(Soilers) Grandchild favouritism still a mystery

[Cat]

I liked Chapter 5. It was nostalgic and sad but also enjoyable. My thoughts ranged from existential to melancholic. I think this is what I like about this game that it lets you experience old age and deal with the prospect of the inevitable that's soon to come. Being young one never thinks about death that they will have to face one day, or the crippling old age that can render you unable to do things you enjoyed the most.

As much as I enjoyed the chapter, I still don't understand Graham's choice of his heir. He has shown favouritism to his granddaughter from like ch1 and everyone thought that the game will clear it out but it didn't. We also find out that Gart and his mother stayed by his side, while Alexander and his daughter were away for a long time. So it's unclear why he favours his granddaughter so much while being so stern with his grandson. The only reason I see is that Gwendolyn loves listening to his adventures and he saw an adventureous streak in her. However, Gart seemed to want to become a king while Gwendolyn didn't really care about the crown. So, his reasoning for favouritism and choice of heir still seems to be unclear? Will the epilogue clear it out, I wonder?

PS: Could anyone explain the reasoning behind the last puzzle? It's like a magnet to me, how does it work?

[Antwon]

I think that throughout the years, Graham became a better judge of character than he was during his youth, and did not think Gart had the correct mentality/personality/mindset to be a good king. Throughout Chapter 4, we see Gart attempt to cheat his way to the throne by refusing to deliver Addendum 48677 (the one that makes it so the king may choose any PERSON to become king) to the department of addendums and being an entitled, spoiled brat during the dinner cutscene, which kind of shows us what type of person Gart is and helps us understand Graham's decision.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Antwon:

I think that throughout the years, Graham became a better judge of character than he was during his youth, and did not think Gart had the correct mentality/personality/mindset to be a good king. Throughout Chapter 4, we see Gart attempt to cheat his way to the throne by refusing to deliver Addendum 48677 (the one that makes it so the king may choose any PERSON to become king) to the department of addendums and being an entitled, spoiled brat during the dinner cutscene, which kind of shows us what type of person Gart is and helps us understand Graham's decision.

He wasn't like this from the beginning though. He was quite likeable at the beginning but became angry later on after his grandfather showed favouritism towards his cousin. I thought that storywise it was pretty clear that he became angry because Graham treated Gwendolyn much better than him. He became good at the end, after he got over the unfair treatment and making up with his cousin.

[Stray]

I thought he favoured Gwen because he favoured Alexander lol

[Cat]

Originally posted by Astranon:

@Cat, What last puzzle are you referring to? It would help if you were more specific about where you are in the game.

The last puzzle in Ch5, the one with many numbers. I know the reasoning behind it now.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Oz Cobblepot:

I thought he favoured Gwen because he favoured Alexander lol

Yeah it does seem this way.

[Doesnotcompute83]

I think the way TOG handled how Gart and Gwendolyen were being treated by Graham was done poorly as it seemed like there was going to be a good reason for Graham treating Gart the way he had without any real resolve - In one of the later chapters, we get to feel for Gart since Graham was clearly picking favorites.. What I mean is that in one of the chapters, Queen Vee/Neese said that Graham loves both his grandchildren equally, but shows it differently in his own way. However, throughout the series, we do not see this other way as well see Gwen being treated better than Gart even though Graham is FULLY AWARE of why Gart was being an ass in chapter 4 - Gart was angry that Graham was dying. However, Graham never showed why he was treating Gart the way he had, and made it like if Gart was the bad guy here when it was really Graham being a bias ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ the whole time. The more I think about the reboot, the more I hate it because of the problem the story overall has.

[Squirtle80]

Maybe I've been playing too much Crusader Kings II or watching too much Game of Thrones, but I'm glad this topic came up because I was thinking about that too. It's important to remember that Alexander left Daventry to rescue Cassima and bring her back. He didn't leave to go rule the Land of the Green Isles. That's why it was a big deal after the wedding where Caliphim asks Alex to assume the crown and Alex apologizes to Graham that he can't be the heir to Daventry he was supposed to be.

Much like her mother at the beginning of KQVI, Gwen was crown princess and heir to the Isles first. Gart is the grandson of likely immortal beings, so I doubt he would ever rule Etheria. For that matter, I don't think Edgar will rule either. So, from that perspective, Gart is the obvious choice as the heir to Daventry and he's been preparing for that role accordingly. Wars have been fought over being disinherited as heir to a Kingdom. If this were Game of Thrones, Gart would have been way more upset about the change in succession than Graham's impending demise and likely might have been expediting that process as well. Realistically, Etheria would have cause for war with both Daventry and the Land of the Green Isles all because Grandpa played favorites, although I'm not certain they'd actually care given their nature. The problem really is who is the future ruler of the Land of the Green Isles, who now should be Gart, unless Alex and Cassima have another child. Otherwise, they have a serious problem there as the Winged Ones, the Chess Board Queens, the Prince who used to be the Beast, or the Archdruid could possibly claim rulership.

