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The Three Seifers:
A Look into the Dynamic Nature of Seifer Almasy's Characterization

Seifer at the beginning of the game. Look, Ma! No scar!

The more the merrier!
From Alcauld to Timber: A boy with a dream.
From Deling to Lunatic Pandora: This is the demented megalomaniac speaking.
By the sea: My baby's all grown up! (Well, almost.)

I. The more the merrier!

Most people who have played Final Fantasy VIII dislike Seifer Almasy. A strange, crazy few adore him. (Guilty as charged.) Part of the controversy surrounding this one character may stem from the fact that, well, there isn't just one of him. Throughout the game, Seifer displays such wildly differing facets that he might as well be called three different people during the beginning, middle, and end of the game. Let's examine these three Seifers.

II. From Alcauld to Timber: A boy with a dream.

From that very first FMV of the duel on the Alcauld Plains, we get the impression of a wild young man with an arrogant streak a mile wide, who lives to fight--and to win. That first impression is reinforced at the field exam in Dollet, where he itches for a good fight and bucks orders in favor of his own judgment, ruining his chances at SeeD.

Dollet is also where Seifer showed an unexpected side: That of the dreamer. Also, his interaction with Squall during the exam shows that they are not the total enemies people like to think of them as. The two of them have an understanding, at the very least. They don't talk like enemies, for one thing. They talk like two people who are used to, and can occasionally confide in, each other.

When Squall says he stood by Seifer's decision to go to the communication tower, I believe there was more going on than wreaking havoc(in Seifer's words) or testing out their training(in Squall's words). They were at their designated position, the central square, for quite some time without action. This points out an obvious concern aside from boredom. The Galbadians weren't interested in taking the square back, because their interests lay with the communication tower. In other words, Seifer, Squall, and Zell were occupying a tactically worthless position because they had been told to. No wonder Seifer called it dog training. Squall seems to have seen this as well.

The way Xu and Quistis gang up on Seifer when he returned from the field exam is surprising. Despite the fact that Xu and Quistis are both obviously intelligent and competent, they don't for a moment consider that Seifer might have had a valid reason for what he did. He was on the right track all along, yet they seem to view it as a simple fluke. They beat him down relentlessly no matter what he says to defend himself. Quistis is sure he was only looking for a fight; Xu is even harsher, saying Seifer is a joke of a captain and will never make SeeD. I don't know about anyone else, but I think those are very damaging words no matter how self-possessed a person is. It's almost like they don't care what his motivations or his reasons are, he's Seifer Almasy and they're sure he screwed up just for the heck of it.

If we see Xu and Quistis' attitude as representative of Garden in general, and it seems to be a safe enough assumption, it's not hard to imagine what it might have been like for Seifer--spending much of his life surrounded by people who think he's a failure, who wait for him to fall and pounce on him when he does. It's likely that Seifer's past actions and the way they were perceived built up an unshakable image, which finally degenerated into a vicious cycle of misunderstanding and self-fulfilling prophecy. It would be weirder if Seifer didn't long to escape from it all, start anew where no one knew him and be appreciated and needed for once.

Seifer's constant need for attention takes on a new meaning in this context. While he probably doesn't remember his background, much like Squall and the rest, it's been shown throughout the game that past events are no less influential on the characters' psyches for having been forgotten. Seifer was a war orphan like most of the main characters. He received care from Edea, but he was only one of many children there, and unlike Squall he didn't have someone like Ellone to love him exclusively. Seifer was also never adopted, if Squall remembers right. Then he was sent to Balamb Garden, where he was again just one of a faceless multitude. In other words Seifer had never been in an environment where he could feel uniquely loved or feel individual and special, which any child, and indeed any human being, requires to develop healthily.

Despite it all, Seifer seems to have a basic core of fortitude that keeps him from giving in. I saw a glimpse of it when he actually applauds Squall and Zell for making SeeD. An insecure person could never have done what Seifer did: Congratulate his greatest rival and the guy he's shown the most derision for in the face of his own defeat.

Then there's the act that got the main events of the game rolling--namely, Seifer's introducing Rinoa to Headmaster Cid. It's interesting how the Forest Owls, the kind of organization Garden wouldn't normally give the time of day, could finally secure SeeD assistance with Seifer's help. It shows he had some kind of influence and clout within Garden, at least enough to cut through the money-grubbing bureaucracy of the Garden staff to appeal directly to the increasingly isolated Cid.

