Hermes: “These people are my family, I hold no secrets from them.” Meteion: “Now that we’re alone I can discuss with you the tremendous sorrow and crippling depression I’m now suffering because everything else is dead and we’ll soon be dead too.” Emet-Selch: “Turn that off.”
When you pay attention to the camera cuts when Meteion explains the races. It's quite prophetic. Hermes: renouncing relationships. Emet: could not regain former glory. All: searching for infinity Hythlo: gave up in the future and themselves. Venat: found no joy without sorrow. Edit: furthermore the irony of Emet asking Meteion who she is to decide our fates. Mirroring the same scene in ShB. This entire Elpis episode is my favorite of the whole series.
and this is what i loved about this cutscene each of them could see themselves in each of these situation and were sort of put off that in the end it ends with destruction and sorrow
@@tuck295q given the fact it's established memory alteration is negated upon death, and being stuffed in Azem's crystal all that time... My god he must have been fuming. Just imagine how embarrassing that must have been, not only did he immediately realize he actually became the megamoniacal madman he said he'd never become... He immediately realises he's just tried to kill one of the people paramount to stopping meteion. Then has to watch everything unfold.
@rexex345 He was in the aetherial sea not azem's crystal. He was the one who created azem's crystal. How could venat put them in the crystal when she herself was in the aetherial sea? She could barely take form on the source. Also this is proven when y'shtola told us to not use the magic to summon the scions back. It was just a spell, not theirs souls.
@@akumamakima2280 the implication is that when he died, Venkat plucked him back and stored stored him and hythlodeus in the crystal when she met us do we could call him. It's worth pointing out each shard has its own sea that is entirely independent, if you die on the first you don't get sent back to the source's sea.
Mine was when Hythplodaeus waved good bye. He is such a simple, affectionate fellow. He is what makes us feel for the ancients. And even more painful when later on we saw he said goodbye to Emet as he goes to be sacrificed for Zodiak. They managed to break us even harder than in Shadowbringers by planting the seed of this lovable fellow in the tiny corner of ShB grand adventure.
Seeing Emet as the good guy cocky smart ass scholar he was always meant to be broke me in 1000 different ways. What the fuck square? Endwalker? FF: FEELSWALKER
The sad part is, in some round-about way Meteion is doing what she was made to do. Hermes didn't give her the ability to eat, she has free will(to an extent) but she doesn't live. And she knows what emotions are, bit she can't express them, that's why even though she was hurting in a sense, she needed us, the player, the change the color of the Dynamis flower to show Hermes. If you recall, Hermes said Meteion was made so that people can understand each other. And in meeting all those failed and dead civilizations, she's fulfilling her purpose in making Etheiryans understand sorrow and despair.
A case of something gone horribly right. It wasn't wholly Meteion's fault. As Emet noted, Hermes gave her a flawed question based on flawed assumptions.
As Hades said. Hermes didn't take into consideration whether his initial question was flawed. And meteion is essentially a biological AI. If you feed a computer a task but don't account for how it should frame it's methods, it will do something like this if that's the conclusion found.
@@TheStarlitfuse kind of... The creation magic s used to create something are spells, but it's essentially summoning... Actually it literally is summoning, once created the entity exists based on what parameters are set upon creation. So familiars like meteion or Argos have free or limited will, or they may just create a creature with a soul straight up like the wildlife. The spell itself is essentially just transmutation of aether from one form to another.
"One race had discarded all things that gave rise to sorrow, hoping to have only joy. They found joy lost its savor in the absence of sorrow, and lost their will to live." This scene really struck me in hindsight. Meteion is referring to the aliens you encounter in last section of The Dead Ends duty. They achieved endless serenity, pleasure, and happiness, but as she states, they eventually grew listless and joyless after countless eons. This prompted them to summon the entity Ra-La to destroy them, granting release from the endless monotony and stagnation. It's not immediately apparent until later, but that downfall parallels one of the very probable fates of Etheirys. Venat's reaction to the report is pretty telling here. She sees the writing on the wall for her people if things continue as they are. And what Hermes came to despise about Elpis reflects the innate flaws of the Ancients' "perfect" society---flaws that would eventually lead it toward a similar ruin.
Either "They renounced relationships to avoid interpersonal strife, and in doing so brought about societal collapse" or "They were conquered. Through they destroyed the enemy in reprisal, they could not regain their former glory." could refer to the 2nd zone of Dead Ends, more likely the latter.
That world was destroyed by Meteions influence as is told later in the story. She started her journey as the bluebird of happiness, but after encountering some dead world she slowly morphed into the black raven of despair, sending waves of negative emotions in front of her to every world she visited. That's why the people on that golden world turned to mass nihilism. You can see her journey in "The dead ends" dungeon. She starts it as the blue bird of happiness, then turns a bit darker and after the second boss, transforms into the black raven of despair, radiating black energy around her. Even the second areas journals tell about how they met an alien visitor and some of them thought that they were chosen by this messiah. Her arrival (and already starting dark thoughts) poisoned that unstable world too.
Man one thing I love about this scene is that; starting with Meteion’s speech of despair, the edges of the screen go dark as a desaturated look filters over everything. Almost as if everyone’s caught in her grip of nihilism. But as soon as Venat breaks free of her restraints and charges Hermes, the filter is immediately gone, like hope shining through Meteion’s blanket of despair. It’s such a minute detail but it speaks absolute volumes of what comes immediately afterwards and I love it so much!
I love the line ; and it will be beautiful... It connects Meteion and Hermes to Amon , and then Fandaniel , they all utter that phrase at one point or another , like a sickenly sweet and malevolent mantra.
@@pastafarian6570 Yes but doesn't mean anything from him , he's not a nihilistic crazy man who thinks everyone would be better off dead and erased from existence, the point is that not one single incarnation of Hermes doesn't repeat their mantra and share their contempt for life, with every repeat of that phrase it grows more and more creepier than the last time you hear it
since when is the great filter rooted in reality? It is only but one hypothesis to give an answer to the Fermi Paradox. A more mordern hypothesis actually is, that we a.) do not even know the propability of habitable planets evolving life since we have an actual sample size of exactly one by now. and b.) if we were to encounter life somewhere else in the universe would we even be able to recognize it as such
Meteion broke Hermes mind with that reveal. Everything leading up to this moment was just mental blow after mental blow against his psyche, and that final answer was what finally did in his sanity.
Same could be said for Meteion. Every world she visited was one mental blow after another, until she came across the world that had lost the will to live due to extreme apathy in the absence of strife and sorrow to make joy mean something. I firmly believe that it was that world that finally broke her.
Hermes is just a big cry baby. I hate and pity him and the same time. Considering Meteion's qualities she was created with, hermes gave her a flawed question based on flawed assumptions, who could have thought that would backfire?
@@Neurogenesis1251 considering how he just cared about life itself, and hated how the ascian's just threw it away so casually, and then to hear that other worlds were as equally shitty as his own, he just have up. not really a cry baby, he was just tormented
@@connorradcliffe1769 "I am tormented so let me doom a few million worlds of life, even though there were only about a few that I know of, that turned into shit, dang I am so random" - Hermes probably
The parallel between the female Intoners in Yoko Taro's 2013 game Drakengard 3 and its impact on Natsuko Ishikawa and the female Endsingers in the 2021 Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker may be more than mere coincidence.
Specially since it can be seen from both sides. Who is the WoL to decree that the Ascians should die? The General on the Garlean side. Describes it perfectly. If peace was the most important, then the Erozeans could have let the empire take over. But the Erozeans wanted more than peace, they wanted control, just as the Garleans. Thus the points of view were irreconcilable. No good nor evil. Just irreconcilable differences between the Ascians and the sundered.