[Doesnotcompute83]

Originally posted by Squirtle80:

Maybe I've been playing too much Crusader Kings II or watching too much Game of Thrones, but I'm glad this topic came up because I was thinking about that too. It's important to remember that Alexander left Daventry to rescue Cassima and bring her back. He didn't leave to go rule the Land of the Green Isles. That's why it was a big deal after the wedding where Caliphim asks Alex to assume the crown and Alex apologizes to Graham that he can't be the heir to Daventry he was supposed to be.

Much like her mother at the beginning of KQVI, Gwen was crown princess and heir to the Isles first. Gart is the grandson of likely immortal beings, so I doubt he would ever rule Etheria. For that matter, I don't think Edgar will rule either. So, from that perspective, Gart is the obvious choice as the heir to Daventry and he's been preparing for that role accordingly. Wars have been fought over being disinherited as heir to a Kingdom. If this were Game of Thrones, Gart would have been way more upset about the change in succession than Graham's impending demise and likely might have been expediting that process as well. Realistically, Etheria would have cause for war with both Daventry and the Land of the Green Isles all because Grandpa played favorites, although I'm not certain they'd actually care given their nature. The problem really is who is the future ruler of the Land of the Green Isles, who now should be Gart, unless Alex and Cassima have another child. Otherwise, they have a serious problem there as the Winged Ones, the Chess Board Queens, the Prince who used to be the Beast, or the Archdruid could possibly claim rulership.

Great comment! Like Dreamworks handling of Shrek 3, I don't think TOG thought it through when they made the KQ series as it made no sense for Gwen to be the next in line for the Crown due to her being the heir for another kingdom.

[LibreOffice Writer]

Okay, I won't address his choosing Gwen for the crown, because that decision was clearly not the best he's ever made. (Though I will add that it was weird that he was picking from his grandchildren instead of his children. At most Gart was, what, 14?)

What I do want to talk about is general favoritism.

It, sadly, actually does make sense to me that he would treat Gart more harshly than Gwen for 2 reasons. First, Gart has clearly spent more of his life with Graham than Gwen has. I've seen situations like that in the real world and the grandparent tends to be tougher on the grandchild because they feel more like they are raising them as a child, instead of just having fun with a grandchild who is visiting.

Second, I'm going to pull directly from personal experience. I only have one living grandparent, and it is my grandfather. He is very sweet to me (I am a girl) and *seems* a bit harsher with my brother. Grandpa loves my brother, though. It's just that, since they are both very typical boys, they don't communicate emotions very well with each other. They actually do get along and have even worked together on some projects, but it means that I can quite easily see how it might be more difficult for a grandfather and grandson to get along if they're both somewhat reserved and/or stubborn.

I don't believe the devs did the best job showing or explaining this dynamic between them, but considering all the things they got right, I didn't fault them too much for it. I think that Graham does care a lot about Gart (and vice versa), but, unfortunately, it just wasn't shown very much in the episodes.

[Squirtle80]

Originally posted by Mabel:

Okay, I won't address his choosing Gwen for the crown, because that decision was clearly not the best he's ever made. (Though I will add that it was weird that he was picking from his grandchildren instead of his children. At most Gart was, what, 14?)

It's not that unreasonable. Alexander is the King of the Land of the Green Isles and effectively renounced his claim to the throne of Daventry at his wedding:
"Father, I believe I'm needed here. Would you be disappointed if...?"
"You must follow your destiny, my son. You'll be a magnificent king, but dearly missed in Daventry."

Rosella is a different case. Given she's a human and not a faerie, it's highly unlikely she'd ever be Queen of Etheria. However, she was ineligible pursuant to Addendum 48677 specifying male inheritance. Now the amendment to that which enabled Gwen to be Queen could have allowed for Rosella as well, but clearly it was written for Gwen.

As for their youth, Valanice is still around as Queen Dowager and undoubtedly the court of Daventry has other advisors. It wasn't that uncommon for children to inherit thrones and have family members act as regents until they come of age. I do agree with you that either Rosella or Gart, as he had been groomed for the position, would have been better choices especially since Gwen was the heiress to the Isles already.

