A game that I will always cherish is Final Fantasy X. I still remember it - along with its stunning soundtrack and story - fondly. It brought me some comfort and contentment during an otherwise abusive and unbearable childhood.
One of the antagonists was a tortured, traumatised soul named Seymour Guado. He was half-human, half-Guado and despised and ostracised as a result - treated like an abomination, a monster - all for characteristics he could not control.
As a mere boy, his own father exiled him to a remote island with his terminally ill mother. His mother, aware of her imminent death, became an aeon - a mangled mutant named Anima and by far the most chilling creature in the game, as a visual representation of death and deep despair. She hoped her sacrifice could be utilised by Seymour to sway public opinion, by using her aeon to defeat a formidable beast known as Sin, which wreaked havoc in their world and claimed many lives.
The trauma of exile, his mothers' demise and the twisted transformation she underwent overwhelmed the young Seymour. He refused to summon his mother to combat Sin and instead spent the remaining eight years of his childhood mourning alone on a deserted island, starved of any contact with others and left to fend for himself, while contending with the grief of losing the only one he loved. The only one who loved him in return.
As an adult, Seymour's exile was finally revoked and he was welcomed home with open arms, then forced to follow in his father's footsteps as a priest - a man he resented and a religion he did not believe in.
A lot of backstory and context is sadly skimmed over in the game, but the impression I had is that Seymour was brought home and expected to carry on as though the years of anguish, abuse and abandonment were nothing. There was no apology, no acknowledgment of the depth of his trauma and no understanding towards the devastation this inflicted. Just be a dutiful son and do as you're told.
His decision to murder his father is depicted as a shocking plot point - a heinous and unforgivable act - but I was never surprised. Even in his father's final words, he recognised his failure to protect his son, yet his rhetoric still reeked of entitlement, a lack of understanding and minimal regret: "His mind is closed even to me...I can feel flames of darkness burning in his heart."
Yes, because
you abandoned your son.
You exiled him to a dangerous, deserted island with his ailing mother.
You left him to rot in isolation for years. Your attempt to proclaim it was to "protect" him is pitiful - you only shielded yourself.
As a consequence of his circumstances, Seymour grew to believe that the only escape from suffering is death, a view I have long held myself. He intended to become Sin so that he could destroy the world, releasing its inhabitants from the pain of existence.
While I do not agree with or condone Seymour's actions towards the protagonists (particularly Yuna) and citizens in the game, I could always empathise with his tragic past and understand his perspective and motivations. He was portrayed as a cruel, evil madman with a disturbing outlook on life, and it was unfortunate that his personality was rather underdeveloped.
Yet even as a young girl, I felt that surely his life and the way he was treated was what was truly disturbing, along with the subsequent invalidation of his severe suffering. Surely it's abuse, abandonment, religious indoctrination, systemic discrimination and the unwarranted hostility that led to a small child being exiled that are all deeply disturbing, rather than his views on life and death.
Instead of being heard, understood and supported before his situation escalated, he was ignored, invalidated and immediately villainised when he was pushed over the edge. I find this to be so relevant in real life, even twenty years since FFX was released. Seymour's character resonated with me on a profound level and he still does, perhaps even more so today.
First image: Seymour Guado
Second image: Seymour with his aeon, Anima
Third image: Anima (remember that Seymour's mother sacrificed herself to become this haunting, powerful creature)
Disclaimer: These images are not my artwork.
