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Is there really anything about Hubert that makes him likable? (Crimson Flower spoilers)


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I'd considered making this topic sooner or later on my first playthrough. Figured I'd ask it now since I just hit the timeskip today and so far I've come across very few reasons to see Hubert as an even remotely likable character. Which is pretty ironic considering how much of an Edelgard fan I am haha

From the very beginning I never liked his personality. Crass, zero filter and just plain rude in such a "I don't give a rat's ass about you or your feelings" way. And I certainly didn't care for his selfish, Leonie-esque obsession with Edelgard. Lysithea and Felix at least have a unique charm to them that makes it funny to watch them snark away at everybody (including each other lol) to their heart's content. But Hubert didn't have any of that charm. He was just... Hubert ~_~  So I went online and checked out some of his supports with Byleth, El and Bernadetta since I heard those ones show a bit of his softer side. And while I didn't like his threatening "overprotective dad" speeches towards Byleth at all, his supports with Bernadetta (and his A-support with Byleth) did start to convince me that maybe he's not such a bad guy after all...

...until I saw his A-support with Edelgard, where he flat out admits that he's been sneaking around behind her back for years, doing all sorts of dirty dealings that she'd never approve of. All in the name of her goals, and all while putting up a front of absolute loyalty to her. So in other words, Edelgard's supposed best friend has been betraying her trust for years by going off and needlessly soaking her name in blood, all without her consent, and all the while pretending that he'd never do such a thing. And that for me just completely settled it. Edelgard's my favorite character in FETH. I agree with her cause and I believe that she's in the right (which is all I'm gonna say since I'd rather not have an Edelgard discussion), and now I wonder just how much of her negative reputation is actually because of Hubert.

So I guess what I'm wondering is, since Hubert's clearly meant to be an enjoyable character for some (just like all the other students, even though each player has their own favorites and least favorites), what exactly redeems him? I know why I don't like Hubert, but I'd like to hear why others do. Especially after seeing how he warms up to everyone, Byleth included, after the timeskip. Is he really as bad as I've made him out to be?

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He can be funny sometimes? Frankly I'm not a fan of Hubert either. However one of my friends considered Hubert the only BE character they really liked and his reasoning was exactly because Hubert was such an asshole. He likes that sort of humor and the fact that Hubert has the chutzpah to do things that other characters just wouldn't do. Unfortunately said friend isn't on here so I can't exactly tag him to get him to explain himself.

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One thing I liked about him is that he does actually have a caring side and, unlike most "a--hole" characters, he isn't afraid to hide it. This is particularly made clear in his supports with other Black Eagles students. For two examples:

  1. His supports with Bernadetta have him actually being rather sweet towards her in his own way
  2. His supports with Petra have him express sympathy for her position as a political prisoner of the Adrestian Empire

 

30 minutes ago, RainbowMoon said:

 ...until I saw his A-support with Edelgard, where he flat out admits that he's been sneaking around behind her back for years, doing all sorts of dirty dealings that she'd never approve of. All in the name of her goals, and all while putting up a front of absolute loyalty to her. So in other words, Edelgard's supposed best friend has been betraying her trust for years by going off and needlessly soaking her name in blood, all without her consent, and all the while pretending that he'd never do such a thing. And that for me just completely settled it. Edelgard's my favorite character in FETH. I agree with her cause and I believe that she's in the right (which is all I'm gonna say since I'd rather not have an Edelgard discussion), and now I wonder just how much of her negative reputation is actually because of Hubert.

If you watch his supports with Ferdinand, the two of them debate what it means to be a good advisor and right-hand man, and Hubert gives his reasons for why he does this. 

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I like his voice. I think it really fits him so I like it.

But I don't think his A support with Edelgard is betrayal at all, he does the things that Edelgard doesn't want to do but that must be done for her goals to be realized, Hubert is willing to go through the trouble for it. Also, disliking a character because they could have hurt Edelgard's reputation (which he may have done slightly, as most of Edelgard's decisions are her own) one of your favorite ones is quite... immature? "Not a good argument" is probably a better way to express why I think it's wrong to use that as a way to argue against someone, it makes you look like an obsessed fan for that character. (Of course, personally you can feel like that but when it comes to character discussion it's irrelevant).

