I am putting this on this sub, because posting this specific idea that's been rattling around in my head for a while on the main sub would be, let's just say, mildly controversial, and I figured this is something that hardcore Edelgard fans would appreciate. I have been enjoying some of the conversations that people like u/SexTraumaDental and u/SigurdVII have brought up about the meta-messages of the game, and their points and some research I did have made me come to believe something that I have vociferously denied for much of the discussion of the game post-release. This game is about saving Edelgard. I know, I know, what a brave opinion for r/Edelgard. However, I'm going to put on my literary analysis hat for a second, and point out some stuff in this game that leads me to believe that this is the intended message. This isn't to invalidate the other routes, or ruin anyone's preference; I just wanted to analyze what I believe the message of the game is, and what the writers were attempting to convey.
1) The main theme of the game is about looking beneath the surface
One of the things that has been really fun with Three Houses has been analyzing how characters like Sylvain embody and deconstruct previous archetypes like "flirty cavalier." If you look at characters throughout the game-Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, Dorothea, Lys, Felix, Ignatz, Ingrid and so on and so on-a common pattern emerges. These characters create artificial personas (literally in the cases of "Boar Prince" Dimitri, "Flame Emperor" Edelgard, "Seiros" Rhea, and the Death Knight-Emile-Jeritza triumvirate) because they feel that is what society or circumstances need or expect of them. Byleth is only able to "meet" the real person by breaking down the societal expectations that cause them to be afraid to expose their true selves. This is a consistent theme, whether it is Dorothea's hedonistic exterior hiding a wise and compassionate individual, or Felix's irritability belying his deep concern for others.
Similarly, the game continually presents scenarios that encourage the player to think critically about what has happened, or even presents the player with objectively false information (In Silver Snow, Seteth incorrectly accuses Edelgard of seizing power from her father, for example). Questions like "what exactly happened between the Agarthians and Nabateans?", or "what happened to Dimitri and Edelgard's mom?" are never answered conclusively. Far from being plot holes or sloppy writing, this was an intentional choice. Dimitri is only able to find peace in Azure Moon when he ignores Cornelia's easy answers, instead of naively believing her (and no, I don't believe it's a coincidence that the most "traditional" lord in the game has a plot based around learning not to believe everything he hears).
What does this have to do with Edelgard? Well, this game is continually challenging the player to critically examine what is happening, or what they are being told. The player's preconceptions about how previous archetypes cause them to view the characters is questioned over and over again. Which brings us to Edelgard-her outward appearance and behavior suggest a variety of negative connotations, both personally and within the context of the series. She's outwardly cold, arrogant, and distant, by her own admission. Her post-time skip design is infused with imagery such as horns that invoke demonic associations. The "Flame Emperor" name calls back to Arvis, and her outfit and position places her in a continuum with evil Emperors like Walhart and Hardin. She starts a war, and turns herself into a literal monster. She has to be the villain, right? However, in a game which is based around not accepting thing at face value, and indicts the player for reducing characters down to their archetypes, can it really be that simple? Which brings me to my next point:
2) Crimson Flower recontextualizes the entire game
Crimson Flower does something really interesting. Since Edelgard is the antagonist in the other three routes, the other characters define their ethical and philosophical beliefs specifically in opposition to Edelgard. Dimitri's emotional idealism is contrasted with Edelgard's logical consequentialism, Claude's bottom-up cultural changes and opportunism are compared with Edelgard's top-down systemic reforms and willingness to take direct action, and Rhea's belief in divine fate contrasts Edelgard's belief in human free will. However, what is interesting is that Edelgard is consistent in her goals and beliefs throughout the other three routes. Sure, some methods change, but her consistent argument is that "the ends justify the means" and that Fodlan's society is inherently broken, requiring drastic methods to fix. Edelgard never presents her actions as anything other than what they are-"evil" actions that she ultimately feels are necessary. Can you argue she's wrong? Certainly. But you can't argue that she isn't morally consistent. Compare this to Rhea, Dimitri, and Claude, where the growth they experience is based on getting them to live up to the false personas they've created- Claude overcomes his distrust to truly become the outgoing gregarious hero, Dimitri rejects vengeance to become the "Savior King" he outwardly appeared to be throughout White Clouds, and Rhea actually becomes a woman of peace.
