AHHHHH! So many emotions. WOW. This was such an incredible quest! From the story to the presentation to the character writing, Fontaine has been an absolutely outstanding journey through and through, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Furina’s vulnerability was such a profound thing to witness. It really resonated with me, and I actually wound up crying in a spot that I think people might not have been expecting. I think most thought I would cry during the dance sequence. In fairness, I did tear up and get emotional, and I was very moved by the exchange between Focalors and Neuvillette, but what really got me was just Furina’s boundless isolation and loneliness, as well as the vivid way in which it was presented. It resonated so deeply that I got close to full on sobbing at one point. It was perfectly portrayed and managed to evoke so many emotions within me. Beautiful writing. Thank you all for your patience and for the love on this video Edit: For those who say I talked too much in this video, I actually agree with you. I'm still learning the best timing for expressing my thoughts while maintaining the flow of the playthrough. It's a work in progress, and I'll do my best to get better at it as I continue to grow as a creator. Much appreciation to those of you who expressed this kindly as constructive feedback. Cheers! 🥂
To be honest, I was on the verge of tears in so many moments of that quest. Though the moment where I actually cried like a baby was Furina's character quest (that if you haven't played yet, please do) because it really touched strings for me
I understand you, at the end everyone have to push ourselves and be tough somewhen in our lives. But I think it’s cathartic to see ourselves in fictional character, it is kind of a help to improve our way of living. Keep it up and take care Hime ^^
4 a quick summary, the Descenders are being NOT OF TEYVET. It also the LORE BOMB drop during Sumeru Archon quest that DESTROYED MOST GENSHIN Players THEORIES from traveler being a god, Paimon as the last boss/unknown god, etc. According to the Fatui the Traveler sibling isn't a descender despite him/her being the 4rt one indicating that something happened to your loss brother/sister for the planet to acknowledge him/her as a resident of the world. Btw, the Gnosis is also thr connection of the 7 gods/Archons to Celestia, home of the Heavenly Principles that Focalors was duping
@@christian1neza1656 what a “bomb” if the game literally starts with showing how the twins got to Teyvat. The first Descender is Primordial One, who came to Teyvat, kicked the asses of the dragons, that ruling the world - and created humanity. Second: Heavenly Principals, who came, defeated Primordial One, and usurped power over the world. The third - it is not clear who: earlier, some assumed that this was King Deshret - but he cannot be, because Heavenly Principals offered Deshret a Gnosis. That is, the Third is not him, and died before Deshret lived.
"'Existence' was Egeria's justice. And my justice is the continuation of that 'existence'" -Focalors to Neuvillette. In a way, she got the justice she wanted 😭
^^^ her justice has always been to continue existence that egeria started. So she did get her own justice. Even furina got her justice since furina's justice was to sacrifice and suffer for the sake of fontanian in hopes of saving them, she may have been decieved by her own self, her suffering for millenia paid off, albeit tired and exhausted.
@@Pepegaphone-- even the traveler questioned if this is truly all she wanted, and if neuvi understands the will of the gods, tldr she prolly didnt want to die and wanted to live a peacefull life as a human since that is what they wished for
Furina might not have the power of an archon but her willpower and loyalty to her nation is already of a god she deserves a break and a hug for her sacrifice
Even the other archons acknowledged her as a god! I mean even Ei compares her battle against the shogun to Furina’s 500 year act to save her people…so it’s safe to say that even if her divinity is gone, the people still view her as a god
Indeed, other archons do actually see her as a god and praise her for what she has done for her nation, her people. This whole situation also changed Neuvillette's views on the archons to an extent, as well as whole of humanity. He says that even though he will judge all the archons, he will take into consideration human life and will not endanger them, while also trying to go against physical altercation with other archons. He was a bit reluctant to like Furina, but after learning it and listening to his voiceline he has shown he cares about her wellbeing and also praises her.
". . But this Furina person you speak of, she played her part for 5 centuries. A true battle of the spirit. Her willpower has indeed, reached the level of a God." -Raiden Ei
2:32:40 The fact that Furina does not confide in the Traveler even in her inner world is such a significant detail. Imagine she did. Traveler would stop the trial. Oratrice would not be activated. And Fontaine would be lost. She made the right decision, however we may not have liked it during the quest.
@@PatriciaKerrithat’s a good point. We tempted Furina at her weakest and tried to tell her “this is an exception” which is just like when Satan tried to tempt Jesus.
@@Jordan-ud4qv Heck we even came back from the Underworld just to collude with a 'snake' to tempt this secret out of her, only for her to get publicly crucified. They really made a quest about Jesus Christ and made it amazing
@@Jordan-ud4qv What makes it so fascinating is that it's not like the Traveler did so for nefarious reasons: all of them are trying to stop the prophecy afterall, but unbeknownst to the Traveler and everyone else the key to Focalor's plan was for Furina to maintain her facade as the Archon. To everyone else, Furina was being uncooperative and irresponsible, and thus why they thought getting her to spill the beans was the only way they can grasp the bigger picture, not knowing that by doing so they might have threatened a well-made plan 500 years in the making. It really all came down to that one moment of weakness, and yet Furina held firm, which is just an awesome display of, as a certain mafia boss once said, "focus, commitment, and sheer will".
fun little coincidence that is directly tied to the prophecy: "A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." - Jean de La Fontaine
@@aethernity8270 It's from "Les fables de la Fontaine" (and more precisely, from the poem 'l'Horoscope'), written by Jean de la Fontaine, a famous French fabulist.
here a funfact: aq act 5 of fontaine is called "masquerade of the guilty ". In the Chinese version, it is 罪人舞步旋. If we reverse the position of the characters, it becomes 旋步舞人罪. Pronounced "Xuán huy wǔ rén zuì". We have 旋 homophones with 宣, 舞 homophones with 无. The sentence 旋步舞人罪 will become 宣布无人罪. It means: " A declaration, no one is guilty."
Man, she wanted to tell us so SO badly...and if she had faltered at her lowest, most desperate moment, it would have ruined everything. We were betraying her, and her words would be relayed to the entire court. It was the single worst place to falter in her 500-year-strong conviction...and yet she prevailed. We were her final test and she fucking passed it despite having so many excuses to fail. I'm so god damn impressed with this tiny little human that I can't stop thinking about her. She really had the willpower of a god.
2:22:47 Fun fact, 182375 days is 499 years, and about 8 months (using an average of 30 days per month it’s exactly 8). The details that the developers add is always so cool.
but the problem is that the scene 3 or 4 doesn't make sense if each scene is supposed to be a day, because Deoteria says that she wanted to meet furina for a long time and she was surprised that furina remembered her son's illness. It wouldn't make sense if this was the third or fourth day she ruled over fontaine
@@zahkrosis666 not sure. I just took the remaining days after the 499 years and checked to see about how many months it was. Although, a possible explanation is that the 4 months are how long it took Focalors to come up with her plan. She did say she was almost growing barnacles by the time she figured it out.
I love that they put in a few brief moments of levity/comedy to break up all the heavier stuff. The out-of-control audience member deciding to just repress that he's not a real human, Focalors' little "anyways, then I cursed her", and of course, the yeeting of Childe. I think my only complaints are that we didn't get a full on dragon form Neuvillette, and not even a small chat with Furina at the end. Also Skirk can yeet me any time 🤤
This is probably one of the best reactions I've watched. I love that you take your time analyzing each and every line on what they trully imply and express your own take in it instead of just clicking your way to the cutscenes. I'm now a fan, looking forward for more reactions in the future!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the reaction! We're actually going to be doing a Genshin replay very soon, which will be uploaded to this channel, so that'll be lots of fun :D when I first started the game, I didn't really care about the story and didn't pay attention to it, so I'm excited to go back through everything I missed ☺
Exactly my thoughts, I had the same reaction and felt the same guilty for the preJUDICE against Furina and for putting her on trial just to be broken by the truth. I'm so glad I found you, you got another fan.
What I enjoy about Neuvillette is that he both struggles to express his emotions to others... but also can't hide them. After all, the scene after Focalors' execution featured the heaviest rain we've ever seen in Fontaine.
500 years. She acted as someone else for 500 years. I’m so happy for her to finally be free. Also, her story quest is an excellent follow up to the archon quest, so it would be a good one to do next.
It is actually implied in her voice lines that there is quite a bit of a time gap in between archon quest finale, and her story quest. Which personally didn't work for me since I wanted to see how she's doing right after the archon quest xD, since all we got was Neuvilette informing us of her current situation.
I'll say this here. Natlan is supposedly August 2024. The entire archon quest series is titled "Incandescent Ode To Resurrection". Murata is the Pyro Archon of War. It is believed that the Tsaritsa means to put the Gnoses together and revive the one being that can help take down Celestia.
If you noticed, Long Hair meaning she was roleplaying as Focalors (whom also had Long Hair) and whenever she appeared before people. Short Hair is her "real" personality and after the prophecy fails, she doesnt need to play the role anymore, thus back to her Short Hair from that point.
