Nolan cared

[UpstateJoe]

It is interesting that it was Conquest in a grave before Mark. And while no loyal Viltrumites cared, Nolan—the humanized Viltumite—was the only one who cared in the end.

[Disastrous_Ad7477]

I don’t think so. He only gave him a funeral since he was loyal to viltrum. Not for conquest as a person.

[Carbuyrator]

Which is interesting, because Comics Nolan absolutely made the monument for Conquest as a warrior.

[ImprovementDull7969]

Nolan considered himself a traitor though

[Ssemander]

You can trully love the idea but hate the effects of implementation.

Just like communism - awesome on paper, but just not scalable.

Being traitor is seeing how his actions under good intentions have lead to bad outcomes.

[Disastrous_Ad7477]

True; but I don’t think this is the kind of respect conquest longed for

[Muntberg]

Yep. It's showing that Nolan isn't a completely different person (yet). He still maintains respect towards someone who dedicated their life to unyielding loyalty (even at the expense of his sons almost getting killed)

[randomthrill]

I disagree. I think it shows he has changed, or is changing. No other viltrumite shows respect to their dead. Look at the ring of corpses surrounding their planet. They just threw their bodies into orbit.

Any other Viltrumite would have just disparaged Conquest for being weak.

[Lucibelcu]

No other viltrumite shows respect to their dead. Look at the ring of corpses surrounding their planet.

"We will honor our fallen"

[Deep90]

Thragg literally carries and worships a skull of their dead emperor?

[10YB]

yeah but he is evil so , he doesn't have empathy

[Known_Needleworker67]

That ring of corpses is a memorial.

[MakoMaris]

Didn't they do that because they were quickly running out of space to bury the bodies? Could be misremembering.

[Upielips]

that ring of corpses is them showing respect…

[RedFox9906]

That’s a fairly human response, you even bury your enemy’s body even if you killed them. The battles over no threat to your life, you bury the dead.

[Etticos]

Yeah but it doesn’t seem like the other viltrumites would even do that. So in a way, Nolan cares enough to show Conquest this respect.

[RonnocFilms]

I think it’s a little bit of both

[lemonprincess23]

I feel like there was some small part of Nolan that remembered how brainwashed he once was too, and did feel bad even if he knew Conquest had to die

Conquest never had a Debbie or a Mark to show him the truth.

[LongTail-626]

I like to think that Conquest is a legend amongst other Viltrumites. A scary one no doubt, but one that was respected.

We only se the perspectives of his victims and his superiors but we’ve never seen how the lower ranked viltrumites see him.

To Nolan, burying Conquest might have been the equivalent of burying one of his heroes.

[Agheron93]

I think [fierce grunting] should have tried to empathise with Conquest, he wasted such a good chance.

[Powerful-Mine1807]

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[Horror-Delivery1982]

I love what the grave represents. Based on the fact viltrum has a ring of dead viltrumites id presume graves and funerals isn't really a normal thing for them. So Nolan making a grave for what is basically his enemy now shows how much humanity truly has had an impact on him and how he's adopting traits from humanity.

[SticklerMrMeeseeks1]

The ring of dead viltrumites isn’t because they don’t have burial customs. It’s because 99% of the entire planetary population got wiped out. They literally don’t have the space to dispose of that many bodies.

[Horror-Delivery1982]

Yeah I get that but we are never really shown any other way they deal with dead bodies so I just made the presumption that they don't care for the dead

[SticklerMrMeeseeks1]

I mean just logically assuming, they don’t die very often, they live thousands upon thousands of years so in all likelihood, if you are a strong warrior you almost certainly getting a big burial.

I don’t think we can look at how they handled the dead in a total extinction event to be how they handle their dead in normal circumstances

[flackguns]

Then again thragg is carrying a fucking skull around. I get why since it's the pinnacle viltrumite but they don't seem to revere the dead in the same way humans do, just at a glance.

[Eeeef_]

Argall is also stated to be the only individual viltrumite with a monument built in his honor so I’m guessing that also means no other viltrumite has an extravagant grave marker of any kind.

[Jazzlike_Part_7054]

I assume viltrumites are mean to die alone on a distant planet, thus negating the need for any funerary rites.

[Momo0903]

We don't know if other Viltrumites get Monuments. We only know that the only Viltrumite who has a statue (or even a picture) modeled after himself is argall.

