicitly says this, in optional dialogue you can have when he's just hanging around between quest objectives. Don't remember if you've read that, so mentioning it just in case.
I’ve been playing MMOs for about as long as you guys have-i was playing WoW back in 04. Exiting that cave, hearing the ticking clock and seeing Amaurot for the first time was the most electrifying moment I’ve had in an MMO since I first stepped foot in, like Elwynn Forest or Westfall. I felt like I instantly understood the melancholy that was driving Emet, but more than that, I wanted to drop everything and explore that city with every fiber of my being. XIV is totally a theme park MMO-a great one-which struggles with putting you in MMO environments that you want to explore for gameplay reasons. With Amaurot, they did not miss.
Oh Emet IS enthralled. If you talk to him again (I believe you guys did) in one of the scenes we ask and he confirms that everyone present at Zodiark's summoning was instantly tempered.
And the thing is, you can't have those experiences, you can't bring your whole self to the scene and meet the story that's being told, if you don't have that trust you expressed earlier in the video. The journey from ARR forward, for me, was in part an exercise in restoring my ability to trust that way, something that had decayed over years of almost-good from Blizzard, and Shadowbringers was the culmination of that healing. Remember what it's like to be told a good story by people you trust? I'm never leaving. Loved hearing your speculation on the Convocation and the Warrior of Light's origins, too! You've got some really cool ideas~
The bad guy's closure here hit everyone hard (avoiding spoilers just in case). But that is just 5.0... just have faith in their ability to destroy you emotionally.
Seeing Amaurot for the first time was such an experience. When it was first hinted that there was something deep in the Tempest in those early quests, I figured it was some kind of villain castle or bunker of sorts. I wasn't expecting an entire, recreated city. And the feel of it definitively was melancholic, especially with those shades of people that were wandering around cluelessly, caught in a moment that never ends. And even as a player, you kind of feel sad seeing all that being just an illusion made by a single being who longs for a time long past. In a meta kind of way, it makes you long for times when you were younger, simplier and happier times where you didn't have the weight of the world (or at least of responsibilities) on your shoulders. It's like an adult remembering their childhood when they simply lived without worry of what may come the following day. About the debate in Amaurot : the difference is that Emet-Selch doesn't see your people as 'people'; they're flawed, broken things that don't know what they were, what they could be. Sure, they could eventually become rejoined, become who they were and such... but those people exist now, live now and while their lives aren't all happiness and rainbows, they're content and **they matter**. Emet-Selch is basically trying to backseat the way things should be while the WoL and the rest of humanity just wants to enjoy the ride at their own pace with what they got. I'm looking forward your reactions to what comes next and what happens in Endwalker. So many things will be answered, explained and make more sense; so many things hit hard and stuns you.
Everything in Shadowbringers are tropes that are usually messed up. Time and dimensional travel, precursor races, an ancient villain, hidden city, an apocalypse, the destined hero-any single one of these could have easily failed. The fact that ALL OF IT works and works together is miraculous. CBU3 are actual real world wizards. This expansion is the best book, movie, and game all smushed together-people really do need to experience this for themselves. Glad you guys are getting to experience the wonder as well.
It was about this time that one of the verses of Answers finally made sense: _Now open your eyes while our plight is repeated_ _Still deaf to our cries, lost in hope we lie defeated_ _Our souls have been torn, and our bodies forsaken_ _Bearing sins of the past, for our future is taken_ Technically the story being written in that way was a bit of a retcon, as the Ascian plot didn't exist when the song was composed. Doesn't matter, they used the song to inspire the plot, and now the lyrics are the cries of the lost Amaurotines.
@@BOFH_ For real. not only are their many "that parts" all of them seem to hit people in a different way. after talking to a few people all of us seemed to pick a different "that part" that made them go "oh, shit."
The amount of work you're putting in exploring and internalising this experience and the sheer dedication and passion with which you create your videos is what makes it all the more satisfying and gratifying! Chat is always on the lookout for fear of streamers missing the plot-relevant lore morsels, yet i daresay your level of exploration and info retention feels on the level of the most seasoned of veterans! Mad respect for your efforts in making this game more fun for yourself and us by proxy!
Something that I'm surprised they haven't touched on yet. Almost all of Emet's time on screen he had this extreme slouch. His shoulders rolled forward and head slightly hung from the weight of his duty. And then, when he knows he's beat, he finally stands tall takes a deep breath and gets ready to move on. And I thought that was really beautiful.
to clarify, The source is refering to the planet hydealyn in context of it and the shards. also when you are done with shadowbringer i highly recommend reading the tales from the shadows
Im like 3months behind you guys, i clear shit then see what grinding gear thought of it lol, i love the sound of the ticking clock in aumorot, so fitting
woop more GG recaps :). Personally I refer to the shades of amourot as ancients, also helps distinguish the general populace from the convocation which would become the ascians. Emet even uses this terminology.
Oh Amaourot... amaurot just reminded me of new york so much. Explains why emet is such a jaded jerk with a hidden heart of gold(?). Thats a lot of us nyers 😂
I just love reveling in your experiences. It's been SO MUCH FUN. Also, thank you Garrett for comparing this to reading an epic book. I've tried expressing this to my friends and hubby how this game has transcended or come equal to any other epic tale in any form for me - whether that be book, movies, radio plays, anything. This is an *experience* that is generated between writer/creator and the consumer of the tale. It's at once huge and mind-boggling and yet still extremely personal. I feel this game is akin (if not exceeds) my other personal fave epics like LotR, Foundation, His Dark Materials, etc., and the only reason it achieves higher marks is because of the video game aspect of it. MY character is experiencing it. MY character is the main character. Jeez, what a great medium this is.
19:00 Earlier optional dialogue with Emet back in the Crystarium has him explain exactly why Lahabrea, story wise at least, was the way he was in ARR and HW: over the millenia, he would take over hosts willy nilly without ever giving himself a cooldown period between that he went crazy and effectively lost himself.
