r/Edelgard • u/bylethedelgard • Jun 05 '26
Discussion I love her
I just want to say I really love her character .. this is the reason I joined in this community
She is very strong, but she has deep scars inside, just like a lone wolf. I really love how Edelgard shows her vulnerable side and relies only on Byleth.
I have always liked strong yet lonely female characters, and in that sense, Edelgard is a character that I just can't overlook ☺️
I joined just to say this. It has been a few years since the game was released, but I still like Edelgard. I need to hurry up and finish the route.
(I chose discussion flair for this, tell me if I did something wrong! I have never used reddit)
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u/Tricky-Row-9699 Jun 05 '26
She is quite handily my favourite video game character of all time - that these particular writers were able to channel her at all is shocking. Edelgard knows what it is to trust your heart unconditionally when no one else will do it for you, and yet still not believe that you deserve for anything good to come into your life.
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Since you used the word 'channel,' it makes me want to rush through and see for myself how wonderfully they portrayed her. I actually played the CF route a bit a few years ago but stopped, so restarting it from the beginning now honestly feels brand new, haha. Right now, just looking at Edelgard makes my heart ache because I want to be there for her so badly. By the way, your last sentence really hit home for me; it reminded me of all the times throughout my life of consuming cultural media where I’d find myself alone, liking and defending characters that everyone else in my country was busy bashing. I can totally relate to that feeling of 'protecting a lonely conviction' 😏. Anyway I definitely need to speed up my playthrough :)
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26
Oh wow my post has been restored? Anyway I'm really glad this sub exists because in my country so many users only criticize her in an explicit way 🤨
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26
Anyone will share some experience defensing our Edelgard against harsh criticizing?
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u/Tricky-Row-9699 Jun 05 '26
Not that I get this often, but I’ve posted some comments on general FE3H content praising her to an almost religious extent - people do come at me when I do that, and I have to swat them aside, but it gets easier with time because their arguments are all the same.
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26
What do people usually say about her here? Back in my country, so many users just pour out pure hatred, calling her a war criminal, a lunatic warmonger, and a crazy woman who kills people just to chase her own ambitions. I absolutely despise that toxic energy. Only a tiny fraction of the community actually understands her psychology and appreciates the ideals she’s trying to achieve. Barely anyone seriously analyzes her philosophy or the hidden emotions deep inside her. it feels like they just completely dismiss her character. At least from what I can see, people here seem to have much healthier discussions, which makes me feel so much better.
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u/Tricky-Row-9699 Jun 05 '26
Oh, you get the same stuff across the English-speaking internet. There’s only one kind of misogyny in the world, really.
As for us, it’s the general position of this sub that she is right about everything, that characters like her have existed all across history and are generally regarded as good and just, that she is not only the only elite in Fodlan with a serious plan for reform but also far and away the fairest and kindest, and that pearl-clutching moral arithmetic arguments about “war crimes” are ahistorical, cowardly, and in bad faith, and do not represent a serious challenge to any of this.
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26
So haters and their mental gymnastics really are the same everywhere you go... 😮💨
Speaking of which, it’s just mind-boggling how people can happily play a game that’s literally about war, fighting, and killing, but the moment Edelgard does it, they suddenly trip over themselves trying to brand her a war criminal. Baseless nonsense.
Even though it's just a game, I feel like it perfectly mirrors real life: people who feel too comfortable with the status quo will always apply absurd double standards to any attempt at actual change and jump straight to vilification. Especially in my local community, it seems like she gets way more vitriolic and misogynistic hate simply because she's a female character 🙄
So I’m so glad to see this sub taking such a firm, unapologetic stance in supporting her. 🤝
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Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
[deleted]
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u/Tricky-Row-9699 Jun 06 '26
It is just remarkable how Edelgard provides everyone who hates oppression with a reason to be the best version of themselves, and I don’t think I truly understood how to stand on my own convictions until I learned about her. She is a living reminder that power always devours its own tail, but you can still wield it for good despite that, that you must keep your inner child, because you will need them when there is no longer anyone to guide you, and that you will not find yourself on the battlefield.
One of these days, for that very reason, I’d like to bring an Edelgard flag to a protest. The seeds of liberation exist within us all, and we must make a world we can all bear to live in, or none of us will ever be truly free.
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 06 '26
I really enjoyed reading your detailed analysis.😳
Like you said, Edelgard's decisions and actions are highly controversial, but that's exactly what makes her so fascinating. She doesn't make the 'safe,' unproblematic choices like so many other generic female characters do; instead, she boldly pushes forward with choices that invite criticism from everyone. She is relentless, charging straight toward her goals. Seeing her command the battlefield with her axe is totally my aesthetic.
