#delites

First off, here's a list of the couples, in order of appearance:

Feenie/Dahlia (3-1) *

Doug/Dahlia (3-1)

Ron/Desiree (3-2)

Gumshoe/Maggey (3-3)

Tigre/Viola (3-3)

Mia/Diego (3-4)

Terry/Dahlia (3-4) **

Godot/Mia (3-5)

Phoenix/Iris (3-5) *

*I'm counting these as the relationship as it was presented at the time, as well as how Phoenix thought of the relationship. I'll get a bit more into the nuance of Dahlia vs. Iris later.

** This relationship is pretty upsetting in several ways and there's a lot that could be said about it. However, for the purposes of this meta, I won't be really getting into all of that fully, instead briefly discussing the thematic/interpersonal relevance.

There's at least one couple per case (typically two which contrast one another), and no matter how you count up characters, a minimum of 5 reciprocal relationships (meaning established couples, not necessarily reciprocated feelings). Every single one of these relationships has strong importance to the plot, and what's more, we see all of the characters alive onscreen and get to interact with them (with the exception of flashback couple Doug/Dahlia). This is a significant departure from the first two games. In PW, Larry/Cindy is important, and Yanni/Polly has relevance for motivations, but in both examples one of the characters is already dead, and they don't have impacts on other cases. In JFA there's a whole love triangle at the circus centering on Regina, as well as a different sort of percieved 'love' triangle in the final case involving Adrian. Neither of these actually show a reciprocal relationship onscreen, and while you could talk about the ways they contrast one another that's a different post. We get closest with Juan/Adrian and Maggey/Dustin, but again only one person is still alive in both those pairs by the time their cases start. (Granted, I'm not counting Larry's other infatuations or Oldbag's with Edgeworth in any of these metrics. But they have a very different feel, you know?) Even games released after this one don't have the same density of romantic relationships as far as I can recall. This game stands out.

As I said before, I think the reason why is clear: all these relationships reflect Phoenix. For the first time, a main character has a romantic relationship. Not only that, but the player character, the one the series is named after, and the one whose arc this game in particular is meant to tie up. Previous games centered far more around the Feys and Edgeworth's arc, and Phoenix grew in ways related to his relationships with both of them. And that's certainly still true, don't get me wrong, but T&T puts Phoenix's own personal feelings and motivations more front and center via the throughline of his relationship in college and the aftershocks thereof. This is why there are so many romantic relationships... and why they all reflect the central one of Phoenix/Dollie (meaning both Dahlia and Iris). The exception there is Miego, which is significant as well for the fact that this game's prosecutor/rival's entire motivation is tied up in a romantic relationship. And it still ties into some of the themes going on even if not as directly as the other couples.

I'm going to break this down couple by couple, going down the list chronologically by case. Then there's a final wrap-up at the end.

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Feenie/Dahlia

This is the catalyst. In the first case, we flash back to when Phoenix was Feenie: quick to fall in love, naive, willfully blind, very emotionally demonstrative, very emotionally vulnerable, dedicated... betrayed.

As far as Phoenix understands his relationship, it was one of deep and real love. The person he knows could never have done the things she's accused of. The person he knows loves him back. Phoenix is willing to take the fall for her even when all the evidence points Dahlia's way, even when she seems to be turning against him, because he believes so completely in the person he knows. He's even willing to destroy evidence to save her. But finally, by the end of the trial, he's forced to surrender to the facts. They don't match up to his perception, and the conclusion we (players on their first playthrough as well as the characters themselves) have to draw is that Phoenix was wrong all along. He was fooled; Dahlia used him and then tried to get rid of him when his usefulness ended. She never cared about him at all, and in fact hates him. She thinks he's an idiot.

This has lasting scars for Phoenix. He is far more closed-off after this case, far more prone to hide his feelings, or at the very least be less demonstrative. He develops a deep hatred for two things: betrayal, and poison. And it seems pretty clear that he has a harder time trusting people, at the very least in a romantic capacity.

In terms of some specific details that later on get echoed: Phoenix fell in love at first sight. His partner lied to him, and he didn't realize for a long time. She tried to poison him. Even when he had lots of evidence, he couldn't bring himself to confront the truth for quite a while.

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Doug/Dahlia - BAD END 1

This relationship is the only one in the entire game where we don't get to see and interact with both characters. Nonetheless, this is an important early contrast to Phoenix/Dahlia, in two significant ways.

