Jump to content

General Jarod was actually a great antagonist


JimmyBeans
 Share

Recommended Posts

I feel like Jarod is under credited as the main antagonist of part 1, and when people bring up villains done right in the Fe series I'm surprised that Jarod is never mentioned. This is just my opinion and I'm going off memory here so correct me or tell me if I missed some things or was wrong, but Jarod was not your average staple on plain evil doer villain that so many people categorize him as.

From the moment you see him you know he means business by killing his own soldier for letting the DB escape, and by his other actions you can see how bloodthirsty and power hungry he is from the prologue. The player gets see his interactions with his men and higher-ups and such as Numida and Fiona. These things let us really understand his personality and give us a good reason for us to want to DB to succeed making him a more satisfying enemy to defeat. 

The big parts that separate him from the rest of the pack of basic villains in the second half of part 1, where he gets betrayed by Numida and is left to answer for all of his crimes. Instead of begging for mercy and looking pathetic, he takes it like a man and decides to take his sworn enemy down with him. He gets even better when the Black knight kills his Soldier (I think his name was Alder) and Jarod says to himself "He was a good soldier", and swear vengeance for him. This is by itself makes him so much more than your common villain because it humanizes him and makes him relate-able without making you feel sympathy for him which so many people think is the only way to make a villain good. 

Lastly he never asked for a sliver of pity throughout all his actions and died a proud soldier, and in his last words he even said "I regret nothing.... because I did it my way". His speech to his men before the endgame was legendary as well  and I'll post it for you guys so you can remember, but this is the kind of villain I want to see in FE switch and I would love to see your opinion on this subject. Feel free to correct me or state his faults as much as you desire, just remember that this is my opinion. Tell me if it's yours or not as well.

“Listen up, all of you. This is our last chance to die as we've lived. As proud soldiers of the empire. If we survive this fight, imprisonment and a hushed-up execution await us. If we run from this fight, dishonor and pursuit will dog our miserable days. So I say, let's give those Daein curs a fight to remember, and let the glory of our deaths light our way! We've lived as proud soldiers of the empire! Let us die as proud soldiers of the empire! Now GO!” -Jarod's last speech to his army in Part 1, Endgame

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My profile picture and I agree with you. 

I personally like Jarod because he stands out with his armor and color.

If you look at Jarod he doesn't look obviously evil (Cough Garon) and just looks like smug Seth with a swag scarf.

Edited by The Snek Lord
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I find him killing his own soldier in the 1-P outro to be a bit out-of-character when taking into account his light mourning for Alder in 1-9, but otherwise he was a pretty solid villain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, X-Naut said:

I find him killing his own soldier in the 1-P outro to be a bit out-of-character when taking into account his light mourning for Alder in 1-9, but otherwise he was a pretty solid villain.

Ehhh not really. The soldier in 1-P was just a grunt. From a tactical point of view, it's not a huge loss. However, Alder was an officer, a soldier of some position, so from a tactical point of view, he's more valuable. Also, Alder probably had an established relationship with Jarod- comrades in arms- so of course Alder will feel bad about his death and not the death of some random soldier he doesn't know and killed out of rage.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

26 minutes ago, UNLEASH IT said:

Why didn't BK and Micaiah just kill him in the woods?

Micaiah was being compassionate and asked the BK to spare him since Alder had just sacrificed himself. The BK was also being out of character and compassionate too.

Here is the dialogue in question:

Spoiler

After Battle

Black Knight:
“Make your peace. This blow will be your end.”

Jarod:
“Heh… How kind of you…”

Alder:
“Gugrh…”

Jarod:
“Alder?! You… Why are you here?”

Alder:
“I’d rather fight beside my general than create a distraction with the other soldiers.”

Jarod:
“You idiot! Who asked you to join me?”

Alder:
“General Jarod… You are a terror to work under. Even so…I’ve always sensed a kindred spirit in you. I will follow you and fight for you…to the very gates of the abyss…”

Jarod:
“He was a good soldier… What now? Why don’t you kill me?”

Black Knight:
“My sword is not made for killing those who will not raise their weapons.”

Jarod:
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

Micaiah:
“Stop! Stop it, both of you! A man has died protecting you. Don’t waste his sacrifice!”

Jarod:
“This is not the end!”

Micaiah:
“No. It’s not.”

Black Knight:
“You would simply let him go?”

Micaiah:
“He is not ours to judge. He belongs to the apostle now. I suppose he must bury his fallen friend and pray before facing her.”