@@RicardoSantos-oz3uj in Eorzean's case, they have seen the example of what happened to those subjugated by the Garlean, like those in Ilsabard, Doma and their own once enemy Ala Mhgo. The most sinister part is it is practically designed to cause more conflict down the road just like Emet-Selch wanted
I think the thing I was most impressed with was the camera work and direction in this story. It helped emphasis so many moments and made them all the more powerful from the horrifying words of Meteion’s truth that she found amongst the stars, to the desperate attempts of all those trying to stop their fate, all the way to their victory of escape and Venat’s resolve as she became Hydaelyn and so much more after this part of the story. I never noticed the first time given how powerful and enraptured I was in the story but now that I see them again I can see how much effort they put into their craft for storytelling. Even subtle choices like Meteion walking slowly towards the others as the camera follows behind her only for that same camera to fall behind slowly to create as much distance as possible while observing her emphasizes the fear she brings forth with her words and new found idealism alone. God I’m just remembering the many years that I’ve played this game and how simple everything was and now that we’ve reached the final FINAL CLIMAX of this story arc how much work and effort and time they put in to get where we are now with just the presentation alone. This doesn’t even talk about all the amazing qualities I’m just talking about camera work here. But by god they really did hit this one out of the park!!~
Meteion has to have some of the best rigging, animation and camera work given ever, best example being when she's shown the elpis blooms, the level of subtlety to her expression changing is a masterpiece.
@@robikkupegasus7039 no, I mean once his own memories were changed, he thought all the sisters were dead. Which must've been heartbreaking for him. Yet he willingly subjected himself to that
@@TheRapGeneral1yes and kinda. They lost hope and gave in to the despair so in a way you can say they "died" in a sense but also they became those shades you see combined to become the Endsinger
@@Lunar_Crescentfall As soon as she said she was able to manipulate dynamis in her intro I viewed her with wariness. Then when we learned Hermes had sent them out to contact other worlds I immediately settled on either A: she turned because of something she experienced or B: her sisters alerted something to our existence and brought it back to Etheirys. NGL I thought it was a world eater right up until she turned. The notion that *every* world she encountered chose death seems unrealistic to me tbh.
@@akkiko it's really unrealistic if you see play the last dungeon in MSQ is represent of that Meteion found through out and how miserable those worlds were
I am rarely scared, but I honestly find Meteion’s report about her discovery to be utterly frightening. The fact that multiple civilizations have risen and fallen, all experiencing death and suffering. It gave me a moment of existential crisis and feeling the terror of an utterly uncaring universe.
There are those who feel as you do. And there are those who will continue to keep looking forward, who don't fear the unknown. Or even the possibility of our own world falling as others perhaps have. Life is uncaring. Only individual beings care.
Existentialism hits me everyday. I just think how small this world is and what is outside of it, like truly. I grow curious everyday, wondering if we really are alone out here.
And because we are living in the terror of an utterly uncaring universe… So humans can choose to give each other hope, strength, and compassion... We can choose not to give up looking for meaning, and we can appreciate the truth, goodness and beauty that can be seen everywhere if we care to look. ⋯ We can choose to cherish now.
This cutscene made me cry really bad. Not because it was sad. But because it's a masterpiece both cinematically and in story writing. This, this is how you tie a story together.
@@colemcgrath644 Ultra nihilism and proof that every civilization across the galaxy is doomed to fail, end and destroy themselves, all funneled into one consciousness all at once = "people sad must kill" See the issue here? Of course you don't. Calling it "stupid fucking excuse because people sad" is to simplify and strip all nuance. You can make ANY story sound like shit if you simplify to that extent.
Man, seeing Meteion go from innocent little girl/ pet to lovecraftian deity in the course of one leveling zone really broke my heart. I got attached to her instantly when she jumped at me with the "can we be friends" line. It almost defies belief how a final boss introduced two thirds into the story (or rather, 90% through if you take everything from 2.0 onwards into account) can be executed so well and have such an impact on my emotional state. Clearly the narrative design team that works on this MMO have mastered their craft!
Despite introducing her so late in a sense, they thankfully introduced her deeds quite early. We knew during shadowbringers that Zodiark was essentially behind nothing, and was a creation given a purpose as was Hydaelyn. So even though that a bit of suspicion cast on Hydaelyn in my opinion, there was always this lingering thought that someone or something else was behind everything and I loved how it played out because she had such an integral relationship with two of the major antagonists.
It helps that she's meant to not be some major player that existed all this time and has manipulated events from the beginning (unlike a certain Jailer), she's meant to be a foil to you. An explorer who gave in to the soul-crushing despair that happens time and time again.
I hated how Hermes went from a life loving hippie to a emo nihilist. If you don’t like how things are, why not dedicate your life to try to change how things are instead of moping and wishing for everything to be destroyed. In my opinion that is bad writing.
To be honest i still had the quote "he would be ashamed of what became of his legacy" still in my head up till the last thinking it was more amon we were fighting then Fandanale
@@fleeplayTV I don't think they mean its a literal song, I understood it as more of a desire to fill the universe with dread by just feeling it, that energy being about feelings.
@@fleeplayTV In the cutscene where you can choose which Scion knocks on your door, you can hear the sound before you see the vision of the meteors. It's pretty unsettling, which makes me sure it is THE sound. Missed it the first time too though, it's easy to do so.
Does anyone know name of the OST at 4:08. That shirt goes hard especially when synced with Meteions downfall I also really like how gradually as Meteion gives her report you can hear the malice grow in her voice little by little. I just really like that small detail
Tbh, it was so painfully obvious she was gonna turn. Just from her name since her name looks similar to meteor and the rain of fire, also when u find out she can read emotions it's a dead giveaway she uses akasa and would cause rhe final days. But it was good writing, just because it's obvious tho doesn't mean it isn't well written
@@oldmandancinv2 I think she got 3 lines before I was like, oh no. Oh she's the final boss ain't she. Please Ishikawa let's not Tesleen this. Ishikawa and the sledgehammer she's been using to hammer home the theme of Endwalker: Bleeding void eyes go brrrrr.
First time I saw her I knew she had something to do with the Final Days; she was introduced too late to just be around Hermes. I do like how they handle Meteion's transformation into the Endsinger. The Meteion you meet in Elpis is not some Dangonronpa villain that immediately gets a despair-fetish. She's terrified of what she's learned, but the rest of the Meteion hive-mind just overwhelms her. Her sisters never had the same connection she had with Hermes, so when the first thing they all see are ruined civilizations, they break immediately.
I need the song at 14:53. Also this cutscene is on par with Emet's reveal right after Innocence in Shb. Watching both give me chills at the plot shift.
Has anyone else noticed how Meteion's cadence/tone shifts: When she was explaining what she saw from the other stars, her delivery is very flat and monotone. Then, when she gave the conclusion based on their observation, her tone became dark and almost angry. Then it starts to sound child-like at the very end as if the information she received has completely broken her and her sanity that she starts to sound like Fandaniel with how she gleefully describes how she's going to destroy the universe.
Saw an article from 6-7 months ago titled "Most Destructive Final Fantasy villain's ranked." I think Meteion skipped all 15 slots to number 1.. Not only did she repeatedly, successfully wipe mankind, sunder worlds entirely, lead them down many different kinds of calamity, all without being even discovered until now, but it took an act of god itself to finish this fight.. and it was glorious. I nominate Meteion to being the most destructive FF antagonist.
Yeah, she just trounced all those lists. Most powerful antagonist, what with throwing around planets, wiping out entire civilisations and all that - and nigh on succeeded in her goal. But she also super sympathetic and everything too, which probably puts her on top other lists as well!
Cauius still destroyed all realities and timeliness just to stop is boo from dying anymore. And bhunivelze wanted to destroy creation just because we don't pray hard enough when he's sleeping. Ultemecia all erased all time and space to become one with with everything. There will villians will killed on a grander scale. It's just metty kills not for a selfish wish or power, but to try to protect the living from the pain of living.
This was the cutscene where all the pieces fell into place. Everyones reasoning and ideals as clear as the expressions on their faces as meteion layed all to bear.
One race found out they’ve been duped since the beginning of time by a deceptively cunning Jailor that has never known defeat so they all killed themselves.