One final thing, I like his design. He's a freaking vampire post-timeskip and looks pretty cool

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A Hubert. The sad, sad simp. One thing that's good about him, he knows what team to be on. Also, he is very helpful to Edelgard regardless of some stupid things he's done, that probably get made up for if you get the Crimson Flower ending. I just really don't like him though. He's probably a huge part of the reason that El get's such a bad rap from so many people.

Edited by Ika Musume
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He is Literally Dracula, he was the main villain of Vampire FE before it leaked and they decided to settle on a school setting instead. If you ever wondered how he could be a teenager- thats your answer.

Similarly, Dedue was originally the senior vampire hunter who sacrificed themself to protect the young hunter Dimitri. But not before Dimitri's reckless charge at the immortal enemy led Hubert to respond stabbing his long nails into Dimitri's eye. Afterwards, Dedue himself became a vampire who Dimitri later put out of his misery. Edelgard was a young vampire hunter of decades prior who met the same sad fate of becoming the enemy, but wasn't brainwashed like Dedue was, at first she resigned herself to a peaceful existence amongst her new kind, but the emptiness and guilt led her to covertly continue the holy fight in her vampiric state. Edelgard for that reason worked towards becoming Hubert's second-in-command, not that he entirely trusted her. Lysithea was made a vampire bride within a few years of Vampire FE's start, but was set free by the heroes rather early on. Rhea was the leader of the Wallach Church's Special Inquisition- the institution tasked with matters of the undead.

Edited by Interdimensional Observer
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1 hour ago, This boi uses Nino said:

But I don't think his A support with Edelgard is betrayal at all, he does the things that Edelgard doesn't want to do but that must be done for her goals to be realized, Hubert is willing to go through the trouble for it. Also, disliking a character because they could have hurt Edelgard's reputation (which he may have done slightly, as most of Edelgard's decisions are her own) one of your favorite ones is quite... immature? "Not a good argument" is probably a better way to express why I think it's wrong to use that as a way to argue against someone, it makes you look like an obsessed fan for that character. (Of course, personally you can feel like that but when it comes to character discussion it's irrelevant).

Fair enough. I'll admit I was quick to judge Hubert for what he did, but I guess you're right in that we don't know the whole story (what exactly he was doing behind her back, how much she knew and would've been okay with, how much he was reluctant to do, etc.). And he did after all come clean to her in the end, it's at least safe to assume that his heart was in the right place, even if his decisions were a bit rash.

13 minutes ago, Ika Musume said:

A Hubert. The sad, sad simp. One thing that's good about him, he knows what team to be on. Also, he is very helpful to Edelgard regardless of some stupid things he's done, that probably get made up for if you get the Crimson Flower ending. I just really don't like him though. He's probably a huge part of the reason that El get's such a bad rap from so many people.

Honestly, I agree with this. The more I think about it, Hubert's not so much a bad person or a bad friend to Edelgard, just a bit tactless. He's a bit of a bad decision maker is all. But for as much as a jerk he is and some of the dumb choices he's made he's still fighting for the right cause (imo) and he's still loyal to Edelgard and cares about his fellow Black Eagles. And his supports with Bernadetta really are sweet in their own way.

Thank you everyone for your honest opinions. I still don't particularly like Hubert, but hearing some other people's thoughts has made me appreciate him a little better as a character, even for all his faults.

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31 minutes ago, RainbowMoon said:

Fair enough. I'll admit I was quick to judge Hubert for what he did, but I guess you're right in that we don't know the whole story (what exactly he was doing behind her back, how much she knew and would've been okay with, how much he was reluctant to do, etc.). And he did after all come clean to her in the end, it's at least safe to assume that his heart was in the right place, even if his decisions were a bit rash.

Actually. . .this is one of those things where it's shown, not told.

Quote

Hubert: ...Very well. You have me beaten. I will tell you as much as I am able. From the assassins I've eliminated, to the gold I've spent on bribes...to the identity of the one I love.

What does Edelgard point out?

Quote

Edelgard: Wait a moment. Are you saying...you have romantic feelings for someone?