@hayond656 I know this is really late but I think the point of showing short hair Furina while acting was that her true self was also slowly merging with her persona. Furina's story quest confirms this as Furina says that she cant separate herself from her persona anymore.
Your love for the story and your emotional analysis make this one of the best reactions to this quest that I've seen. The way you are able to pick up on the story beats sets you apart. You truly "transform" the content. The fact you also don't skip the voicelines is really nice and makes for a better viewing experience. I consider skipping any of Furina's dialogue in this quest as heresy. Her voice acting is so good. I may be a bit bias, but I am convinced that Furina is the best character that Genshin has put out so far, simply in terms of storytelling. She also appears to be the community's sweetheart at the moment, and it's understandable why. In general, all of Fontaine has been excellent, and it's by far my favorite region. Personally, it's not even a contest.
I’ve been going around and watching various playthroughs to see everyone’s reactions to this quest. Yours might be one of my favorites. I really appreciated the thought you put into each line and set piece. Not to disparage others, but some people would just kinda let things play out (which is fine, just not my cup of tea) but being more engaged and interactive with the story is far more emotional and interesting to watch. Great job!
currently watching your reaction to the archon quest and honestly, your reaction may just be my favorite. The commentary is spot-on. When you describe Furina's suffering as "she is in the center of the world, but it is a very, very lonely world", i think that's the best sentence to summarize everything she did. Furina is the first ever character i really love and def the very first character i will c6. Great video, earned a sub, and ill keep an eye out on your next stream.
I think the scene with Focalors and Neuvillette has much more impact to Neuvillette than it appears to be. In the surface, it serves as a way for Neuvillette to regain his full power, but its only on physical side. Throughout the whole Fontaine's Archon quest, the main theme is about losts and sacrifices. Living with humans for 500 years, Neuvillette could feel their sorrows in someway but not entirely, something is still missing. He even said he had attempted to feel as human feel. But by witnessing Focalors' death, he came to realize that the closet being he could relate to (in term of godship) chose to sacrifice herself so the people could live on. Its like he finally learned the truth meaning of lost and sacrifice, he found the missing piece in his emotional picture. It also represented how much trust Focalors put in him to protect Fontainians since he's the only god remain in Fontaine.
It's really sad that for Furina, she was all of a sudden thrown into a trial, and all of her connections and relationships just went bye bye, I would have felt so betrayed and heart broken
I'm subscribing. Just your analysis is so utterly amazing. You don't miss a thing and it's so piercing, not to mention all the other fantastic things about your videos.
I just want Celestia to burn for what they've done to Focalors. She was a pure archon. She sacrificed herself for her former archon's Dreams, for her sence of pure justice. Since the 8th i can't remove this sad sensation i have everytime i start the game. Both Focalors and Furina deserve vengence and the biggest "thx you for all you've done" from people of all Fontaine. We baraly Saw her but i feel i've lost my fav character with her sacrifice. Bring justice for the real god of justice, please dear iudex drown and destroy Celestia.
@harryshade5700 Egeria died, wasn't it enough to Celestia ? They picked a New archon to punish her ? If we consider that to be right, then it should be okay to punish them too for their attempt to kill a whole country's population. They managed to make a goddess kill herself in order to f*ck off their will. And i Hope we will f*ck them even more thx to the Tsaritsa.
I can understand your emotions. But, it wasn't completely Celestia's fault. While higher beings such as Phanes, the shades and the sovereigns can freely create life, archons don't have the right to do so. Egeria knew this but still did it. Not that she did anything wrong...she was only doing what any kind god would do, listening to her people...but, the rule was still broken(sin is still a sin no mater the intention behind it) But fret not, they will most certainly be judged for their actions (and that list is huge!)😤
@@codex2621 i mean yes you're right but what Focalors and the current population of Fontaine Can do about what Egeria did ? I won't forgive them for Focalors. I can't and i don't want to leave them any escape for this.
@@codex2621 you do realise celestia are colonisers/invaders right? they do not have any right in deciding teyvats laws in the first place nor who gets to create life. Like focalors said they are hypocrites for doing it as well and egeria was the first one to actually stand against them by creating her own life. So yes it is celestias fault.
Didn't get the fight he wanted, lost his vision, got 1 tap by a dude with cool drips, locked in prison, forced to fight a big ass whale for over a month without rest, and when he finally fainted from exhaustion he got yeeted back in by his master. Talk about Ls
I just realized that we were actually the last hurdle on the success of Furina's act. As Focalors said, if Furina's resolve wavered even just once, If she confided to us right then and there at the magic box, the great plan would have failed as she had to continue the act till the very end of the prophecy. The scene in her inner thoughts showed us that she would have still hold on to that resolve despite thinking that she would end up alone forever. Man Furina is so precious..
And notice how during the inner subconscious stage play recounting Furina's entire life so far, there was no other actor on stage EXCEPT during the part where the Traveler asks Furina to confide in them. That was the online point in the entire play where things could have deviated from the script. It was also the only time Furina actually felt like someone was actually there for her that they would have a presence on stage instead of just a disembodied voice.
Fontaine isn't the nation of Hydro, but the nation of tears. This was an incredible quest, and I thought Nahida's visit to Irminsul and what she had to do was heartbreaking. Fontaine felt a lot more painful, mostly because we're just a side actor in this quest. The actual characters took the main stage, and we got to view character arcs unfold. The voice acting is nothing short of exceptional. This felt we were watching a movie. Even your video is the length of a LotR extended edition movie :D Normally, I have the video playing in the background while I farm resources, or do my dailies. This time though, it deserved the full attention. You were close with your analysis on a lot of points right through. Although, I do feel a tad sad that most people seem to forget the amount of suffering Focalors has done, and only take into account Furina's suffering. While they are the one and the same in a way, their consciousness were not. Focalors was stuck in the oratrice for 500 years, alone, building up energy for what she knew to be her own death, just to save her people. And no one will know her suffering, or her story. At least Rukkhudevata had the admiration of people before Nahida was born. So many thoughts after this story... feels like we could write a book on it. Which just is good storytelling. I wonder how it'll be covered in the anime. Looking forward to your Furina story quest playthrough. Hope you're feeling much better!
Every time i see the execution of Focalors, i cry, this part is so emotional, i a men with 45 years old, but i can´t hold my tears, i feeling so much about hers, focalors is the true hero of this place, she sacrifica herself, to protect her people, Furina, and Neuvillette, to make happy all people, she doing the most greater sacrifice, she is the most awesome character on the game right now, i believe Nahida, have to most sadness history, but turn into a happy end, but Focalors, she not have a happy end, specially for Furina, now we make a better life for Furina, for manteing 500 years of the most awesome performance of the history of Teyvat.
found your video through the algorithm. seems like it still suggests good things once in a while. i've gone and watched a number of reactions now which is usually something i've only done for honkai impact 3rd (mihoyo's older tearjerker gacha). anyway, yours might be my favorite so far. you had a lot of well-articulated and insightful commentary. furina/focolors and neuvillette set a real high bar for character writing in genshin. hopefully they keep it up. additionally your model is really cute and expressive!
Ironically, since we know Focalors was also an Oceanid Egeria turned, it's possible the primordial seawater _would_ affect her the same as every normal Fontainian, even being the actual archon. So it seems that wasn't as much of a smoking gun as the court originally thought.
Hoyo was really cooking with this Archon Quest and all the Biblical references; Focalors/Furina being basically Jesus (incarnation of God/their child), Focalors dying for the Original Sin, the Traveler being Judas and betraying Furina at her most vulnerable right before the trial, the whole Primordial Seawater turning into blood alluding to Jesus' ability to turn water into wine (wine symbolized blood), and bonus references with Furina's ability to walk on water. The way all this was presented was just absolute. 👨🍳💋 Absolutely heart wrenching. I hope Hoyo continues this level of storytelling in Genshin.
Man that execution scene made me cry... It was so beautiful, and... "well-executed." Your analysis is on point!! A couple of things about the Oratrice's guillotine: - The way it constantly hangs over Foçalors until it drops might allude to the parable of the Sword of Damocles. Damocles was a courtier of Dionysius I and wanted to switch places with him to experience a life of luxury for a day. To illustrate to Damocles the constant fear of death that looms over people in power, Dionysius had a sword hung over Damocles' crown, held only by a thread - It has a curved bottom end, which looks like the bottom of an anchor (for the aquatic theme ig, maybe to symbolise the "weight" of the execution), but it _might_ also resemble early guillotines like the Halifax Gibbet in England, which used a curved axe head as the blade instead of the straight edge standardised by the French. It was used to punish petty theft, a punishment considered so severe by the public that Oliver Cromwell forbade its use and had it dismantled. Ironically, he would be posthumously executed for cosigning Charles I's death warrant lol
From the time I realised Focalors was about to sacrifice herself, I knew that guillotine is referencing the Sword of Damocles because that part is heavily coated with references to the ending of Code Geass. There's also the reference to the execution of Marie Antoinette with Fontaine's French symbolisms to being the last god (queen) of Fontaine.