That last fucking line Emet-Selch mutters. "I should prefer to reminisce on more meaningful moments". Even after hearing of his tragic tale to come, he swears he would never do it, as he would be certain a solution would be available, and that a fight could be fought. But having his memories wiped, and this statement heartbreakingly becoming true, he is truly and utterly devastated by the loss of a people, whose demise he believed appeared out of nowhere. The more i rewatch these scenes after the msq i just sit there with a chill in my body. And it all just.... clicks. Why Hythlodaeus was so opposed to the Convocations strategy. Returning to that ethereal sea, he sees a man that lives on in regret, and the solace of knowing the truth, conquering and killing millions. Putting faith into an Eikon that would forever bring about destruction, as there would always be a force willing to oppose it, as did Hydaelyn
So well said. Hardly a day goes by that I catch an odd EW cutscene past when I first saw them and don't get chills up and down my whole body as new layers of revelations and nuance come to light that after all the searching I've done still just made themselves present. They broke ground with this game and this moment for me - as you said, the "clicks" never stopped. Hythlodaeus's plight stands even taller once you consider how Emet posed his puppet of him back in the Tempest's Amaurot illusion. A man distraught with insecurity and purpose mattered so much to his idol (Emet) that he received the utmost tribute in bestowing upon us the Azem crystal Emet had been holding onto for memories' sake, but he would never be there to know in the flesh to see that appreciate come to fruition. Truly well done and tragic that Hythlodaeus is an instrumentally monumental character in the grander scheme of things, but in a time and place not of his own body and mind, left sundered and unsure of his existence until returning to the aetherial sea once and for all. A beautiful piece of work, Endwalker truly is.
In the scene where Meteion is giving the first part of this report she tells the group about a world where "Deadly plague or extreme environmental degradation likely to have led to mass extinction". I was like...Oh! She found Earth!
@@eltoncdb So I guess the deadly plague was the first part of the last dungeon? wtf was the balls stuff? Thought that has to do with the despair and junk but it doesn't ever show in the other two areas. On one hand thought the whole area was going to be like that but on the other, I'm kind of glad it wasn't. yeash.
@@Gamemaster-64 In the final dungeon, 1st area is the plague, 2nd area is the military conflict, and 3rd one is the society get rid of all sorrow but joyless, all they looking for is death from god.
@@eltoncdb Ultima Thule: First zone is Deka-okto, the "Star that had renounced war, and when war came to them and conquered them, they fought off their conquerors but had lost forever their former glory"; second zone is Tria, the Star upon which Meteion only found the lingering essences of the Ea; third zone is Deka-hexi, which isn't mentioned in either report but is tangentially related to the first star mentioned in the second part of her report, as the Omicrons were the conquerors of the Dragonstar. Deka-hexi is also the home of Omega; we don't see the Star that had conquered infinity itself (or maybe that was Deka-hexi? They had attained perfection and in so doing found nothing that could challenge them anymore); Fourth zone of Ultima Thule is Hena, which is the abandoned world Meteion found. The first world mentioned in the first part of her report.
To be fair, it was also _partially_ the fault of the rest of the universe. If other civilizations didn't end in such a depressing note, this wouldn't have happened.
For a time I thought this was going to be the creation of a parallel universe or something since they said that the Wol could change their history just not their own. Then they got so close just for the opportunity to slip away. I loved it though even though it had a bittersweet feeling.
I like how with a literal giant ticking clock the action grinds to a dead halt so Emet and Hythlodeus can explain their pointless, confusing ruse and laugh at Hermes. If he wanted to distract Hermes why didn’t Hythlodeus just shoot an arrow at him
God when I was playing Elden Ring and heard Melina’s voice I was like, “Why is her voice so familiar?” Almost immediately it clicked that it was the same VA for Meteion and I was like “noooOOOOOO!” Such an amazingly soothing and scary voice!
Nope! But Kairos and Fourchenalt are voiced by Antony Howell, who voices Margot and the Grafted Scion. The voice cast has more in common with the cast of XC3.
Completely agree! The voice acting in this game is just top notch, the Japanese meteion is scary in the final fight btw, check it out if you’ve not already!
She's insanely good! Meanwhile, the german voice actress just reads plainly from her script without any emotion or passion (like almost every german voice actor in this game). One could argue it fits the context and her emotional state but... it's just lazy and bad. Germans: Switch to english voices, or even japanese if you're into that! It's a simple drop-down option in the system configuration menu and makes the overall experience so, so much better.
Something I'm kinda curious about. I wonder if any of the stars also managed to escape Meteion's Song of Oblivion like we did. In some of the reports it's not fully clear what happened to some of the other stars. 2:21 Societal Collapse, yes that's bad. But that doesn't mean they were wiped out. 2:36 Destroyed the enemy in reprisal, but not dead. Only 2 of these can be said to be concretely dead. The Seekers of Infinity, and those that discarded all sorrow like with the final vision in the Dead Ends. I still think it's possible some of them might have escaped her song.
I still haven't finished the MSQ past the second trial, but I just want to say, Meteion is my new favorite villain. From innocence and cuteness to pure terror, I'm at loss of words.
@@SaarimaaSauli I love her too, but her dark side / sisters are bringer of despair and creator of final days, most of the ancients died bcus of her. Its just, there are two sides of her. The blue Meteion, as an individual separated to her sisters, probably not a villain or antagonist at all.
@@fahriza88 then again that happened because her sisters's mind broke after the revelation. Our Meteion seemed different enough to still be herself cause of how much she hanged with Hermes
@@fahriza88 But she didnt come to that conlcusion on her own, those emtions were forced onto her because she was created that way. And the reason she wants everything to die is because in her mind, she is doing everyone a courtesy. Rather than living a death cycle of misery she would stop the suffering (in her view). Not a villain, an antagonist. She isn't evil because she seeks pleasure or seeks to gain, she is doing what in her head is the right thing to do
@@bigbay1159 yea, the theme around the dark Meteion is Nihilism. If villain is only for people who do destruction for pleasure, then you're right. But if someone who has Nihilism way of thinking can be called a villain, then it is what it is. I'm not an expert in these terms. Antagonist or villain, I still love her character anyway
@@kidhavii that second song I actually found someone posted. Idk what it’s called but I just looked up FFXIV Endwalker BGM and came across it. The title was in Japanese with spoilers hidden.
The Elpis quest line is the best in the games history. They pulled out all the stops from the zodiark fight SO EARLY to even the Endwalker Logo ( That's not the Moon) Introducing the real threat near the end with a small backstory is all that was needed. Brilliant writing
This whole section and cutscene just destroyed me. I got super attached to Meteion immediately. She reminds me of a few of my friends. And she basically went through the same type of realizations one of my good friends in particular did recently and it just really hurt me. I was doing MSQ with an FC friend and it just... emotionally destroyed me, chasing her around, I was like I HAVE TO SAVE HER I HAVE TO COMFORT HER. It was all for naught. And I'm still upset. We haven't played anymore MSQ. I needed time to recover.
Rewatching this cutscene, the moment where the WoL jumps infront of Hythlodaeus to shield him from Hermes' attack... it gave me flashbacks to Haurchefant. A personal interpretation, but I couldn't help but feel the trauma and regret of not protecting Haurchefant that day in this scene- and not allowing another friend to fall because of our inaction or being so caught unawares. The fact that the WoL rarely does direct things like this for other characters is what really makes it stand out more. Don't get me wrong, it was a bit narratively convenient for us to act in this way for the follow up to happen! But that's what I genuinely first thought when I saw this scene again. Just some thoughts upon revisiting this scene.
they already know after we reveal our story to them but the memory got erased by kairos. At the end when they called by Azem crystal they remember everything because they will remember when their soul return to atherial sea.
Emet Selch Shadowbringers: You cannot be trusted with my legacy Emet Selch Endwalker: Do not squander it the legacy I leave you. I'm not crying again for the millionth time I watch this scene.
Now that I see all these Elpis scenes again, I noticed that the writing team definitely employed some fuckery to make this whole time travel thing stick. The Asicans just so happened to have a giant memory reconfiguration machine that took just long enough to fire up to let the hero’s escape?
From the moment I first saw Meteion, she was giving me Lucemon vibes (from Digimon) with her angel look. Also found her creepy even before she started her report and was 'good'.
Hermes: wants meteion to grow independently and learn about life. Meteion: has a goth phase and delivers an actually chilling villain monologue. Me: damnit Hermes you had one job! How do you fail at parenting that bad!?
Bruh even before this dungeon Meteion's reports and the music playing while she spoke them out gave off mad Sephiroth descending into madness vibes while he was in Nibelheim and discovered the truth
"If we ourselves are flawed, does it not stand to reason that we too should be discarded?" "That is sophistry and you know it!" "Perhaps it is. Perhaps I am wrong. But who is to say that you are right." This moved me, Hermes was the one I related to and could feel his conviction because in some sense I felt he was right. not 100% correct tho, but that statement served a purpose.
