So I’ve beaten the game three times now, I played through the Fredericka, Benedict, and Golden Routes. I watched a YouTuber beat the Roland route, because I just couldn’t bring myself to accept such a dumb decision. And I wanna talk a bit about three different versions of the scenes we get here, when our beloved lieutenants quit the crew because they can’t accept our decisions.

There is almost nothing that needs to be said about Roland’s reaction to the Benedict route. Roland’s plan (let’s just surrender all agency and give the continent over to the theocratic slave-state so I can fulfill my desire for revenge and also because the non-slaves in that city seem happy on a surface level) is ridiculous on it’s face. Roland’s objections to working with Gustadolph are valid, but his proposed alternative is too crazy to be considered.

Benedict’s reaction to the Fredericka route also feels overblown. He thinks he knows better than Serenoa and doesn’t want to abandon the demesne. But we find out in his route he’s doing it all to honor the memory of Lady Destra, but doesn’t seem to be considering what she would actually want for her son, and I would think she would want Serenoa to live up to his own ideals and for Benedict to protect and support him.

Only Fredericka seems justified in her indignation, as I said above the Roland route is madness. And we see when the plan is actually played out, that it leads to the disastrous distruction of Aesfrost and slavery being spread across the continent.

That’s just my take though, I’d be interested to hear other interpretations of ch. 17.