This is the very first time in genshin that the main characters themselves are not the "main characters" instead only a spectator. Edit: It's as if we are watching an opera right from the start.
Holy shit, epic story aside, mad props on all the proper chapterwork/timestamp-yness. Likewise, I enjoy the way you consider the dialogue and story as it happens instead of just going for a quick readthrough or ignoring the story alltogether. Gonna check moar of your stuff now :D
The foreshadowing was chilling, cuz before Neuvilette met Focalors in her subspace realm or something to talk, he explains to the traveler that unless the archon returns the dragon's authority back to their respective sovereigns, the only way would be that the hydro archon perishes and thus the authority returns to the original dragons of teyvat, and leading up to the finale- that was in fact, what happened
re Furina showing here inner feelings in her private show to the Traveller: One part has her interviewing someone and her tears break through .. but even so, she must maintain a facade and smile. This is like Hime's onscreen character model .. even though Hime is feeling distraught at the suffering of Furina, her onscreen character model smiles. Furina truly is the Archon of Streamers and Reactors.
Probably one of the best playthrough I've watched (I watched a lot of people play this Archon Quest, this Archon Quest is just so peak I can watched it again and again), I love how you cooked through the entire video and it made sense. It's going to be interesting what they will do with Natlan, it's insane if they can make it better than this. Hope to see your Natlan's playthrough in the future, for now I'll check out your other videos.
The best part about this quest is that no side is completely in the wrong. It's normal for citizens of a nation to look to their leader in a time of crisis but Furina's situation is also understandable specifically to us because we know the whole story. Genshin did a really good job at showing us how human Furina was because as you pointed out the people of Fontaine don't see her as a human but as an archon which makes sense because she herself said she was and the archon title itself carries certain expectations. We have zhongli creating islands with his spears, Venti leveling mountains, the dendro archon before Nahida purifying a nation wide contamination, and Raiden splitting islands. Every archon so far has at least once stood on the front lines to defend their nation and people, something I'm sure the people of Fontaine expected from their archon too. Something I found interesting about Furina is that her trying to act like an archon made her less like an archon if you compare her to the archons we know which is such a human thing to do. We have Furina boasting, bringing up her position as the hydro archon multiple times, saying things like "You would dare challenge a god" etc while the actual archons like Raiden, Nahida, etc don't act like that at all. They're more reserved and don't put that much attention to their archon status or strength. It reminded me of a quote I forgot the exact wording to but the idea was that the strong do not need to flaunt their strength to make others see them as strong. The fake archon constantly needs to tell others she is an archon and is godly while the real archons never need to.
Because thats what the people of Fontaine expected from her, have you watched the whole thing? In her inner mind when she first did her ascension speech she was more calm originally, until the people of fontaine started complaining about how she doesn't seem god like and all knowing, i guest its more less about Furina but her trying to fulfill the expectations put on her by Fontainians who have high expectations from their God.
@@crystaluwu1012 Being calm has nothing to do with it. What the people of Fontaine expected from Furina was a confident god because that god will also rule their nation. How a leader speaks and portray themselves matters because no one wants a leader who appears weak and uninformed, and Furina was a weak and uninformed leader at the start of that speech. There is a reason why people who aim for public leadership positions have to show that they are competent before they get the position and why everyone is not suitable for that role. It's like having Raiden as your leader then having someone with Freminet's character as the next leader. Or having Mika replace Jean as the Acting Grand Master. Not confident, not good at public speaking, commands no authority, etc. A person can't be a leader if people have no confidence in them.
@@MansMan42069 I don't know why people have such a hard time understanding such a simple scene when the game explicitly shows us everything😮💨. Genshin really mastered pathos in this quest.
@@SmallAltar I'm 🤦♂️-ing at your point that people aiming for leadership roles need to prove that they are competent, but real world examples show that they only talk a good game. Confidence doesn't necessarily translate to competence. In fact, it's precisely your attitude that allows scummy inept idiots into office.
Hats off to Focalors, the last Hydro Archon. All our hugs to Furina, for holding out beyond human capacity even under ungodly pressure. The Traveller is somewhat villainous in this quest, I feel. Rather, I feel disgusted what the Traveller has been forcing Furina to reveal. Sure, it's not like we knew what the real plan was, but was it really right of us to barge in and become nosey, when we claim we are supposedly "witnesses"? How we tried to emotionally entrap Furina, nevermind almost putting the entire plan at risk, just our sheer gall of using emotional damage to force Furina into talking at even cornering her? I felt dirty as the Traveller, and probably not the first time I had to ask, are we (the Traveller) really the good guys? I dunno, I feel scummy, and I'm not sure if we even apologized for putting her on the spot like that after we were told of the plan (I haven't played Furina's story quest yet since I still feel dirty). Also, seems that the theory about the Gnoses not being the main focus in the primordial dragons' powers was actually right. It was never about the Gnoses, but the elemental authority themselves. Now we have a name for the elemental authority... Divine Thrones.
From this information it is known that Harbinger's rank is still vacant it is ranked first and ranked 10th For the first rank, we are quite sure it will be Capitano Described in many voicelines, Capitano is a very strong Even the legend of the knight of Favonius grand master Varka said that Capitano was a very strong man
This was one of the most dark and heartbreaking quests, but also beautiful. And great, in a way, to finally see the true colours of Celestia. There is nothing heavenly and divine about them, just hypocrisy and usurpers. Not only that, but also traitors to the their own creations... Even Abyss looks quite innocent compared to them.
@harryshade5700 Egeria is to blame for granting her people their wish to exist when certain heavenly principles did the very same crime by stealing dragons birthright? Utter hypocrisy. Celestia done many disgust things, but this was beyond everything. Just as cruel as khaenriah and all the children that were cursed with eternal suffering. So yes, true colours. I personally hope tp see them burn
@harryshade5700 Fontaine didn't commit numerous war crimes, nor did they destroy countless lives and never did they curse innocent children with eternal suffering just because they were 1/2-blood children of khaenriah. Your hypocrisy is quite fascinating
@harryshade5700there was no crime or sin, that would imply something wrong was done. The rules from Celestia are arbitrary and no, taking something during war is no better than taking it outside of war. The Heavenly Principles are the bad guy and have been shown to be over and over again. Baring some plot twist revealing it wasn't really them behind Celestia's actions the are very likely going to be overthrown and destroyed in the story.
All of Fontaine had peak writing and cutscenes. They even started doing little animations during the dialogues. I didn't think that Sumeru could've been topped and I was really afraid of that but it was!! I really don't know how they are going to make Natlan better but Hoyoverse has all my trust already and I'm sure it's gonna be great! Also, I recently found your channel and I loved your analysis and how you can see the little symbolism that many people often overlook, great content and I'm looking forward to seeing more!
To build on Furina’s act, it’s makes her Situation worse if you think about the fact that it could ALL fall apart the second someone heard her speak normally. Just think, just because a door may be closed does not mean it’s soundproof. People could VERY EASILY sus her out if she isn’t EXCEEDINGLY careful, so even behind closed doors… someone could hear her speak normally and label her a fraud and fuck up literally everything she built up. One person’s words can spread like wildfire if you sell the thought that “hey, that Furina isn’t acting like a god, she’s a fake”
i just really love furina ww she really is trying to be tough its like there is a switch that is changing her and putting the masked on ww really love the archon quest hoyoverse writing on this one is on peak level ww and i really love Hime's playthrough ofcourse ! stay safe and hydrated hime !
Also, i've been watching countless streamers reactions, and I JUST noticed a neat detail. The two Gardemeks that protect Furina on stage are called "SHACKLES - A cry without echo" and "CHAINS - A silence without end".
Enjoyed your playthrough as always! Man, viewing Furina's actions throughout this Archon Quest through a new lens after learning everything really just makes everything hit different too. One of the more "missable" things we can look back at too is how eager Furina was to greet us and instantly put us on trial...it makes sense now that she probably, after learning about all our deeds/goings-on in other places, figured that a trial involving US would be that "magnificent and dramatic trial" she's been seeking all this time. Side note - Someone's gonna have to now teach the people of Fontaine about the birds and the bees LMAO P.S. - There isn't a date for Natlan, but based on the precedent they've established for their release timeline, each region gets 1 year...so if you go to 4.0 release date (August 16) it should be around that time next year, give or take. 3.0 was August 24, 2.0 was July 21 (The longer time for 2.0 to 3.0 release date was due to a huge COVID spike in Shanghai during 2.6 which delayed the release of 2.7 for quite some time). Inazuma and Sumeru each had 9 versions, which last 6 weeks (again, with that one exception for 2.6 which they then tried to make up for with some 5 week long versions). There's no guarantee that they'll follow the same release schedule obviously, but if they do and there are no delays, that puts it at 54 weeks which is just over 1 year. In the meantime, we still have a lot more to learn in Fontaine with the various World Quests we'll get, as well as Archon Interlude chapters, and NORMALLY what would be an Act 2 of the Archon's story quest, which I have to imagine will actually be for Neuvillette this time instead of Furina.