And this is why FF is my favorite RPG storytelling series….their storytelling is GOD S TIER LEVEL. Good god FF14 is incredible. This scene really tore me
Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Kairos and the spell Louisoix cast during the calamity? Clearly a nod to his knowledge of the ancients. Something only legacy/ARR players would catch. Or am I just late to that party?
I just can't help but feel that with as long as it took Kairos to activate, Emet-Selch and Hythlodeus could have jumped through the confluence as well and spared their memories.
I've considered this too, but I think they knew that the events needed to play out how the did for the WOL to find their way here in the first place. Emet claims he doesn't believe you, but remember he can always tell when someone is lying. He knew you were telling the truth. Hythlodeus is very wise as well, so it's not out of the question that he knew how important his role would be later on and that this needed to happen.
Although the narrative outcome is definitely as it should be, I do agree with OP that the action didn't give sufficient justification for how it played out as it did. Why did Emet-Selch not summon his own flying mount? We _know_ he has one - it featured in the earlier Elpis storyline. And from the other point of view, why did Hermes just stand there and watch us fly into the confluence? My headcanon is that there was action in the original storyboards that was left on the cutting-room floor, perhaps because there wasn't enough budget for animating the fight choreography. In my headcanon version of events, Hythlodaeus' diversion with the decoy confluence was _necessary_ to distract Hermes from his battle with Emet-Selch, thus freeing Emet-Selch to open the real one. Once it was open, Emet-Selch and Hythodaeus both engaged Hermes in battle to cover for Venat's and WoL's escape. This would explain why Hermes wasn't able to prevent Venat's and WoL's escape, and why Emet-Selch couldn't escape with us.
I think Meteion is the FFXIV version of Seymour Guado. Their world views were shattered after discovering the truth and both became nihilistic. Even their hair design is similar.
this scene was great but after revisiting it, it's highly convenient that Venat and Hades were unable to instantly break their chains considering that both of them are probably the strongest Ancients bar none. As the greatest mage of his time, Hades really should've wrecked Hermes and Meteion on the spot.
True, but Hermes/Fandaniel here is in his home territory AND put a special ward that weakened everyone but him in this zone. And he is nothing to scoff at either, just as Lahabrea, Elidibus and others.
Actually its explained and it shows how powerful they are, Hermes had no chance of ever killing Emet even in his domain where Emet was weakened. It took a memory device to keep him from getting merched.
![Thou Must Live, Die, And Know [LV87 MSQ CUTSCENE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/SwTcMt6k8FQ/mqdefault.jpg)
![Thou Must Live, Die, And Know [LV87 MSQ CUTSCENE]](/img/tr.png)
When first meeting Meteion: "A playable bird race would be awesome."
After this cutscene: "...Maybe not."
I still want one lol
Now I want one even more
After Thule - oh gOD NO
For those that wish to at least photo wise thiers a mod that works on most races.
After this entire first part of the expansion, I began to have the hunch we're getting not only bird people next but a job involving welding hammers.
Hermes: “These people are my family, I hold no secrets from them.”
Meteion: “Now that we’re alone I can discuss with you the tremendous sorrow and crippling depression I’m now suffering because everything else is dead and we’ll soon be dead too.”
Emet-Selch: “Turn that off.”
Hermes: no... I don't think I will
Thousands of years later
Wol: WHEN YOU'RE ASK TO TURN IT OFF! YOU TURN IT THE F$CK OFF!!!
@@leonides1527
Hermès: Alright.. Meteion have a flower
@@leonides1527 When someone asks you if you are a god you say YES. -Ernie Hudson
Meteion is still knowing nothing during Hermes timeline. Not afterward, however.
Amaurot is really the solution for Hermes answer.
Never expected an IT crowd reference on a FFXIV video
All hope was lost when her sister visted WoW. Nobody was there.
lmfao
HAHAHAHHAHHA
Nothing but the lingering sorrow of despair
nooooo
hahahahahah
@@bigbay1159 and fruit bowls.
When you pay attention to the camera cuts when Meteion explains the races. It's quite prophetic.
Hermes: renouncing relationships.
Emet: could not regain former glory.
All: searching for infinity
Hythlo: gave up in the future and themselves.
Venat: found no joy without sorrow.
Edit: furthermore the irony of Emet asking Meteion who she is to decide our fates. Mirroring the same scene in ShB.
This entire Elpis episode is my favorite of the whole series.
and this is what i loved about this cutscene each of them could see themselves in each of these situation and were sort of put off that in the end it ends with destruction and sorrow
A subtle detail that I didn't notice. That is brilliant.
Certainly puts Hythlodaeus' humility about not being very good at anything compared to his friends in a different light.
That is fantastic insight, detail I didn't notice at all! Despite the fact that the characters distinctively reacted to each statement.
do not presume to speak of MY FUTURE
Her voice changing as the monologue goes on is so good.... the VA did an amazing job
yeah, it's a brilliant form of dramatic delivery. calm, almost monotone, slowly ramping up to "shouting anime villain"
completly agreed, and the soundtrack fully supports it, starts piano, shifts to threaten, goes full blown concert of despair with choir
"Remember, Remember us" from Emel Selch has another meaning now after this scene from Endwalker
A right fool you've made of him, Hermes.
Yah, what an irony more like….that he being the one who forgot fucked everyone over.
@@tuck295q given the fact it's established memory alteration is negated upon death, and being stuffed in Azem's crystal all that time... My god he must have been fuming. Just imagine how embarrassing that must have been, not only did he immediately realize he actually became the megamoniacal madman he said he'd never become... He immediately realises he's just tried to kill one of the people paramount to stopping meteion. Then has to watch everything unfold.
@rexex345 He was in the aetherial sea not azem's crystal. He was the one who created azem's crystal. How could venat put them in the crystal when she herself was in the aetherial sea? She could barely take form on the source. Also this is proven when y'shtola told us to not use the magic to summon the scions back. It was just a spell, not theirs souls.
@@akumamakima2280 the implication is that when he died, Venkat plucked him back and stored stored him and hythlodeus in the crystal when she met us do we could call him. It's worth pointing out each shard has its own sea that is entirely independent, if you die on the first you don't get sent back to the source's sea.
My heart shattered when Emet told us not to squander the legacy
Us reaching out to Emet Selch after that line was what broke the dam for me
Mine was when Hythplodaeus waved good bye. He is such a simple, affectionate fellow. He is what makes us feel for the ancients. And even more painful when later on we saw he said goodbye to Emet as he goes to be sacrificed for Zodiak. They managed to break us even harder than in Shadowbringers by planting the seed of this lovable fellow in the tiny corner of ShB grand adventure.
This part made me cry not lying just touched me so much lol
Seeing Emet as the good guy cocky smart ass scholar he was always meant to be broke me in 1000 different ways. What the fuck square? Endwalker? FF: FEELSWALKER
I loved Emet near his first end. At first I thought he was a drone but quickly hoped he would be come an ally. Such an amazing character.
I thought Hermes made a cute bird girl but really he made Ultron
He made Necron
I mean yeah basically
Then bro decided to cut Ultron wires free because he want to see how humanity will live, mans insane lol
The sad part is, in some round-about way Meteion is doing what she was made to do. Hermes didn't give her the ability to eat, she has free will(to an extent) but she doesn't live. And she knows what emotions are, bit she can't express them, that's why even though she was hurting in a sense, she needed us, the player, the change the color of the Dynamis flower to show Hermes.
If you recall, Hermes said Meteion was made so that people can understand each other. And in meeting all those failed and dead civilizations, she's fulfilling her purpose in making Etheiryans understand sorrow and despair.
A case of something gone horribly right. It wasn't wholly Meteion's fault. As Emet noted, Hermes gave her a flawed question based on flawed assumptions.
As Hades said. Hermes didn't take into consideration whether his initial question was flawed. And meteion is essentially a biological AI. If you feed a computer a task but don't account for how it should frame it's methods, it will do something like this if that's the conclusion found.
Didn't they say somewhere that their very creations are in fact just spells?
@@TheStarlitfuse kind of... The creation magic s used to create something are spells, but it's essentially summoning... Actually it literally is summoning, once created the entity exists based on what parameters are set upon creation. So familiars like meteion or Argos have free or limited will, or they may just create a creature with a soul straight up like the wildlife. The spell itself is essentially just transmutation of aether from one form to another.
@@TheStarlitfuse I think it more like Alchemy in FMA than spell in most of fantasy settings.