Igeyorhm, Lahabrea, and Elidibus (and Emet-Selch) are all titles of the council. So yes Igeyorhm was a council member. Nabriales was a council member as well, and both of them were sundered. There's been a couple other mentioned at this point that you might have missed. How did Lahabrea, Emet-Selch, and Elidibus survive being sundered? Good question. :)
It's truly amazing how many times they get me excited to watch them experience the rest of the MSQ through Endwalker because they have absolutely no idea what's to come and that makes it so special. The fact that they take the time afterwards to really digest and think about what's happening and what might be happening is going to make later events that much better for them too, I absolutely love it!
*insert effluent praise here for the video along with broken record sound in the background* Now that is out of the way, when I finished 5.0, I took it that there is life on the planet not born from the Ascians. Hytho talks about how the splinter faction wanted to bequeath the world to this new life, I took it as new peoples had arisen in the aftermath. So when Emet talks about sacraficing the remaining life on the source, I think he means everyone and thing (animals too) that was not around back then.
My head canon is that ancients are 14 times in volume, and if you take the cube root of 14, they would be around 2.4 times the size of a current person.
Walking down to Amaurot for the first time, I remember being on Discord with friends... and just going "y'know what? I'm gonna dip out of voice for a bit, I'll be back when inevitable dungeon" and they all completely understood.
I love how you guys have put into words the feelings we've all had playing this, and why we so enjoy seeing others play it for the first time. Even if it is to say "it's something you can't properly put into words... it's just something you have to *experience*." 23:50 You interpreted that WAY differently than I did when I was at this point. I never saw Zodiark as "making demands" or any such thing: it was more the Ancients who created him asking "please do this" and just sacrificing themselves willingly in order to give him the power he needs to carry out their requests/prayers. Because they were trying to save the planet, they would never let him take power from the planet the way primals are said to when there's no other source of aether (via sacrifices or hoards of crystals or what have you). I imagine this is because you're looking at him as a bad guy still, the way we've been taught to see him for most of the game, but in 5.0 they reveal that he was supposed to be a benevolent savior. 35:42 You're still thinking in terms of the people who were sacrificed, but Emet here is talking about sacrificing the people of the Source after all the Rejoinings are done. In other words, a repopulated planet. He wants to sacrifice almost our entire population (I say almost, because there clearly would leave been some exceptions; he implied that the WoL would be spared) to bring back HIS whole population. Even Hythlodaeus had mentioned that the plan was to let the planet basically repopulate, then give up a portion of the new life to bring back the old. Emet is just saying that his plan is for the "portion" is to be "almost all of it." Obviously, this is hugely hypocritical (he previously said he didn't consider us to be truly alive because we are sundered, yet now he says once we're unsundered, he'll still sacrifice us) and, honestly, evil - I think Emet realizes that and just doesn't care anymore, though.
7:40 it's so funny that y'shtola says, almost at the very start at the game; "never did i dream that i would possess the means to SEE aether" in a cutscene where she is using those funky aether-glasses all archons wear (it's like a lvl 12 quest if you start as a marauder or arcanist). it's such a small detail, but it foreshadows a fairly big moment way down the line in Heavensward. now, the only reason i know this is because i started a new character for the first time in 10 years of playing this game, just to re-play the entire story - all thanks to the inspiration from watching these videos :D i just found your channel, but man is it a good one if you're a FFXIV fan :) i'm so happy you chose to document your journey through this fantastic game. your video editing, breakdowns and analyses of the story is just wonderful - keep it up :D
You two never fail to fully dive into the meaning and implications behind this game and I'm always here for it. Also I've been an undying FF enjoyer most of my life and nothing has been as impactful as Shadowbringers.
Based on the info we had at this point, my interpretation of Lahabrea was that he overworked himself for millennia specifically to avoid having to really process his sense of loss after the Sundering. Always stay busy, always be doing something, never dwell on what happened - I think it all just broke him.
About Amarot everything here is referenced from the literature by Thomas More the name of of the literature is Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia, "A little, true book, not less beneficial than enjoyable, about how things should be in a state and about the new island Utopia"
I seriously love and being enjoying all your journey. Watching you guys have a talk about what just happened and thinking of theories that could be right or could be wrong (we obviously won't tell you) is such a sight especially cause i think a lot of us didn't have that person to talk about how good this game is and how satisfying the the last part of 5.0 was. Can't wait for you guys to finish 5.3, and i really hope you guys do the extra trials before endwalker.
I am less than half way through the video, but I am just oozing excitement about your theories on the final days. You do get answers eventually, but I am more impressed with your interpretations of it all. When I was playing Shadowbringers in the first month, I did NOT have nearly as well crafted thoughts. Hats off to you and the writing I guess that so much is conveyed well enough for better brains than mine to understand this.
I agree! Honestly one of the big things that impressed me with the Shadowbringers story is how tropes I typically HATE and see as a lazy ass pull for when a story gets written into a corner were used to great effect and honestly make the story better. Time travel, self-aware creation, precursor races. I don't think it could have been said better: "Done badly it's a retcon. Done correctly it's explaining."
Oh youuuu damn one more week to hear you guys talk about the finale!! But man I think it's one thing that Emet is crazy, but there's probably a part of him that's tired. Yet he cannot drop the mantle for the sake of his brethren. Him going all out and actually losing served as a great opportunity for him to rest. You can see how relieved he is, standing up straight again. He knows that the star is in safe hands. Also, it was probably hard to fit it in between the gushing during this video, but did they get the Haurchefant line?
Neath Dark Waters was my apartment's background track for a LONG time after I got the orchestrion roll. It's such a beautiful piece of music. Also, the manifested fear of the Amaurotines totally reminds me of Michael Crichton's novel "Sphere" (which is a GREAT basis for a D&D one-shot, btw).
I think there are _plenty_ of Watsonian AND Doyalist explanations for Lahabrea being... whatever Lahabrea is in ARR and Heavensward. That doesn't stop me from dunking on him at every opportunity with my friends: "What's wrong with Lahabrea, did he have a really bad cold that day? Emet Selch: I have rebuilt a long lost city from aether and dreams. Lahabrea: Behold, I have woken up a dragon and he's slightly grumpier than usual! Bwahaha"
@@christianf.5553 Thanks homie. Can't wait to see our boys do that Amaurot dungeon design deepdive. If I were to guess their scores: dungeon design evolution would be max 10/10 and maybe some more for the last section, boss design would be a solid 9/10 creepy monster designs and cool looking, and for vibes a max 10/10 everything about the music to the story to Emet narrating the whole thing is just epic.