[Doesnotcompute83]

Originally posted by Mabel:

Okay, I won't address his choosing Gwen for the crown, because that decision was clearly not the best he's ever made. (Though I will add that it was weird that he was picking from his grandchildren instead of his children. At most Gart was, what, 14?)

What I do want to talk about is general favoritism.

It, sadly, actually does make sense to me that he would treat Gart more harshly than Gwen for 2 reasons. First, Gart has clearly spent more of his life with Graham than Gwen has. I've seen situations like that in the real world and the grandparent tends to be tougher on the grandchild because they feel more like they are raising them as a child, instead of just having fun with a grandchild who is visiting.

Second, I'm going to pull directly from personal experience. I only have one living grandparent, and it is my grandfather. He is very sweet to me (I am a girl) and *seems* a bit harsher with my brother. Grandpa loves my brother, though. It's just that, since they are both very typical boys, they don't communicate emotions very well with each other. They actually do get along and have even worked together on some projects, but it means that I can quite easily see how it might be more difficult for a grandfather and grandson to get along if they're both somewhat reserved and/or stubborn.

I don't believe the devs did the best job showing or explaining this dynamic between them, but considering all the things they got right, I didn't fault them too much for it. I think that Graham does care a lot about Gart (and vice versa), but, unfortunately, it just wasn't shown very much in the episodes.

Great comment. I think the issue is that TOG left Graham's attitude towards Gart a mystery even though it was hinted that there was a reason in chapter 3, which would be addressed by theh series conclusion, which never has.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Squirtle80:

Originally posted by Mabel:

I do agree with you that either Rosella or Gart, as he had been groomed for the position, would have been better choices especially since Gwen was the heiress to the Isles already.

I got the impression that Gart was groomed to become the king too.

[Doesnotcompute83]

Originally posted by Cat:

I got the impression that Gart was groomed to become the king too.

Not trying to be a prick, but it was mentioned in Chapter 4 by Rosella. She said something to the likes of Gart being groomed in Daventry to become the next king. Now that Gwen is the heir to the crown even though she is also heir to the Land of the Green Isles, Gart was screwed badly.

[Cat]

Originally posted by Doesnotcompute83:

Originally posted by Cat:

I got the impression that Gart was groomed to become the king too.

Not trying to be a prick, but it was mentioned in Chapter 4 by Rosella. She said something to the likes of Gart being groomed in Daventry to become the next king. Now that Gwen is the heir to the crown even though she is also heir to the Land of the Green Isles, Gart was screwed badly.

Oh right, she did too! Yeah idk how Gwen is supposed to rule 2 kingdoms and Gart can't even have the one he's been groomed for. Must be hard growing up being told that you will be the king one day and then having your future job given to your younger cousin for dubious reasons. I think any kid would be angry. Gart's anger wasn't out of the ordinary for such a situation.

[Doesnotcompute83]

Originally posted by Cat:

Originally posted by Doesnotcompute83:

Not trying to be a prick, but it was mentioned in Chapter 4 by Rosella. She said something to the likes of Gart being groomed in Daventry to become the next king. Now that Gwen is the heir to the crown even though she is also heir to the Land of the Green Isles, Gart was screwed badly.

Oh right, she did too! Yeah idk how Gwen is supposed to rule 2 kingdoms and Gart can't even have the one he's been groomed for. Must be hard growing up being told that you will be the king one day and then having your future job given to your younger cousin for dubious reasons. I think any kid would be angry. Gart's anger wasn't out of the ordinary for such a situation.

I think the way TOG handled chapter 5 was done poorly as Gart is made as a sympathetic character that did nothing wrong other than being a kid, whereas Graham not only showed his love towards Gwen, but also made her queen of Daventry without any real reason other than rub it in Gart's face and being a ♥♥♥♥. The problem with this is Graham's story is suppose to inspire Gwen to become a good person, but instead, his action would inspire her to not only be an inexperienced person who takes life lessions of fairy tales, but would also treat people unfairly.

We really didn't see Gart being a ♥♥♥♥ other than in chapter 1 where he had a cousin rivalry with Gwen, which normally happens between siblings who are close to another. Other than that, he is a normal kid who started to realize how Graham showed favoritism towards Gwen in later chapters to the point of being bummed about it. As for the letter he was to deliver, he didn't do it because he wasn't mad at the addendum, but he was angry that Graham did not tell his grandchildren that he was at his death bed.

Overall, I am not sure that this series is well received and may be like one of those reboots where it fades to obscurity with Activision doing another reboot.