"One race had discarded all things that gave rise to sorrow, hoping to have only joy. They found joy lost its savor in the absence of sorrow, and lost their will to live."
This scene really struck me in hindsight. Meteion is referring to the aliens you encounter in last section of The Dead Ends duty. They achieved endless serenity, pleasure, and happiness, but as she states, they eventually grew listless and joyless after countless eons. This prompted them to summon the entity Ra-La to destroy them, granting release from the endless monotony and stagnation.
It's not immediately apparent until later, but that downfall parallels one of the very probable fates of Etheirys. Venat's reaction to the report is pretty telling here. She sees the writing on the wall for her people if things continue as they are. And what Hermes came to despise about Elpis reflects the innate flaws of the Ancients' "perfect" society---flaws that would eventually lead it toward a similar ruin.
Her sunderering was a textbook necessary evil because without evil good cannot exist either two sides of the same coin
What's the dead end duty?
@@michaelallsopp1286 "The Dead Ends" is a dungeon you'll unlock in the final zone.
Either "They renounced relationships to avoid interpersonal strife, and in doing so brought about societal collapse" or "They were conquered. Through they destroyed the enemy in reprisal, they could not regain their former glory." could refer to the 2nd zone of Dead Ends, more likely the latter.
That world was destroyed by Meteions influence as is told later in the story. She started her journey as the bluebird of happiness, but after encountering some dead world she slowly morphed into the black raven of despair, sending waves of negative emotions in front of her to every world she visited. That's why the people on that golden world turned to mass nihilism.
You can see her journey in "The dead ends" dungeon. She starts it as the blue bird of happiness, then turns a bit darker and after the second boss, transforms into the black raven of despair, radiating black energy around her. Even the second areas journals tell about how they met an alien visitor and some of them thought that they were chosen by this messiah. Her arrival (and already starting dark thoughts) poisoned that unstable world too.
Man one thing I love about this scene is that; starting with Meteion’s speech of despair, the edges of the screen go dark as a desaturated look filters over everything. Almost as if everyone’s caught in her grip of nihilism. But as soon as Venat breaks free of her restraints and charges Hermes, the filter is immediately gone, like hope shining through Meteion’s blanket of despair.
It’s such a minute detail but it speaks absolute volumes of what comes immediately afterwards and I love it so much!
I didn't notice the filter, great spot!
I love the line ; and it will be beautiful...
It connects Meteion and Hermes to Amon , and then Fandaniel , they all utter that phrase at one point or another , like a sickenly sweet and malevolent mantra.
Not to forget, G'raha says it too in his speech to the Omicrons
@@pastafarian6570 Yes but doesn't mean anything from him , he's not a nihilistic crazy man who thinks everyone would be better off dead and erased from existence, the point is that not one single incarnation of Hermes doesn't repeat their mantra and share their contempt for life, with every repeat of that phrase it grows more and more creepier than the last time you hear it
The most frightening thing about Meteion's report is that it's rooted in reality. She's basically describing the great filter.
since when is the great filter rooted in reality? It is only but one hypothesis to give an answer to the Fermi Paradox. A more mordern hypothesis actually is, that we a.) do not even know the propability of habitable planets evolving life since we have an actual sample size of exactly one by now. and b.) if we were to encounter life somewhere else in the universe would we even be able to recognize it as such
Meteion broke Hermes mind with that reveal. Everything leading up to this moment was just mental blow after mental blow against his psyche, and that final answer was what finally did in his sanity.
Same could be said for Meteion. Every world she visited was one mental blow after another, until she came across the world that had lost the will to live due to extreme apathy in the absence of strife and sorrow to make joy mean something. I firmly believe that it was that world that finally broke her.
Hermes is just a big cry baby. I hate and pity him and the same time.
Considering Meteion's qualities she was created with, hermes gave her a flawed question based on flawed assumptions, who could have thought that would backfire?
@@Neurogenesis1251 considering how he just cared about life itself, and hated how the ascian's just threw it away so casually, and then to hear that other worlds were as equally shitty as his own, he just have up. not really a cry baby, he was just tormented
@@connorradcliffe1769 "I am tormented so let me doom a few million worlds of life, even though there were only about a few that I know of, that turned into shit, dang I am so random"
- Hermes probably
@@Neurogenesis1251 that's not what happened lmao
They moved Yoko Taro from designing a raid to the writing team I see
Is Natsuko Ishikawa same one that wrote Shadowbrigers.
lol
Once you reach Final Days Thavnair and beyond in the MSQ this story could be straight out of Nier with how much Nihilism there is to it.
@@CrashB111 That one "Report" Scene fucking destroyed me.
The parallel between the female Intoners in Yoko Taro's 2013 game Drakengard 3 and its impact on Natsuko Ishikawa and the female Endsingers in the 2021 Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker may be more than mere coincidence.
Emet selch of all people questioning what gives someone the right to decree who lives or dies gets me everytime
Specially since it can be seen from both sides. Who is the WoL to decree that the Ascians should die?
The General on the Garlean side. Describes it perfectly. If peace was the most important, then the Erozeans could have let the empire take over. But the Erozeans wanted more than peace, they wanted control, just as the Garleans. Thus the points of view were irreconcilable.
No good nor evil. Just irreconcilable differences between the Ascians and the sundered.
@@RicardoSantos-oz3uj in Eorzean's case, they have seen the example of what happened to those subjugated by the Garlean, like those in Ilsabard, Doma and their own once enemy Ala Mhgo.
The most sinister part is it is practically designed to cause more conflict down the road
just like Emet-Selch wanted
I think the thing I was most impressed with was the camera work and direction in this story. It helped emphasis so many moments and made them all the more powerful from the horrifying words of Meteion’s truth that she found amongst the stars, to the desperate attempts of all those trying to stop their fate, all the way to their victory of escape and Venat’s resolve as she became Hydaelyn and so much more after this part of the story.
I never noticed the first time given how powerful and enraptured I was in the story but now that I see them again I can see how much effort they put into their craft for storytelling. Even subtle choices like Meteion walking slowly towards the others as the camera follows behind her only for that same camera to fall behind slowly to create as much distance as possible while observing her emphasizes the fear she brings forth with her words and new found idealism alone.
God I’m just remembering the many years that I’ve played this game and how simple everything was and now that we’ve reached the final FINAL CLIMAX of this story arc how much work and effort and time they put in to get where we are now with just the presentation alone. This doesn’t even talk about all the amazing qualities I’m just talking about camera work here. But by god they really did hit this one out of the park!!~
Meteion has to have some of the best rigging, animation and camera work given ever, best example being when she's shown the elpis blooms, the level of subtlety to her expression changing is a masterpiece.
Can we acknowledge the fact that Hermes willingly broke his own heart by making himself think the Meteion sisters were all dead?
No, he realised that all the lifeforms meteion encountered were dead...not the sisters themselves.
@@robikkupegasus7039 no, I mean once his own memories were changed, he thought all the sisters were dead. Which must've been heartbreaking for him. Yet he willingly subjected himself to that
oh yeah about that when it was endsinger vs scions cs she mentioned something about it
@@TheRapGeneral1yes and kinda. They lost hope and gave in to the despair so in a way you can say they "died" in a sense but also they became those shades you see combined to become the Endsinger
I had a feeling this would happen but my heart was torn into pieces when Meteion turned...
When I saw she had hair-wings like Siren I knew she was a boss immediately
When her special power was revealed, it was, oh, wow, so that explains the Final Days...
I had no idea... I just thought she was this super adorable bird girl... God I was so wrong. 🤦♀️
@@Lunar_Crescentfall As soon as she said she was able to manipulate dynamis in her intro I viewed her with wariness. Then when we learned Hermes had sent them out to contact other worlds I immediately settled on either A: she turned because of something she experienced or B: her sisters alerted something to our existence and brought it back to Etheirys. NGL I thought it was a world eater right up until she turned. The notion that *every* world she encountered chose death seems unrealistic to me tbh.
@@akkiko it's really unrealistic if you see play the last dungeon in MSQ is represent of that Meteion found through out and how miserable those worlds were
I am rarely scared, but I honestly find Meteion’s report about her discovery to be utterly frightening. The fact that multiple civilizations have risen and fallen, all experiencing death and suffering. It gave me a moment of existential crisis and feeling the terror of an utterly uncaring universe.