There are a few things i have yet to see anyone mention. First the 500 years she has lived are more than just the torture of the facade, we have already seen khaenrians go mad after only a couple centuries in caribert quest, it is caused by erosion, humans cannot last very long before experiencing it, which is why immortality is a curse. Furina had to endure that on top of everything else. And second is what i liked the most but is the saddest part, before the curtains fall for the last dance and her true self appears, the traveler could not see any of the short hair version of furina's scenes, not the mirror one, nor her inner self caring. As a playable character we have both the long hair version as the one playing the role of god, and the short hair version, the real furina. Even neuvillette himself only heard of her suffering from what focalors said, but in the end no one saw the entire truth (which explains the traveler's extreme lack of empathy towards her, and still only caring about the answers up until the very last scene, and proven by the fact the traveler did not find out about her secret even tho we as players saw the mirror scene, they did not). Basically a true sacrifice left in the dark, done for neither praise nor appreciation, simply for her own desire to save everyone. Some other things to note, her own version of a god was basically like herself,and her divinity side, one who is courageous yet humble, polite, and cares about their people. It was her people who chose her new act, and we see her over time getting more accustumed to the arrogant attitude they want from her, while at first she was still showing some kindness and wondering if anyone had noticed. She also never knew when it will ever end, it could've been hundreds more years. And a last thing, when the knave threatened her, in a way death was her quick key to freedom, something all khaenrians seek after their immortality curse, and yet she immediately begged for her life, anything to keep up the act to save her people.
As a reminder, Nahida was the one who told you about descenders after she negotiated with Dottore in act 5 of Sumeru's archon quest. The fatui recorded 4 descenders, but for some reason your sibling isn't one of them - they are instead included in Irminsul as part of the world of Teyvat.
I know I'm super late to the party, but I absolutely loved your reaction to this questline. It felt good to see someone thinking things through during the events of the quest. You actually hit so many details like a nail on the head before you even got to the truth! Seeing this questline again and noticing all of the nuance has been a nostalgia trip and has shown me so many things I didn't fully understand the weight of at the time. Furina begged the people to believe her - she wasn't protecting herself, she was protecting them. She was even willing to dissolve herself to protect the people of Fontaine, refusing to let them die even it meant throwing away her own life. She had no idea that Focalors ensured she would survive the ordeal. The voice actress voicing every emotion of Furina to perfection AND voicing Focalors while sounding wildly distinct? Absolutely phenomenal! Furina is my favorite Genshin character after this questline, and your reaction to the questline is my new favorite 😄 P.S.: I love the small detail of the sudden and incredibly drastic music change when Childe appears to help stop the whale from devouring the people. The music sounds so badass and weirdly triumphant despite the Fatui motifs still being present throughout. That beat drop always gives me chills. Also, the haunting 'echo' version of the Fontaine theme in the scene with Neuvillette and Focalors.. Chef kiss moment.
Even if she couldn’t confide with anyone during her time as an archon, just sharing her emotions with someone or havingn a hugging/crying buddy would’ve been nice… I can’t imagine the insanity she endured.
3:38:30 Genshin updates last 6 weeks, and they release a new region approximately every year. If logic holds, then Natlan should be released on 28/08/2024
Extremely sad observation: Until she walked out of the Opera house, Furina probably thought that everyone in fontaine was dead and she was the only person left alive.
As you pointed it out, Furina's original personality (the short hair version) visually faded away more and more with each day passing. At the beginning you see short hair Furina coming up here and there especially at the personal meetings with Lady Deoteria and her descendents but in the last Interview we saw with the descendent of the 20th generation you see long hair Furina even there, what means at this point short hair Furina has "vanished" in some sort of way and only the facade remained.
1:01:41 man... it hurts so much more rewatching than playing it.... During the 1st playthrough there is more questioning than feeling... now it is just depression all along.
Yeah, the 4.2 firuna episode really makes it hard to control your emotions, including the French song, which I've listened to at least twenty times now
So basically Foclars split her divinity and human part into 2 separate individual to trick the heavenly principles, furina could not let anyone know she wasn’t the hydro archon if she did the heavenly principles would know and the prophecy will be fulfilled and furina mind is only human so she had severe psychological damage for over 500 years (kinda the same like Nahida and Ei situation) in the end the water still rose but that was because the heavenly principles cursed Fontaine but because Neuvillette forgave their sins it had no effect so when the reduced it was because the heavenly principles thought everyone got washed away
It was good time: interesting thoughs, funny at times and chill in general. Thank you:) But one thing genuinely surprised me - how persone, who so invested to the story and world, don't talk to any characters after quests? Not judging, it just kind of mind-blowing and bit sad to me, how much fun and interesting interactions was missed.
Fontaine story is laid out like a play in an opera, with depth, twists and drama. They made it like this because that's the theme of the region. Let's hope that this isn't a one off just for this region and natlan story will be as good as this. Hope they cook the next one good :)
sorry for the multiple comments. I was trying to think of a positive perspective to Furina's part. .. it occurred to me - Furina's period as Archon was a gestation period .. genuinely human Furina was new born when the Water's broke .. and she took her first steps into the real world lived by normal people. Maybe the "beheading" of Furina's divinity was cutting the umbilical chord .. but the sequence is wrong .. but it has the similar effect. It was a difficult 500 yr pregnancy, but now Furina is born. (Of course, it was a virgin birth, because, by self-deception Furina the divinity/spirit/body was the mother of Furina spirit/body) ps: i think dragon Neuvillette is how he presents himself. He has never needed to do otherwise and create a facade. Though Focalors shaped him to be who he is so a once disinterested dragon would be inclined to save the people.
I know you pointed the defense mechanism of Furina's inner mind but they have names: a cry without echo and a silence without end. It's so sad. Edit: When the blade falls on Focalor she also sheds a tear, crying that it's the end.
AHHHHH! So many emotions. WOW. This was such an incredible quest! From the story to the presentation to the character writing, Fontaine has been an absolutely outstanding journey through and through, and it will always hold a special place in my heart.
Furina’s vulnerability was such a profound thing to witness. It really resonated with me, and I actually wound up crying in a spot that I think people might not have been expecting. I think most thought I would cry during the dance sequence. In fairness, I did tear up and get emotional, and I was very moved by the exchange between Focalors and Neuvillette, but what really got me was just Furina’s boundless isolation and loneliness, as well as the vivid way in which it was presented. It resonated so deeply that I got close to full on sobbing at one point. It was perfectly portrayed and managed to evoke so many emotions within me. Beautiful writing.
Thank you all for your patience and for the love on this video
Edit: For those who say I talked too much in this video, I actually agree with you. I'm still learning the best timing for expressing my thoughts while maintaining the flow of the playthrough. It's a work in progress, and I'll do my best to get better at it as I continue to grow as a creator. Much appreciation to those of you who expressed this kindly as constructive feedback. Cheers! 🥂
To be honest, I was on the verge of tears in so many moments of that quest. Though the moment where I actually cried like a baby was Furina's character quest (that if you haven't played yet, please do) because it really touched strings for me
I understand you, at the end everyone have to push ourselves and be tough somewhen in our lives. But I think it’s cathartic to see ourselves in fictional character, it is kind of a help to improve our way of living. Keep it up and take care Hime ^^
4 a quick summary, the Descenders are being NOT OF TEYVET. It also the LORE BOMB drop during Sumeru Archon quest that DESTROYED MOST GENSHIN Players THEORIES from traveler being a god, Paimon as the last boss/unknown god, etc.
According to the Fatui the Traveler sibling isn't a descender despite him/her being the 4rt one indicating that something happened to your loss brother/sister for the planet to acknowledge him/her as a resident of the world.
Btw, the Gnosis is also thr connection of the 7 gods/Archons to Celestia, home of the Heavenly Principles that Focalors was duping
@@christian1neza1656 what a “bomb” if the game literally starts with showing how the twins got to Teyvat.
The first Descender is Primordial One, who came to Teyvat, kicked the asses of the dragons, that ruling the world - and created humanity.
Second: Heavenly Principals, who came, defeated Primordial One, and usurped power over the world.
The third - it is not clear who: earlier, some assumed that this was King Deshret - but he cannot be, because Heavenly Principals offered Deshret a Gnosis. That is, the Third is not him, and died before Deshret lived.
That moment that she feels Neuvillette walk away from her and she stretches her arm... Absolutely heartbreaking.
whats the most heart breaking is that at the end of the day, only the god of justice didnt get the justice she deserved
"'Existence' was Egeria's justice. And my justice is the continuation of that 'existence'"
-Focalors to Neuvillette.
In a way, she got the justice she wanted 😭
^^^ her justice has always been to continue existence that egeria started. So she did get her own justice. Even furina got her justice since furina's justice was to sacrifice and suffer for the sake of fontanian in hopes of saving them, she may have been decieved by her own self, her suffering for millenia paid off, albeit tired and exhausted.
