Broken Fairytale

where did things go wrong?

Although Vincent and Lucrecia's relationship is almost entirely confined to the backstory of FFVII, it still managed to have a sizeable personal impact. I'll never get tired of its aggravating complexities, its happy-ending-that-could-be, and how it carried over the span of many years. Just like any other couple, they had their misunderstandings and their conflicts, yet in the end they still managed to show to each other, in their own vague way, how much they cared about each other. In a game full of twisted, ambiguous relationships, Vincent/Lucrecia manages to be one of the most ambiguous -- yet strikingly obvious -- mutual bonds. It's a curious little paradox.

All things considered, they should have had a perfect fairytale ending: boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, boy and girl live happily ever after. Of course, though, there were the external factors -- Grimoire's death, Hojo, and the Jenova Project. However, Vincent and Lucrecia both managed to pull through and help each other from a distance. They didn't get their perfect ending, but they didn't need it. They were content to show how much they cared from afar.

Accordingly, most of the stronger displays of affection occured when they weren't physically together. Vincent stood up to Hojo, and Lucrecia tried everything -- despite her illness -- to save him when he got shot. Thirty years later it was the same thing: Vincent still held Lucrecia dear to him, and Lucrecia, in spirit, helped him fight his darkness. They weren't a 'canon' couple in any sense (not that it'd occur in FFVII anyway) but you could still perceive their concern for each other. They wanted to help each other, and amend their previous mistakes, even though their chances of an actual relationship, present or future, were close to none.

Neither of them ever said "I love you" to each other; the closest we get to that is Vincent telling Cloud how he let "the one he loved most" suffer. They didn't need those three words to convey that they cared about each other. It was expressed in subtle actions and subtler words.

Granted, there's no saying whether or not Lucrecia's feelings were truly of the romantic kind; personal interpretation will always be a big part of the Compilation games as far as romance is concerned. However, I found that Vincent and Lucrecia's relationship was powerful with or without the mutual love element. Even if you chose to see her feelings as something entirely different, it's hard to overlook the great obstacles she took to help Vincent. She desperately wanted Vincent to forgive her, and he wanted the same from her. Regardless of whether or not she loved him romantically, they still cared about each other a great deal. And really, that's what matters.

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