First, Doug realized Dahlia was up to something, and he broke off his relationship with her. He was able to look past his feelings to become suspicious of her.

Second, Dahlia killed Doug. When he tried to stop her from hurting someone else instead of just keeping his distance from her, he paid the ultimate price.

Doug's entire story is a look at "what could have been" if Feenie had been less trusting of Dahlia in the beginning. But it's a bad end. Doug never came forward about what he suspected Dahlia had done to Diego, possibly because he felt complicit given the poison was his creation (an early parallel to Iris); when he did try to help the second time around, he fatally failed.

Doug trusts evidence over emotion, unlike Phoenix who believed in 'Dollie' till the end. He is at once a cautionary tale of how Phoenix could have been killed by her (/representative of Phoenix's love being 'killed'), and also a kind of model to trust the facts over your feelings. Their relationship reflects Phoenix's feelings of betrayal and reluctant acceptance of the verdict immediately after his trial. As such, it's fitting that we see this couple at the same trial - it represents Phoenix's initial trauma and pain.

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Ron/Desiree - IDEAL END

There's already a really fantastic meta about how the Delites parallel Feenie's relationship by @eggpngg, and I don't want to just retread all of what she said. Please go read that post instead - suffice to say, there are parallels between both Phoenix=Ron + Dahlia=Desiree, and Phoenix=Desiree + Dahlia=Ron.

I do, however, want to add on slightly. Just as Doug/Dahlia was a "bad end" for Phoenix, this is a different kind of 'what could have been' scenario. In this case, it's the ending he hopes for. The partner who was lying (Ron/Dahlia) was revealed to have been doing so out of love all along, and was innocent of murder. The partner who fell in love at first sight (Desiree/Phoenix) had their affection returned and their faith in their partner rewarded in the end. Though there were still lies and betrayal, everything turned out okay in the end and they were stronger than ever.

The Delites represent the kind of relationship Phoenix hoped for. They are his last kernel of uncertainty about the trial, the part of him that stubbornly, even after so long, can't help but think about how different the Dollie he knew was from the Dahlia he saw on the stand. It's his wistful daydreaming and doubting, something he wanted but never got. This would be a recurring dream in the time shortly after the trial, as Phoenix dwells on his college relationship.

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Gumshoe/Maggey - HOPEFUL END

Gumshoe's affections for Maggey aren't returned. In fact, she feels as though he has betrayed her when his testimony is unhelpful, and is angry at him for most of the trial. However, they are both good people who care about others. Maggey's anger is based on a misunderstanding, and by the end of the trial, Gumshoe's earnest affections and dedication to her is able to reach her. She may not feel the same way, but their relationship isn't broken. And there's hope that she may return his affection in the future (the gifted trenchcoat).

Maggey is Phoenix in several ways: accused of murder, feeling betrayed. But Gumshoe is Phoenix too: he believes in the person he loves, she doesn't love him back, he investigates and learns the truth for her sake. This time around, no one is really playing the role of Dahlia/Iris. Instead, both parts of this couple still represent a better outcome Phoenix wishes could have happened for himself.

However, once we are looking at them purely in terms of metaphor for Phoenix's relationship, Gumshoe/Maggey as a couple is asking for a lot less. Phoenix has over time given up on the idea of a true happy ending like the Delites got. Maybe it's true that Dahlia never loved him. Maybe it's been long enough that he's almost okay with that. But what if she weren't truly all that bad? What if she at least weren't a killer - what if he could have saved her? It's still a hope... just a smaller hope, something more tempered. Phoenix eventually moved on from still being in love with his Dollie; at the same time he never quite got over hoping she truly was the person he knew.

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Tigre/Viola - BAD END 2

In the same case that we see Gumshoe/Maggey as a kind of softer hope, we get this couple as a harsh, even brutal, reminder of the reality of how Phoenix/Dahlia turned out. Tigre/Viola are sharply divided in who they represent, for the first time. There isn't any mixup between Phoenix mirroring both people in the couple, or even between Dahlia/Iris really. Instead, for the first time, Iris/Phoenix both share a representative. But I'll get to that in a moment; first, Tigre.