@@Pepegaphone--
It wasn’t millenia, it was 5 centuries.
Millenium is 1000 years.
@@Pepegaphone-- even the traveler questioned if this is truly all she wanted, and if neuvi understands the will of the gods, tldr she prolly didnt want to die and wanted to live a peacefull life as a human since that is what they wished for
@@mystery8820 yeah I mistook century to millenium mb
Furina might not have the power of an archon but her willpower and loyalty to her nation is already of a god she deserves a break and a hug for her sacrifice
Even the other archons acknowledged her as a god! I mean even Ei compares her battle against the shogun to Furina’s 500 year act to save her people…so it’s safe to say that even if her divinity is gone, the people still view her as a god
Indeed, other archons do actually see her as a god and praise her for what she has done for her nation, her people. This whole situation also changed Neuvillette's views on the archons to an extent, as well as whole of humanity. He says that even though he will judge all the archons, he will take into consideration human life and will not endanger them, while also trying to go against physical altercation with other archons. He was a bit reluctant to like Furina, but after learning it and listening to his voiceline he has shown he cares about her wellbeing and also praises her.
". . But this Furina person you speak of, she played her part for 5 centuries. A true battle of the spirit. Her willpower has indeed, reached the level of a God." -Raiden Ei
2:32:40 The fact that Furina does not confide in the Traveler even in her inner world is such a significant detail. Imagine she did. Traveler would stop the trial. Oratrice would not be activated. And Fontaine would be lost. She made the right decision, however we may not have liked it during the quest.
Ironic how this archon quest is the one we did the least in, yet we almost f'ed it up for everyone.
not the protagonist playing into the satan role-
@@PatriciaKerrithat’s a good point. We tempted Furina at her weakest and tried to tell her “this is an exception” which is just like when Satan tried to tempt Jesus.
@@Jordan-ud4qv Heck we even came back from the Underworld just to collude with a 'snake' to tempt this secret out of her, only for her to get publicly crucified.
They really made a quest about Jesus Christ and made it amazing
@@Jordan-ud4qv What makes it so fascinating is that it's not like the Traveler did so for nefarious reasons: all of them are trying to stop the prophecy afterall, but unbeknownst to the Traveler and everyone else the key to Focalor's plan was for Furina to maintain her facade as the Archon. To everyone else, Furina was being uncooperative and irresponsible, and thus why they thought getting her to spill the beans was the only way they can grasp the bigger picture, not knowing that by doing so they might have threatened a well-made plan 500 years in the making.
It really all came down to that one moment of weakness, and yet Furina held firm, which is just an awesome display of, as a certain mafia boss once said, "focus, commitment, and sheer will".
fun little coincidence that is directly tied to the prophecy:
"A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it." - Jean de La Fontaine
I recognize that quote from Master Oogway from Kung Fu Panda
@@hayond656 yup, but the first person who the saying is attributed to is Jean de La Fontaine
@@VergilArcanisis it from a book?
wait- is that also the reason it´s called fontaine??? my brain-
@@aethernity8270 It's from "Les fables de la Fontaine" (and more precisely, from the poem 'l'Horoscope'), written by Jean de la Fontaine, a famous French fabulist.
here a funfact: aq act 5 of fontaine is called "masquerade of the guilty ". In the Chinese version, it is 罪人舞步旋. If we reverse the position of the characters, it becomes 旋步舞人罪. Pronounced "Xuán huy wǔ rén zuì". We have 旋 homophones with 宣, 舞 homophones with 无. The sentence 旋步舞人罪 will become 宣布无人罪. It means: " A declaration, no one is guilty."
The developer had so much fun.
Damn they r so cool
They were COOKING IN THAT WRITING ROOM
Hoyos writing team every archon quest: ✍️🔥🔥🔥
That is just modern poetry right there, beautiful.
Man, she wanted to tell us so SO badly...and if she had faltered at her lowest, most desperate moment, it would have ruined everything. We were betraying her, and her words would be relayed to the entire court. It was the single worst place to falter in her 500-year-strong conviction...and yet she prevailed. We were her final test and she fucking passed it despite having so many excuses to fail. I'm so god damn impressed with this tiny little human that I can't stop thinking about her. She really had the willpower of a god.
2:22:47
Fun fact, 182375 days is 499 years, and about 8 months (using an average of 30 days per month it’s exactly 8). The details that the developers add is always so cool.
but the problem is that the scene 3 or 4 doesn't make sense if each scene is supposed to be a day, because Deoteria says that she wanted to meet furina for a long time and she was surprised that furina remembered her son's illness. It wouldn't make sense if this was the third or fourth day she ruled over fontaine
@@helloneighbour2408Maybe she was exaggerating based off of the "long line" Furina was referencing
Significance of 8 here?
@@zahkrosis666 not sure. I just took the remaining days after the 499 years and checked to see about how many months it was. Although, a possible explanation is that the 4 months are how long it took Focalors to come up with her plan. She did say she was almost growing barnacles by the time she figured it out.
Ohhhh@@periodicgaming5159
the whale going for Neuvillete symbolizes all the whales that were going for his C6.
The real "self-insert"
I love that they put in a few brief moments of levity/comedy to break up all the heavier stuff. The out-of-control audience member deciding to just repress that he's not a real human, Focalors' little "anyways, then I cursed her", and of course, the yeeting of Childe.
I think my only complaints are that we didn't get a full on dragon form Neuvillette, and not even a small chat with Furina at the end.
Also Skirk can yeet me any time 🤤
One observed the death of her divinity, the other observed the reincarnation of her humanity.
This is probably one of the best reactions I've watched. I love that you take your time analyzing each and every line on what they trully imply and express your own take in it instead of just clicking your way to the cutscenes. I'm now a fan, looking forward for more reactions in the future!
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the reaction! We're actually going to be doing a Genshin replay very soon, which will be uploaded to this channel, so that'll be lots of fun :D when I first started the game, I didn't really care about the story and didn't pay attention to it, so I'm excited to go back through everything I missed ☺
Exactly my thoughts, I had the same reaction and felt the same guilty for the preJUDICE against Furina and for putting her on trial just to be broken by the truth.
I'm so glad I found you, you got another fan.
What I enjoy about Neuvillette is that he both struggles to express his emotions to others... but also can't hide them. After all, the scene after Focalors' execution featured the heaviest rain we've ever seen in Fontaine.
500 years. She acted as someone else for 500 years. I’m so happy for her to finally be free.
Also, her story quest is an excellent follow up to the archon quest, so it would be a good one to do next.
It is actually implied in her voice lines that there is quite a bit of a time gap in between archon quest finale, and her story quest. Which personally didn't work for me since I wanted to see how she's doing right after the archon quest xD, since all we got was Neuvilette informing us of her current situation.
I'll say this here. Natlan is supposedly August 2024. The entire archon quest series is titled "Incandescent Ode To Resurrection". Murata is the Pyro Archon of War.
It is believed that the Tsaritsa means to put the Gnoses together and revive the one being that can help take down Celestia.
mavuika
Smile, Furina.
You made Focalors proud.
Just as I'm sure Focalors made Egeria proud.
If you noticed, Long Hair meaning she was roleplaying as Focalors (whom also had Long Hair) and whenever she appeared before people. Short Hair is her "real" personality and after the prophecy fails, she doesnt need to play the role anymore, thus back to her Short Hair from that point.
I don't think so, even in those Flashbacks while she's acting there's times where she's acting in the Short Hair and Black outfit
@hayond656 I know this is really late but I think the point of showing short hair Furina while acting was that her true self was also slowly merging with her persona.
Furina's story quest confirms this as Furina says that she cant separate herself from her persona anymore.
Your love for the story and your emotional analysis make this one of the best reactions to this quest that I've seen. The way you are able to pick up on the story beats sets you apart. You truly "transform" the content. The fact you also don't skip the voicelines is really nice and makes for a better viewing experience. I consider skipping any of Furina's dialogue in this quest as heresy. Her voice acting is so good.
I may be a bit bias, but I am convinced that Furina is the best character that Genshin has put out so far, simply in terms of storytelling. She also appears to be the community's sweetheart at the moment, and it's understandable why.
In general, all of Fontaine has been excellent, and it's by far my favorite region. Personally, it's not even a contest.
I’ve been going around and watching various playthroughs to see everyone’s reactions to this quest. Yours might be one of my favorites. I really appreciated the thought you put into each line and set piece. Not to disparage others, but some people would just kinda let things play out (which is fine, just not my cup of tea) but being more engaged and interactive with the story is far more emotional and interesting to watch. Great job!
currently watching your reaction to the archon quest and honestly, your reaction may just be my favorite. The commentary is spot-on.
When you describe Furina's suffering as "she is in the center of the world, but it is a very, very lonely world", i think that's the best sentence to summarize everything she did.