There are those who feel as you do. And there are those who will continue to keep looking forward, who don't fear the unknown. Or even the possibility of our own world falling as others perhaps have. Life is uncaring. Only individual beings care.
It's called the great filter theory.
Existentialism hits me everyday. I just think how small this world is and what is outside of it, like truly. I grow curious everyday, wondering if we really are alone out here.
And because we are living in the terror of an utterly uncaring universe…
So humans can choose to give each other hope, strength, and compassion...
We can choose not to give up looking for meaning, and we can appreciate the truth, goodness and beauty that can be seen everywhere if we care to look.
⋯ We can choose to cherish now.
@@hinxlinx Amen, brother.
When meteion started reporting on all dead worlds it was incredibly kino moment
I dare say it was even ludo.
Was she quoting other games? Or am I retarded?
What does kino mean?
@@blastardo213 it's a slav word for film. Nerds on the internet use it to remark upon cool story telling or presentation
It was peak Cinematographique
My mom got attached to mettion and was horrified at this part.
This cutscene made me cry really bad. Not because it was sad. But because it's a masterpiece both cinematically and in story writing. This, this is how you tie a story together.
same
I cryed for everything ToT
@@colemcgrath644 cry harder
@@colemcgrath644 "aliens are sad" is the height of reductionism, holy shit.
@@colemcgrath644 Ultra nihilism and proof that every civilization across the galaxy is doomed to fail, end and destroy themselves, all funneled into one consciousness all at once = "people sad must kill"
See the issue here? Of course you don't. Calling it "stupid fucking excuse because people sad" is to simplify and strip all nuance. You can make ANY story sound like shit if you simplify to that extent.
Fun fact: The places from her report correspond with some features in the last zone and dungeon
The voice acting is so good. Like the whole plot and the voice acting really ties everything so well I get chills
Man, seeing Meteion go from innocent little girl/ pet to lovecraftian deity in the course of one leveling zone really broke my heart. I got attached to her instantly when she jumped at me with the "can we be friends" line.
It almost defies belief how a final boss introduced two thirds into the story (or rather, 90% through if you take everything from 2.0 onwards into account) can be executed so well and have such an impact on my emotional state. Clearly the narrative design team that works on this MMO have mastered their craft!
Despite introducing her so late in a sense, they thankfully introduced her deeds quite early. We knew during shadowbringers that Zodiark was essentially behind nothing, and was a creation given a purpose as was Hydaelyn. So even though that a bit of suspicion cast on Hydaelyn in my opinion, there was always this lingering thought that someone or something else was behind everything and I loved how it played out because she had such an integral relationship with two of the major antagonists.
First meeting was like “something horrible is going to happen to her that makes Hermes lose his marbles”
Well… I wasn’t wrong
It helps that she's meant to not be some major player that existed all this time and has manipulated events from the beginning (unlike a certain Jailer), she's meant to be a foil to you. An explorer who gave in to the soul-crushing despair that happens time and time again.
I hated how Hermes went from a life loving hippie to a emo nihilist. If you don’t like how things are, why not dedicate your life to try to change how things are instead of moping and wishing for everything to be destroyed. In my opinion that is bad writing.
I didn't see Hermes' heel turn coming for a minute I forgot he was still Fandaniel
To be honest i still had the quote "he would be ashamed of what became of his legacy" still in my head up till the last thinking it was more amon we were fighting then Fandanale
@@thedarkness490 it was Amon, more of Amon with the memory of fandaniel. I don't know how they get their memory but for Amon it didn't seem complete.
I'm still don't get why they didn't name Hermes as Hermes when he introduced himself as Fandaniel in Shadowbringers.
@@AG-sk5pv you didnt know emet was hades so why would he when ******* is the real personality
@@AG-sk5pv they discard their own name for the title of the seat they gain.
They found...Despair itself, that hit me deep, the song which she is talking about which was the sound they heard before being filled with fear.
I'm kinda sad we neevr got to hear the sound itself.
@@fleeplayTV I don't think they mean its a literal song, I understood it as more of a desire to fill the universe with dread by just feeling it, that energy being about feelings.
@@fleeplayTV In the cutscene where you can choose which Scion knocks on your door, you can hear the sound before you see the vision of the meteors. It's pretty unsettling, which makes me sure it is THE sound. Missed it the first time too though, it's easy to do so.
The utter scorn with which she spits "tried their best", amazing voice actress.
"You and I, we still have a long, long way to go."
My heart shattered hearing that line
Does anyone know name of the OST at 4:08. That shirt goes hard especially when synced with Meteions downfall
I also really like how gradually as Meteion gives her report you can hear the malice grow in her voice little by little. I just really like that small detail
Despair.
@@Amyler00 thanks :)
What Come of Despair
th-cam.com/video/8JyVPYtIffs/w-d-xo.html
@@tsuribachi thank you :)
Hythlodaeus is the best character in Endwalker
Dude is so optimistic that even in death his smile never left his face.
Agreed.
Thats a tough one because Emet and him are such friends. I love them both, i cant say if I enjoy Emet or Hylodaeus more.
Nah. Best character is puddingway
@@Asmodeus562 maybe we'll get a sidequest where his search for pudding leads to a dungeon full of Flans
This part caught me off guard. Well that and the scenes beforehand. Like wow. Well well well done.
Tbh, it was so painfully obvious she was gonna turn. Just from her name since her name looks similar to meteor and the rain of fire, also when u find out she can read emotions it's a dead giveaway she uses akasa and would cause rhe final days. But it was good writing, just because it's obvious tho doesn't mean it isn't well written
@@oldmandancinv2 I think she got 3 lines before I was like, oh no. Oh she's the final boss ain't she. Please Ishikawa let's not Tesleen this.
Ishikawa and the sledgehammer she's been using to hammer home the theme of Endwalker: Bleeding void eyes go brrrrr.
Space Afghan hounds. That one was not on my EW bingo card.
“Do not squander it, the legacy I leave you” gets me every single time. 😭
same here, its my absolute fav moment
First time I saw her I knew she had something to do with the Final Days; she was introduced too late to just be around Hermes. I do like how they handle Meteion's transformation into the Endsinger. The Meteion you meet in Elpis is not some Dangonronpa villain that immediately gets a despair-fetish. She's terrified of what she's learned, but the rest of the Meteion hive-mind just overwhelms her. Her sisters never had the same connection she had with Hermes, so when the first thing they all see are ruined civilizations, they break immediately.
I need the song at 14:53. Also this cutscene is on par with Emet's reveal right after Innocence in Shb. Watching both give me chills at the plot shift.
No clue about the song name but it was also used at the beginning of EW
"Heroes Forge Ahead"
Has anyone else noticed how Meteion's cadence/tone shifts: When she was explaining what she saw from the other stars, her delivery is very flat and monotone.
Then, when she gave the conclusion based on their observation, her tone became dark and almost angry. Then it starts to sound child-like at the very end as if the information she received has completely broken her and her sanity that she starts to sound like Fandaniel with how she gleefully describes how she's going to destroy the universe.
The ancients are all such amazing characters, would have loved to spend more time with Emet, Hythlodaeus and Venat!
Saw an article from 6-7 months ago titled "Most Destructive Final Fantasy villain's ranked."
I think Meteion skipped all 15 slots to number 1..
Not only did she repeatedly, successfully wipe mankind, sunder worlds entirely, lead them down many different kinds of calamity, all without being even discovered until now, but it took an act of god itself to finish this fight.. and it was glorious.
I nominate Meteion to being the most destructive FF antagonist.
Yeah, she just trounced all those lists. Most powerful antagonist, what with throwing around planets, wiping out entire civilisations and all that - and nigh on succeeded in her goal. But she also super sympathetic and everything too, which probably puts her on top other lists as well!
Hasten the end of the universe by quickening its expansion into cold desolate emptiness…
Cauius still destroyed all realities and timeliness just to stop is boo from dying anymore. And bhunivelze wanted to destroy creation just because we don't pray hard enough when he's sleeping. Ultemecia all erased all time and space to become one with with everything.
There will villians will killed on a grander scale. It's just metty kills not for a selfish wish or power, but to try to protect the living from the pain of living.
Nah. Bhunivelze takes the top spot still. He is God after all. :)
@@Quinyel Don't get this confused, this is most destructive, not most powerful.
