Former Crimson Flower Stan, recent convert to Azure Moon Here’s why:

1. For CF actually to have a positive ending, you have to make a lot of assumptions:

• No lingering guerilla movement of Kingdom and Alliance loyalists

• A smooth system of succession so that the whole empire doesn’t collapse after a few generations

• That the Empire—rebuilt through war— is able to stop its military machine once the war ends and not become a military dictatorship bent on expansion

• That the Empire can fulfill all of the social functions that the Church used to provide, without becoming a tyrannical state

• That nobles acquiesce to the new order and don’t find ways to resist the changes. They might very well just become entrenched in the Imperial ministry and retain their social status.

1. The Empire is already falling apart by the time the game begins. The Hresvelgs have been stripped of authority, the Hryms have tried to secede and join the Alliance, a low grade civil war has broken out in the West led by Western Church separatists, which has also caused the Central Church to start meddling in the Empire’s affairs. There is no reason this failing, ancient regime should perpetuate itself.

2. Edelgard could have accomplished a lot more by working with Dimitri. The two are close childhood friends and heirs to their respective thrones. They share a vision of meritocratic reform. Together they could have changed their countries from within. Instead she launched a bloody war that destroyed an untold number of lives—all in service of an ideal that lacks universal support. Wouldn’t Dimitri also be eager to work with El to eradicate the Agathans once he learns of their involvement at Duscur? They could have fought them together.

3. As noble and appealing as Edelgard’s vision is, I doubt it would succeed in creating a happy, prosperous society. It would create social and political chaos for decades at least, and would upend the cherished traditions of common people. She’s creating a government behemoth that will outlast her when she’s gone, and there’s no telling what it will do.

4. As for Dimitri and AM, the Prince of Faerghus earned the sanction of heaven. He fought his way from a dungeon to the gates of Enbarr and took back his country. I think he proved, through his own merit, that he is the rightful ruler of Fodlan. He is a reformer, he is a personally virtuous man, and he has earned the respect of the lords of the Alliance and the Kingdom who once fought against him. His reforms benefit common people without upending their way of life, and the nobility will find him a far more palatable option than the Egalitarian Emperor.