The latest entry in the franchise, Final Fantasy 16, follows a lofty narrative of godlike Eikons and the various figures who embody them. It’s fair to say that the quality of this narrative has helped the game become a critical darling, reaching an 87 on Metacritic. While the narrative of two brothers (Clive and Joshua) is at the fore, Dion Lesage of Sanbreque has some of the game’s most interesting and compelling relationships.
SPOILERS AHEADDion is a son, a lover, a leader, a soldier, and has strokes of a surrogate father as well. Throughout the game, it’s relationships like these that help shape and define the land of Valisthea. It is the Medicine Girl's relationship with the world around her (and the player) that depict the lives of average citizens, while Clive Rosfield represents those who were wronged, Hugo Kupka represents the dark side of power, and more. Just like any character, many of Dion's actions and motivations are left open to player interpretation. Recently, however, Game ZXC spoke with Dion actor Stewart Clarke to get his interpretations of the Dragoon Prince, too.
Final Fantasy 16: Dion and Terence
As Warden and Dominant of Bahamut, Eikon of Light, Dion embodies the traditional image of a high-fantasy Prince, and the way his connections play into that image is central to his narrative. Perhaps the most significant of these relationships is with Dion’s lover and right-hand man Terence. The pair are the most direct depiction of a queer relationship in Final Fantasy to date, highlighting Dion’s role as the first openly gay main character in Final Fantasy.
“Terence and Dion were childhood friends, and that grew very naturally into something more. It seems like this only became a problem when Dion was elevated above Terence by rank and the military chain of command became something which separated them. There’s something beautiful about the fact that Terence found his way to becoming Dion’s right hand man, as it still allows them those moments of intimacy in the command tent where you can see the tenderness and love they feel for each other. Terence, desperate to protect Dion, Dion gently rebuffing him and putting the Kingdom above their own desires.”
This was but one of few moments of tenderness between the two. In particular, he highlighted a simple ‘thank you’ exchanged from Dion to Terence that, for a moment, sets aside the trappings of the chain of command and is, instead, unburdened from duty–just a man thanking his partner. That, said Clarke, was deeply meaningful to him. As was the final exchange between the two, late in Final Fantasy 16.
“They were able to capture so much of our facial work in that scene which was very gratifying as there was a lot of unspoken subtext!” he told Game ZXC. “Then they had to go and play Dion’s theme over the whole thing. Cue the waterworks!”
Final Fantasy 16: Dion's Relationship with His Father Sylvestre
One of the other most profound relationships Dion has, though far less warm, is the strained connection he has with his father, Emperor Sylvestre. Where Dion embodies the best of Sanbreque, his father has fallen far from those ideals, turning to darker inclinations. This is, in no small part, due to Sylvestre’s circumstances–both in confronting the Blight and the machinations of his wife Anabella Rosfield, among others. Still, the Emperor’s fall from Dion’s higher ideals strains what exists between them.
I’d say one of the most fun aspects to play from an acting perspective was his frighteningly passionate inner conflict in the scenes with his father, battling the hierarchy and honor he feels he has to uphold versus the very real instinct that his father has begun acting against the futures of the very people he is meant to serve … Dion’s relationship with his father is so tragic.
However, it's also clear that it wasn't always that way. The game hints at a more harmonious relationship between the two in the past, at least prior to Anabella's involvement, and it's clear how much Dion believes in the empire, in part due to his father. Dion appears to be many things, but his duty to his country comes first. But, this straining relationship with his father also comes at a cost where Dion, at one point, hoped the Emperor had fallen under the machinations of a more grandiose antagonist in Final Fantasy 16. If only that were the case, though.
He loves his father dearly and clearly respects the man he was, but as is the way in life, sometimes you have to acknowledge that the person you knew no longer exists and the new version is one you feel very differently about. A line that really hit hard for Dion was ‘For better or worse, His Radiance speaks his own mind.’ Imagine seeing your father succumbing to a dark path, and wishing you could explain it away with something as simple as malicious magic. Life is rarely so convenient.“
Final Fantasy 16: Dion and the Medicine Girl
The inconveniences of life reflect in one of Dion’s other most significant relationships, that being the one he forms with the Medicine Girl. The Medicine Girl is an instrumental character in Final Fantasy 16, despite her relatively small role, as she embodies those far below the station of characters fans tend to see from the perspective of a large cast. And for Dion, that representation of the average Valisthean is especially significant, Clarke explains.
“Medicine Girl reflects the countless people Dion was supposed to be protecting, when he ended up doing entirely the opposite. Seeing the reality of her life, coupled with the kindness she shows him is what allows Dion to continue into the final act. He was ready to die there in the Dominion, collapsed amongst the wreckage of a broken Kingdom. He can’t give back the lives he took (as evidenced by that beautiful shot of the lanterns and the mourners in Medicine Girl’s hut), but he can do right by at least the Girl who helped him directly, and do his best to ensure the survival of the rest of Valisthea, whatever the personal cost.”
Final Fantasy 16: Dion's Dedication
That dedication is core to Dion’s tragic nature, as it also prevents him from seeking the outcome that might make him truly happy. In the same way he put duty before Terence so often, he also put it before the Medicine Girl. Clarke doubts Dion would even dare to dream of what his life could be without this devotion to his obligations and the high personal costs it demands of him, especially given the physical demands being the Dominant of an Eikon costs, including ultimately choosing a path he doubts he’d return from.
It’s possible that in a better world, Dion could’ve found a family with Terence and the Medicine Girl, a brighter personal future than the one he ultimately pursues. But that would be a path belonging to a different sort of man, Clarke thinks. Dion stands as the Dominant of Bahamut and takes on his role with little caution for his own safety–something that wouldn’t be possible for a more family-oriented man. But that’s not to say Dion wouldn’t find the notion beautiful.
“I don’t think Dion would have allowed himself to think about having a family when his sole focus was serving the Empire. It might have put too much strain on his ability to Prime with little regard for his own safety. However, I think Dion and Terence would make wonderful fathers and in an ideal world they’d be incredibly lucky to have someone as endlessly kind and resourceful as Medicine Girl as their daughter! I have to imagine Terence has the wherewithal to get Medicine Girl far away from Twinside before the appearance of Origin, and with Dion or not, they are making the best of their life in the new Valisthea.”
Ultimately, Dion sending Terence to take the Medicine Girl to safety is who he is. That tragic role befits him both as a Final Fantasy dragoon and as the quintessential fantasy prince. It’s his role to make the sacrifice. These, too, would be lessons he likely learned from his father before Sylvestre fell to the dark side, and it's clear how much of the world Dion truly put before himself by the time the credits roll.
Final Fantasy 16 is available on PS5.
