Analysis of the GC Cutscene

Let’s start off with Innes. His is the most personal advice, because though he doesn’t name Ephraim by name, we all know who “his” refers to. Innes starts off with the reason why he wants to win, but that reason is very personal (not wanting to lose to Ephraim). Then, he advises his army to listen to him, establishing the expectancy that his army will listen to him to a T. In other words, Innes’s advice can be boiled down to “I don’t want to lose to Ephraim, listen to me and we’ll win”. This fits Innes perfectly because it a) shows his confidence in that he thinks his strategies will bring him victort and b) shows his controlling tendencies in that he essentially tells his army to follow his lead.

In contrast, Lyon’s advice doesn’t exude confidence at all, but rather the lack thereof. Lyon begins with an apology, and then tells his army that he’ll do his best. It’s not good to start off a speech with an apology because it sets the expectation that he’ll do something to disappoint them, which of course isn’t the most inspiring thing to hear. By apologizing to his army, he’s basically telling them “I’ll do my best, but I’m kind of a fuck up”, which speaks to Lyon’s lack of self-confidence and self-esteem.









Both Lyon and Innes gave advice centered around how the leader will lead. While Innes’s radiates confidence in his abilities and is really stifling, Lyon’s displays all his self-doubt and doesn’t inspire the people at all. Though they give off different vibes, both are essentially “this is how I lead”.





In contrast, Ephraim doesn’t use “I” at all. The closest he uses is “our” and the “us” in “let’s”, which refers to “him and his army”. Rather than address himself as the leader, Ephraim addresses himself as part of the collective. However, Ephraim is still establishing himself as the leader given the implicit rush in the “your preparations had better be complete” and that they shouldn’t slack off just because it’s not a real battle





What makes Ephraim different from the other two is that he addresses his army as a team. His advice boils down to just that: advice. He expects each person to do their own preparations and for each person to do their individual best, yet he still offers them advice in the implied “you should finish soon because the battle’s gonna start” and sets the expectation that everyone should give it their all even if it’s just for fun. Ephraim is still a leader that’s guiding them, but he also believes in the capabilities of each person and trusts them to do as they do. Not only is Ephraim leading, but he’s also inspiring, which speaks to the charisma Ephraim has that Innes and Lyon doesn’t.





Tl;dr: Ephraim is a good leader and it shows.