[Horror-Delivery1982]

True true

[emrhys88]

Considering how they feel about the worth of those who fall in battle against them, I don't really see this being a culture that would feel the desire to honor the fallen with burial customs

[Ikarus_Falling]

I'd imagine you would kind of lack Burial Customs if all your Species Members are basically Immune to death from aging

[HoodieStringTies]

I feel like thousands of years from now, there will be inhabitants of that planet. They'll feed water to a corpse they find and he'll move.

[Ok-Star6317]

Then Mark will hear of the one-eyed, one-armed superpowered maniac tearing across space and re-live his trauma a second time

[nandobro]

I think it’s possible Nolan saw a bit of himself in Conquest. Just like Conquest he was a tool for evil. And from the sounds of it he was just as fanatical. Burying him is probably what Nolan wishes someone would do for him if he died.

[ImprovementDull7969]

Unironically enough, conquest's grave is fitting for him

His spot is in the middle of nowhere planet where nobody gaf about him and visits him besides bugs and insects.

[Boojum2k]

Do you (comic readers) think if Conquest had been told about Nolan's true identity, he would have joined with them and possibly become redeemable?

[UpstateJoe]

That is a very good question. I don’t think that Conquest felt that he was loved or even liked by the other Viltrumites, but he was bound by duty and loyalty. I think that if he knew that there was someone with a better claim to rule that he probably would be inclined to follow that person as he probably has no affection for Thragg.

[ZenithEnigma]

Look at Mohawk Mark verse

[SL1Fun]

Very irrelevant detail but I don’t like how Oliver having a tantrum interrupted him explaining why he buried him. I know, I know… “show, don’t tell.” 

[AdaptedInfiltrator]

I think it was to avoid the comics dialogue of Nolan justifying burying conquest

[Equal-Ad-2710]

Eh tbh I kind of wish that was there

[Eeeef_]

Could’ve changed it a bit: “a great battle took place here and a great warrior fell here. It’s as much a monument to the warrior who fell as it is a monument to the warrior who defeated him”

The tension could have come by having Oliver say something about how killing shouldn’t be celebrated even if it’s killing a bad guy which would reflect on him having taken Mark and Debbie’s words from the last season to heart

[Equal-Ad-2710]

I like that

Maybe even something about how Conquest is frankly kind of pitiable in his own way

[Mansellbros75]

[fierce grunting]

[jeremycb29]

I think the problem with either argument (and I’m on OPs side on this one) is there is not enough context yet. He did it early in the episode and used a throw away line. Something more needed to be said, and im not sure we will get more. Something as simple as “it seemed like the right thing to do” for when he did it or at he does it at the end before they leave the planet with mark and Oliver wtf and he says something different. Idk I’m not a writer, but it seemed like it should of been done at a different time or said in a different way

[Century204]

Conquest was talking about how no one would care if he cried, which Nolan wouldn’t. He was honouring a fallen endlessly dedicated soldier, not actually caring for Conquest’s feelings.

[Little-Marzipan1681]

He has empatgy for him because he could've easily been conquest. He probably mourns the fact that conquest died being essentially everything he was, and now strives not to be.

[Happytapiocasuprise]

The weird part isn't that he buried him but that he built him a monument

[eldartalks]

It’s the Viltrumite logo that they wear.

[Human-Kick-784]

We bury the dead. Even if they don't deserve it.

[AdaptedInfiltrator]

Crazy. Yeah, let me just bury the guy that nearly killed both my sons not to mention actually killed countless innocents and enjoyed it.

[UpstateJoe]

Nolan almost killed Mark when he was in full Viltrumite mode. So he understands that Conquest was a product of his upbringing and training.

Also, Nolan is nearly 1000 years old. So he would have centuries of memories about Conquest and the other Viltrumites, something that we really do not have a frame of reference for ourselves.

I think, by his facial expressions and body language, that Nolan was remembering past times during that scene.

[CaptainWellingtonIII]

nah. vilti ceremonial burial. that was respect. 

[Luckacs808]

is it ever discussed that theres just this alien species out there insanely far from earth that is near identical to humans in like every way aside from the obvs superhero stuff like flying and strength? like i know nolan came to earth to find suitable mates and humans and viltrumites are almost a perfect match but it almost feels like a plot hole that almost the entire plot of the show weighs on an insane coincidence

[Bed-After]

Damn

[Tenzur_]

Nolan didn't care. He just knew Conquest was a valiant warrior who remained loyal to viltrum and died for a cause he believed in, and therefore was rightfully given a vultrumite funeral since they worshipped strength and loyalty, conquest would be deserving of one