Soon thereafter, Micaiah and the BK meet with Sothe and she has a vision and realizes she messed up by sparing Jarod. In other words, Micaiah was being a Eirika/Celica lite. The fate of FE heroines is unfortunate.

 

Jarod wasn't bad, but him randomly stabbing his own men out of frustration was just too cartoony, even given what Alder said (and it makes Alder himself seem twisted in his appreciation of Jarod). Yet he finished very well, and he was much better than Ludveck. But overall, Jarod was held back by being a bit too disgruntled.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

49 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Jarod wasn't bad, but him randomly stabbing his own men out of frustration was just too cartoony, even given what Alder said (and it makes Alder himself seem twisted in his appreciation of Jarod). Yet he finished very well, and he was much better than Ludveck. But overall, Jarod was held back by being a bit too disgruntled.

Fair enough, thinking about it I can't find a proper way to justify him killing his soldier at the beginning. Only thing that comes to mind was the designers wanted to personify the antagonist of the story arc (rather than the enemy simply being "the begnion occupation army") and make you dislike him as a person. But you're right, he has his flaws. I just think he is a step in the right direction compared to a lot of FE Villains.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, JimmyBeans said:

I just think he is a step in the right direction compared to a lot of FE Villains.

On the plus side, Jarod is to a degree understandable. A career soldier from what it seems, probably not from all that great a social standing, stuck with the boring job of watching over Begnion's control of a defeated enemy state. Not enthralled in the least by it, Jarod puts up with it and his corrupt and incompetent aristocratic Senate masters and does his job, hoping perhaps it might lead to something better down the line. His great speech does show off his honor as a soldier.

If hypothetically speaking he was fought in Part 3 as an enemy officer by the GMs, perhaps he'd be a little happier and portrayed better depending on the situation he was put in. He'd actually have a better chance at advancement and would actually be personally fighting instead of sending orders all the time from some boring gray capital.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Jarod is a great villian, and one of my absolute favorites in FE.
He's not loyal to Begnion despite he was betrayed by Numida, but he also follows his own motives and ideals till the bitter end. He dies with honour.
Also I find his rhetoric style somewhat amusing (in my language at least).
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Micaiah was being compassionate and asked the BK to spare him since Alder had just sacrificed himself. The BK was also being out of character and compassionate too.

I would disagree that Zelgius was being out of character there, once you understand him. He just saw a soldier sacrifice himself for a master he was clearly devoted to. Considering his relationship with Sephiran, Zel would completely understand and want to honour that sacrifice.

 

Anyway I think Jarod is a pretty solid villain. Not an all-time great, or even a name that comes to mind as one of the best in the series, but effective for reasons already said. I agree that stabbing his underling was over the top (I'd have had the underling be more lazy/disrespectful if Jarod is going to do that, since the whole point of this character is he crediby maintains his troops' loyalty) but otherwise he plays his role well, and his end (being betrayed by Numida and his speech in 1-E) are quite solid.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Micaiah was being compassionate and asked the BK to spare him since Alder had just sacrificed himself. The BK was also being out of character and compassionate too.

You could argue it was in character. One of the few good things RD does with the Black knight is that he's pretty gentle towards Michy so it makes sense he takes her wishes into account. 

I quite like Jarod. He's probably one of the better starting villains in the series. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

You could argue it was in character. One of the few good things RD does with the Black knight is that he's pretty gentle towards Michy so it makes sense he takes her wishes into account.

It's not him not killing Jarod when Micaiah asks it that is seemingly out of character, it's him saying so before Micaiah asks for it, even though Jarod probably would have wanted to fight to the end if he could. Though considering Zelgius isn't so aggressive when he isn't the BK, adding in his heartfelt persuasion by Elincia during Heart of Crimea and his sparing of Skrimir before that, I guess it really isn't out of character for him to be merciful. And even as the BK, he did spare Ike and go easy on his crew in PoR.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

It's not him not killing Jarod when Micaiah asks it that is seemingly out of character, it's him saying so before Micaiah asks for it, even though Jarod probably would have wanted to fight to the end if he could. Though considering Zelgius isn't so aggressive when he isn't the BK, adding in his heartfelt persuasion by Elincia during Heart of Crimea and his sparing of Skrimir before that, I guess it really isn't out of character for him to be merciful. And even as the BK, he did spare Ike and go easy on his crew in PoR.

Do you mean his ''My sword isn't made to strike those who do not raise their weapon?''

I always assumed that was just BK saying ''Get up and start fighting again you pussy'' 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 9/26/2017 at 0:57 PM, Etrurian emperor said:

Do you mean his ''My sword isn't made to strike those who do not raise their weapon?''

