Leon, FFs greatest Character mystery

Leon is kind of an oddity in the series, he is kidnapped by the Empire but eventually decided to side with them and even try to take over. Yet eventually sides with the party when the Emperor returns as the Demon King. So why do you think he makes the choices he did.

Note, this thread is not about pointing out the limitations of the storytelling aspect of the game due to it's humble origin but rather I'm curious to see how you would rationalize his actions? Was he brainwashed to be evil? Got corrupted by the power of the empire, or was he trying to end all wars by uniting the world under one banner?

imo I think he wanted all the praise and attention, he wanted all the glory. For Leon it didn't matter if he had to trail to the dark side or light side, as long as he won somehow.

(SPOILER)
In the end, I think he realizes that he was being stupid and narcissistic, hence why when everybody else is celebrating the victory, he walks away.

>>> Truly a mystery, when it comes to Leon I cant think of anything convincing to explain his actions.. :luca:

Well, who says he was 'good' to begin with. He might have always been a cold calculating SoB, but a SoB who through luck of birth ended up on the side opposing the Empire. When he got his chance to join up he took it.

Likewise he knew that this Demon King business was all bad news, and his highest priority was to stop it. So he joined up with you.

Seeing as I have only been through FF2 once my memory is a little sketchy on the details (that, or they could just have not been there). Did he show remorse for his actions, or did he just kind of go silent when it came up? I mean, at the end when everyone else was celebrating he could have been walking away to go back and reclaim his Empire.

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Originally Posted by VeloZer0

Did he show remorse for his actions, or did he just kind of go silent when it came up? I mean, at the end when everyone else was celebrating he could have been walking away to go back and reclaim his Empire.

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True, never thought about that.


Poor Maria :c

Maybe because, whether he was brainwashed or does things on his own will, Leon was so confused and frustrated after his hometown was invaded by the Emperor's imperial army. If I could make a realistic example, say there's one guy whose family was killed and their homes were destroyed by some army invasion. His reaction would include confusion and outrage, that would cause him to go against the army and then eventually aside with the enemy, because he was greatly outnumbered or was begging for mercy to live. After awhile, knowing more about the enemy well, he tries to control the army. But then, he was encountered by some of his surviving family members. He hesitated and then tainted with more confusion. He thought he lost his family and friends and feel that asiding with the enemy will only keep him alive.

Whether this scenario made sense or not to me, I think that's what Leon was going through like that guy. I really don't think he was brainwashed like Terra-Branford-brainwashed, but rather a confused being who tries to move on from the tragedy of the invasion.

Or perhaps SE purposely makes Leon a mysterious character that we had to think about what had ever happened to him after FFII. That's why we got fan fics. :)

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Originally Posted by LadyJuxtaposition

If I could make a realistic example, say there's one guy whose family was killed and their homes were destroyed by some army invasion. His reaction would include confusion and outrage, that would cause him to go against the army and then eventually aside with the enemy, because he was greatly outnumbered or was begging for mercy to live. After awhile, knowing more about the enemy well, he tries to control the army. But then, he was encountered by some of his surviving family members. He hesitated and then tainted with more confusion.

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Someone beat me to this answer! Drat! XD

But I'd say that's a great explanation for Leon's motives. It's implied that while (at least) Leon has some combat knowledge before the plot starts, no one in the family has any real experience with fighting and war. The invasion threw them into positions they never knew. With Leon, he was captured after watching his family get cut down and his home get destroyed. All of that messing with his mind plus a looming threat of death, imagined or real, would easily make joining the enemy sound sweet.

My question is what the empire did to him to make him think that putting the Emperor's zombie in a treasure chest was okay. That's creepy, Leon...

His motivation isn't clearly fleshed out by the game, as far as I know. Maybe he just despises his sister?

Unrelated grumpiness...I despise my sister, after all...

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Originally Posted by Spooniest

His motivation isn't clearly fleshed out by the game, as far as I know. Maybe he just despises his sister?

Unrelated grumpiness...I despise my sister, after all...

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I don't think he hates his sister. One of the things we're told is that he has a soft spot for Maria. She's the one who convinces him to join the rebels (if you believe he joined on actual guilt or persuasion), and the FMV from Origins shows him protecting her from a demon soldier in Fynn (the only part I like in that FMV aside from the Emperor). If anything, it seems like he hates Firion, but I doubt that was his motive or even what they intended due to the ending.

Then again, I happen to RP this guy, so I've studied him a little more than most fans of the games have. >>;;

I was unfortnate enough to stumble across a spoiler shortly after starting (SO annoying when that happens) and it stated as if fact that he was brainwashed. I didn't see that in the game itself, but am happy enough with that as a theory.

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Originally Posted by Cloudane

I was unfortnate enough to stumble across a spoiler shortly after starting (SO annoying when that happens) and it stated as if fact that he was brainwashed. I didn't see that in the game itself, but am happy enough with that as a theory.

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He wasn't as far as the dialogue goes. Otherwise, why would he challenge Mateus when he returned? The only one who thinks that's it is Maria, and he does tell her this is on his own terms. Even if you went with a Kain Highwind-style mind control, it would have broken the moment the Emperor died.

And yeah, spoilers suck. Sadly, the internet is full of them.....

I just saw the whole thing as him cutting a deal with the Emperor to use his talents for their cause, and once the Emperor croaked, he felt that he could try taking power for himself. I don't think he was brainwashed, I think a detail like that would've been clarified in the game. Perhaps he was doing it out of some misguided sense of it being for the greater good, but I think he would try explaining that to his family before fighting them.

As for why he had a change of heart? Well if I recall right, Demon King!Emperor was trying to kill him too, so it could be just him acting in his own interest at first, but then having a genuine change of heart after traveling with his family once again. Or maybe he realized that it was futile to try taking over the world since he would get inevitably defeated, I mean if even the King of Hell got defeated...