Did Xehanort get off too lightly?

[Guernsey]

There are some fans who feel that Xehanort got odd to lightly despite losing the X Blade, his philosophy being dismantled and his Organization. I feel very similar to this but I also understand that this might be wrong. What do you think about this?

 

[Chie]

Viewing fiction as a series of punishments is bizarre. He literally died

 

[Ðari]

This old ass man got his ass whooped across multiple games, alternate versions or incarnations included, throughout the years he's been alive and well after he finally passed on to only see the heartless and nobody versions get wrecked as well. Whether we're talking about Master Xehanort or him as a collective, no one can argue that (excluding DDD) he's thoroughly been thwarted in every major release. Yall wanna really get in your feelings over his "fade to black" exit in III?

Miss me with that, that ass whoopin that lead to his eventual demise speaks for itself.

 

[AR829038]

An old man got beaten to death with a key by an anime boy and his Disney pet friends. If that ain't punishment, I don't wanna know what is.

 

[Guernsey]

It is just that they want to see Xehanort explode.

 

[Xirix]

Well, he 'did' die, but at the same time he got to become a young force-ghost with his old best friend who instantly forgave him for some reason, they really shouldn't have done that scene in my opinion, it made it a huge anticlimax.

 

[Chie]

Well, he 'did' die, but at the same time he got to become a young force-ghost with his old best friend who instantly forgave him for some reason, they really shouldn't have done that scene in my opinion, it made it a huge anticlimax.

As opposed to what, Eraqus torturing him in hell??

Yes, the dead die and move on. These two old men were ready to do so.

 

[Xirix]

As opposed to what, Eraqus torturing him in hell??

Yes, the dead die and move on. These two old men were ready to do so.

Well, no, he should have just died. Or had a 'very' brief emotional/dramatic exit, what they did dragged on too much and ultimately hurt the climax of the scene.

 

[vaderskywalker]

I am in the boat of the people who say he got off too easy, he tortured Ven, a 15 or 14 year old kid, played body snatcher with Terra and Riku (Terra getting the worst of it), sentenced Aqua to 10 years of Hell, lied to and manipulated people, and last but not least, he killed Kairi forcing Sora to use the power waking, and after all that he got a happy ending with Eraqus, needless to say yeah he got off too easy.

 

[Chie]

he got a happy ending with Eraqus

HE DIED

 

[vaderskywalker]

HE DIED

Yeah, and went to what looked like Heaven.

 

[Ðari]

I feel as though this fandom has a weird "punishment" fetish when it comes to the antag of the Dark Seeker Saga.
/I'm not actually serious

Yeah, and went to what looked like Heaven.

Cycle of rebirth is literally the bread and butter of the franchise, no one is exempt from this. Light. Dark. Just look at Maleficent for example. The game has to maintain it's ESRB E10+ rating.

Well, no, he should have just died. Or had a 'very' brief emotional/dramatic exit, what they did dragged on too much and ultimately hurt the climax of the scene.

I could write a novel about Sora stabbing himself and "dying" in slow motion was "dragged out" but that point would be lost as the protagonist we're generally supposed to feel good about is incomparable to the Saga's big bad.


Yall complaining about his exit. Me? I'm pulling out the camera taking selfies in the final boss phase and posting to the fake instagram in the game with captions sayin, "10 likes and i'll slap his bald head", but hey, it's just a difference in priorities ya dig?

 

[Chie]

Yeah, and went to what looked like Heaven.

Taking an issue with this is so philosophically loaded though. That's not actually said or depicted (he just floats up into the sky), but if we assume that's the case, then again, what's the alternative? Xehanort is consigned to hell and all the heroes rejoice about how people who are Objectively Evil are eternally tortured for their sins? That kind of objective divine moral philosophy is simply not held by the game, and is imo very weird to hold in real life. Instead, souls simply move on.

 

[vaderskywalker]

Taking an issue with this is so philosophically loaded though. That's not actually said or depicted (he just floats up into the sky), but if we assume that's the case, then again, what's the alternative? Xehanort is consigned to hell and all the heroes rejoice about how people who are Objectively Evil are eternally tortured for their sins? That kind of objective divine moral philosophy is simply not held by the game, and is imo very weird to hold in real life. Instead, souls simply move on.

Fair enough.

 

[Dandelion]

We have no idea what happened to Xehanort and Eraqus after they passed into the sky.

The only three afterlives we've seen are The Underworld, The Final World, and the very rare case of Quadratum which is made out to be an unusual circumstance. We have no reason to assume that Xehanort went to some paradise but rather is on some even playing field where all the dead go. Xehanort left with Eraqus but he certainly did pay _some_ sort of price.

If you're ignoring how he's standing alone while Eraqus is being embraced by his beloved pupils who are sobbing...I mean, jesus, read the fucking room. He's really alone and his legacy is an empty one of pain. He left a bad mark on the world and he realizes that now.

Anyway, this isn't the end of him. Dark Road heavily implies he'll be in Quadratum and so does the final QnA with Nomura (not to mention the Xehanort art that has him in a famous Japanese park that's in Shibuya)

 

[Absent]

I just wanted a “death” like the one Ansem got in 1, Marluxia got in CoM and Xemnas in 2.

Which boils it down to moaning/groaning in pain while flailing arms as cool effects flutter around, dissipating into nothing.

Extra bonus points if they had him reaching towards Kingdom Hearts, or have it reflected in his eyes as it all fades away.
Just another tool of destiny.

 

[Launchpad]

I just wanted a “death” like the one Ansem got in 1, Marluxia got in CoM and Xemnas in 2.

Which boils it down to moaning/groaning in pain while flailing arms as cool effects flutter around, dissipating into nothing.

Extra bonus points if they had him reaching towards Kingdom Hearts, or have it reflected in his eyes as it all fades away.
Just another tool of destiny.

the dlc has this

 

[Absent]

the dlc has this

With any luck, after 3 whole years I’ll have enough money to afford it!

 

[GreyouTT]

We altered time just to beat him senseless while at the height of his power, at that point all he can do is give up.

 

[kirabook]

For my own personal reasons, I would've liked if everyone he hurt got a final send off. Whether it was words of spite or they somehow found a way to forgive him I dunno.

We get Eraqus looking at them like "They are the future" but Xehanort is still in fight mode and doesn't even seem to acknowledge them now that Eraqus is there. Eraqus gives him a flashback no jutsu and he finally backs down. Not because he's cornered and all the people he's heaped trauma onto is standing around him, but because his bestie past and present asked him to.

I dunno if I was looking for punishment because we did whoop his butt multiple times on repeat for years at this point. But it just feels like the people other than Sora didn't get to say "Good riddance" or got any kind of apology or anything. And everyone appears to be a-ok with that.

I mean, I guess that's just how it is in fiction sometimes, isn't it? Not every creator likes to spend time delving into how a character can come to forgive or forget the wrongs done to them by someone else (For example, as much as I like the idea of Kairi and Axel becoming friends, all her misgivings were quickly swept under a rug a bit unfairly imo)

Despite all the trauma and hardships these characters have gone through, I feel like at the end of the day, the message is, "Don't hold onto hatred whether it's justified or not. Give everyone a second chance even if you have to beat them up a few times first."

That is just the philosophy of the series I think.