Corrin In the House, Season Two

[Chase]

I'm pretty sure I've made a thread about this character sometime in the past, but if I remember correctly, that characterization focused primarily on Fire Emblem: Conquest's version of the character, and why she (going by the gender-split indicated by the box art - as there is some story significance to it found in the DLC 'Heirs of Fate') was getting a bad rap.

 

The reality is that while the antagonism has died down a little bit, Corrin in general is still a heavily criticized main character who is seen as more flawed than acceptable by the fandom.

 

Today, I want to focus on Birthright's Corrin. A character that has a better head on his shoulders than his female counterpart who makes the opposite choice as he does, but is not challenged enough along the route for it to be significant to the character's perception. In Revelation he is probably the better fit over Female Corrin for that storyline due to the first piece I want to discuss...

 

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Spoiler

 

The Lady of the Lake: Male Corrin and Azura

 

Azura is probably the understated main character of the game - and a great deal of how Corrin in ANY route functions is dependent on input from the mysterious singer.

 

The songstress has three unique support chains with the Avatar that are tied to each route. In Birthright she and Corrin spend their entire support chain trying to pontificate on the positives of both of the warring nations in "Fateslandia." and establish a meeting place where their fireside discussions take place, ultimately leading to Corrin conceding that Nohr may only have been good for him because of the people he had in his life that Azura simply didn't during her time there. The S Support ensues, with Corrin wishing to be what the Nohrian siblings and his retainers were to her. Family. It's a touching support and one of the more believable ones in the game, at the expense of falling into a routine Birthright fault - failing to challenge the Avatar. The conversation is simply strung out and is cordial and then Corrin decides he didn't win the argument due to the specifics. Azura functions as Corrin's equal in this support most prominently. The two fill in the blanks about the other nation due to their being kidnapped away from it.

 

In Conquest we see Corrin having to live with his choice to side with Nohr. He has recurring nightmares about his Hoshidan opponents in battle, and when one such nightmare wakes him up he drops a glass of water and it shatters, startling Azura and bringing her to his side. B starts with a Hoshidan trying to assassinate Corrin during his watch at camp, with Corrin dealing the killing blow as Azura arrives on scene - and the Avatar doesn't enjoy the experience, which prompts Azura to bring out her best head coach impression and give him a pep talk on how he SHOULD feel bad for his actions and that they are fighting to put an end to the war, not to ruin the lives of their enemies. A has a second Hoshidan invader arrive, and this time Corrin is unable to brandish his Yato to defend himself, forcing Azura to kill his assailant on his behalf, staining her hands and following through on her promise to follow him in a rather symbolic, somewhat macabre act of camaraderie. S begins with Corrin confessing that seeing blood on Azura's hands isn't a want of his either, and leads into a wish to protect her specifically. The goal then becomes a happier place for the pair. In this support, Azura is Corrin's champion, and while many would point to Corrin's ineptitude, it's really a strong point for Azura than it is a weakness for Corrin in this instance. Azura knows all about the worst of life, and is fighting for Corrin in the first place because he inspires hope.

 

Revelation Azura and Corrin get a bit more political and find a little bit of good old fashioned royal courtship near the end. C starts when Corrin catches Azura singing before initiating a conversation that seems to be a more refined, less personal version of the conversation from Birthright that focuses on the motives each kingdom has for being invested in the conflict. (Corrin's forces in this route are not aligned with either nation.) B is a weak entry from Corrin's personal experience, but reveals that Corrin doesn't actually know very much about his adoptive nation at all because of his solitude. A is also pretty week, having Corrin staring at a storm cloud and reminiscing about his former home. ...and then there is S. S starts with Corrin coming full circle and admitting Nohr wasn't much of a home without his friends - after catching Azura bathing and waiting a little too long to realize he was being indecent. Somehow, he proposes successfully immediately after Azura is able to put her clothing on, but the theme in this S support is the namesake of the game. Fate. The coincidences that surround the pair are profound and are perceived in this branch to be significant. Should you choose to marry Azura in Revelation Azura becomes Corrin's queen once the combined forces of Hoshido and Nohr defeat Anankos. Even if you don't S support Azura, she serves as Corrin's advisor, which is a much happier fate for the singer than just....dying at the end of the other routes.