Which tells me the bribes and all that are things that she was most likely aware of.  Hence why it wasn't a betrayal.

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I find Hubert to be charming in his own way. He has a dry kind of humor at times - take his victory line, "You could have at least tried." He also had one of my favorite responses to

Spoiler

Jeralt's Death. "I've never been one for condolences." IMO this one is better on non-BE routes, the fact that he drops it right there comes across as absolutely hilarious.

Ultimately, I'm a fan of his manner of self-expression - both in what he says, and how he says it (Robbie Draymond hit it out of the park, Hubert's in my top 5 favorite voices in the game). I'm not going to say he's a good person, or even an especially dynamic character, but I really enjoy having him around.

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I like Hubert lol. He's a man who knows what's he's about. Upfront, no indecision whatsoever.

Sure he's an utter enabler, but so are the other retainers, honestly.

Edited by Crysta
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I'm also a really big fan of Hubert. It feels like he has the most interesting life outside of what we see in the game, it's fun having a dark mage vizier character on your team for a change, and his relationship with Edelgard is I think a bit more dynamic than any of the other retainers with their lords.

I don't really care that he comes off like an ass either - I find it really interesting that he never apologises for his personality or his priorities. It's cool to see a lot of characters (this happens especially to BE characters, but it's a general trend) get over their preconceptions about the world and open up, but some people just don't, and they don't care to. Hubert is one such character (there are others, like Linhardt, who also don't give a crap about what people think) and it's an interesting balance with the emotional arcs of other characters, especially the ones he supports with. 

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13 hours ago, eclipse said:

Actually. . .this is one of those things where it's shown, not told.

What does Edelgard point out?

Which tells me the bribes and all that are things that she was most likely aware of.  Hence why it wasn't a betrayal.

Tbh, I did take Hubert's wording ("From the assassins I've eliminated, to the gold I've spent on bribes...to the identity of the one I love.") in that support convo to mean that he was only listing off a few of his secrets and that he later tells Edelgard more that we don't actually get to hear. Which is why I said we don't know the whole story, we only know the small part of it we hear in that support.

Oustide of his Edelgard supports, it seems to me that Hubert's just not my flavor of character. His main appeal (pre-timeskip anyway) is his unapolagetic bluntness/not sugar coating his words, which I really don't care for. I can appreciate how others find it charming in a "lovable jerk" kinda way, though. But who knows, maybe his character development post-timeskip will change my opinion of him. I only just hit the timeskip yesterday but already he seems to have warmed up a lot to Byleth and the other Black Eagles. Possibly because he realized just how much Edelgard cares for them all, especially Byleth.

Edited by RainbowMoon
Realized that you don't need any Dark Seals to unlock Dark Knight class.
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4 minutes ago, RainbowMoon said:

Unfortunately I think I've missed the chance for all of his supports, but I'm considering un-benching him if I have enough Dark Seals to get him into Dark Knight.

I wasn't aware that any of his supports were locked to pre-timeskip (they might be, I just haven't heard that before).

Dark Mage is decent (Dark Bishop is fine too, but IMO not worth it), but regardless Hubert doesn't need Dark Seals or a specific class certification to get into Dark Knight, just a Master Seal like the other Master classes.

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I'm not a particularly big fan of Hubert's, but for me, his strongest moment actually comes in Verdant Wind.

Spoiler

In which, after his death, we receive a letter he wrote explaining all about TWSLITD, where to find them, etc. which I think shows him in a really good light. This shows foresight, humility, pragmatism, and even forgiveness. He isn't so blinded by hubris as to think his side will definitely win; he doesn't hold a grudge against the people who defeated him -- who defeated Edelgard -- but instead recognises that he prefers their vision for the future as compared with that of TWSITD. It's a great moment of humanisation for him in a route where he otherwise gets to show very little of it.

It's actually a really nice mirror to Claude's story in Crimson Flower, where he arranges things so that after he is defeated, the transfer of power is as bloodless as possible.

In a lot of ways, Hubert is Claude's dark mirror. Both are neck deep in plots and schemes and both hide a lot of their personal feelings behind a mask. The difference is that Hubert plays the role of an amoral sociopath, whereas Claude's role is more of a happy-go-lucky prankster. Sure, there's an element of truth to both personas, but neither one of them is the whole truth of who the person is.