7:00 That whole "I want someone to talk to about everything I've experienced" feeling? Get used to it. This is when it becomes a standard. Welcome to FFXIV.
Years later and I still can't believe that one of the best cutscenes in the entire game can be described as, "waiting at the DMV."
"The moons full of ascians."
WoL comes back from the moon, grabs a spear, "Moons haunted"
Alphinaud: "wait, what?"
WoL, Graha, Alisae, suiting up: "Moons haunted."
The moon. Shits haunted.
G'raha and Alisae really are like "say no more, I'm in" at the slightest hint of adventure and i love it
@@starofaetherius 💯% I love them for that. Estinien would have been like, "can I at least hit these ghosts? Son of a gun, I'm in."
@@trinioler 'Son of a bitch, I'm in."
This is absolute gold lmao
Them: "Wait, why haven't they explained X?"
The entire community: 🙂
IM TRYING SO HARD TO HOLD MY TONGUE XD I was hoping someone was gonna say something haha
🙂
@@meilaolsen2212 *hands items* here's some duck tape and a clean sock for a gag
:D
@@meilaolsen2212 People have said things, and they were never heard from again. Let this be a cautionary tale, lest you end up like them too. *Nods sagely*
In other words: Mods are watching.
Once again, interesting theories 🙂
Why does it feel like you have a little tally sheet of right and wrong theories, and in the inevitable full spoiler cross over you're gonna dig them out and sit the boys down to give them their grades.
Spoilers without spoiling.
I love when people guess on the rest of a story. I have no choice but to let you cook; I'm not touching the pots, pans, or seasonings. I'm glad you guys are having a blast!
Right? How right they are at times, and how wrong they are at times too, and how some of it may tie in to the future that not even those who are caught up fully understand yet... It's amazing.
There's so much coming before Endwalker for them that we've ALL been biting our tongues on 😂
I love the “No no no YES yes kinda No NO yes sorta NO” of watching EW speculation
I never found it to be "he died for fun", it always felt more like "he kept trying, and trying, and *trying* to live in this new world and it was never enough, it was always a pale imitation" and that was a huge factor effecting how I feel about the guy. Poor (genocidal) Emet.
Man spent millenia trying his absolute _damnedest_ to find _something_ worth _anything_ in us and just kept coming up empty, was my takeaway
I took it as wherever you go you're still you. Like his goal post will keep moving, his families will never be good enough, death will never be restful enough, because in the end Emet has already decided.
@@MirroredDreamscape in the short story about Emet there was actually one moment where he was actually happy with something in this new world. He actually felt hope, but he didn’t know for what. However, it got cut short too soon and from the way it was written, that was sort of the final nail in the coffin for Emet.
The short story is called “Through his Eyes”
This interpretation is reinforced by the Nier Reincarnation story imo.
@@OddManeuver Yeah, I think that after suffering the loss of eternal paradise, every shred of hope he could possibly have being as fleeting as a mortal life must eat at him.
"Let expanse contract, eon become instant.
Champions from beyond the rift, HEED MY CALL!"
*queues you in duty finder.*
G'raha: "If that one DPS is going to wait out the entire timer I swear to the Twelve..."
@@ChrisMorray That's where the eons becoming instant turn to instant becoming eons
when you realize "eon become instant" is Graha praying for the players to enter the queue quickly and hit accept.
@@ChrisMorray I SAID INSTANT!
@@rajabuta *random DPS player comes flying out of the bathroom, pants still around their ankles*
I love how in your early videos there was a sense of "I mean it's alright. I'm starting to see why people might like it" and now you're coming to these videos with multi-sentence lore dialogue quotes prepared haha
It... gets its hooks in you.
Amaurot isn't just a monument to Emet's failure in the sense that it's a reminder of what he lost -- I think it's also meant to be a reenactment of him losing it. He built it on a dying world he fully believed would soon be rejoined with the Source. He rebuilt Amaurot just so he could watch it fall to calamity again, like building a sand castle just to watch the tide destroy it. On the other hand, it was an extension of his test for us: if we could stop the First from rejoining, and therefore save his recreated Amaurot, then we will have done something he wasn't able to do many thousands of years ago, and we will have proven ourselves worthy of carrying on the legacy of his people.
Fun fact, Amaurot is the name of the capital city of Utopia from Thomas More's 1516 book ....Utopia.
The narrator is told about the island nation of Utopia by a fellow traveller Raphael Hythlodaeus. 👀
I love the fact that Hythlodaeus loosely translates to "he who speaks nonsense".
What a name to give to someone giving such vital exposition.
Doesn't the name "Hythlodaeus" mean "speaker of nonsense" or something like that? Can't remember where I saw that or if I just made it up...
When most people say “fun fact” it is in fact not fun. I’m glad to see the exception to the rule here.
if you're really into it, i'd also recommend reading a synopsis of Utopia it gives hints of how some things may have been viewed in terms of governing
@@Deuzen_FIN I mean, he does kind of obfuscate the whole Hydaelyn thing a bit. "We would offer up some of the star's living energies," Oh yeah? What energies? Who? When? How? Little bit of conveniently ambiguous wording there. Was it flora? Was it fauna? Was it soylent green? Come on now, you're being a little cheeky about this thing. You had no issue explicitly emphasizing the noble sacrifices that brought forth Zodiark and healed the world, but then it comes to the sacrifices to bring them back and you get awfully vague."
In that sense, he speaks nonsense, I suppose.. sorta.
"Time wears you down, aye. But solitude eats away at you. It was this close to finishing me off. But as bad as it got - as empty as I felt, I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for Emet-Selch. All of which is a long way of saying: don't make a choice that leaves you alone. Nothing is worth that, especially not eternity. " - Ardbert
One of my favourite lines in the game and I think Ardbert is a great foil to Emet-Selch. Brings a different sort of perspective to his motivations.
