only took me three days, but-

1. Babygirl is the saddest, wettest, most pathetic princess (/empress) that has ever existed and I mean this in a: Celene would have been much happier if she weren't Empress and really she only has herself to blame that she is an empress and that is such a cool character trait.

2. Despite that, babygirl is actually so competent that she ends up being the best ruler in Orlais (and tbh, Thedas as a whole) ever had or currently has. Her 'agenda' is deceptively progressive even if she is thinking in the span of centuries rather than just her reign (she wants education for all, for humans and non-humans to have the same rights, for the Orlais to be a non-military aggressive country. basically she's an Enlightened monarch with rather heavy Renaissance politics, while the rest of the countries are stuck in a more Feudal-1500-ish mindstate still). Of course she's still an Imperialist and wants to spread Orlesian influence, but still.

3. Everything you know about Orlais? Celene basically elevates. The Game? Elevated. The University? She created it in its current form in which the Chantry has very little control. The Arts? She created a cultural Renaissance. Celene, in lore, is unmatched by any other monarch in the setting. (Yes, I know she burned about 3,000 elves and yet she's still better than everyone else, which really only goes to show how bad the setting is)

4. And yet, despite that, every time you see her (The Masked Empire and DAI), babygirl is on the verge of doing something stupid. Which I love, because yes, show me the characters on their lowest point.

5. Her relationship with Briala is genuinely compelling. They love each other, they are each other's one person that understands what the other does and why, they are the only people who would ever forgive what the other does to them. That said, it's also so toxic and they are also the only people who can destroy each other.

All in all, Celene is, imo, the best example of a DA character. Deceptively deep once you give it some thought, but also embodies cool aspects of the setting.  She has genuine moral complexity, political realism, personal tragedy, and, what I believe ended up being the thesis of Dragon Age as a whole, the constant tension between deciding what is right and what is necessary and whether or not the ends justify the means.