Here's a scary thought. Not only did Seifer's taking Rinoa to Cid set off much of the game, if it weren't for Seifer Squall and Rinoa might never have met at all. After all, it was Seifer that Rinoa came to Garden to see, and it was through the mission Seifer helped bring about that Squall and Rinoa got to know each other. I don't see a lot of rabid Seifer-hating Squall and Rinoa fans mention that particular tidbit.

And then comes the decision that pretty much sealed Seifer's fate. No one can know for sure what it was that made Seifer bolt from confinement to rush to Timber. Delusions of knighthood? Did he actually have feelings for Rinoa? Did he want to prove he was no failure? Did he want to help Squall, Zell, and Selphie? Or was he just bored of sitting and staring at a wall? Whatever his reasons, he knew the risks and still escaped to help. He (perhaps together with Quistis) got through guards that the Forest Owls and their three hired SeeDs thought were impossible to pass. And that is how he met Edea, or rather Ultimecia.

The ensuing conversation provides some valuable insight into Seifer's character. It shows how sick he was of feeling like a helpless boy, a screwup who can't get anything right whom no one even tries to understand. Basically, what the sorceress offers is a way to break from his past self, and he jumps at the opportunity.

The encounter also begs the question of whether Ultimecia would have ensnared him so easily if she hadn't been in Edea's body at the time. The way Squall mulls over Edea's name when he hears it in Deling suggests that the orphanage gang still retain some traces of remembrance. The memories were always there beneath the surface, waiting to be stimulated. And though Edea was masked during the encounter, it's possible that her voice invoked emotions from a long-buried childhood in Seifer. It's just speculation, but a compelling one.

Squall and co.'s reactions when they heard news of Seifer's death are also telling. Zell, of course, never liked him, but still considers him one of their own when push comes to shove. Quistis remembers him as "beyond troubled" but not basically evil. Rinoa thinks she is in love with him--"always full of confidence, smart." It's obvious she never really knew Seifer, just the façade he put up. And Squall can't stomach the fact that a person, once alive, can be gone and become a part of the past. "Seifer...You've become just a memory." Squall is right. For the rest of the game, the Seifer we knew this far is merely a memory.

III. From Deling to Lunatic Pandora: This is the demented megalomaniac speaking.

Well, that's Seifer in the corner, that's Seifer in the spot...light. He seems to be completely in his element in the parade scene. However, is it just my imagination, or has something changed about him? He smiles differently here. Sure, he always had this cocky-sure smirk, but this time there's something disturbing about his expression--a malicious streak that wasn't there before, and a not-quite-sane glitter in his eyes. (See the second picture of the three at the top of this page.)

Also, speaking of facial expressions, it seems to me that his and Edea/Ultimecia's expressions are eerily alike at one point:

Seifer's face as he watches Squall approach

Anyway, all this is more a feeling rather than anything concrete.

Moving onto Disk Two and the D-district prison, the changes in Seifer are more pronounced than ever. The Seifer we knew at the beginning of the game would have tossed Squall his gunblade and challenged him to a rematch, orders be damned. Instead, he enjoys his power over an unarmed and still weak Squall, then strings the poor guy up for interrogation, as per the sorceress' command. Seifer's rash, battle-hungry exuberance at the beginning of the game has given way all too abruptly to leering cruelty, and it's the kind of change I'd expect in decades of jaded existence, not in the space of a few days.

Also, note these lines as he's torturing Squall:

"It's a pity, really. I grew up [in Balamb Garden], too..."
"But orders are orders, and Edea wants it destroyed."
"After the Garden's gone, the SeeD hunt will begin."
"I'll be Edea's bloodhound and hunt down everyone of your kind."

What?!! "Orders are orders?" I nearly had a heart attack right there. Since when did Seifer care about orders? If he'd cared just a few damn days earlier he would have been SeeD by that time! And since when did he hate SeeD so much? He spent half his life trying to become one!

In addition, this is a small point but Seifer has never liked dogs, and "dog training" was how he referred to the stupidity of the order to hold position at the central square in Dollet. So why would he think of himself as a bloodhound? Something's fishy here...

Of course, we know one other person who hates SeeD a lot: Ultimecia. Could it be that the feelings Seifer displays in this scene are not entirely his own? That would certainly explain his sudden animosity toward SeeD and his nothing short of miraculous "her wish is my command" attitude. His personality change is significant, too. Cruelty, obsessive hatred and megalomania--sound like anyone we know of? In many ways, he's acting a lot like Ultimecia and less like his earlier self.