Also, you're so right about making a wall of fire work. I was one of those who got burned by all the lacklustre FF games and FF14 just comes in with nothing but outdated looking graphics and I'm still crying every other minute. Story is so important.
They even held back during the MSQ to make the wall of fire land! We had the big fire in the trailer that burnt down the village in Rak'tika before the Night's Blessed went to Slitherbough, but that wasn't even in the MSQ either and was more of a "This is what they were up to in our absence"
Well he was also a fragment of Hades' friend
The video by BeneG, 'Wake up, Emet!' nails this.
@Maria Erias it’s not fair how a 30 second clip can stab you in the heart so easily. Bene_G is fantastic.
A bit of clarification. The thirteen red masked Ascians are all former convocation members.
3 (Lahabrea, Elidibus and Emet-Selch) were able to avoid being sundered. The remaining 10 were sundered(that’s the category that Nabriales and Igeyorhm belong to. )
Garret and Kyle talking about tropes they hate in past streams and how they're scared Shadowbringers won't land for them for being such a cosmic story
Me: /eating popcorn and laughing THEY DON'T KNOW
Right? I see them kind of bracing for things that suck and I'm over here like, "Guys? Guys. Hey. That part that sucks? It's not coming. Enjoy yourself." LOL
"Remember that we once lived"
- man who you couldn't forget if you were actively trying
The bit where it really clicked for me was actually the boss battle, where you're about to win, you summoned your light and it's the last moments of the in game boss battle and he calls out "That light split the world, and every life upon it!"
That's when the real "every villain is the hero of their own story" feels hit me. Because he's right. To him, that light represents evil, his past being taken away from him and everything he knew being broken.
That always really gets me too. All of his voiced lines during the trial fight are really powerful, but I think its easy to miss, unfortunately.
@@AutumnSteven or the agonizing despair after the trial is over.... The despair that everything he'd done would be for nothing... that he had finally, finally, failed his people yet again... Failed Hythlo.
Seeing both Garrett and Kyle vibrate with excitement and crushed by the weight of how hard it is to explain why this game is so special is so cathartic. One of the highest form of joy this game can give us, as fans, is to see other people finally have the entire experience click with them. The moment they understand why so many of us elevated this to a near cult-like status. You just can't put into words the entire adventure. It is something to be lived and, let me tell you two, you both lived it perfectly. From taking your time to checking out everything the world could offer. From spending time alone together off-streams to discovering new things with a plethora of fans with you. You two are blessed with such a great first playthrough.
And we're just getting started!
This is such a lovely comment 💗 and expresses my thoughts too. Thank you
THIS. This is why we’re all emotional vampires ^_^ - the joy of sharing an experience you love with others and seeing them love it too. Matchless.
We can never experience it again ourselves, but we can experience it again vicariously through other people, and streaming is the absolute perfect medium for that.
tempered like the rest of us
"This seems too large of a concept to mention in one sentence and then not go there." "Heart of Sabik" is looking at you Garrett.
Almost spit my coffee, thank you haha
IT'S BLACK AURACITE!!! *gets pulled away by security while shouting*
When you guys finish Endwalker, can we get a montage video of Garrett's hair evolution? It's journey has been spectacular.
Put it side by side with the hair evolution of the WoL in trailers.
@@WillKazeOh omg yes.
When Y'shtola chimed in on what she was seeing when Amaurot was revealed.. oooh.. chills every time. All the way up to this point Emet Selch has shown he is powerful but you almost feel like he isn't as strong as you're worried he could be. And then Y'shtola tells you this city, larger than anything habitable you've ever seen up to this point, is actually just an enchantment being sustained by Emet Selch and you're just like "Oh shit.. and I came here to fight this dude?"
“I need to talk to *anyone* about the experience I just had” is exactly how I felt about it. And the problem is that you have to try to be normal about it but how can you be normal about something that affected you so deeply? It can be hard for me, and others I’m sure, to talk about this game in a way that doesn’t sound like I’m exaggerating in order to get someone into the cult.
#notacult
@@Kekira it’s not!!! It’s not a cult! Anyhow your Amaurotine robes can be picked up at the welcome kiosk
This is what brings me to videos like this, as well as reaction videos. I have such a need to hear other people's thoughts on it.
It truly is possible to feel nostalgia for a place you have never been, never knew and will never visit...
Amaurot is truly that place for many!
I remember my own journey through this expansion, from when the Scions were spirited away to the first credit roll.
What struck me was how important all the characters were to my journey, and how much I relied on them. Having the choice of "standing together" with them and not being alone even when all hope seemed lost was so monumental.
"That would be a lot of content to get through in a month"
*me who took time off and played through 6.0 in 4 days, whistling nervously*
Hahaha I think you were far from the only one. Good memories
I think it took me a little bit longer because some of those early dungeon mechanics (mostly tower of zot) took a lot more adjusting than what I was used to
Endwalker dropped on a friday, and I was done the MSQ monday morning. What a fucking RIDE, I swear I spent like 20% of the time weeping and about as much cheering lmao
Also, the queues were incredible... I would probably have been done sunday night if I didn't have to wade through it 4 times lol
And good lord, the queues for the trials were like 40-min waits, as a tank of all things.
Very few plot threads get left behind in FFXIV, including the completely optional micro-plots, like NPC's moving to specific places and doing their own thing while the story moves forward, which a lot of people won't even see, read, or experience. There's always a side-quest, role-quest, blue-quest or main-story quest resolving something or other - and so much of it is purely options. That's just one of the many things that make FFXIV so good, and it's satisfying when you hear someone say "They didn't explain X", and all you can do is smile, knowingly.
It's crazy how this music (Neath Dark Waters) can trigger this feeling akin to nostalgia towards a city you are seeing for the first time. This melody, along with its leitmotifs, invoke tears in my eyes like 50% of the time.
I remember Garret voicing his dislike of precursor races in an earlier video and sweating a bit wondering how he would take the Ascian reveals. Glad it landed.