Tigre is firmly Dahlia. His only callback to Iris is when he impersonates another person to cover up his own crime - and that could be seen as relating to Dahlia too, given she later impersonates Iris. Tigre was the first one to approach his partner and initiate a romantic relationship, in an attempt to avoid consequences for a crime he had just committed (car crash/poisoning Diego). He stayed with Viola out of a fear of the consequences catching up to him, but despite her devotion, he looked down on her. Tigre even insulted her as soon as the jig was up, much like Dahlia expressed contempt for Phoenix once she was no longer pretending to love him. Tigre's weapon of choice was poison, just like Dahlia. And just like Dahlia, he used someone's love for him to help him get away with a murder he'd already committed.

Meanwhile, Viola is an amalgam of both Phoenix and Iris (and someone else, but I'll get to that later). She is Phoenix, once again, in that love at first sight. In trusting and believing her partner even against her own doubts. However, this time, that trust isn't warranted, and she's eventually forced to confront that fact. She is betrayed and injured by the one she loves... and all because she just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time (car crash/courtroom meeting). She's also Iris - despite knowing what she's doing is wrong, despite knowing Tigre is a murderer, she loves him and wants to protect him from being arrested, so she impersonates someone else (Viola faking being a waitress poisoning someone/Iris being 'Dollie' ).

This bad end comes later for a reason. Because Phoenix has to be the one to help Viola face the truth about Tigre. He's very gentle about it too, guiding her along with evidence in a Psyche-Lock conversation as he says things like, "But do you honestly believe that to be true?" and "Do you want to know what I think...?" leading into him asking her if it's possible Tigre is only with her because he's scared of Bruto. Phoenix doesn't often talk this way. He isn't usually callous or anything, but he generally speaks confidently when presenting evidence, making statements as opposed to questions. But in this moment, he just gives Viola the option gently. He leads her to the truth, just like he was led in his own trial - but not forcibly (unlike his trial). He's obviously empathizing with her feelings in this moment of horrible acceptance.

And then comes this exchange:

Viola: I wanted to believe him... I wanted to trust what Don Tigre said... He said it had nothing to do with my grandfather being Bruto Cadaverini... I wanted to believe he helped me because he cared about me. Not about my grandfather... But I knew... That wasn't really true... Maya: Wow. I'm so sorry. Viola: What he did to get the money was... It was... evil! Phoenix: ...! Viola: He said it was all for me... So I... I helped him...

Viola hands over her medical records, and as soon as she leaves, Phoenix exclaims, "It's inexcusable!" out loud, before going on to think, "(There are two things that I consider inexcusable. Poisoning, and betrayal! Only a coward would hurt people using either of these tactics.)" He's obviously visibly upset, because Maya asks if he's okay. And then right after this, when they meet Tigre, Phoenix gets so angry at him. In the second game, Phoenix mostly got over his tendency to show vital evidence to murderers and reveal his hand too soon, seeing as it never worked out for him (White, von Karma). But he does it again here, and the only reason the evidence isn't stolen from him is because of Gumshoe stepping in. Tigre demands the medical records back, and Phoenix shows them just to tell Tigre he won't be getting them. He brings up the betrayal of Viola's trust. He swears that he'll convict Tigre. It's no longer just about defending Maggey - Phoenix wants revenge this time.

And that's the big difference between this bad ending and the last one. Doug represented the pain Phoenix felt in the immediate aftermath. Viola represents the anger Phoenix feels when all is said and done. The hatred he has for Dahlia, the desire to confront her and get revenge for how much she hurt him. Viola isn't dead like Doug in the aftermath; instead, it's heavily implied that she poisons Tigre in prison, acting out the kind of revenge Phoenix wants to have. (But using a method he considers cowardly and would never do, foreshadowing how revenge isn't his primary motivator even when he gets the urge.)

This is also foreshadowing for Phoenix's urge to defend Iris later on. By merging Phoenix and Iris's roles together here, instead of Iris/Dahlia, Viola opens a path to putting them on the same side for the first time. Thematically we are shifting towards Phoenix/Iris reconciliation and Phoenix/Dahlia enmity, just in time for things to all start fitting together.

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Mia/Diego - HOPEFUL BEGINNING

This brings us to the next flashback. Miego stand out among all the other couples in the game, because they actually hold nearly an equal share of narrative weight as Phoenix/Dollie. Their relationship is key to Mia's hatred of Dahlia (which lead to her and Phoenix inspiring one another), as well as motivating everything Godot does after he wakes up from his coma. As such, Mia and Diego don't quite reflect Phoenix's relationship in the same way that all the other couples do. Instead, they hold their own. In fact, some of the other couples reflect them as well, though to a lesser degree that more concerns things echoing what happened to Diego (e.g., an entire case revolving around poisoned coffee).

