Thinking about it, Elise's character had it all to be an "antagonist" or to be morally grey:
She had a tragic past, including the loss of beloved people to her (her parents). Their deaths affect her even 10 years after.
She had a somewhat "complicated" relationship with her father. In the game it is not directly established that she doesn't like him, but it is very clear that she holds complicated feelings about him . In the scene where she ressurects Sonic, she describes her father's plan to change time as a "sin". (also all my elise homies dislike the Duke so you get it)
Elise is lonely and sad, which is the easiest path to wake up Iblis.
Elise technically has lost everything, she lost her family and she is doomed to live a life shutting her emotions forever in order to protect her people.
When she met Sonic for the first time, she asked him "why was he saving her", implying that, people only care for her status as a princess, and she is not used to be cared for who she is. Or maybe that's my interpretation. She seemed very uninterested on Sonic in the beginning, while Sonic was flexing in front of her while killing Eggman's robots😎😎
The scene in the beginning where Elise has a vision of Iblis waking up and destroying the city, she appears flying, looking at the kingdom in a serious way. I think it's interesting that she's portrayed like that, instead of portraying her with an afraid look on her face . To me, it implies that Elise's knows that Iblis is inevitable and that there's nothing she can do other than accept such devastating fate.
I think it says a lot of her that despite all of this, Elise always stood for the good. She loves being a princess and she loves her kingdom, even if sometimes she wishes she could be just a normal girl. She has heroic traits as well, and in my opinion, is it one of the reasons why Sonic is interested in her, as Sonic himself is a hero and does good in a selfless way.
"It sounds like being a princess is not that easy"
He clearly shows admiration for Elise's strong will, and it definetly makes a contrast on Sonic's physical strenght. I think it's also interesting that in this game, Sonic helps Elise not only by rescuing her from danger, but also by listening to her, for trying to make her feel better and not judging her for having emotions that others might deem as "selfish" or "not proper from a princess". This is what makes Elise to take the right decision to blow the candle to go back in time, because thanks to him, she knows that they will always be friends even if they are apart, and that she always will make the right decision. She is princess, and Soleanna matters the most to her. She saved Soleanna and the world just like all of the other characters in her own way, by having a strong heart.
Say whatever you want about Elise "being a damsel on distress on the whole game", but narratively? Her being a princess is an important part of the plot, because if she didn't loved being a princess, if she didn't loved her people, Iblis would have destroyed the world years ago. (I do agree that the rescuing elise part could have been handled better at least on gameplay terms, but dismissing her importance as a princess to the plot and reducing her to a mere damsel in distress is so innacurate). It really takes strenght to be like that, and to be able to protect others.
stormborns
germansingergirl