This scene is so damn good I find myself watching it whenever I get spare time.
This was the cutscene where all the pieces fell into place. Everyones reasoning and ideals as clear as the expressions on their faces as meteion layed all to bear.
One race found out they’ve been duped since the beginning of time by a deceptively cunning Jailor that has never known defeat so they all killed themselves.
His 5000 IQ plan shattered reality
That last fucking line Emet-Selch mutters. "I should prefer to reminisce on more meaningful moments". Even after hearing of his tragic tale to come, he swears he would never do it, as he would be certain a solution would be available, and that a fight could be fought. But having his memories wiped, and this statement heartbreakingly becoming true, he is truly and utterly devastated by the loss of a people, whose demise he believed appeared out of nowhere. The more i rewatch these scenes after the msq i just sit there with a chill in my body. And it all just.... clicks. Why Hythlodaeus was so opposed to the Convocations strategy. Returning to that ethereal sea, he sees a man that lives on in regret, and the solace of knowing the truth, conquering and killing millions. Putting faith into an Eikon that would forever bring about destruction, as there would always be a force willing to oppose it, as did Hydaelyn
So well said. Hardly a day goes by that I catch an odd EW cutscene past when I first saw them and don't get chills up and down my whole body as new layers of revelations and nuance come to light that after all the searching I've done still just made themselves present. They broke ground with this game and this moment for me - as you said, the "clicks" never stopped. Hythlodaeus's plight stands even taller once you consider how Emet posed his puppet of him back in the Tempest's Amaurot illusion. A man distraught with insecurity and purpose mattered so much to his idol (Emet) that he received the utmost tribute in bestowing upon us the Azem crystal Emet had been holding onto for memories' sake, but he would never be there to know in the flesh to see that appreciate come to fruition. Truly well done and tragic that Hythlodaeus is an instrumentally monumental character in the grander scheme of things, but in a time and place not of his own body and mind, left sundered and unsure of his existence until returning to the aetherial sea once and for all. A beautiful piece of work, Endwalker truly is.
Hermes: Was there happiness in those distant stars? Was there a reason for living?
Meteion: Well, yes, but actually, no.
In the scene where Meteion is giving the first part of this report she tells the group about a world where "Deadly plague or extreme environmental degradation likely to have led to mass extinction". I was like...Oh! She found Earth!
All the reports she gives, it was shown on the final zone and the final dungeon
@@eltoncdb So I guess the deadly plague was the first part of the last dungeon? wtf was the balls stuff? Thought that has to do with the despair and junk but it doesn't ever show in the other two areas. On one hand thought the whole area was going to be like that but on the other, I'm kind of glad it wasn't. yeash.
@@Gamemaster-64 those balls were planets
@@Gamemaster-64 In the final dungeon, 1st area is the plague, 2nd area is the military conflict, and 3rd one is the society get rid of all sorrow but joyless, all they looking for is death from god.
@@eltoncdb Ultima Thule: First zone is Deka-okto, the "Star that had renounced war, and when war came to them and conquered them, they fought off their conquerors but had lost forever their former glory"; second zone is Tria, the Star upon which Meteion only found the lingering essences of the Ea; third zone is Deka-hexi, which isn't mentioned in either report but is tangentially related to the first star mentioned in the second part of her report, as the Omicrons were the conquerors of the Dragonstar. Deka-hexi is also the home of Omega; we don't see the Star that had conquered infinity itself (or maybe that was Deka-hexi? They had attained perfection and in so doing found nothing that could challenge them anymore); Fourth zone of Ultima Thule is Hena, which is the abandoned world Meteion found. The first world mentioned in the first part of her report.
Goddamnit Hermes
Look what you did
You took a perfectly good bird and gave her depression
To be fair, it was also _partially_ the fault of the rest of the universe.
If other civilizations didn't end in such a depressing note, this wouldn't have happened.
I loved Emet near his death before this. At first I thought he was a drone but quickly hoped he would be come an ally. Such an amazing character.
Hermes: Were they happy?...
Meteion: N O.
For a time I thought this was going to be the creation of a parallel universe or something since they said that the Wol could change their history just not their own. Then they got so close just for the opportunity to slip away. I loved it though even though it had a bittersweet feeling.
I like how with a literal giant ticking clock the action grinds to a dead halt so Emet and Hythlodeus can explain their pointless, confusing ruse and laugh at Hermes. If he wanted to distract Hermes why didn’t Hythlodeus just shoot an arrow at him
God when I was playing Elden Ring and heard Melina’s voice I was like, “Why is her voice so familiar?” Almost immediately it clicked that it was the same VA for Meteion and I was like “noooOOOOOO!” Such an amazingly soothing and scary voice!
no way haha
Nope! But Kairos and Fourchenalt are voiced by Antony Howell, who voices Margot and the Grafted Scion.
The voice cast has more in common with the cast of XC3.
Gorl u gotta give credit to meteions voice actress! She’s fucking good!
Right !
Completely agree! The voice acting in this game is just top notch, the Japanese meteion is scary in the final fight btw, check it out if you’ve not already!
@@castoputa will do!
She's insanely good! Meanwhile, the german voice actress just reads plainly from her script without any emotion or passion (like almost every german voice actor in this game). One could argue it fits the context and her emotional state but... it's just lazy and bad.
Germans: Switch to english voices, or even japanese if you're into that! It's a simple drop-down option in the system configuration menu and makes the overall experience so, so much better.
@@hudomi1687 amen to that!
Something I'm kinda curious about. I wonder if any of the stars also managed to escape Meteion's Song of Oblivion like we did. In some of the reports it's not fully clear what happened to some of the other stars.
2:21 Societal Collapse, yes that's bad. But that doesn't mean they were wiped out.
2:36 Destroyed the enemy in reprisal, but not dead.
Only 2 of these can be said to be concretely dead. The Seekers of Infinity, and those that discarded all sorrow like with the final vision in the Dead Ends. I still think it's possible some of them might have escaped her song.
I found it. The most spoiler heavy video you can send to your enemies if you want them to hate you forever.
I still haven't finished the MSQ past the second trial, but I just want to say, Meteion is my new favorite villain. From innocence and cuteness to pure terror, I'm at loss of words.
I would not call her villain, more like antagonist
@@SaarimaaSauli I love her too, but her dark side / sisters are bringer of despair and creator of final days, most of the ancients died bcus of her.
Its just, there are two sides of her. The blue Meteion, as an individual separated to her sisters, probably not a villain or antagonist at all.
@@fahriza88 then again that happened because her sisters's mind broke after the revelation. Our Meteion seemed different enough to still be herself cause of how much she hanged with Hermes
@@fahriza88 But she didnt come to that conlcusion on her own, those emtions were forced onto her because she was created that way. And the reason she wants everything to die is because in her mind, she is doing everyone a courtesy. Rather than living a death cycle of misery she would stop the suffering (in her view). Not a villain, an antagonist. She isn't evil because she seeks pleasure or seeks to gain, she is doing what in her head is the right thing to do
@@bigbay1159 yea, the theme around the dark Meteion is Nihilism. If villain is only for people who do destruction for pleasure, then you're right. But if someone who has Nihilism way of thinking can be called a villain, then it is what it is. I'm not an expert in these terms. Antagonist or villain, I still love her character anyway
The fact that this story brought a dear friend of mine's outlook on life into a brighter light.
Someone needs to upload that menacing song with no other sound. It’s so much better than the Sin Eater theme
I can’t tell which Orchestrion roll it is? That and the theme where you solo Venat, that’s a really pretty song.
@@kidhavii that second song I actually found someone posted. Idk what it’s called but I just looked up FFXIV Endwalker BGM and came across it. The title was in Japanese with spoilers hidden.
Does it remind anyone else of Those Chosen by the Planet?
@@leomoreno7369 In that it's similarly foreboding, yeah.
@@EdoSora47 link?
The Elpis quest line is the best in the games history. They pulled out all the stops from the zodiark fight SO EARLY to even the Endwalker Logo ( That's not the Moon)
Introducing the real threat near the end with a small backstory is all that was needed. Brilliant writing
This whole section and cutscene just destroyed me.
I got super attached to Meteion immediately. She reminds me of a few of my friends. And she basically went through the same type of realizations one of my good friends in particular did recently and it just really hurt me. I was doing MSQ with an FC friend and it just... emotionally destroyed me, chasing her around, I was like I HAVE TO SAVE HER I HAVE TO COMFORT HER.