However, the difference between Miego when they're both alive, and the state of affairs in the present time, is a distinct contrast as well. Miego in 3-4 aren't a couple yet. Instead, their relationship is something hopeful, something that develops out of a comradery and dedication to the truth/justice. Every couple in this game has a relationship that is hurt by lies or misunderstandings. Miego and the Delites are the only established couples where those secrets are entirely about helping the other person, and were forgivable without costing the relationship. Yes, Diego meeting up with Dahlia ends up putting him in a coma and their relationship isn't resumed after that, but we don't see any evidence of Mia resenting him for continuing to work on the case, or anything like that.

Of course, none of that happens yet - that's for later, chronologically in between 3-4 and 3-1. During this trial, Mia and Diego's relationship is most importantly one of equal partners, both supporting and encouraging one another.

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Terry/Dahlia - BAD END 3

Every time there are two couples in the same case, they contrast one another, as well as represent one good/bad possibility each. Everything about the Terry/Dahlia relationship is completely different from Mia/Diego.

Miego are just beginning; Terry/Dahlia are finished both as a couple, and also never going to see one another after this. Mia and Diego both want the same things, and work together to get them. In their initial relationship, Terry wanted love, Dahlia wanted money, and she actively sabotages him. When they met again, he wanted the truth while she worked to hide it. Miego are partners. Diego is a bit older, and more experienced than her initially, but they're both adults, clearly mentally on a level and even over the course of just this one trial he begins to start working with and supporting her as an equal rather than a subordinate. Contrast that to the many layers of inequality in Terry/Dahlia, from the pedophilic age gap (20/14) to Dahlia's cleverness vs. Terry being portrayed as slow/possibly disabled (a not-so-great portrayal to say the least), to him being her teacher and her his student, etc.

This relationship of course culminates with both possible bad endings Phoenix later avoids in his trial: Terry refuses to admit the truth that Dahlia betrayed him, and dies from drinking poison on the stand. Phoenix comes alarmingly close to both outcomes, but manages to escape physically/legally unscathed despite the trauma he experiences.

Neither of the couples in this flashback case directly correspond to Phoenix's recovery from/emotions about his relationship with Dahlia after the fact. That makes sense given that it is a flashback set before he even was in said relationship. However, they both represent one final "what could have been" contrast, one Phoenix learns about when he is in the hospital, preparing to defend Iris in court. Before he learns the full truth of the matter, he gets one final look at how things could have gone for him. Either a supportive partnership (what he wanted, but which could never happen with Dahlia), or a dismal end (what he nearly got).

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Godot/Mia - BAD END 4

The thing is, as soon as he learns about Miego, Phoenix realizes who Godot is. And while he may not instantly know that he was the one who killed Misty and why, as soon as he knows Diego's identity, seeing Godot prosecute Iris has got to be ringing alarm bells. Godot at the very least could be drawing the same connections between Dahlia and Iris as Phoenix. (In fact he's way ahead of him for a while.)

Mia/Diego doesn't get to remain a simple "what if" of a happy couple for Phoenix. As soon as he realizes who the people involved are, he knows they ended in tragedy as well. But Godot's storyline doesn't represent a possible bad end for Phoenix/Dahlia back in the day anymore. Instead, his actions which lead to 3-5 are a continuation of what we saw with Viola/Tigre in 3-3. We're picking back up on Phoenix's current-day emotional arc, and Godot is following in Viola's footprints in one very specific way. He is obsessed with getting revenge on Dahlia (remember, Tigre = Dahlia. As I said, that distinct split there was significant in multiple ways, and Viola parallels one more character).

And Godot is the final bad ending. Sure, he gets his revenge... but it's at a terrible cost. A cost that both he and others are forced to pay. This is what comes of being more focused on the anger and pain you feel, instead of moving on and focusing on the people you still have. The comparison can go even farther because just like Phoenix always has a client he is protecting, Godot was 'protecting' someone in Maya. The plan that he/Misty/Iris use is bonkers and not the best way to keep Maya safe at all, but as @queergodot said once, that's kind of the point. It makes sense for all three characters, and for Godot specifically, it's clear that his drive to protect Maya got twisted up in his wish to be the one who protects her (a different thing than making sure she is protected) and of course his hatred of Dahlia and desire for revenge. Godot/Mia in the final trial is the counter to Phoenix/Iris in the same trial, because once again we have a bad end and a better one.