 

Azura serves as one of Corrin's halves. Where Corrin lacks for experience, discernment, and pessimism, Azura delivers in spades. She understands Nohr's cruelty and even the reason behind it due to her knowledge of her true home. She is cold and distant at first glance, and - if Fire Emblem Heroes has driven anything home, her childhood was far from roses. 

 

Azura however can find optimism in Corrin - at least enough to pick up some of it whenever Corrin himself is feeling down. She also sees Corrin forge alliances with figures like Shura, who kidnapped her when she was a child, as well as Zola in Birthright. She then commiserates and understands his circumstances when he recalls his strict curfew.

 

This makes her a sort of "implied love interest" for the protagonist - but the way I see it, she's a package deal with her cousin regardless, and her interactions with Corrin should be taken into account when reaching a final conclusion.

 

 

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Spoiler

The three pillars of Corrin's personality are these:

 

• Their unwavering, oft-risk-inducing trust in others.
• Their intolerance for wanton injustice.
• Their having to learn the world on the fly throughout the events of the game.

 

Then you have the prevalent justification for these traits:

 

• Corrin only remembers - at first - the people who treated them with kindness. The opposite fact is only revealed to them after Chapter 5 when they remember Garon's killing of Sumeragi and kidnapping them. This isn't exactly iron-clad, as it's mentioned their Hoshidan family loved them very much before the incident in Cheve, and the amnesia is one of the areas that I think is fair game to call to question.
• At the Northern Fortress, the castle's attendants along with the Nohrian siblings only treated Corrin with anything from kindness to potentially earned discipline, which means Corrin has never witnessed people being rewarded for acting out of pocket.
• This was quite the intense quarantine, which limits Corrin's knowledge of Nohr and the rest of the war to the window outside of their room

 

So - we have to piece together Corrin's character from these as a skeleton.

 

Corrin seems to have everyone like them - which is a common criticism. However, it doesn't exactly seem very correct. The obvious villain types in Fates very clearly loathe the Avatar. Takumi and Leo have a certain disdain for their sibling and such a disdain has to be overcome throughout the events of the route in which Corrin raises their weapon against them. To raise the point further, the opposing kingdom's royalty will disown Corrin enough to threaten their life - even if that person is Camilla, who seems to be the worst offender of player worship in the game.

 

All of that isn't to say that Corrin lacks in charisma. I don't think it is totally fair to call charisma a learned trait though - nor should Corrin lose points for having it innately. Some people in our world are just naturally attractive people.

 

From here, it's the "green" nature of Corrin's worldly experiences that define their actions. Charisma doesn't necessarily turn into leadership. It's probably safe to say that Azura and the other royals act as equally important leaders who all believe in Corrin's cause in Revelation. In the other two routes, Corrin is much less of a visionary and instead finds themselves involved in the conflict. Birthright Corrin is better seen for leadership approval because they are on the side of righteousness - but that leads to him being woefully unchallenged and the deaths in this route feeling incredibly forced as a whole. Conquest Corrin gets ridiculed for shunning righteousness and apparent sanity, but she also has a more compelling challenge ahead of her and has to utilize an initially very thin number of allies in order to make that challenge being met a reality. Revelation Corrin is actually the strongest, where they come to terms with their lack of experience, and still take the path less traveled. And yeah...it makes a big difference.

 

Corrin should be judged with extensive dot-connecting. Playing all three routes, seeing how the routes effect them, and weighing them all together is the best way to get a composite "Corrin." And I for one find what's there fascinating despite the game sometimes falling flat in laying it out there.