I always assumed that was just BK saying ''Get up and start fighting again you pussy'' 

This. Also Micaiah's response is fair enough, she says it herself: he's not hers to judge. She figured she shouldn't be playing vigilante. She's wrong of course and quick to realize it after the fact, but that's consistent with her character as we later see her in Part 3.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

27 minutes ago, a bear said:

This. Also Micaiah's response is fair enough, she says it herself: he's not hers to judge. She figured she shouldn't be playing vigilante. She's wrong of course and quick to realize it after the fact, but that's consistent with her character as we later see her in Part 3.

I agree that it was in Character for her to say that. But I think the issue is her character has very small consequences for naive actions like that, and the flaw of her selfless ideal is way to small considering who her opponents are.

Letting Jarod go caused him to assault the capital. They guy literally lined up catapults and bombarded Venassa town to draw Miciah out. This had little affect on her as she immediately decided to go and help them instead of waiting for the Begnion inspection team which, some may say, shows maturity and bravery... but the the flaw in her ideal is just not showed enough. The people who died because of her are just randos, and they are only mentioned in narration between levels. This skips out on character progression and it's so much missed potential that weakens characters like her and Celica story-wise. 

All I am trying to say is that if she had the proper consequences for her choice there it would made the story much more deeper. And what if the Black Knight ignored her request and killed him anyway, and they had an argument over ideals, (of course we would miss out on Jarods awesome finale),it would be so much better for her character rather than what we see now.  

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't think it's a problem that she sort of gets away with letting Jarod go. It's the build-up to what's basically Daein's only real triumph between both games and it foreshadows her fallibility. Also it'd be kinda strange to end this big "Daein = good guys" arc with some blatant unresolved tension before jumping into Crimea for a long while.

If anything, more consequences for stuff in Part 3, although frankly I think her flaws are more visible than almost every main character in the series.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Among the truly evil antagonists, I think Lekain was the best, until part 4. 

He ended up supporting Ike's invasion of Daein to reap the benefit of Begnion occupying Daein. He ends up taking advantage of Sanaki's youth by taking power for himself. He ends up taking advantage of Pelleas' incompetence and gains control of Daein again while saving face. He's very manipulative and cunning which makes you satisfy your urges when you finally get rid of him. However, in part 4, he becomes a mere delusional lapdog. 

Jarrod, on the other hand, is quite delusional. After he ends up getting betrayed, instead of taking arms against the people who betrayed him, he takes revenge against innocents. How does that even make any sense? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Icelerate said:

Among the truly evil antagonists, I think Lekain was the best, until part 4. 

He ended up supporting Ike's invasion of Daein to reap the benefit of Begnion occupying Daein. He ends up taking advantage of Sanaki's youth by taking power for himself. He ends up taking advantage of Pelleas' incompetence and gains control of Daein again while saving face. He's very manipulative and cunning which makes you satisfy your urges when you finally get rid of him. However, in part 4, he becomes a mere delusional lapdog. 

Jarrod, on the other hand, is quite delusional. After he ends up getting betrayed, instead of taking arms against the people who betrayed him, he takes revenge against innocents. How does that even make any sense? 

If you are talking about when he sacks the capital he doesn't do it for purpose of revenge by killing innocent people. He knows he is done for and that the daein forces are going to just sit tight and wait for the inspection team to come and then he loses. He pulled that stunt to lure her out so he could take her with him. I'm not saying he is the best antagonist in the game either, I'm just saying he is overlooked as a villain and I think he is pretty good (minus the tantrums he has on his own troops). 

In fact I love his reaction when he gets betrayed by Numida, he smiles and say something like "I didn't he think he had it in him, I'm impressed". I wouldn't say he was delusional, but proud. He understood the situation, and stayed true to who he is. Usually in a situation like that in other stories you see the true colors of someone, but Jarod never hid who he was at all, and bravely faced his end. I think he would of been a weaker character if he would of went for Numida or defected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎2017‎-‎09‎-‎26 at 0:57 PM, Etrurian emperor said:

Do you mean his ''My sword isn't made to strike those who do not raise their weapon?''

I always assumed that was just BK saying ''Get up and start fighting again you pussy'' 

I always thought he meant his statement quite literally. In Path of Radiance, when the Black Knight tried to kill Ena, who was practically waiting to die upon hearing that Ashnard had ordered the Black Knight to kill Ena, he promises to make it quick, and yet, "Despite my promise, the blow was not clean. She still breathes, faintly." Come Radiant Dawn, and, when Jarod basically also tells the Black Knight to make it quick, the Black Knight says, ''My sword isn't made to strike those who do not raise their weapon.''

