I think the issue some people had with aqua is that she was defeated about five times in game and never had a real personal victory of her own making. She was consumed by darkness, was brought back by losing to sora, gave up when facing the heartless swarm, was knocked down suddenly by vanitas after wanting to prove how strong she was, and was subdued by terranort. Of course some of these moments have explanations, but not all. I love her but I wish she got the chance to prove herself a bit more
personally, i felt that her personal victories in 0.2 were enough from a narrative perspective, and i definitely didn’t view her losses in kh3 as demeaning.
the fact that aqua held on to her sanity after a decade in the realm of darkness is remarkable and speaks volumes about her inner strength. but she was undeniably exhausted both physically and mentally by the time that ansem SOD showed up and attacked her, enhancing her dark thoughts of feeling abandoned, betrayed, and beyond help.
it was only when she was on the verge of unconsciousness following her battles with riku and sora that she returned to normal, and i interpret this scene as an indication that aqua’s nature is not let her darkness overshadow her light for very long, even at her most vulnerable. it was proven in 0.2 and it was proven here. she needed someone to stop her from lashing out in that moment, yes, but darkness doesn’t have enough sway in her heart to change her forever. she would have eventually reclaimed her light on her own if no one had been there for her because when she sleeps, her darkness is quelled.
at the land of departure, sora himself said that aqua should have taken time to recover before heading out to wake ven, but aqua, as always, prioritized her family over herself. and still she DID win her battle against vanitas—so he resorted to trying to attack ven instead, knowing he couldn’t win fairly. aqua’s selflessness took control again to protect ven from vanitas’ attack, but that’s hardly a demonstration of weakness (like she wasn’t even knocked out, she got back up almost immediately). and i certainly don’t think SHE views that moment as a loss.
when was she subdued by terranort? i don’t remember this but i do need to rewatch a lot of stuff!
i absolutely agree, though, that her giving up when facing the heartless swarm was out of character and just bad writing, especially since she had just declared that they would all stand as one against the darkness. at the time when her loved ones needed a protector and a leader, she should have been at her STRONGEST. but i guess a contrivance was needed so “light would expire” or whatever. bleh
but yes, overall, i felt that kh3 did a great job portraying aqua as a victor over the trauma she’s endured. it makes me sad that others saw her only as a victim.