Furina is the first ever character i really love and def the very first character i will c6. Great video, earned a sub, and ill keep an eye out on your next stream.
I think the scene with Focalors and Neuvillette has much more impact to Neuvillette than it appears to be.
In the surface, it serves as a way for Neuvillette to regain his full power, but its only on physical side.
Throughout the whole Fontaine's Archon quest, the main theme is about losts and sacrifices. Living with humans for 500 years, Neuvillette could feel their sorrows in someway but not entirely, something is still missing. He even said he had attempted to feel as human feel.
But by witnessing Focalors' death, he came to realize that the closet being he could relate to (in term of godship) chose to sacrifice herself so the people could live on. Its like he finally learned the truth meaning of lost and sacrifice, he found the missing piece in his emotional picture.
It also represented how much trust Focalors put in him to protect Fontainians since he's the only god remain in Fontaine.
It's really sad that for Furina, she was all of a sudden thrown into a trial, and all of her connections and relationships just went bye bye, I would have felt so betrayed and heart broken
I'm subscribing. Just your analysis is so utterly amazing. You don't miss a thing and it's so piercing, not to mention all the other fantastic things about your videos.
Thank you so much! That makes me really happy to hear! I'm glad you're enjoying the videos
I just want Celestia to burn for what they've done to Focalors. She was a pure archon. She sacrificed herself for her former archon's Dreams, for her sence of pure justice. Since the 8th i can't remove this sad sensation i have everytime i start the game. Both Focalors and Furina deserve vengence and the biggest "thx you for all you've done" from people of all Fontaine. We baraly Saw her but i feel i've lost my fav character with her sacrifice. Bring justice for the real god of justice, please dear iudex drown and destroy Celestia.
@harryshade5700 Egeria died, wasn't it enough to Celestia ? They picked a New archon to punish her ? If we consider that to be right, then it should be okay to punish them too for their attempt to kill a whole country's population. They managed to make a goddess kill herself in order to f*ck off their will. And i Hope we will f*ck them even more thx to the Tsaritsa.
I can understand your emotions. But, it wasn't completely Celestia's fault. While higher beings such as Phanes, the shades and the sovereigns can freely create life, archons don't have the right to do so. Egeria knew this but still did it. Not that she did anything wrong...she was only doing what any kind god would do, listening to her people...but, the rule was still broken(sin is still a sin no mater the intention behind it)
But fret not, they will most certainly be judged for their actions (and that list is huge!)😤
@@codex2621 i mean yes you're right but what Focalors and the current population of Fontaine Can do about what Egeria did ? I won't forgive them for Focalors. I can't and i don't want to leave them any escape for this.
@@MisterFrance22
Wonder if we can find out what the Tsaritsa’s plan is
@@codex2621 you do realise celestia are colonisers/invaders right? they do not have any right in deciding teyvats laws in the first place nor who gets to create life. Like focalors said they are hypocrites for doing it as well and egeria was the first one to actually stand against them by creating her own life. So yes it is celestias fault.
The amount of Ls childe been taking is funny 😂😂
Didn't get the fight he wanted, lost his vision, got 1 tap by a dude with cool drips, locked in prison, forced to fight a big ass whale for over a month without rest, and when he finally fainted from exhaustion he got yeeted back in by his master.
Talk about Ls
Didn't he fight for weeks against the whale? My man is a beast
Ei will feel so left out at how much cooking is going on behind her back, everyone cooks so well, even the developers~
I just realized that we were actually the last hurdle on the success of Furina's act. As Focalors said, if Furina's resolve wavered even just once, If she confided to us right then and there at the magic box, the great plan would have failed as she had to continue the act till the very end of the prophecy. The scene in her inner thoughts showed us that she would have still hold on to that resolve despite thinking that she would end up alone forever. Man Furina is so precious..
And notice how during the inner subconscious stage play recounting Furina's entire life so far, there was no other actor on stage EXCEPT during the part where the Traveler asks Furina to confide in them. That was the online point in the entire play where things could have deviated from the script. It was also the only time Furina actually felt like someone was actually there for her that they would have a presence on stage instead of just a disembodied voice.
Fontaine isn't the nation of Hydro, but the nation of tears. This was an incredible quest, and I thought Nahida's visit to Irminsul and what she had to do was heartbreaking. Fontaine felt a lot more painful, mostly because we're just a side actor in this quest. The actual characters took the main stage, and we got to view character arcs unfold.
The voice acting is nothing short of exceptional. This felt we were watching a movie. Even your video is the length of a LotR extended edition movie :D Normally, I have the video playing in the background while I farm resources, or do my dailies. This time though, it deserved the full attention. You were close with your analysis on a lot of points right through.
Although, I do feel a tad sad that most people seem to forget the amount of suffering Focalors has done, and only take into account Furina's suffering. While they are the one and the same in a way, their consciousness were not. Focalors was stuck in the oratrice for 500 years, alone, building up energy for what she knew to be her own death, just to save her people. And no one will know her suffering, or her story. At least Rukkhudevata had the admiration of people before Nahida was born. So many thoughts after this story... feels like we could write a book on it. Which just is good storytelling. I wonder how it'll be covered in the anime.
Looking forward to your Furina story quest playthrough. Hope you're feeling much better!
Every time i see the execution of Focalors, i cry, this part is so emotional, i a men with 45 years old, but i can´t hold my tears, i feeling so much about hers, focalors is the true hero of this place, she sacrifica herself, to protect her people, Furina, and Neuvillette, to make happy all people, she doing the most greater sacrifice, she is the most awesome character on the game right now, i believe Nahida, have to most sadness history, but turn into a happy end, but Focalors, she not have a happy end, specially for Furina, now we make a better life for Furina, for manteing 500 years of the most awesome performance of the history of Teyvat.
Furina's Inner Self part is a great example of why so many Monarchs and Dictators often go mad.
found your video through the algorithm. seems like it still suggests good things once in a while. i've gone and watched a number of reactions now which is usually something i've only done for honkai impact 3rd (mihoyo's older tearjerker gacha). anyway, yours might be my favorite so far. you had a lot of well-articulated and insightful commentary. furina/focolors and neuvillette set a real high bar for character writing in genshin. hopefully they keep it up. additionally your model is really cute and expressive!
Ironically, since we know Focalors was also an Oceanid Egeria turned, it's possible the primordial seawater _would_ affect her the same as every normal Fontainian, even being the actual archon. So it seems that wasn't as much of a smoking gun as the court originally thought.
but the prophecy says the archon will be left alone, so she must be different.
@@wwdww1230 The prophecy turned out to always be based on the false image Focalors created though.
Hoyo was really cooking with this Archon Quest and all the Biblical references; Focalors/Furina being basically Jesus (incarnation of God/their child), Focalors dying for the Original Sin, the Traveler being Judas and betraying Furina at her most vulnerable right before the trial, the whole Primordial Seawater turning into blood alluding to Jesus' ability to turn water into wine (wine symbolized blood), and bonus references with Furina's ability to walk on water. The way all this was presented was just absolute. 👨🍳💋
Absolutely heart wrenching. I hope Hoyo continues this level of storytelling in Genshin.
Only two scenes in Genshin have ever made me actually cry. The death of Hanachirusato, and the sacrifice of Focalors.
Man that execution scene made me cry... It was so beautiful, and... "well-executed." Your analysis is on point!!
A couple of things about the Oratrice's guillotine:
- The way it constantly hangs over Foçalors until it drops might allude to the parable of the Sword of Damocles.
Damocles was a courtier of Dionysius I and wanted to switch places with him to experience a life of luxury for a day. To illustrate to Damocles the constant fear of death that looms over people in power, Dionysius had a sword hung over Damocles' crown, held only by a thread
- It has a curved bottom end, which looks like the bottom of an anchor (for the aquatic theme ig, maybe to symbolise the "weight" of the execution), but it _might_ also resemble early guillotines like the Halifax Gibbet in England, which used a curved axe head as the blade instead of the straight edge standardised by the French.
It was used to punish petty theft, a punishment considered so severe by the public that Oliver Cromwell forbade its use and had it dismantled. Ironically, he would be posthumously executed for cosigning Charles I's death warrant lol
From the time I realised Focalors was about to sacrifice herself, I knew that guillotine is referencing the Sword of Damocles because that part is heavily coated with references to the ending of Code Geass. There's also the reference to the execution of Marie Antoinette with Fontaine's French symbolisms to being the last god (queen) of Fontaine.
@@hermdude "Heavy is the head that wears the crown", and Furina wears one. The symbolism is great.
This is the very first time in genshin that the main characters themselves are not the "main characters" instead only a spectator.
Edit: It's as if we are watching an opera right from the start.
Holy shit, epic story aside, mad props on all the proper chapterwork/timestamp-yness.