Them: "I hate this trope"
Shadowbringers: *Are you sure about that?*
100% about not being able to describe how good this game can be to my friends in a way that doesn't spoil it for them.
Worse, even spoiling it couldn't make them comprehend the depth.
@@DiMacky24 "many stories sound silly in their cliffnotes version, but its about how you reach that point not the actual events" is a good quote
@@DiMacky24 Endwalker devasted me so much but I can't even explain to my co-worker why it was so heart-crushing. Even spoiling the entire plot doesn't even do the story justice.
"No no it's good trust me it gets really good, no I can't just tell you what happens you just gotta drop like 100+ hours"
@kkcat Haha yep. I don't know how Yoshi-P and team will get around this in the future. At some point they need to abridge the previous expansions so new players aren't overwhelmed. They just miss all the stuff that made that story so impactful.
This video is making me appreciate how good Endwalker is all the more.
Yeah, Endwalker really tied it all together. Makes you appreciate the characters more. I’d argue Endwalker is my favourite out of all the expansions.
@@thatonegeeksite5251 Hard for me to choose. I'm going to be a dirty cowardly fencesitter and say "Shadowbringers and Endwalker are good as one complete package so I'll judge them as it, not apart."
@@Zakjuh My mind says Shadowbringers, but my heart says Endwalker.
I fully agree with the book analogy. When I was about halfway through Shadowbringers, I began to realize that I felt as if I were no longer playing a game but experiencing an incredible novel through a game. Like most great novels, it is an experience that I will carry and cherish for the rest of my life.
You guys might have missed when Emet said "*Should* you survive the rejoinings..." implying we might not be able to. His plan was just a chance not a guarantee
Loved the discussion here, I feel like it probably could have gone on for hours more and I'd be happy but you gotta cut it somewhere. I'm glad you talked about how it's so hard to express all the emotions that come with playing this game - it's so frustrating trying to tell my family "no but it's REALLY GOOD" without being able to back it up with anything. I think that's why this game has so many "emotional vampires", because knowing that someone else will come to understand this crazy impressive experience is almost a comfort in a way.
Thanks Sephalia. Part 2 will be next week.
@@Amovetv Oh I'll be there!
Preach's reaction to first time seeing Amaurot will never not be an amazing moment to behold. His love for the Bioshock series made this reveal even better.
The art deco style architecture of this zone was a perfect fit. The aesthetic may look alien to the scions or the Ondo but for Emet it's a constant reminder of his and his brethren's milleniums long burden and responsibility to return their world to what it once was.
I absolutely love Neath Dark Waters theme. That music just gives off a very calming vibe so much that I always play it in the background whenever I'm reading or about to go to sleep.
I have only a single critique of this video: I want the next one right now. You did too good a job prepping me for the rest, and I don't want to wait a week!
Seriously though, great job and fascinating discussion!
Yes, this!
That line, "welcomed death's sweet embrace," gave me chills. Cause he's talking about his death as Emperor Solus. If you go back and watch his introduction scenes, he is telling Varis that his death was meticulously planned and he saw it as a REST. A rest Elidibus called him back from when Lahabrea died. By the time we confront him in Amaurot he just wants this to be over. He wants to die, but can't allow himself to stop and he knows he probably has another few hundred years before his work is finished.
12000 years and he was only half way done , i think its more than a few hundred away. especially given how long it would take for the source to recover from the black rose calamity.
It's the voice crack in that for me that just...wrenches my heart in a way that I don't think I'll ever feel again.
Note just hisbdeath as Solus, though thats the moat recent/relevant. Hes insinuating hes done this many, many times. Lived full lives as a "mortal" in disguise and weclomes death mutliple times. This is a cycle he has been in for a LONG time.
@@ogrimbothesour2976 I reckon they were speeding up the plan, since the eighth calamity was coming just five years after the seventh, but yeah. No guarantees of that.
Yeah, Emet-selch when you get to Amaurot seems like a conflicted man. Stuck between wanting to just go, to rest, to forget about it all, and his solemn duty, his thousands upon thousands of years long promise to bring his people back.
The WoL is the tiebreaker here, which is why when he goes out, he offers a smile. He effectively was warring internally between the decision to die and keep fighting and he commits suicide by WoL, allowing him to rest while also reassuring himself that he gave it his all, that he doesn't need to feel guilty for going out.
Emet knew what he is doing is not right, but felt its his duty to his people, even if it means becoming monster. He wasnt mad, just desperate. Abandoning his quest would mean his people are gone for good and everything he have done was futille.
Only at very end he realizes it was just hopeless dream, his people are long gone and nothing brings them back. Thats what his last words meant.
To me that's why he smiled at the end like "Now I can stop being a monster yet still tried my best for my people."
I like the implication a figment of his imagination subtly sabotaged his plans simply because the people he was trying to save wouldn't approve of how far he was going to save them.
No, he literally said that he doesn’t think murdering people is evil because he doesn’t see them as truly alive. He doesn’t think what he’s doing is wrong. Not sure how you come to another conclusion.
@@salami155 I mean he says alot but it doesn't mean people believe him 100%. To me it just sounds like copium. It's like how Emet goes "Imagine clinging to your friends lol" and everyone just going "Bruh".
@@salami155 "Look at me", Look what i have become.
Emet-Selch doesnt try to excuse to you, he tries to excuse to himself. I will kill, murder milions, because thats all i have left. Thats what monster i become in my quest.
Its called 'reading between lines'.
It's not often you see the Antagonist's best friend in any media. Someone who is the Garrus to the villain's Shepard. Someone who genuinely cares for the villain, and vice versa. It really humanizes them, and is a great tool for writers to make sure the villain is understandable and relatable.
I can picture Hyphlo sporting a sniper rifle and getting shit done
@@ferretsnot Damn right.
This is like seeing a little kid go to the pool for the first time. They have their feet in the water and it's the most amazing thing to them but everyone around is waiting with baited breath for them to submerge and see how deep the pool really goes. I'm going to have to load up on so much popcorn.