It's been hinted more than once in the game that Seifer is being controlled by Ultimecia. After the battle against Edea, Ultimecia possesses Rinoa to tell him she would provide him with dreams again only if he raises the Lunatic Pandora, implying some kind of hold on Seifer's mind through dreams. On the Ragnarok, on his way back from rescuing Rinoa from the Sorceress Memorial, Squall says "Seifer is...Ultimecia's puppet." And on the Lunatic Pandora Fujin tells Seifer: "You're being manipulated." Perhaps the radical personality changes Seifer displays are a manifestation of Ultimecia's control.

The out-of-character goodness continues in the battle between Squall and co. and Seifer at Galbadia Garden. Seifer acts, for lack of a better expression, like a whipped dog around Edea/Ultimecia. He endures constant verbal abuse from his sorceress, from "Worthless fool" to "Worthless child," right in front of his enemies. He drags himself up after getting his ass thoroughly kicked to defend the sorceress, even though he can barely stand up.

It was creepy because he looked like he couldn't help himself, he had to stand by her side no matter how badly she treated him, like a dog on a leash, or a puppet on strings. When the sorceress is defeated and she wants him to raise the Lunatic Pandora, he's all, "As you wish, Ultimecia." And he's off to do her bidding.

The battle at Galbadia Garden is especially interesting because first, Seifer recognizes Edea as his Matron, and second, he shows increasing signs of unraveling.

Seifer knows by this time that Edea was Matron, and that he, Squall, Quistis, Zell, Selphie, and Irvine grew up together. The fact that Edea raised him when he was little was no doubt one of many excellent hooks that Ultimecia used to ensure his loyalty. He may have mentioned their shared past to throw them off their feet before the battle. It's a good thing Irvine told the others about the orphanage when he did, since otherwise Squall and co. might have ended up confused and demoralized--never a good thing in battle.

Then there's the fact that Seifer is growing increasingly unstable. He was already out of touch with reality back in D-District prison, when he thinks of himself as a noble knight instead of a torturer and murderer, but his state of mind is even worse in Galbadia Garden. He may be a knight in name but nothing has changed, except for the worse. His knighthood is a continuous string of acts of butchery, as he must realize from time to time no matter how strong Ultimecia's influence over his mind is. His subordinates neither like nor respect him(as evidenced by Biggs and Wedge in Lunatic Pandora), and obey him only out of fear(according to Raijin), continuing Seifer's lifelong theme of rejection. I imagine that he's begun to break under all the pressure. The fragile base of lies that his knighthood stands on is rapidly crumbling in the face of real life, and he's desperately grasping at straws to keep his dream afloat.

The manipulation, megalomania, hatred, despair, delusions... finally all the chords of Seifer Almasy's madness come to a crashing head inside the Lunatic Pandora. Here, Fujin and Raijin, who stuck by him unconditionally through everything, finally decide that enough is enough. The basic assurance of his posse's loyalty gone and defeated beyond all doubt, Seifer is now emotionally cornered with nowhere to turn. He has burned every bridge, alienated every ally--except Ultimecia. As dubious a friend as she may be, she's all he's got now.

All he can think of now is obeying her orders, no matter how horrific, so that maybe she'd save him from this from the shattered remains of his world, let him live the dream again. Even if she doesn't he has nothing more to lose. He's seeking escape, any escape, and even death is preferable to facing up to the reality of what he has done in the name of his romantic dream. As Ultimecia wished, he has tortured Squall and assaulted Trabia, Galbadia, and Balamb Gardens. He has raised the Lunatic Pandora. Now he drags Rinoa to Adel at swordpoint. Her wish will always be his command, to the bitter end.

And it is the bitter end, for him. This Seifer, the traitor, the lapdog, is gone after this, never to return.

IV. By the sea: My baby's all grown up! (Well, almost.)

We only get a brief glimpse of this third and last Seifer, on a dock facing a wide blue sea. We have no way of knowing what he's been doing between Lunatic Pandora and wherever here is, how he found and rejoined his friends, or how he put himself back together after his world and his sanity fell apart. (Or how he mended his coat, for that matter.)

He still has that temper of his and seems irritated with life in general, but there is no trace of madness in his face, or even of the cocky arrogance which seemed such an essential part of him. Trying to destroy the world and then coming to one's senses must have an humbling effect on a man.

Perhaps most importantly, he can laugh again, and not in derision or malicious glee. It's for the sheer joy of being alive and being himself.

A shadow passes over him: He looks up and sees it, the home he betrayed, the one he tried to destroy, one he has been exiled from through madness and violence. Its dignified form, magnificent in grace and strength, will forever stand as a monument to his folly and utter defeat.