Likewise, I enjoy the way you consider the dialogue and story as it happens instead of just going for a quick readthrough or ignoring the story alltogether. Gonna check moar of your stuff now :D
The foreshadowing was chilling, cuz before Neuvilette met Focalors in her subspace realm or something to talk, he explains to the traveler that unless the archon returns the dragon's authority back to their respective sovereigns, the only way would be that the hydro archon perishes and thus the authority returns to the original dragons of teyvat, and leading up to the finale- that was in fact, what happened
re Furina showing here inner feelings in her private show to the Traveller:
One part has her interviewing someone and her tears break through .. but even so, she must maintain a facade and smile.
This is like Hime's onscreen character model .. even though Hime is feeling distraught at the suffering of Furina, her onscreen character model smiles.
Furina truly is the Archon of Streamers and Reactors.
Remember her character demo had endless solo of solitude written in it. Who could have guessed that it would allude to what she was going through.
SUBSCRIBED ur explanation/theory r so interesting to hear and on point
We should always remember the meaning behind Focalors plan: "Gottem."
Probably one of the best playthrough I've watched (I watched a lot of people play this Archon Quest, this Archon Quest is just so peak I can watched it again and again), I love how you cooked through the entire video and it made sense. It's going to be interesting what they will do with Natlan, it's insane if they can make it better than this.
Hope to see your Natlan's playthrough in the future, for now I'll check out your other videos.
Im looking forward to you playing through Furina's story quest :)
The best part about this quest is that no side is completely in the wrong. It's normal for citizens of a nation to look to their leader in a time of crisis but Furina's situation is also understandable specifically to us because we know the whole story.
Genshin did a really good job at showing us how human Furina was because as you pointed out the people of Fontaine don't see her as a human but as an archon which makes sense because she herself said she was and the archon title itself carries certain expectations. We have zhongli creating islands with his spears, Venti leveling mountains, the dendro archon before Nahida purifying a nation wide contamination, and Raiden splitting islands. Every archon so far has at least once stood on the front lines to defend their nation and people, something I'm sure the people of Fontaine expected from their archon too.
Something I found interesting about Furina is that her trying to act like an archon made her less like an archon if you compare her to the archons we know which is such a human thing to do. We have Furina boasting, bringing up her position as the hydro archon multiple times, saying things like "You would dare challenge a god" etc while the actual archons like Raiden, Nahida, etc don't act like that at all. They're more reserved and don't put that much attention to their archon status or strength. It reminded me of a quote I forgot the exact wording to but the idea was that the strong do not need to flaunt their strength to make others see them as strong.
The fake archon constantly needs to tell others she is an archon and is godly while the real archons never need to.
Because thats what the people of Fontaine expected from her, have you watched the whole thing? In her inner mind when she first did her ascension speech she was more calm originally, until the people of fontaine started complaining about how she doesn't seem god like and all knowing, i guest its more less about Furina but her trying to fulfill the expectations put on her by Fontainians who have high expectations from their God.
@@crystaluwu1012 Being calm has nothing to do with it. What the people of Fontaine expected from Furina was a confident god because that god will also rule their nation. How a leader speaks and portray themselves matters because no one wants a leader who appears weak and uninformed, and Furina was a weak and uninformed leader at the start of that speech. There is a reason why people who aim for public leadership positions have to show that they are competent before they get the position and why everyone is not suitable for that role.
It's like having Raiden as your leader then having someone with Freminet's character as the next leader. Or having Mika replace Jean as the Acting Grand Master. Not confident, not good at public speaking, commands no authority, etc. A person can't be a leader if people have no confidence in them.
🤦♂️
@@MansMan42069 I don't know why people have such a hard time understanding such a simple scene when the game explicitly shows us everything😮💨. Genshin really mastered pathos in this quest.
@@SmallAltar I'm 🤦♂️-ing at your point that people aiming for leadership roles need to prove that they are competent, but real world examples show that they only talk a good game. Confidence doesn't necessarily translate to competence.
In fact, it's precisely your attitude that allows scummy inept idiots into office.
Hats off to Focalors, the last Hydro Archon.
All our hugs to Furina, for holding out beyond human capacity even under ungodly pressure. The Traveller is somewhat villainous in this quest, I feel. Rather, I feel disgusted what the Traveller has been forcing Furina to reveal. Sure, it's not like we knew what the real plan was, but was it really right of us to barge in and become nosey, when we claim we are supposedly "witnesses"? How we tried to emotionally entrap Furina, nevermind almost putting the entire plan at risk, just our sheer gall of using emotional damage to force Furina into talking at even cornering her? I felt dirty as the Traveller, and probably not the first time I had to ask, are we (the Traveller) really the good guys? I dunno, I feel scummy, and I'm not sure if we even apologized for putting her on the spot like that after we were told of the plan (I haven't played Furina's story quest yet since I still feel dirty).
Also, seems that the theory about the Gnoses not being the main focus in the primordial dragons' powers was actually right.
It was never about the Gnoses, but the elemental authority themselves. Now we have a name for the elemental authority... Divine Thrones.
From this information it is known that Harbinger's rank is still vacant it is ranked first and ranked 10th For the first rank, we are quite sure it will be Capitano Described in many voicelines, Capitano is a very strong Even the legend of the knight of Favonius grand master Varka said that Capitano was a very strong man
The first reaction i've seen grasping so good the Person of Furina whlie Playing the Mainquest. A great view :)
Thank you so much
This was one of the most dark and heartbreaking quests, but also beautiful. And great, in a way, to finally see the true colours of Celestia. There is nothing heavenly and divine about them, just hypocrisy and usurpers. Not only that, but also traitors to the their own creations... Even Abyss looks quite innocent compared to them.
@harryshade5700 Egeria is to blame for granting her people their wish to exist when certain heavenly principles did the very same crime by stealing dragons birthright? Utter hypocrisy. Celestia done many disgust things, but this was beyond everything. Just as cruel as khaenriah and all the children that were cursed with eternal suffering.
So yes, true colours. I personally hope tp see them burn
@harryshade5700 Fontaine didn't commit numerous war crimes, nor did they destroy countless lives and never did they curse innocent children with eternal suffering just because they were 1/2-blood children of khaenriah. Your hypocrisy is quite fascinating
@harryshade5700there was no crime or sin, that would imply something wrong was done. The rules from Celestia are arbitrary and no, taking something during war is no better than taking it outside of war.
The Heavenly Principles are the bad guy and have been shown to be over and over again. Baring some plot twist revealing it wasn't really them behind Celestia's actions the are very likely going to be overthrown and destroyed in the story.
@harryshade5700bro chill....it's not that deep
Furina: Who gave you that idea? Was it The Knave?
Lumine: Well yeah, but I do know someone who suffered a curse like that(referring to Dainsleif)
All of Fontaine had peak writing and cutscenes. They even started doing little animations during the dialogues. I didn't think that Sumeru could've been topped and I was really afraid of that but it was!!
I really don't know how they are going to make Natlan better but Hoyoverse has all my trust already and I'm sure it's gonna be great!
Also, I recently found your channel and I loved your analysis and how you can see the little symbolism that many people often overlook, great content and I'm looking forward to seeing more!
3:00:00 all aboard the USS Rizzley
To build on Furina’s act, it’s makes her Situation worse if you think about the fact that it could ALL fall apart the second someone heard her speak normally. Just think, just because a door may be closed does not mean it’s soundproof. People could VERY EASILY sus her out if she isn’t EXCEEDINGLY careful, so even behind closed doors… someone could hear her speak normally and label her a fraud and fuck up literally everything she built up. One person’s words can spread like wildfire if you sell the thought that “hey, that Furina isn’t acting like a god, she’s a fake”
i just really love furina ww she really is trying to be tough its like there is a switch that is changing her and putting the masked on ww
really love the archon quest hoyoverse writing on this one is on peak level ww
and i really love Hime's playthrough ofcourse ! stay safe and hydrated hime !
Damn this quest really well written, .. focalor hit heavenly principles hard like a truck..so cool
Also, i've been watching countless streamers reactions, and I JUST noticed a neat detail. The two Gardemeks that protect Furina on stage are called "SHACKLES - A cry without echo" and "CHAINS - A silence without end".
Enjoyed your playthrough as always! Man, viewing Furina's actions throughout this Archon Quest through a new lens after learning everything really just makes everything hit different too. One of the more "missable" things we can look back at too is how eager Furina was to greet us and instantly put us on trial...it makes sense now that she probably, after learning about all our deeds/goings-on in other places, figured that a trial involving US would be that "magnificent and dramatic trial" she's been seeking all this time.
Side note - Someone's gonna have to now teach the people of Fontaine about the birds and the bees LMAO
P.S. - There isn't a date for Natlan, but based on the precedent they've established for their release timeline, each region gets 1 year...so if you go to 4.0 release date (August 16) it should be around that time next year, give or take. 3.0 was August 24, 2.0 was July 21 (The longer time for 2.0 to 3.0 release date was due to a huge COVID spike in Shanghai during 2.6 which delayed the release of 2.7 for quite some time). Inazuma and Sumeru each had 9 versions, which last 6 weeks (again, with that one exception for 2.6 which they then tried to make up for with some 5 week long versions).