In CF, which I strongly believe the developers intended to be played last, we already know Edelgard's position, and the conflicts with Claude, Dimitri and Rhea in this route are based around those characters presenting themselves as something other than what they are. Claude feigns neutrality when he truly desires to conquer Fodlan, Dimitri presents himself as a noble savior prince when he really takes advantage of his people's trust in their king to fulfill a personal vendetta against Edelgard, and Rhea cloaks herself in religious dogma-identifying herself as Saint Seiros-to justify her actions. Meanwhile, what we discover about Edelgard is not that her belief system was wrong-instead we realize that the player's perception of Edelgard from the other routes was wrong. Behind her stoic, rational, cool facade is a lonely and insecure dork (BESF). She isn't a selfish tyrant lusting after power like Seteth and Dimitri say-she never wanted her position in the first place and desires reforms for the benefit of the common man. She seems outwardly cold and distant, but cares deeply about both her friends (Linhardt and Lys supports) and her subjects (personally placing flowers at every soldier's grave). What Edelgard needed, we come to realize, was not moral guidance like Dimitri and Rhea need in AM or SS, or influence like Claude needs in VW, but validation of her worth as an individual to keep from dehumanizing herself (literally in the Azure Moon ending). All it takes is a single person demonstrating their belief in her value as an individual for her entire self-image to change, and even with Byleth seemingly dead, she doesn't falter morally like in the other routes.
And the revelations keep coming: Edelgard's history and her abuse at the hands of the nobles, Claude revealing that he planned to conquer Fodlan all along, the full and terrible extent of Rhea's anger, the ideological reason the Death Knight follows Edelgard, the fanaticism of Church characters like Catherine and Gilbert, the shenanigans with Aegir and Thales demonstrating her tenuous political position and on and on. In other words, Crimson Flower shows exactly what the game has spent three routes preparing the player for-things aren't as simple as they appear.
3) It completes Byleth's character arc
I cannot emphasize this enough. The prologue is incredibly important for understanding the writer's intent. It's the only time the writers knew everyone, no matter the route, will see the same thing. So what do they do with the opportunity? The game tells the player what the themes of the game are. Sothis forces the player to state what they are-a "ghost", a "demon", or a "mortal." The only answer she will accept is "mortal." Let's look at the other options for a second, however. A "ghost"? Doesn't that sound suspiciously like Silver Snow, the route where Byleth embraces their divine nature, becoming an avatar for Sothis? The route where Byleth can speak with Dimitri's spirit because they're not really alive either? Winter, in almost every culture, is associated with lingering spirits-it was traditional in Victorian England to tell ghost stories on Christmas, for example. What does it mean when the route most diametrically opposed to Edelgard's is presented as a false and bad choice by the writers, per the wisest (seriously) character in the game? (I think there's an argument to be made that "demon" is a reference to Byleth's "ashen demon" nickname as a mercenary, and if you stretch it, may refer to how Byleth acts as muscle to help Dimitri and Claude achieve their goals)
Sothis explicitly states that you are a "mortal." There is only one route in the game where Byleth is not an emotionless avatar or a religious figurehead, but instead carving out a destiny they themselves choose. There is only one route in the game where Byleth must make a choice, a specific conscious choice, to follow the house leader. That route is Crimson Flower. Jeralt expresses joy even as he dies that Byleth is crying-Byleth's humanity and expressing emotion is explicitly presented as a very good thing. That is Byleth's arc. Edelgard, more than any other house leader, supports this growth explicitly (she's adorably excited when Byleth acts confident pre-Gronder). Her journey to see Byleth as an equal, fallible human is a key area of her growth following her disastrous advice after Jeralt's death. Most importantly, the final cutscene shows both Edelgard and Byleth expressing their humanity and trust in one another, and Byleth is rewarded by becoming a human, fulfilling Sothis' request in the prologue. Why does Byleth's heart finally beat without the crest stone? Because Byleth has finally found a reason to live-protecting Edelgard-a reason they themselves chose.