It's almost a shame that they can never be in the same route, because they could have had some really interesting conversations and supports with each other. On the other hand, having them kept apart keeps the similarities much less explicit and more up for interpretation, and I appreciate that too.

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16 hours ago, eclipse said:

Actually. . .this is one of those things where it's shown, not told.

What does Edelgard point out?

Which tells me the bribes and all that are things that she was most likely aware of.  Hence why it wasn't a betrayal.

Or it could just mean that the part about Hubert having feelings for someone understandably stood out to her.

 

5 hours ago, haarhaarhaar said:

I'm also a really big fan of Hubert. It feels like he has the most interesting life outside of what we see in the game, it's fun having a dark mage vizier character on your team for a change, and his relationship with Edelgard is I think a bit more dynamic than any of the other retainers with their lords.

I think that right there is the main appeal of Hubert; ever wanted a Gharnef on your team (aside from having Sephiran in the very last mission of Radiant Dawn endgame on a second playthrough)? Now you can, and, in my opinion, it was worth the wait. 

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2 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

Or it could just mean that the part about Hubert having feelings for someone understandably stood out to her.

 

I think that right there is the main appeal of Hubert; ever wanted a Gharnef on your team (aside from having Sephiran in the very last mission of Radiant Dawn endgame on a second playthrough)? Now you can, and, in my opinion, it was worth the wait. 

That kind of sums it up right. In that respects, Hubert's kind of similar to someone like Iago. Minus all the shitty aspects of Iago mind you, but still.

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I like Hubert BECAUSE he is rude, an asshole. I find it endlessly hilarious. I also like how he can usually defrost himself when he needs to, which is why he is one of my favourite black eagles.

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Hubert has no qualities that would truly make me like him. But, he is the kind of character that I really like to dislike. You need bad people to make stories interesting, and his shade of black works as both an enemy as well as an ally. (As opposed to Fates' Peri, whom I just plain dislike.)

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It's interesting to hear everyone's different opinions on Hubert. It really goes to show how well-written the characters of FETH are that we can all share our thoughts on someone, whether it's Hubert or Edelgard or whoever, and everybody has their own unique take. Hubert isn't my favorite part of Crimson Flower, but now I'm glad the ol' sourpuss is there nonetheless haha

On 6/21/2020 at 11:25 AM, vanguard333 said:

Or it could just mean that the part about Hubert having feelings for someone understandably stood out to her.

This. Nobody would ever suspect that a hardass like Hubert would have feelings for anyone. Though it would've been nice to have an asexual character who still has supports with people (unlike Anna), just not romantic ones.

On 6/21/2020 at 8:54 AM, haarhaarhaar said:

I wasn't aware that any of his supports were locked to pre-timeskip (they might be, I just haven't heard that before).

Dark Mage is decent (Dark Bishop is fine too, but IMO not worth it), but regardless Hubert doesn't need Dark Seals or a specific class certification to get into Dark Knight, just a Master Seal like the other Master classes.

From this thread: https://forums.serenesforest.net/index.php?/topic/88696-time-locked-support-conversations-compilation-thread-minor-spoilers/

Spoiler

"With the notable exceptions of Alois and Gilbert, every character's C-support with Byleth is only available pre-skip"

Looks like I'll have to wait until NG+ to get his support chain. And yeah I realized after posting that Dark Knight doesn't need any Dark Seals. I'm not sure now about un-benching him though. There's only one spot left in my party and it's between him and Jeritza...

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1 minute ago, RainbowMoon said:

From this thread: https://forums.serenesforest.net/index.php?/topic/88696-time-locked-support-conversations-compilation-thread-minor-spoilers/

  Hide contents

"With the notable exceptions of Alois and Gilbert, every character's C-support with Byleth is only available pre-skip"

This is good to know, thank you!

2 minutes ago, RainbowMoon said:

There's only one spot left in my party and it's between him and Jeritza..

Hahaha yeah that sounds like a fairly easy choice if Hubert has been benched all this time.

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