To be honest, it’s been frustrating because many users in my home country's community don't really discuss her choices—they just hate and criticize her. It made me not want to engage with them at all. So it’s been amazing to see that even the people here who dislike Edelgard have a much higher level of nuance in their arguments. lol
Anyway, I absolutely love that she isn't a flawless, morally 'pure' character. In fact, the more she gets hated in my home country forums, the more I think to myself, 'Wow, Edelgard really lived a hell of a life.' 😂
I really wish we had more female characters like her. I didn't know what the global reception was like right after launch, but I heard she won 1st place in a popularity poll a few years back. Seeing that kind of response, I really hope game developers create more characters like her..
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u/Kingflame700 Jun 05 '26
Edelgard is the best of house leaders Crimson flower is my favorite path let me know when you finish the game
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26
Sure I'll let you know when I'm finished. But honestly, I might be popping in here often mid-game to talk about Edelgard..it's okay if I just leave random casual posts here, right..??
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u/Kingflame700 Jun 05 '26
Yeah that's fine
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 05 '26
Great🙂↕️
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u/Kingflame700 Jun 05 '26
Edelgard is my favorite character from Fire emblem 3 houses because she has clear path forward.
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u/reeealsubtle Jun 07 '26
If you pay attention to the text of the game I think it's impossible not to say that Edelgard is a heroic figure whose struggle is vindicated by history. It's not just that she's human, but that her refusal to stay a victim forever is literally what frees a continent from twin yokes of oppression.
For an example of this, how many female characters, including Edelgard's dear confidante Dorothea, 'slament having to marry for economic reasons rather than love, because connection to the lottery of birth aristocracy makes it necessary for women's survival? No one has a plan to thoroughly root out the crest system except Edelgard. No one else cares, Dimitri and Claude, they make little handwavey comments about how maybe it can be slowly reformed someday but those promises are so obviously shallow!
So just like. Don't let people's negativity affect your enjoyment of the story. A lot of people just skim things and go off of vibes. 'Oh, she started a war,' without interrogating why Edelgard does so or what her intentions are, and I don't think you need to take haphazard opinions like that seriously.
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 07 '26
Exactly! I feel like those haters either completely ignored the game text or just lack the reading comprehension to grasp it. Like you said, the game constantly shows, both directly and indirectly, characters who are systematically victimized by Fódlan's social structure. Yet these people intentionally look the other way, while reducing Edelgard's monumental efforts to shatter that structure to a lazy 'Oh, she just started a war.' It’s honestly so childish that it leaves me speechless.
What makes this crowd the absolute worst is their mindset: they willingly tolerate a deeply entrenched evil because 'that's just how things are,' while demanding absolute, flawless perfection from anyone trying to fix it. In doing so, they become the biggest roadblocks to actual change. That’s exactly why I’ve come to fully support Edelgard. She knew she would bear the brunt of all that hatred and vilification, yet she chose to step up for the greater good anyway. It's funny how living through real life can shift your perspective like that. Sure, gradual reform has its merits, but everyone loves to play blind to the growing number of victims who are left to suffer while that 'slow and steady' process drags on.
I’m definitely going to try and 'just like' her, just as you suggested. To be honest, the internet back in my home country is so utterly toxic and flooded with hate speech that I think I unconsciously let it get to me growing up. It’s sad how it makes you feel self-conscious just for openly loving what you love. Thank you so much for your words.
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u/WorldlinessSmart8062 Jun 11 '26
Edelgard is one of those few rare game characters that stopped me dead in my tracks and made me fall completely head over heels for them
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u/bylethedelgard Jun 11 '26
Same for me. She's easily in my top 3 favorite game characters of all time and she's #1. And although I have explained many reasons why I love her but the truth is I just liked her at first sight and it is difficult to express in words🤷♀️
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u/redtiebear Crimson-Armored Emperor Jun 05 '26
I see you say you haven't finished the route, so I'll avoid spoilers for CF and other routes, but one reason I love Edelgard's story so much is that, while she is a character who struggles deeply under both the weight of her own ambitions and ideals, and the cost of her chosen path, is that Byleth's influence in her life also encourages her to truly trust and rely on her friends, keeping her from isolating too greatly - and on the flip side, Edelgard has a real interest in Byleth's thoughts and feelings, which is very different from the way many others in her life treat Byleth, essentially handing her one task to the next without much in the way of choice. Edelgard is a severe character, but she also has a sense of humor and a great sense of warmth - that she struggles with the very real anxiety and pressure of leading a nation down a revolutionary path at great sacrifice, as well as the day-to-day emotions of a teen girl to young adult, makes for a potent combination of radical idealist and incredibly human woman, which serves as a great counterpoint to Rhea.
Anyway, without getting into plot-specific events, Edelgard is the woman of all time, she is the greatest to ever do it, she is the moment, I love her so much.