The Enigmatic Rhea: Saint or Sinner?
As an avid Fire Emblem fan whose played through Three Houses multiple times, the character who intrigues me most is the cryptic Rhea– known to most as the benevolent Archbishop, but secretly harboring dark secrets and hidden motivations.
Having analyzed every revelation about her backstory across all four routes, this guide will unpack Rhea‘s complex arc – from revered Saint leader to potential Sinner condemned by former allies for extremism against her enemies.
A Haunted Past: The Red Canyon Tragedy
First to understand Rhea, one must know her origin story as Seiros, born as one of the Nabatean dragonkin who could assume human form. She lived happily for centuries in Zanado the Red Canyon alongside her mother Sothis – an immensely powerful progenitor goddess figure to the Nabateans.
But this peace was shattered when a warlord named Nemesis conspired with "Those Who Slither In The Dark" to literally backstab Rhea‘s people, massacring most Nabateans to use their blood and bones as materials for artificial Crests and Relics.
As one of the few survivors of this horrific genocide, Rhea was consumed with grief over losing her family and entire culture virtually overnight. It also birthed a desperate ambition – she would one day bring her mother Sothis back to life again while punishing those responsible for Zanado.
The “Deception” of the Church
In the aftermath, Rhea – now known as Seiros – waged a bloody war against Nemesis alongside humanity‘s Ten Elites and King Wilhelm. Publicly she framed it as restoring honor and enacting the goddess‘ divine justice. But privately she sought vengeance and attempted unsuccessfully to revive Sothis through ritual.
With Nemesis defeated, Rhea suddenly found herself the most influential figure across the land as humanity‘s magical savior. Leveraging mystical awe around her and fabricated history about receiving revelation from the Goddess, Rhea formally established the Church of Seiros for both worship and consolidating control.
She concealed the full truth over time for the "greater good" – omitting her connection to Sothis, disguising Nemesis‘ massacre as heroic Relic weapons and Crests gifted to humans rather than extracted by force. As Archbishop she ruled discreetly through religion rather than overt tyranny, using faith to nurture progress yet simultaneously subordinate any perceived threats to her unfinished agenda.
Crimson Flower: Losing Faith
This agenda – restoring Rhea‘s lost family and culture via reviving Sothis, protecting Nabateans – superseded virtually everything else for Rhea behind her benign facade. And inevitably, ruthlessly pursuing it alienated former allies and planted seeds for future chaos.
Nowhere was this truer than in the Crimson Flower route where loyal Church follower Byleth instead protects Edelgard once her identity as the Flame Emperor threatening the Church is revealed. To Rhea, her worst fears were realized – the heir to her ancient archenemy Nemesis now tempting her mother Sothis‘ vessel Byleth towards treason.
Blindsided emotionally and losing any remaining composure, Rhea immediately condemns both as irredeemable traitors, turning allies and innocents alike against them with dire ultimatums. This unwise declaration only fragmented the Church‘s stability further, losing devoted members Seteth and Flayn.
Transforming into her furious dragon form as the Immaculate One, Rhea fruitlessly tries destroying perceived enemies – now clearly more volatile zealot usurped by vengeance than benevolent overseer. But with the Church‘s façade weakened and authority diminished, it ensured her former allies-turned-adversaries could eventually overthrow Rhea violently.
In her all-consuming quest to resurrect her madre and restore her displaced people ended up severely undermining the very institution meant to pave the way.
Azure Moon & Verdant Wind: Atonement
Yet alternative routes like Azure Moon and Verdant Wind suggest that, given time for self-reflection and reconciliation, Rhea recognizes the error of her ways brought about by near-obsessive convictions.
Perhaps too late, with Church secrets weaponized against her, Rhea concedes past manipulations and extreme methods were misguided – traumatic grief warping her judgment as she single-mindedly pursued reviving Sothis as the panacea. Through acts of contrition like stepping down as Archbishop and protecting allies with her final strength, she appears more sage mentor than hubristic tyrant.
And with compassionate guidance from the likes of Byleth, her latent humanity can prevail over destructive impulses. Rhea‘s learned capability of self-critique and adaptation once haunted by immutable dogma embodies the theme of temperance granting wisdom. Her route divergence represents how empathy and support versus condemnation allow once-intractable figures an ongoing path to redemption.
So perhaps overly simplistic "saint or sinner" binaries fail capturing Rhea‘s complexity – reminding us of the sympathetic trauma and grace behind even questionable leaders’ convictions.
