Been almost 2 weeks since I've posted and this has been the most lively comment section I've ever had by far. Thanks, everyone, I've really enjoyed reading your comments, even the pro-Imperial ones! Just gonna pin this comment to deal with the most common argument that I missed in the video.

The argument: Ulfric is actually a bad military leader because he was quickly captured by Tullius! Without an act of God (the return of Alduin), Ulfric would be executed and his rebellion would be little more than a page in a history book.

Here's what I'll say in Tullius' favor: he probably is an exceptional general and tactician; and the game hints at him being a better tactician than Ulfric, but we can't say that with 100% confidence (more on that later). Hadvar says that Tullius turned things around for the Empire once he got involved in the war. He also says that the Empire has been trying to catch Ulfric since the war began but that Ulfric kept slipping through their fingers. Then, Tullius plans an ambush at darkwater crossing and takes Ulfric by surprise while Ulfric only has a few honor guard with him. So, clearly, Ulfric is a big dumb dumb and Tullius is a genius, right? Not necessarily true. It's clear that Ulfric was not expecting any imperial presence at Darkwater Crossing; he wasn't moving with his main force, just a few men. What's most likely is that someone who knew where he'd be sold him out rather than Tullius innately knew Ulfric would take that route (this is especially plausible since Darkwater Crossing is in Stormcloak territory). Furthermore, for everyone saying that Ulfric is a hammer who sees everything as a nail, meaning he always chooses combat over diplomacy; when the Imperial ambush springs on Ulfric, rather than fighting to the last and dying in battle, he orders his men to stand down and accepts capture, waiting for a better opportunity. Ulfric probably expected the imperials to take him to Cyrodiil and he likely had an emergency battalion in Riften ready to block the mountain exit out of Skyrim in case of this very event. Tullius was smart enough to see that taking Ulfric back to Cyrodiil was risky, and chose to go farther into Skyrim to execute the Stormcloak leader, which is clearly not something Ulfric planned for because the carts make it to Helgen unmolested. It's an outcome in which Tullius certainly came out on top but it does not mean that Ulfric is an idiot or that Tullius is necessarily a better tactician. Every military engagement is like a hand of poker. Sometimes you have a great hand and your opponent has worse cards but the deck bails them out. Sometimes you have a bad hand and you make terrible decisions but still get lucky. With just this one event, there's not enough information to say which military leader is objectively better. Either way, it doesn't really matter, because if Tullius is a better tactician than Ulfric, that doesn't mean that the Empire is a better choice than the Stormcloaks, it means that the Empire has at least one general who is a really good tactician.

there is no civil war debate, the answer was with us the entire time; stormcloak is for two-handed, imperial is for one-handed. thanks for coming to my todd talk

i save all my black soul gems for thalmor patrols

Titus mede II: SEND 50 BILLION SEPTIMS TO ALINOR!!!!!!!!!!!!

Talos will be worshipped until morale improves.

Finally a non reddit tier video on this

Good thing to mention is part of Ulfric victory speech at the end of civil war as a Stormcloak: "A great darkness is growing, and soon we will be called to fight it, on these shores or abroad. The Aldmeri Dominion may have defeated the Empire, but it has not defeated Skyrim!" Which could mean that if (when) another great war starts and if empire or Hammerfell calls for aid, Skyrim will answer.

You’ve officially changed my mind, team Stormcloaks all the way. If the Empire practically hasn’t existed since Martin and Ulfric will help the other provinces fight the thalmor later anyway, then Ulfric is the best thing for Skyrim. Especially since the empires corpse is a front for a foreign country in the middl, uh, the summerset isles. Skyrim is bordered by hammerfell and cyrodiil so the thalmor can’t push it anyway unless the empire IS there. Ulfric has the time to rebuild a unified Skyrim militarily and spiritually which could never be done under the terms of the empire.

The Empire died when Martin Septim died to save everyone from Dagon. It's body is just hanging over to dear life while trying to take everyone else in it's inevitable fall.

Fiiiinally. Where is that meme with the IQ curve, where both the low and high ends say "Ulfric is right"

It never ceases to embarrass me how frequently the Skyrim community points to the Thalmor Dossier on Ulfric (without reading it) as some sort of smoking gun. Meanwhile, they never mention the fact that Tullius will often be at the Embassy himself (sometimes at that very party).

I side with whoever didn't try to behead me

...got a lot of steel to shape.

The thu'um is a legal move in a challenge, according to skyrim tradition.

brother had to show his face to defend Ulfric

So, one often overlooked fact in the timeline is that Ulfric waited at least 4 years (could be more) after Torygg became High King before he challenged him to a duel.  

According to Sybille Stentor, Istlod reigned for 25 years before he died.  We also know Istlod was High King during the Great war which started in 4E 171.  Assuming that Istlod became High King in the same year that the Great War started (unlikely but there's nothing to disprove it), that means he died at the latest in 4E 196.  Notably this also meant that Istlod was High King during the Markarth Incident, but did nothing.  

Giving a conservative estimate of 1 year for the moot to declare the next High King, Torygg would have ascended the throne in 4E 197.  Ulfric urged the other Jarls to independence at that moot.  He challenged Torygg to a duel in 4E 401--4 years later.  To your point, Sybille Stentor's wishful thinking that Torygg might have seceded from the empire if Ulfric asked is just that: wishful thinking.  She talks about it like Ulfric challenged Torygg to a duel the next day (maybe it felt like it was only the next day to her because she's an immortal bloodsucking vampire--and everyone's usual primary source for Ulfric being evil).  

But in reality, Ulfric basically was like, "Hey Jarls, I know we are here to elect Torygg as high king (a foregone conclusion because the high king is always the jarl of solitude due to imperial ties), but we should maybe not have those imperial ties ya know, since they are allowing the thalmor to invade and kill us nudge nudge, wink wink.  Sybille Stentor says that Torygg "respected him" for that.  But what did Torygg do? Nothing.  He did nothing for at least 4 years.  He sat idly by while a Thalmor embassy operated in his hold.  While Nords were dragged off and tortured in Thalmor-captured forts.  While Thalmor justiciars patrolled the roads and the cities and kidnapped people in the night to torture and execute them.  And Ulfric sat idly by for at least 4 years (could have been 5 or even 10 depending on when Istlod died), and watched as Torygg did nothing.  Torygg just sat in his palace bathed in imperial blood money and thought about how to entertain his queen while his people were being slaughtered under legal sanction of an empire that stopped caring for them long ago.  

So, yeah, Ulfric challenged Torygg to a duel.  As Ulfric says, Torygg was the symbol of the corrupt empire.  He--like the empire---watched his people burn from a comfy chair.  

And when the time comes to consider invading Whiterun, what does Ulfric do? Does he immediately march up to Balgruuf and attack the city? No. He waits. He hopes to come to a peaceful solution, and even offers Balgruuf his axe, hoping to spare bloodshed--but Balgruuf refuses due to his own pride.

People like to paint Ulfric as impatient given his duel with Torygg, but when you look at the timeline, and don't use the blood sucking vampire's speculation as the only source, it really shows you how patient Ulfric really is.

"He was cooking up truth in a kettle."

Getting older is realizing Ulfric was right if part of your body has an unhealable infection, you do not wait until it spreads to the rest of the body—you cut it out.

Using shouts in combat is recognized as a nord tradition, totally fair and legal

I'm so glad I lived to see the overton window shift this much