BehattedWanderer said:
Avatar Roku said:
BehattedWanderer said:
I agree, though it seems that it's the topic that's never brought up. All that's ever discussed is the Nordic racism, not the Elven. The Thalmor and their xenocidal tendencies can suck it, I say. Any way I can deal them a blow, then I do so.
Problem is (and also why I think the narrative of Skyrim is so well done), both paths could be said to help and hurt the Thalmor. Help the Imperials and the Thalmor keep their puppet but the Empire itself is strengthened for the inevitable war between them and the Thalmor. Help the Stormcloaks and the Thalmor lose their foothold in Skyrim (who may become strong enough to fight the Thalmor themselves), but the Empire, which would arguably be a stronger enemy for the Thalmor, is weakened, and that's assuming that the few other provinces don't also secede.
This is true, but as long as the Thalmor hold the Empire tightly by the leash, it's not exactly going to be effective against fighting them. (Mind, this might be undone to an extent through the Dark Brotherhood questline, but I'm not sure of how much of an effect that will have.) I'd say the best bet is to draw the Thalmor out along too many fronts, taxing resources and soldiers. Skyrim just centers around a small portion of this conflict, and in doing so makes us think one side or the other is the "big bad", but really both sides stand on almost the same ground, while the real enemy is within the borders, patrolling, throwing lavish, restricted parties, and being pompous up until the point where I bash their skulls in with a demonic mace.
To be fair, I'm glad that the Thalmor are not the big bads of this particular story, because they clearly are evil, there's no ambiguity, whereas I think the ambiguity is the most interesting part of Skyrim's story. Meanwhile, setting up the Thalmor for either DLC (on the scale of Shivering Isles, mind you) or the next game.
It's true that, as you say, the Thalmor hold the Empire on a tight leash, but that doesn't mean they can't rebel. I can easily see a sort of Cyrodiilic version of the Stormcloaks rising. Hell, for that matter, (and correct me if I'm wrong, I haven't checked in a while), but I believe that the remainder of the empire is made up of Cyrodiil, Skyrim, High Rock, and Hammerfell. Even if you take the Nords out, that's still Imperials, Bretons, and Redguards, likely a significant amount more of them than made up the actual Stormcloaks. Sure, it would take a while to get enough people to really fight, but 4 provinces is way better than 1. Helping the Thalmor now means their doom later.