The Hythlodaeus thing has always fascinated me. A character is introduced that you have never heard of. You spend 4 or 5 minutes conversing with them and in that brief time the writers managed to make him one of the most memorable and endearing characters in the expansion.
Emet wasn't killing parts of his buddies to bring back the other half. He was rejoining them. Meaning 8/14s of Amaurotine souls, that are some people in the Source, would be Rejoined through Calamities, each representing a single 1/14th of a soul that is to be rejoined back into full Amaurotine/Ancient souls. Souls return to the aetherial sea when people die, they don't disappear. Hence why Emet doesn't even consider us alive. We're fragments that can be rejoined. Also, Emet wasn't dying for fun. He tried his best to try and understand fragmented people, but he wasn't able to because they waged war constantly unlike the Ancients... So he started feeding into it to bring the Ancients back, because he thought we weren't worthy to be the new stewards.
Yeah. IMO in Emet's mind he wasn't destroying 13 worlds. He was destroying 13 ant hills.
@@Loki_Trickster Also let's not forget his easily calling back Yshtola's soul from the Aetherial Sea. As Hades who has dominion over the souls of the dead, Emet-Selch non-chalantly peering through the aetherial sea and plucking her soul back is super on brand.
That's from the short stories on the main site right?
@@hockey1973 That is sophistry, and you know it!
He understood them pretty dang well if he had kids with them, created elaborate scenarios to manipulate their emotional state, and also funded theater performances for his favorite acting troops. He's full of shit, he just didn't care.
I feel that piano in my soul
Big same. I love a good melancholy piece of music, and this is for sure one of my favorite melodies - and I love that it's got multiple incarnations in the game.
“The Lahabrea I knew was a blunt instrument” LOST IT when I heard this.
When you guys finally finish Endwalker, I NEED a video going over how wrong (or right) you were in your speculations. Like there were so many points in this video where I was like "Yes!" only for you guys to immediately swerve left. Hope you guys are also checking out Tales of the Shadows, these little side stories add so much to the overall story, like perhaps giving voice to what Lahabrea was like before the sundering and the marked change in him (it's not an exact answer but simple observations from the other paragons).
A thing you wondered about: Emet _is_ tempered by Zodiark, as were the other convocation members who summoned Zodiark with him. He explicitly says this, in optional dialogue you can have when he's just hanging around between quest objectives. Don't remember if you've read that, so mentioning it just in case.
I’ve been playing MMOs for about as long as you guys have-i was playing WoW back in 04. Exiting that cave, hearing the ticking clock and seeing Amaurot for the first time was the most electrifying moment I’ve had in an MMO since I first stepped foot in, like Elwynn Forest or Westfall. I felt like I instantly understood the melancholy that was driving Emet, but more than that, I wanted to drop everything and explore that city with every fiber of my being.
XIV is totally a theme park MMO-a great one-which struggles with putting you in MMO environments that you want to explore for gameplay reasons. With Amaurot, they did not miss.
Oh Emet IS enthralled. If you talk to him again (I believe you guys did) in one of the scenes we ask and he confirms that everyone present at Zodiark's summoning was instantly tempered.
I feel like there's an argument to be had that he might have done the same things even if he wasn't tempered though
"Emmett had a friend" Yes.....yes he did 😊
I'm surprised they didn't mention the "New old friend" line Hythlo says.
And the thing is, you can't have those experiences, you can't bring your whole self to the scene and meet the story that's being told, if you don't have that trust you expressed earlier in the video. The journey from ARR forward, for me, was in part an exercise in restoring my ability to trust that way, something that had decayed over years of almost-good from Blizzard, and Shadowbringers was the culmination of that healing. Remember what it's like to be told a good story by people you trust? I'm never leaving.
Loved hearing your speculation on the Convocation and the Warrior of Light's origins, too! You've got some really cool ideas~
The bad guy's closure here hit everyone hard (avoiding spoilers just in case).
But that is just 5.0... just have faith in their ability to destroy you emotionally.
Seeing Amaurot for the first time was such an experience. When it was first hinted that there was something deep in the Tempest in those early quests, I figured it was some kind of villain castle or bunker of sorts. I wasn't expecting an entire, recreated city. And the feel of it definitively was melancholic, especially with those shades of people that were wandering around cluelessly, caught in a moment that never ends.
And even as a player, you kind of feel sad seeing all that being just an illusion made by a single being who longs for a time long past. In a meta kind of way, it makes you long for times when you were younger, simplier and happier times where you didn't have the weight of the world (or at least of responsibilities) on your shoulders. It's like an adult remembering their childhood when they simply lived without worry of what may come the following day.
About the debate in Amaurot : the difference is that Emet-Selch doesn't see your people as 'people'; they're flawed, broken things that don't know what they were, what they could be. Sure, they could eventually become rejoined, become who they were and such... but those people exist now, live now and while their lives aren't all happiness and rainbows, they're content and **they matter**. Emet-Selch is basically trying to backseat the way things should be while the WoL and the rest of humanity just wants to enjoy the ride at their own pace with what they got.
I'm looking forward your reactions to what comes next and what happens in Endwalker. So many things will be answered, explained and make more sense; so many things hit hard and stuns you.
Everything in Shadowbringers are tropes that are usually messed up. Time and dimensional travel, precursor races, an ancient villain, hidden city, an apocalypse, the destined hero-any single one of these could have easily failed. The fact that ALL OF IT works and works together is miraculous. CBU3 are actual real world wizards. This expansion is the best book, movie, and game all smushed together-people really do need to experience this for themselves. Glad you guys are getting to experience the wonder as well.
It was about this time that one of the verses of Answers finally made sense:
_Now open your eyes while our plight is repeated_
_Still deaf to our cries, lost in hope we lie defeated_
_Our souls have been torn, and our bodies forsaken_
_Bearing sins of the past, for our future is taken_
Technically the story being written in that way was a bit of a retcon, as the Ascian plot didn't exist when the song was composed. Doesn't matter, they used the song to inspire the plot, and now the lyrics are the cries of the lost Amaurotines.
Man, I cannot wait for them to get through the rest of the patches and to Endwalker.
