FOUR MORE YEARS OF THREE HOUSES DISCOURSE!

Why does every single nickname for the Agarthans make me chuckle? And why did "Cult of Dubstep" make me laugh the hardest?

Y'know, Edelgard's belief that the Church is upholding the Crest System despite the Slithers being the one that forcibly implanted a Crest in her could have been easily worked around if the writers just said the Slithers disguised themselves as clergy members while performing the experiments. They could have even had Edelgard recognize Solon as one of the people that experimented on her, cementing her belief that the Church was responsible because they were harboring one of the people who directly contributed to the darkest moment in her life

The biggest challenge for Edelgard is that she’s trying to speed run a revolution. She’s almost definitely had her lifespan shortened by the experimentation on her like Lysithea, which limits how much time she has to enact change. She’d probably be more willing to do things at a slower and more peace pace, but if it doesn’t happen in her life time then she doesn’t think it’ll happen at all. Also considering how they kidnapped and experimented on her, I doubt she went to TWSITD entirely of her own volition, or that they just let her go so that they could negotiate a deal they both liked. I wouldn’t be shocked if she was kept under their thumb to groom her into a weapon. Ultimately she was able to get into a position where she had some degree of equal footing but it’s pretty clear that if they go down they will definitely throw her under the bus.

The second thing that challenges her is that, similar to how Dimitri is ruled by his guilt complex, Edelgard is the embodiment of the sink cost fallacy. She looks at every step she makes and thinks “I’ve done too much to stop now” and forces herself to keep going. This is not a healthy mindset, but this is Fodlan and therapy hasn’t been invented yet. So the first step is losing her entire family and having a chunk of her life chopped off, and in between that she takes enough steps that continental war seems like a reasonable next step even if she doesn’t particularly like it or how she got there. But she’s come too far now, gotta sharpen that axe.

I think a big point that had me like "El, what are you doing?" was in one of her supports with Ferdinand. Ferdinand is like "hey we wanna base people on merit but without changing anything, nobles are still gonna have the best opportunities, so why don't we have free schools?" And Edelgard was so surprised by this thought process that I couldn't help but wonder what her plan was after the war. Doesn't help that I'm a Dimitri loyalist and he called her out for something similar, that "not everyone is as strong as you" during their talk lol.

Ok, I think my favorite euphemism is the Underground Disco Enthusiasts

Yeah when I played 3H it was pretty obvious to me that CF would've led to the most unstable and chaotic ending for Fodlan. I really didn't like how all the ending things just went like "they all lived happily ever after The End". If all ends are the same, then Edelgard's means aren't justified

My problem with Edalgards plan is even if she builds the meritocratic system which she wants to, It will still be dominated and ran bypeople bearing crests. We know in universe crests make someone more powerful in both magic and physical ability, and she wants to build a system based off ability in an era of war that she is going to make. The people who naturally rise to the top in such times are those you are great warriors and generals, a majority of which are going to be crest bearers due to their innate advantage in that area, she might succeed in getting rid of the religious reasons for the crest system but she will renforce the practical reason of the system.

I'd like to point out one thing, if Byleth wasn't there in Three Houses, then more than just Edelgard would've died to Kostas.  Claude and Dimitri might've also died.

5:49 There is that one Abyssal Library document that posits that King Klaus I was assassinated, and the whole will was a forgery, possibly orchestrated by the Agarthans.  If so, that was probably one of their most successful ploys over the 1100 years between the Wat of Heroes and the game.

That last part made me so cathartic. FINALLY someone else points out how nonsensical and self-serving Edelgard's version of history is! It's like IS rewrote Fodlan's lore just to justify her actions in her route!

Also now you've put the idea in my head I'd love if Fortune's Weave is in a timeline where neither Byleth nor Shez existed and the war never happened because Edelgard assassinated herself xD

Something to consider is how the newly discovered lost technology will shape the future. It could either destroy the Empire or be its salvation.

It really just comes down to the same reason the Church itself had its failings and collapsed in the game, the foundation is built upon lies, the two factions, and leaders of those factions, are two sides of the same coin.

Once I learned that Edelgard says in a tea party conversation that she plans on disinheriting her entire family (if she has one) and just handing off the Empire to a random person she likes, I realized that she really didn't put any thought into this.

MOST empires decline or collapse due to a succession crisis, or due to envy over different factions being left out of succession. The reason we switched from elective monarchies to hereditary/dynastic monarchies was that everyone knew who was going to be the next ruler, and that no one could REALLY change it.

Then there's the issue of "what even IS a meritocratic monarchy", raised by there being absolutely no way a society without the printing press or the Internet can do mass vote-tallying. She makes any sort of democracy harder by abolishing the nobility, when traditionally it was the nobles who voted. But sure, we can't have an actually functional elective monarchy, because the Seven voted on who would get what position after teabagging her father.

Not to mention the problem that Edelgard wants to eliminate the hereditary nobility and crest system and replaces all the nobles with... Their children who would have already inherited their titles and crests...

Yea, my first route was Verdant Wind and that definitely colors my depiction of events. It also makes me side with Claude's ideas more often

I still love pointing out to people that the first action we see in game from Edgelord is that she tries to kill Dimitri and Claude. And their first actions in game are to be such good guys that they won't leave her to die on her own, foiling her plot, and nearly getting her killed in her own plot to kill them.

Still wish one of the timelines was one where her plan succeeded in getting all three of them killed, like Bylateral was just a little too late, so we watch the Bandit Lord kill Dimitri, Claude, and when Edelgard tries to turn into her alternate self, to show him she's the one who hired him, he cuts her down before it finishes.

That would have been an interesting DLC/Timeline.

Oh yeah just like the second she dies that empire is falling apart

I was so frustrated in CF because no one questioned or criticized Edelgard and her actions. Edelgard almost didn't explained anything to anyone. Even with Byleth.
So it was very interesting with CF!Felix. He was aware that he become exactly what he hated about Dimitri and his actions.

The biggest issue for Edelgard is that going the Crimson Eagle route , will guarantee a Yugoslav War like situation to happen in the future . Most likely spurned by the Dark Faction. Fodlan was able to keep together because of Rhea keeping the lie of Fodlan down for centuries while Edelgard wouldn't be able to . This is the tragedy of Edelgard , one who wants to make right  past wrongs but goes about them in the worst ways possible which guarantee's future conflicts .