I'll Be Going Now...

If she knew she'd die it would make Cloud's and the crew's guilt pointless. The whole point is that she didn't have to die, that's why Tifa thinks they might not have done enough and Cloud thinks he failed. If everything was predetermined, then all of this is meaningless.

It was meant to be a sudden tragedy. Besides it's not very flattering to her character at all. Knowing that the crew would be heartbroken and would feel guilty she should have warned them. In AC she should have told Cloud the truth not nudge him to seek forgiveness for a non existing failure.

So, no, I don't think it was ever meant for her to know she'd die.
 
I'm with noob. Aerith's death was explictly stated by the developers to avoid heroic cliches. It wasn't supposed to be a brave sacrifice, but a sudden and senseless loss that evokes a feeling of emptiness.

I think they did an excellent job in making Aerith's loss felt throught the game. There's always that extra spot missing on the menu screen. And certain parts of the game after her death are just surreal... like watching the tape that she'll never see of her parents. And at the Forgotten City, where they unlock the secret of the white materia, and realize what she was trying to do. Or just returning to her house late in the game and listening to her theme, still peacefully lilting on.
 
misbegotten_noob said:
If she knew she'd die it would make Cloud's and the crew's guilt pointless. The whole point is that she didn't have to die, that's why Tifa thinks they might not have done enough and Cloud thinks he failed. If everything was predetermined, then all of this is meaningless.

..Besides it's not very flattering to her character at all. Knowing that the crew would be heartbroken and would feel guilty she should have warned them. In AC she should have told Cloud the truth not nudge him to seek forgiveness for a non existing failure..
Click to expand...

The question is wether or not Aerith knew she would die, not if Cloud and Friends did. And there really is a big difference, even if it doesn't seem like it. Tifa feeling inadequate and Cloud's feeling of failure doesn't mean any less if she knew already because... they didn't. It is a completely natural human reaction even IF they knew it would happen. So no, for the purpose of the story it doesn't make that much of a difference if everything was predetermined because the end result would be the same.

As for keeping that kind of secret not being flattering to her character... I will have to respectfully disagree. IF she already knew she would die, I can completely see her keeping that kind of information from Cloud. He would very obviously do whatever he could to stop it from happening, and if she wanted that to happen then the dumbest thing to do is run off on her own. I see Aerith of being very capable of keeping that kind of secret.

Also, there really wasn't any time in FF:AC for Aerith to relay any message like that... and she definitely never "nudged" him towards guilt in the slightest, that was all on him.
 
I don't think Aeris knowing about her own death undermines the guilt felt by the party. That's the emotional resonance of sacrifice: the great cost in order to do something that must be done. Even if they had explicitly found out that she had meant to die, they still would have felt guilty that she had given her own life in exchange for theirs.

Why didn't Aeris, then, warn the party about it or tell them that she'd be okay? I think it's because they would have tried to stop her, in hopes that there would be another way. However Aeris knew that the only way would be for her own death - therefore the next best thing was to tell Cloud that she'd be back, and that it'd be alright.
 
I think she just said that so as not to have a negative attitude and to comfort everyone, nothing more, no resurrection no nothing. Later she just appears to Cloud in his mind to ease his pain and help him through a tough time, so that he can beat Sephiroth.
 
As it’s been said many times over, I agree that she might have known she would have to sacrifice herself in order to return her soul (spirit) to the planet... knowing that this was the only way to summons Holy and stop meteor. Then she would return back in spirit.

I also kind of agree with a different argument I heard a while ago… It was along the lines of Aerith knowing that she had to go to the City of the Ancients alone in order to summons Meteor (having no idea of the fate that awaited her). Once Meteor was stopped she would return to Cloud and Co... If that’s already been said, sorry... I didn’t read every post in this thread.

 Either way, it’s obviously tragic and whether she knew she’d die or not is certainly one of those things that are open to a lot of interpretation.
 
Aerith said:
Aeriths farewell to Cloud in the woods is a really important scene, and it connotes so much if you read between the lines,

"I'll be going now...I'll come back soon...When it's all over"

What do you think she meant? Do you think she knows shes gonna come back with a spirit body - as shown in AC?

I also believe this line is what sparked the flurry of "Aerith Resurrection" rumors.

How much did Aerith know? Did she know she was the only one capable of destroying meteor? did she know she was the biggest threat to sephiroth?
Click to expand...

Now if I remember correctly she was intune with the world. And she was the last of the Ancients. She had Holy the whole time with her but she believed it was broken or something. I think that she knew something that she held back from Cloud and the others. But what it was I have no idea.

I believe she could come back, Sephiroth did remember. So I think there is a way to come back. If there was to be another game like FFVII II you may look for a way to bring her back in some shape or form.
 
Who said she'd know what effect her death would have on the others? If I were in her position, I'd be a little caught up in the fact that my hours of life left could be counted on one hand.

But hey, that's just me.

Also, we never said she was a seer. Nothing indicates she ever was a seer or even possessed seer abilities. I trust Aerith knew what was coming, that the chances of her living were slim to none.

She just said this as a 'reassurance', if you will, that though she is dead, she does not cease to exist, but will always be with her friends. Of all people, Aerith would know what happens when you die. But it can be hard to make other people understand that as well. This was a laymans way of saying 'I've not faded into oblivion, I'm still here.'

...........I should think of something witty and funny right now, but nothing is coming to mind right now......

yarly.
 
She knew she held the power and knowlage to help prevent Meteor (remember Meteor hadn't been summoned yet) from appearing. She knew Sephiroth would want to get rid of her if he wanted to use the Black Materia and so accepted her fate that may or may not befall her. Essentialy she did get killed but not before her prayers were heared and Holy was activated. However because Sephiroths will in the Lifestream was so strong, he managed to prevent Holy from moving once Meteor had been summoned, and in the end it was too late. Aerith traveled the Lifestream and made it fight Meteor itself to save the Planet. Aeriths original plan to use Holy had been foiled but in death she managed to save the world.

StrifeC said:
I believe she could come back, Sephiroth did remember. So I think there is a way to come back. If there was to be another game like FFVII II you may look for a way to bring her back in some shape or form.
Click to expand...
That would be shit.
 
I always figured that she knew she was going to die and didn't tell the others because she knew that they would try to stop her; but she couldn't resist giving Cloud a cryptic goodbye as she was developing feelings for him.

She let herself be killed because Sephiroth and Jenova were blocking her prayers, but by letting herself become part of the Lifestream, that allowed her to summon Holy with less interference.

In regards to her "shocked" look when being impaled... it's either due to the primitive rendering of the FMVs or the simple fact that whether or not you expect to die, it's gonna effing hurt when you get a sword through the chest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top