When they hit THAT PART in EW, I have a feeling that it's gonna break them and I'm here for it.
@@sopranophantomista Do you have any idea how little that narrows it down?
@@BOFH_ LMAO
@@BOFH_ For real. not only are their many "that parts" all of them seem to hit people in a different way. after talking to a few people all of us seemed to pick a different "that part" that made them go "oh, shit."
The amount of work you're putting in exploring and internalising this experience and the sheer dedication and passion with which you create your videos is what makes it all the more satisfying and gratifying! Chat is always on the lookout for fear of streamers missing the plot-relevant lore morsels, yet i daresay your level of exploration and info retention feels on the level of the most seasoned of veterans! Mad respect for your efforts in making this game more fun for yourself and us by proxy!
Something that I'm surprised they haven't touched on yet. Almost all of Emet's time on screen he had this extreme slouch. His shoulders rolled forward and head slightly hung from the weight of his duty. And then, when he knows he's beat, he finally stands tall takes a deep breath and gets ready to move on. And I thought that was really beautiful.
It isnt an easy detail to notice, as he doesnt look like he's slouching unless you pay attention to it, but great detail nonetheless
The bois certainly clocked this in on stream and they might mention it in the second video so please be patient xD
These chapter title edits with the text as part of the scene are incredible.
Hearing your words, sharing your feelings and knowing your thoughts... best thing ever 😭
Oh, that intro was great. Loved the editing on that one.
to clarify, The source is refering to the planet hydealyn in context of it and the shards. also when you are done with shadowbringer i highly recommend reading the tales from the shadows
Now you know Garrett. Emet DOESNT have Sclerosis. He has something worse…”Responsibility”
My most favorite zone. This is where I did my crafting and the reason why I maxed my shared fates to rank 3 so I can get the zone music.
Yeah. I craft on the platform that spawns the fate. It's peaceful down there.
Absolutely love that y'all revisit the dialog and scenes after streaming to give it more thought and consideration! Thanks for sharing as always.
Im like 3months behind you guys, i clear shit then see what grinding gear thought of it lol, i love the sound of the ticking clock in aumorot, so fitting
It's been a while since I had 45 minutes fly by so quickly. Good analysis and great theories, all entertaining!
woop more GG recaps :). Personally I refer to the shades of amourot as ancients, also helps distinguish the general populace from the convocation which would become the ascians. Emet even uses this terminology.
I love it when they start putting together the puzzle pieces but still dance around that big gap in the middle that ties it all together.
Oh Amaourot... amaurot just reminded me of new york so much. Explains why emet is such a jaded jerk with a hidden heart of gold(?). Thats a lot of us nyers 😂
I just love reveling in your experiences. It's been SO MUCH FUN. Also, thank you Garrett for comparing this to reading an epic book. I've tried expressing this to my friends and hubby how this game has transcended or come equal to any other epic tale in any form for me - whether that be book, movies, radio plays, anything. This is an *experience* that is generated between writer/creator and the consumer of the tale. It's at once huge and mind-boggling and yet still extremely personal. I feel this game is akin (if not exceeds) my other personal fave epics like LotR, Foundation, His Dark Materials, etc., and the only reason it achieves higher marks is because of the video game aspect of it. MY character is experiencing it. MY character is the main character. Jeez, what a great medium this is.
19:00 Earlier optional dialogue with Emet back in the Crystarium has him explain exactly why Lahabrea, story wise at least, was the way he was in ARR and HW: over the millenia, he would take over hosts willy nilly without ever giving himself a cooldown period between that he went crazy and effectively lost himself.
Igeyorhm, Lahabrea, and Elidibus (and Emet-Selch) are all titles of the council. So yes Igeyorhm was a council member. Nabriales was a council member as well, and both of them were sundered. There's been a couple other mentioned at this point that you might have missed. How did Lahabrea, Emet-Selch, and Elidibus survive being sundered? Good question. :)
It's truly amazing how many times they get me excited to watch them experience the rest of the MSQ through Endwalker because they have absolutely no idea what's to come and that makes it so special. The fact that they take the time afterwards to really digest and think about what's happening and what might be happening is going to make later events that much better for them too, I absolutely love it!
*insert effluent praise here for the video along with broken record sound in the background*
Now that is out of the way, when I finished 5.0, I took it that there is life on the planet not born from the Ascians. Hytho talks about how the splinter faction wanted to bequeath the world to this new life, I took it as new peoples had arisen in the aftermath. So when Emet talks about sacraficing the remaining life on the source, I think he means everyone and thing (animals too) that was not around back then.
You have the hardest job of all. There are no words for this, just as there is no crust on the tuna.
My head canon is that ancients are 14 times in volume, and if you take the cube root of 14, they would be around 2.4 times the size of a current person.
Walking down to Amaurot for the first time, I remember being on Discord with friends... and just going "y'know what? I'm gonna dip out of voice for a bit, I'll be back when inevitable dungeon" and they all completely understood.
Emet is such an amazing Villain. You understand him and sympathise with his reasons and they do make sense.
I love how you guys have put into words the feelings we've all had playing this, and why we so enjoy seeing others play it for the first time. Even if it is to say "it's something you can't properly put into words... it's just something you have to *experience*."
23:50 You interpreted that WAY differently than I did when I was at this point. I never saw Zodiark as "making demands" or any such thing: it was more the Ancients who created him asking "please do this" and just sacrificing themselves willingly in order to give him the power he needs to carry out their requests/prayers. Because they were trying to save the planet, they would never let him take power from the planet the way primals are said to when there's no other source of aether (via sacrifices or hoards of crystals or what have you). I imagine this is because you're looking at him as a bad guy still, the way we've been taught to see him for most of the game, but in 5.0 they reveal that he was supposed to be a benevolent savior.
