Final Fantasy 14: Endwalkerhas now been out for months, with more and more gamers finishing the story content. The expansion featured plenty of familiar faces, and some new ones as well. A lot of the new faces were not even human, diving into creatures like Meteion torabbit people like Loporrits. Fans also met Argos, Venat’s trusty blonde dog. The dog helps the players get from place to place and even is awarded as a mount by the end of the story content.
As fans examined their new dog, though, an unsettling comparison came to mind. The dog looks surprisingly alike to Minfilia, the leader of theScions of the Seventh Dawnwho passed away expansions ago. Both the dog and Minfilia are blonde-haired and blue-eyed, which can be thrown out as a coincidence. However, what fans could not get over is that both Minfilia and the dog also have the same hair braids on top of what they already have in common. The fact that both are also connected to Hydaelyn does make for some interesting theories.
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What Final Fantasy 14 Fans Are Saying About The Dog
There are posts all around of the Final Fantasy 14 community pointing out this odd similarity between Minfilia and Argos. One on reddit shows their facial profiles side-by-side and simply titled them as “Hydaelyn’s Taste.” Another fan joked that the Mothercrystal chose Minfilia for the Echo because she reminded her of her dog. One even mentioned that they thought Minfilia had been reincarnated into a dog. This evolved into a theory that Argos could have been sundered and Minfilia was its sundered soul. However, that theory was quickly torn down with evidence in-game that familiars do not have souls.
Blue eyes, blonde hair, and braids are not just a Minfilia and Argos design, but were also used for Ryne (before Minfilia changed her hair for her). What all three characters have in common is being servants of Hydaelyn.With Venat having created Argosfrom aether and later making the Source and its worlds, and to some extent, its people, the comment “Hydaelyn’s Taste” may not be too far off from the truth.
Other Commonalities Between Minfilia and Argos
Minfilia has more than one design. She is a little different when she becomes the Word of the Mother, with her eyes becoming bluer, having longer braids, and different clothes. To some fans, she looked even more like Argos in this form. The dog and her both even share having silver jewelry around their neck. This also makes sense with the “Hydaelyn’s Taste” comment, as Minfilia is moreconnected to Hydaelynthan ever when she becomes the Word of the Mother.
Argos gets its name from a dog out of Homer’sOdyssey. It’s the companion of the main character, Odysseus, and dies in a heartbreaking scene after Odysseus returns from a long journey. The dog in the story is a symbol of loyalty, as it’s the only one to recognize Odysseus when he returns. The Argos ofFinal Fantasy 14, while not dead, serves Venat long after she is gone in a similar tale of love and loyalty for a master. While Minfilia is absolutely not a dog, she is “man’s best friend” in her own way. Like Argos, she had a faith in Hydaelyn that never wavered. She goes as far as to sacrifice herself to help the primal and to save the lives of others in a different world with no selfish desire to live her own life.
Final Fantasy 14game developershave made no comment so far about Minfilia and Argos' similar designs. It is highly improbable that the design was done on purpose, though, as what could be “Hydaelyn’s Taste” to the fans may just be the taste of the character designers at Square Enix.
Final Fantasy 14is out now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
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