There's no guarantee that they'll follow the same release schedule obviously, but if they do and there are no delays, that puts it at 54 weeks which is just over 1 year. In the meantime, we still have a lot more to learn in Fontaine with the various World Quests we'll get, as well as Archon Interlude chapters, and NORMALLY what would be an Act 2 of the Archon's story quest, which I have to imagine will actually be for Neuvillette this time instead of Furina.
3:38:31 if i recall Genshin announced their future plans like this. 5.0 will be Natlan. 6.0 will be Schneznahya And i forgot what 7.0 will be
In the travail chapter story…the last chapter is “???: A dream yet to be dreamed…Khaenri’ah”
@@midnashadow8439That's the seventh one!
There are a few things i have yet to see anyone mention.
First the 500 years she has lived are more than just the torture of the facade, we have already seen khaenrians go mad after only a couple centuries in caribert quest, it is caused by erosion, humans cannot last very long before experiencing it, which is why immortality is a curse. Furina had to endure that on top of everything else.
And second is what i liked the most but is the saddest part, before the curtains fall for the last dance and her true self appears, the traveler could not see any of the short hair version of furina's scenes, not the mirror one, nor her inner self caring. As a playable character we have both the long hair version as the one playing the role of god, and the short hair version, the real furina. Even neuvillette himself only heard of her suffering from what focalors said, but in the end no one saw the entire truth (which explains the traveler's extreme lack of empathy towards her, and still only caring about the answers up until the very last scene, and proven by the fact the traveler did not find out about her secret even tho we as players saw the mirror scene, they did not). Basically a true sacrifice left in the dark, done for neither praise nor appreciation, simply for her own desire to save everyone.
Some other things to note, her own version of a god was basically like herself,and her divinity side, one who is courageous yet humble, polite, and cares about their people. It was her people who chose her new act, and we see her over time getting more accustumed to the arrogant attitude they want from her, while at first she was still showing some kindness and wondering if anyone had noticed.
She also never knew when it will ever end, it could've been hundreds more years.
And a last thing, when the knave threatened her, in a way death was her quick key to freedom, something all khaenrians seek after their immortality curse, and yet she immediately begged for her life, anything to keep up the act to save her people.
As a reminder, Nahida was the one who told you about descenders after she negotiated with Dottore in act 5 of Sumeru's archon quest. The fatui recorded 4 descenders, but for some reason your sibling isn't one of them - they are instead included in Irminsul as part of the world of Teyvat.
I know I'm super late to the party, but I absolutely loved your reaction to this questline. It felt good to see someone thinking things through during the events of the quest. You actually hit so many details like a nail on the head before you even got to the truth!
Seeing this questline again and noticing all of the nuance has been a nostalgia trip and has shown me so many things I didn't fully understand the weight of at the time.
Furina begged the people to believe her - she wasn't protecting herself, she was protecting them. She was even willing to dissolve herself to protect the people of Fontaine, refusing to let them die even it meant throwing away her own life. She had no idea that Focalors ensured she would survive the ordeal.
The voice actress voicing every emotion of Furina to perfection AND voicing Focalors while sounding wildly distinct? Absolutely phenomenal! Furina is my favorite Genshin character after this questline, and your reaction to the questline is my new favorite 😄
P.S.: I love the small detail of the sudden and incredibly drastic music change when Childe appears to help stop the whale from devouring the people. The music sounds so badass and weirdly triumphant despite the Fatui motifs still being present throughout. That beat drop always gives me chills. Also, the haunting 'echo' version of the Fontaine theme in the scene with Neuvillette and Focalors.. Chef kiss moment.
Even if she couldn’t confide with anyone during her time as an archon, just sharing her emotions with someone or havingn a hugging/crying buddy would’ve been nice… I can’t imagine the insanity she endured.
"Trying to change Fate is also a part of it"
- Unknown
Furina sitting crisscrossed applesauce in the floor... I can't 😂😂🤣🤣🤣
And them after this her (furina) story quest happened, getting what she really deserved. I was so happy for her
FURINAS house is near the nuvis office ghahahaha
3:38:30 Genshin updates last 6 weeks, and they release a new region approximately every year. If logic holds, then Natlan should be released on 28/08/2024
Natlan will come after version 4.7, 4.3 is Christmas, 4.4 is Lunar New Year
2:01:15 that line was the reason why furina was always attending the trails all the time
2:12:54 again
I just had to watch reactions for this quest. Its so good. Love watching it again with your commentary. Are you gonna play the Furina story quest too?
2:43:47 symbolism of focalor head decapitated
I am sorry but I cannot help but dance when I hear "Oratrice Mécanique D'Analyse Cardinal' 😆
The first on screen death of an archon and the distraction of the throne. No more hydro archons and it was incredible
Usually Genshin gets one new nation each year. So Natlan is coming Aug/sept next year.
Extremely sad observation:
Until she walked out of the Opera house, Furina probably thought that everyone in fontaine was dead and she was the only person left alive.
OMG, Justice is flat after all
3:17:26 Nooooooo, she forgot to talk to the two researchers 🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭
Well played and great reaction!
As you pointed it out, Furina's original personality (the short hair version) visually faded away more and more with each day passing. At the beginning you see short hair Furina coming up here and there especially at the personal meetings with Lady Deoteria and her descendents but in the last Interview we saw with the descendent of the 20th generation you see long hair Furina even there, what means at this point short hair Furina has "vanished" in some sort of way and only the facade remained.
1:01:41 man... it hurts so much more rewatching than playing it.... During the 1st playthrough there is more questioning than feeling... now it is just depression all along.
Yeah, the 4.2 firuna episode really makes it hard to control your emotions, including the French song, which I've listened to at least twenty times now
Narzissenkreuz also got another name for the narwhal, all consuming whale.
Skirk has the same eye color as the unknown god
Yo, Amber lee connors(Furina va) with the range and doing a mommy voice as well? 👌props to her
1:05:07 "she is just playing the role of the hydro archon" interesting you saying that
So basically Foclars split her divinity and human part into 2 separate individual to trick the heavenly principles, furina could not let anyone know she wasn’t the hydro archon if she did the heavenly principles would know and the prophecy will be fulfilled and furina mind is only human so she had severe psychological damage for over 500 years (kinda the same like Nahida and Ei situation) in the end the water still rose but that was because the heavenly principles cursed Fontaine but because Neuvillette forgave their sins it had no effect so when the reduced it was because the heavenly principles thought everyone got washed away
It was good time: interesting thoughs, funny at times and chill in general. Thank you:)
But one thing genuinely surprised me - how persone, who so invested to the story and world, don't talk to any characters after quests? Not judging, it just kind of mind-blowing and bit sad to me, how much fun and interesting interactions was missed.
I don’t know how to say this but your voice is very nice, sounds like Guinaifen from Star rail
16:15 just because its your burden to bare doesnt mean you cant confide
How do we tell her?
Fontaine story is laid out like a play in an opera, with depth, twists and drama. They made it like this because that's the theme of the region. Let's hope that this isn't a one off just for this region and natlan story will be as good as this.
Hope they cook the next one good :)
I think i heard something when vibing on Focalors' Sacrifice... 😅✌️
2:31:38 i think u shouldn't blame yourself cause furina still wouldn't have told us and the Prophecy was gonna happen in or another way eventually
Good thing I finished the quest, because that thumbnail would've been huge spoilers.
Skirk's master and gold are two separate person they just have similar motives
The trial didn't even matter the sentence would have been the same no matter what
The trial is to make furina cry to reenact the final scene of the prophecy
@@pora5000 pretty sure receiving a death sentence would achieve a similar effect
the crying then wouldn't be as convincing as having failed to protect her identity as well as Fontaine after doing so for 500 years
sorry for the multiple comments. I was trying to think of a positive perspective to Furina's part. .. it occurred to me - Furina's period as Archon was a gestation period .. genuinely human Furina was new born when the Water's broke .. and she took her first steps into the real world lived by normal people. Maybe the "beheading" of Furina's divinity was cutting the umbilical chord .. but the sequence is wrong .. but it has the similar effect. It was a difficult 500 yr pregnancy, but now Furina is born. (Of course, it was a virgin birth, because, by self-deception Furina the divinity/spirit/body was the mother of Furina spirit/body)
ps: i think dragon Neuvillette is how he presents himself. He has never needed to do otherwise and create a facade. Though Focalors shaped him to be who he is so a once disinterested dragon would be inclined to save the people.
Excited for Capitano, coolsst and most badass char, strongest fatui
Anyways, so then i cursed her.
Yeah totally understandable i burst out loud in that sentence.
Furina/Focalor the Jesus of Genshin impact. She died for the original sin
I know you pointed the defense mechanism of Furina's inner mind but they have names: a cry without echo and a silence without end. It's so sad.
Edit: When the blade falls on Focalor she also sheds a tear, crying that it's the end.
Is that AmaLee voicing Skirk is sounds like her