35:42 You're still thinking in terms of the people who were sacrificed, but Emet here is talking about sacrificing the people of the Source after all the Rejoinings are done. In other words, a repopulated planet. He wants to sacrifice almost our entire population (I say almost, because there clearly would leave been some exceptions; he implied that the WoL would be spared) to bring back HIS whole population. Even Hythlodaeus had mentioned that the plan was to let the planet basically repopulate, then give up a portion of the new life to bring back the old. Emet is just saying that his plan is for the "portion" is to be "almost all of it." Obviously, this is hugely hypocritical (he previously said he didn't consider us to be truly alive because we are sundered, yet now he says once we're unsundered, he'll still sacrifice us) and, honestly, evil - I think Emet realizes that and just doesn't care anymore, though.
7:40 it's so funny that y'shtola says, almost at the very start at the game; "never did i dream that i would possess the means to SEE aether" in a cutscene where she is using those funky aether-glasses all archons wear (it's like a lvl 12 quest if you start as a marauder or arcanist). it's such a small detail, but it foreshadows a fairly big moment way down the line in Heavensward.
now, the only reason i know this is because i started a new character for the first time in 10 years of playing this game, just to re-play the entire story - all thanks to the inspiration from watching these videos :D i just found your channel, but man is it a good one if you're a FFXIV fan :) i'm so happy you chose to document your journey through this fantastic game. your video editing, breakdowns and analyses of the story is just wonderful - keep it up :D
You two never fail to fully dive into the meaning and implications behind this game and I'm always here for it.
Also I've been an undying FF enjoyer most of my life and nothing has been as impactful as Shadowbringers.
Editing was fire as usual, boys.
You might even call this video... A wall of fire.
I'll see myself out.
I like how after defeating Emmet you see him standing upright for the first time, his burden has been lifted.
I like how they already noticed he was standing straight in the Vauthry cut scene
@@siyrean yes, the blip from the past, before the burden got to him.
@@PreviouslyDelicious yes, so far back all the way in 4.0
Based on the info we had at this point, my interpretation of Lahabrea was that he overworked himself for millennia specifically to avoid having to really process his sense of loss after the Sundering. Always stay busy, always be doing something, never dwell on what happened - I think it all just broke him.
13:37 Garrett keeps loving to reference that line, every chance he gets.
I, along with plenty of others, hung out in the background during their stream finishing up 5.0. Glad to see them enjoy what makes FF14 so special.
About Amarot
everything here is referenced from the literature by Thomas More
the name of of the literature is Libellus vere aureus, nec minus salutaris quam festivus, de optimo rei publicae statu deque nova insula Utopia, "A little, true book, not less beneficial than enjoyable, about how things should be in a state and about the new island Utopia"
I seriously love and being enjoying all your journey.
Watching you guys have a talk about what just happened and thinking of theories that could be right or could be wrong (we obviously won't tell you) is such a sight especially cause i think a lot of us didn't have that person to talk about how good this game is and how satisfying the the last part of 5.0 was.
Can't wait for you guys to finish 5.3, and i really hope you guys do the extra trials before endwalker.
The side quests in Amaurot help color in more of the ancients' society's mindset.
Very nice cuts in the intro with each major notes of the piano
I am less than half way through the video, but I am just oozing excitement about your theories on the final days.
You do get answers eventually, but I am more impressed with your interpretations of it all.
When I was playing Shadowbringers in the first month, I did NOT have nearly as well crafted thoughts.
Hats off to you and the writing I guess that so much is conveyed well enough for better brains than mine to understand this.
36:00 - Full. Metal. Alchemist....
Chucky Cheese Amaurotine animatronics caught me so off guard but is one of the most concise & funny way of describing what makes it disturbing XD
I have been waiting for this for so very long. It was wonderful watching the stream with y'all!
Shadowbringers 5.0 was so good, I have not yet dropped my sub since.
What follows actually hit me harder.
I agree! Honestly one of the big things that impressed me with the Shadowbringers story is how tropes I typically HATE and see as a lazy ass pull for when a story gets written into a corner were used to great effect and honestly make the story better. Time travel, self-aware creation, precursor races. I don't think it could have been said better: "Done badly it's a retcon. Done correctly it's explaining."
Oh youuuu damn one more week to hear you guys talk about the finale!!
But man I think it's one thing that Emet is crazy, but there's probably a part of him that's tired. Yet he cannot drop the mantle for the sake of his brethren. Him going all out and actually losing served as a great opportunity for him to rest. You can see how relieved he is, standing up straight again. He knows that the star is in safe hands.
Also, it was probably hard to fit it in between the gushing during this video, but did they get the Haurchefant line?
Neath Dark Waters was my apartment's background track for a LONG time after I got the orchestrion roll. It's such a beautiful piece of music.
Also, the manifested fear of the Amaurotines totally reminds me of Michael Crichton's novel "Sphere" (which is a GREAT basis for a D&D one-shot, btw).
:D
That's all I can say about this episode. Glad you all are still enjoying it!
On Lahabrea, all I’ll say is this:
12000 or so years of existence is bound to mess ANYONE up, and some might take it better than others. :P
Dunking on Laha is one of my favorite FFXIV-related activities. But FAIR.
I think there are _plenty_ of Watsonian AND Doyalist explanations for Lahabrea being... whatever Lahabrea is in ARR and Heavensward. That doesn't stop me from dunking on him at every opportunity with my friends:
"What's wrong with Lahabrea, did he have a really bad cold that day? Emet Selch: I have rebuilt a long lost city from aether and dreams. Lahabrea: Behold, I have woken up a dragon and he's slightly grumpier than usual! Bwahaha"
After receiving some some bad news, it's good to see this video came out and lifted my spirits up. Now we need that Amaurot dungeon deepdive.
Sorry to hear that you've had some bad news. Hope things improve for you soon!
@@christianf.5553 Thanks homie. Can't wait to see our boys do that Amaurot dungeon design deepdive. If I were to guess their scores: dungeon design evolution would be max 10/10 and maybe some more for the last section, boss design would be a solid 9/10 creepy monster designs and cool looking, and for vibes a max 10/10 everything about the music to the story to Emet narrating the whole thing is just epic.
7:00 That whole "I want someone to talk to about everything I've experienced" feeling? Get used to it.
This is when it becomes a standard. Welcome to FFXIV.
I love that you highlighted the ticking.
I can't wait to see your reaction to the rest of the game.