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Phoenix/Iris - TRUE END

Phoenix finally learns the truth at the end of the game. His intuitions/hopes were never wrong, exactly: the woman he loved wasn't the Dahlia revealed to him in the courtroom. Iris loved him back, and would never have tried to murder him. And yet, the betrayal he felt was just as real. Iris knew what Dahlia was up to and willingly went along with it. She lied to Phoenix for their entire relationship, and then was too afraid to admit the truth to him in all the years since. Just like Doug, her inability to admit to her complicity in her first crime with Dahlia put her in danger later.

Phoenix learning the truth and protecting Iris is the better end than what happens to Godot and Mia, but it's not a good ending. It's at best hopeful, and if we take the following games into account it's clear they never resume any kind of romantic relationship after this. That's not really any surprise, though. If we follow the 'good ends' leading up to this point, they have been getting less and less hopeful for that. It's been years, and Phoenix is no longer in love with Iris. But he still cares deeply for her, and for what they had. This 'true ending' is most importantly closure for him. It marries together the evidence/facts of the case with what Phoenix's intuition/heart always said. He wasn't wrong to doubt; he also wasn't wrong to accept the facts. Everything makes sense now, everything is out in the open, and he can finally move on.

Phoenix and Iris somewhat contrast Mia/Diego in this final case, by being on the same side. It isn't immediate, far from it... for a long time Iris refuses to fully cooperate despite allowing Phoenix (well, first Edgeworth) to defend her. But she does agree to be defended, she listens to Edgeworth's request that she tell Phoenix the truth, and later does in fact do so as much as possible without betraying Godot, before finally being ready to tell him all after the trial is over. In contrast, Mia and Diego are literally on opposite sides of the courtroom; as soon as they begin to work together even somewhat it's the 'death' of Diego as it leads right to what he did, whereas Iris cooperating helps Phoenix win the case. When Diego finally admits the truth, it's an admission of guilt, not innocence. Neither pair are exactly a team of in-sync partners like Miego were in 3-4, but Phoenix and Iris at least come closer to having a 'positive outcome' (though honestly, the death of Godot and resuming the identity of Diego is much healthier ending for his character than escaping repercussions would've been).

Really though, far more than 3-4 (generally more of an outlier case), both of them follow 3-3 better. Phoenix could have gone down the same route as Viola (is implied to have) and Godot did, becoming wrapped up in revenge. But just as, even in the midst of his anger, he felt so much compassion for Viola helping Tigre out of love, so too does his compassion for Iris win out over his anger towards Dahlia. This is what shifts Phoenix away from the track leading to a final bad end, and instead lands him on something much closer to the resolution of Gumshoe/Maggey from the same case. While Iris is actually guilty of crimes other than murder, and so doesn't walk free at the end like Maggey did, she's not guilty of the crime of trying to kill Phoenix, the most central one to their destroyed relationship. In the end, just like Gumshoe/Maggey, the misunderstanding is cleared up and they end on positive terms. In the final visit to the Iris in the detention center, there's even a hint that he may still have feelings for her, just like we got a hint that Maggey may feel something for Gumshoe. Neither turns into anything in this game (and indeed ever, for Feenris; I believe there's room to read into Magshoe in AAI but it's still not like a confirmed thing), but they don't really need to, because that isn't the point.

The point is that closure. The truth. And choosing compassion over anger. That's the final culmination of Phoenix's arc, and while it does result in Dahlia losing one final time and that's very satisfying, the most important thing is reconfirming his dedication to truly protect people and ensure justice. Justice, not revenge, even when the lines may start to get blurry between the two.

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Wrap-Up

Phoenix loved Dollie, and was betrayed horribly. In the immediate aftermath he felt deeply hurt (Doug/Dahlia), though a part of him still longed for it all to have been a mistake and for things to end happily (Delites). As time passed, he eventually got over being in love, but still couldn't completely let go of the idea that she hadn't been evil (Gumshoe/Maggey). At the same time, the pain he felt slowly transitioned into anger for all she'd put him through (Viola/Tigre). Finally, he learned the further truth and saw how much more was lost than he ever knew (Mia/Diego) as well as how much worse things could have been for him (Terry/Dahlia). He learned the last missing piece of the story and gained closure at last, choosing compassion (Phoenix/Iris) over revenge (Godot/Mia).