We know the swords Ragnell and Alondite are enchanted (blessed by the goddess and all that), so it's possible (and I think implied) that they cannot be used to kill those who knowingly don't defend themselves. If someone knows they're about to die, and don't fight back, the sword can't kill them.

Edited by vanguard333
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, vanguard333 said:

I always thought he meant his statement quite literally. In Path of Radiance, when the Black Knight tried to kill Ena, who was practically waiting to die upon hearing that Ashnard had ordered the Black Knight to kill Ena, he promises to make it quick, and yet, "Despite my promise, the blow was not clean. She still breathes, faintly." Come Radiant Dawn, and, when Jarod basically also tells the Black Knight to make it quick, the Black Knight says, ''My sword isn't made to strike those who do not raise their weapon.''

We know the swords Ragnell and Alondite are enchanted (blessed by the goddess and all that), so it's possible (and I think implied) that they cannot be used to kill those who knowingly don't defend themselves. If someone knows they're about to die, and don't fight back, the sword can't kill them.

But you can kill defenceless healers with those two weapons. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, JimmyBeans said:

If you are talking about when he sacks the capital he doesn't do it for purpose of revenge by killing innocent people. He knows he is done for and that the daein forces are going to just sit tight and wait for the inspection team to come and then he loses. He pulled that stunt to lure her out so he could take her with him. I'm not saying he is the best antagonist in the game either, I'm just saying he is overlooked as a villain and I think he is pretty good (minus the tantrums he has on his own troops). 

In fact I love his reaction when he gets betrayed by Numida, he smiles and say something like "I didn't he think he had it in him, I'm impressed". I wouldn't say he was delusional, but proud. He understood the situation, and stayed true to who he is. Usually in a situation like that in other stories you see the true colors of someone, but Jarod never hid who he was at all, and bravely faced his end. I think he would of been a weaker character if he would of went for Numida or defected.

I know he wanted to lure out Micaiah but it would make more sense he attacks the senators since, despite all he did for them, they betrayed him. 

Yeah, that reaction of his was pretty cool. He seemed like a chill guy at that moment. I think he's a better villain than Numida. 

Quote

Defenceless healers still swing them at you, in RD at least.

Well, it's not like they are picking a fight with you and that logic is still wrong because even if an enemy runs out of weapons, they can still die. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

23 hours ago, Icelerate said:

But you can kill defenceless healers with those two weapons. 

I think that's called gameplay and story segregation. Besides, those priests are there, on the battlefield, and, if promoted, then they are fighting. I think the swords only don't kill those who refuse to even try to defend themselves.

 

22 hours ago, Icelerate said:

I know he wanted to lure out Micaiah but it would make more sense he attacks the senators since, despite all he did for them, they betrayed him. 

Yeah, that reaction of his was pretty cool. He seemed like a chill guy at that moment. I think he's a better villain than Numida. 

To be fair, what hope did he have to kill the senators. They betrayed him, and they're cowards; they had no intention of going anywhere near Jarod even with a ten-foot spear. They could sit comfortably in Begnion, arranging an 'accident' to befall Jarod and keep him and his men from proving that the Begnion Senate is corrupt, and Jarod says as much. So, instead, Jarod went after the person that he could actually hope to kill.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4.10.2017 at 7:55 PM, Icelerate said:

However, in part 4, he becomes a mere delusional lapdog.

What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to figure out, that Ashera was lying to him, when she seemed to signal him, that he was her chosen champion. Even if he was able to figure out, that he was too much of a douchebag for a goddess to choose him(And I don't think, he had that much self-awareness and just thought, whatever he did for himself, was also, what the goddess wanted), what was he supposed to do about it?

Quote

 

I agree that it was in Character for her to say that. But I think the issue is her character has very small consequences for naive actions like that, and the flaw of her selfless ideal is way to small considering who her opponents are.

Letting Jarod go caused him to assault the capital. They guy literally lined up catapults and bombarded Venassa town to draw Miciah out. This had little affect on her as she immediately decided to go and help them instead of waiting for the Begnion inspection team which, some may say, shows maturity and bravery... but the the flaw in her ideal is just not showed enough. The people who died because of her are just randos, and they are only mentioned in narration between levels. This skips out on character progression and it's so much missed potential that weakens characters like her and Celica story-wise. 

 

This is only my Interpretation, but I think, the cost of her mercy her explains Micaiahs somewhat ruthless attitude after the blood pact is revealed to her.

Maybe she thought about Jarod, when she ordered her Troops to burn Sanaki alive.

Edited by Noni
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...