That was the entire point I was making: Rustal is NOT a benevolent leader, and he more than likely will never become one. However, because of the events of the series, Gjallarhorn cannot maintain their power structure any longer, meaning Rustal's victory is utterly hollow and meaningless and he can't do anything to change that.sdwoodchuck wrote: ↑Mon Apr 03, 2017 5:30 pmMurderous dictators do not become benevolent leaders just because "the public eye is on them." They don't become benevolent leaders because the social order is destabilized.
As for "idealized nonsense"...this is FICTION. I'm not saying that because I believe every work of fiction should end with the bad guys reforming and everyone living and puppies and rainbows and unicorn giggles. I'm saying that we watch fiction because it's DIFFERENT from the real world. If every TV show and movie worked like the real world, there would be no point to entertainment. That's why we suspend our disbelief and accept certain things that wouldn't happen in real life - and sometimes that means an ending that's optimistically happy. Because who wants to watch TV shows where the heroes die and fail in their goals and the world continues being a depressing, worthless mudpit?