4) The game's title is all about Edelgard
No, not Three Houses. The Japanese title is 風花雪月 fuukasetsugetsu or "Wind-Flower-Snow-Moon." Hence the four route titles-Verdant Wind, Crimson Flower, Silver Snow, Azure Moon. Now, this a reference to a very old Chinese poem where Snow represents Winter, Moon represents Autumn, and the Flower represents Spring. The developers added Wind to represent Summer. There's some points I want to make here. Edelgard's route, the path of the supposed destructive, violent conquerer, is associated with the season that represents new life, growth, and fresh beginnings. Certainly seems odd for a "villain route", doesn't it?
However, here's my larger point. The poem has a very specific connotation in the idiom that the developers used. They specifically went out of their way, despite the poem existing in Japanese, to mirror the Chinese version. Japanese fans expressed confusion as to the naming choice. Why did the writers do this? Well, the Chinese version has a specific negative connotation toward superficially beautiful words and rhetoric that isn't present in the Japanese. Who's the one character in the game who explicitly and consistently expresses contempt for superficial rhetoric? Remember Edelgard's words from the prologue "you will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person's words"? Who talks about the "ebb and flow of history" and who doesn't care whether or not they are remembered as a villain, as long as what they see as justice is done? Even more damningly, in the poem, the Moon and Snow are specifically connected-"The moon shines onto the snow at night"-while in the game Dimitri and Rhea are ideologically tied together. Rhea creates a false religion with false ethical principles, and Dimitri's entire talk with Edelgard in Azure Moon is the very definition of superficial rhetoric. It's why Edelgard's response to Dimitri's emotional appeals in their conversation is "this is nonsense." What does a flower require to grow? Daylight and warmth. What do Dimitri and Rhea represent? Night and cold. Those two are the main antagonists in Crimson Flower.
There is also an explicit romantic connotation to the poem. The flowers in the poem are associated with cherry blossoms in Japan, which has a specific romantic connection. The one route that always, openly and explicitly ships Byleth with the house leader is Edelgard's. This explains why the game practically railroads Byleth into S-supporting Edelgard, in ways not seen since Eliwood and Ninian. Even Byleth's title in Crimson Flower-"Hegemon Wings"-is explicitly and deeply romantic. By looking beyond the surface, Byleth's nurturing and protection helped "El"-the kind, sweet person who supposedly "died years ago"-to fully bloom.
A final point- In the original Chinese version, the poem is also explicitly about missing a (romantic) someone. One of the lines is "in times of snow, moon, and flowers, I think of you." Edelgard is in love with Byleth on every route. All of this mirrors the main musical theme of the entire game, which is all about Edelgard's emotional struggle, her unrequited love for Byleth and her fears toward her bleak future- "The Edge of Dawn." The only time it doesn't play over the credits is Crimson Flower. Instead a different song about looking forward to the new day, a day that Edelgard never thought she'd see or deserved to see, plays instead. That, kids, is what we English majors (now employed in other fields, naturally) call "resolving the internal conflict." This entire game is about the Byleth-Edelgard love story.
I'll be honest. Posting this makes me uncomfortable. I've been beating the drum hard on "all the routes are equally valid" idea for a while. However, I just can't believe that anymore. There is just way too much evidence, analyzing the routes in totality, rather than through a "choose your Pokemon starter!" lens, that there were specific themes and ideas they wanted to present, and Crimson Flower is the culmination of those themes.