It was all for naught.
And I'm still upset.
We haven't played anymore MSQ. I needed time to recover.
play more. never lose hope. you wont regret it.
Rewatching this cutscene, the moment where the WoL jumps infront of Hythlodaeus to shield him from Hermes' attack... it gave me flashbacks to Haurchefant.
A personal interpretation, but I couldn't help but feel the trauma and regret of not protecting Haurchefant that day in this scene- and not allowing another friend to fall because of our inaction or being so caught unawares. The fact that the WoL rarely does direct things like this for other characters is what really makes it stand out more.
Don't get me wrong, it was a bit narratively convenient for us to act in this way for the follow up to happen! But that's what I genuinely first thought when I saw this scene again. Just some thoughts upon revisiting this scene.
Is it just me or did Emet and Hyth realize at the end that we were the Azem they currently know all along?
they already know after we reveal our story to them but the memory got erased by kairos. At the end when they called by Azem crystal they remember everything because they will remember when their soul return to atherial sea.
Emet Selch Shadowbringers: You cannot be trusted with my legacy
Emet Selch Endwalker: Do not squander it the legacy I leave you.
I'm not crying again for the millionth time I watch this scene.
The Ancients should have developed the Concept of "therapy".
They must have believed themselves to be too perfect/enlightened to need it, I guess...
They did actually. The Seat of Emmerololth was responsible for it. Shame it didn’t apply to Hermes in time.
Kairos' voice combined with this music made for such a chilling moment for me.
I love Meteion so much. I sent NASA an email requesting them to search for Meteion using the James Webb space telescope
When I heard about Webb, my first thought was "Dear god no, you don't know what that's going to bring about!" lol
@@veryberry39 11qQ
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Now that I see all these Elpis scenes again, I noticed that the writing team definitely employed some fuckery to make this whole time travel thing stick.
The Asicans just so happened to have a giant memory reconfiguration machine that took just long enough to fire up to let the hero’s escape?
This expansion definitely took a different turn then I expected. I thought from the trailer Zenos and Fandaniel were gonna be the final BBEGs.
“ 6:05 who are you to decide our fate? To decree if we live or die?” Emet, the master of irony
From the moment I first saw Meteion, she was giving me Lucemon vibes (from Digimon) with her angel look. Also found her creepy even before she started her report and was 'good'.
When Meteion's voice started shifting, holy shit, that was terrifying lol
The worst part about this was chasing her down over and over and over and over before you get to this dungeon
I hated that
Lol that was the STUPIDEST quest... like damn, 3 times would have been good enough to get the point across that she really doesn't want to tell us
It made sense in hindsight but yeah I feel that
Just a random follow quest was just
Not that much fun😊
Hermes: wants meteion to grow independently and learn about life.
Meteion: has a goth phase and delivers an actually chilling villain monologue.
Me: damnit Hermes you had one job! How do you fail at parenting that bad!?
like the father like the daughter,i guess?
local birdgirl obtained nihilism
"They were conquered"
That one hit deep. Even if you want the best for everyone, there will always be others ready to destroy.
To be at peace is to prepare for war. Never assume safety, offer the olive branch but always be ready to draw
I know it supposed to be a melancholic moment, but hearing Emet’s voice actor deceivery on his condition had me laughing out of my chair.
Ok Grandpa time to take your meds 😂
Bruh even before this dungeon Meteion's reports and the music playing while she spoke them out gave off mad Sephiroth descending into madness vibes while he was in Nibelheim and discovered the truth
Props to her voice actress for this scene.
Like I was getting chills at the speech and they did the damn thing building up the dred and terror that I actually felt sick
So much emotion going here, so good!
batchest
I love how this game uses the Fermi Paradox
when you actually find out that your meeting these ppl that she is talking about here by the end of the last area :O its mindblowing,
"If we ourselves are flawed, does it not stand to reason that we too should be discarded?"
"That is sophistry and you know it!"
"Perhaps it is. Perhaps I am wrong. But who is to say that you are right."
This moved me, Hermes was the one I related to and could feel his conviction because in some sense I felt he was right. not 100% correct tho, but that statement served a purpose.
And this is why FF is my favorite RPG storytelling series….their storytelling is GOD S TIER LEVEL. Good god FF14 is incredible. This scene really tore me
The parallel story of nier is real with the endwalker story. Holy shit.
Does anyone know the name of the track that starts at 4:09?
I too would like to know. Very Sephiroth like.
@@Rithysak101 same for me :(
It's called "Despair", and it really fits the name.
FFXIV Endwalker - What comes of despair
How they can speak so quietly and so far away, yet can still each other crystal clear is a miracle.
Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Kairos and the spell Louisoix cast during the calamity? Clearly a nod to his knowledge of the ancients. Something only legacy/ARR players would catch.
Or am I just late to that party?
I just can't help but feel that with as long as it took Kairos to activate, Emet-Selch and Hythlodeus could have jumped through the confluence as well and spared their memories.
I've considered this too, but I think they knew that the events needed to play out how the did for the WOL to find their way here in the first place. Emet claims he doesn't believe you, but remember he can always tell when someone is lying. He knew you were telling the truth. Hythlodeus is very wise as well, so it's not out of the question that he knew how important his role would be later on and that this needed to happen.
Although the narrative outcome is definitely as it should be, I do agree with OP that the action didn't give sufficient justification for how it played out as it did. Why did Emet-Selch not summon his own flying mount? We _know_ he has one - it featured in the earlier Elpis storyline. And from the other point of view, why did Hermes just stand there and watch us fly into the confluence?
My headcanon is that there was action in the original storyboards that was left on the cutting-room floor, perhaps because there wasn't enough budget for animating the fight choreography. In my headcanon version of events, Hythlodaeus' diversion with the decoy confluence was _necessary_ to distract Hermes from his battle with Emet-Selch, thus freeing Emet-Selch to open the real one. Once it was open, Emet-Selch and Hythodaeus both engaged Hermes in battle to cover for Venat's and WoL's escape. This would explain why Hermes wasn't able to prevent Venat's and WoL's escape, and why Emet-Selch couldn't escape with us.
This scene is burned into my memory. I will never forget the utter despair that waits for us all out there in the dark void.
The goosebumps I get from this scene will never go away
Hello Fermi Paradox!
Yup. Older and more advanced civilizations died before the more recent ones.
True and thermodynamics and astrophysics. It's like dynamis is darkmatter v aether being gravity.
as someone who struggles with apathy this scene was quite something
What's the name of the track that starts at 2:18. It's so fucking ominous, I love it.
I would like to know too
I think Meteion is the FFXIV version of Seymour Guado. Their world views were shattered after discovering the truth and both became nihilistic.
Even their hair design is similar.
What is the name of the song @ 4:00
Its new. Been looking for it too.
@@VioletMaeve it's apparently called despair
@@Ephra_wangai
Even if it is, no one has the theme uploaded without voices
@@VioletMaeve th-cam.com/video/syqvJqwOhbc/w-d-xo.html
There ya go
@@Ephra_wangai
Thank you.
5:00 - 5:13 the music and her speech are together like this 🤞 its perfection.
Now what I'm curious about is if any of them finally realized we're the reincarnation of Azem.
I'm sure they knew when we told them of our tale. Though Emet is just being yandere about it.
Her speech is simply haunting
Without a doubt my favourite cutscene in Endwalker
this scene was great but after revisiting it, it's highly convenient that Venat and Hades were unable to instantly break their chains considering that both of them are probably the strongest Ancients bar none. As the greatest mage of his time, Hades really should've wrecked Hermes and Meteion on the spot.
True, but Hermes/Fandaniel here is in his home territory AND put a special ward that weakened everyone but him in this zone. And he is nothing to scoff at either, just as Lahabrea, Elidibus and others.
It's explained that our party power were suppressed in Ktisis, Hermes had the upper hand here because it's his domain.
Yep. Probably has the ability to place an enfeebling ward in case any of the creations ran loose.
Actually its explained and it shows how powerful they are, Hermes had no chance of ever killing Emet even in his domain where Emet was weakened. It took a memory device to keep him from getting merched.
I’m pretty sure I remember the NPC’s mentioned some sort of dampening field to suppress magics before the dungeon.