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A Tribute to Fate/Zero's Lancer

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“Her eyes are like Granier’s.. I don’t blame them for what happened.. What I seek from this life.. is the loyalty denied me in the last.” 12 mins. ep 9

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Fate/Zero is an anime that appeals to a lot of different people for a lot of different reasons. It’s gorgeous, very well-directed, filled to the brim with richness in it’s theming.. it’s the quintessential character piece that juggles ideologies with a great amount of precision, knowing exactly when to bring more emotion and information to the fore. And most significantly, one of the biggest reasons that it remains one of my all-time favourites, is that it is very balanced in terms of its tonality and message. Despite chronicling a number of very depressing journeys, and despite being a modern greek tragedy, it still manages to be fulfilling through contrast for a bunch of different reasons, the most important of which I discuss in my video on Rider and Waver. 

Yet one of the elements of the story that I value the most is one that does not have anything resembling a silver lining - no hope, and no happy ending. It is without doubt one of the darkest and most depressing character journeys in the story - And yet, curiously, it is still one that provides deep fulfillment - or at least, it does for me and has done since I first watched the show in 2015.

Lancer is nothing unique in terms of characterization. He doesn’t stray too far from the stereotypical idealistic knight fixated on honour, and his role is not far removed from the classic sacrifice character to show the audience the true nature of war in the setting. Yet the beauty of his character is not in an outward novelty, but in the tragic depth of his motivations, his backstory, and how it all merges in terms of theming in a way that makes you yearn for the times in which he was happy. I won’t be getting into the minute specifics of his backstory, and will instead link a great video as a resource for this in the description, but we do need to sum up Lancer’s story in order to see why he’s so resonant. And if you would like to skip this backstory, you can go to the timestamp indicated on screen. 

In his past life, Diarmuid O’Dyna was a member of the Knights of Fianna, a group of warriors pledged into the service of the royal Fionn mac Cumhaill. Diarmuid was granted a love spot earlier in his life, a mole underneath his right eye, which causes any woman who looks at it to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, this lead to Granier, the bride of his lord, falling in love with him and placing a sort of binding spell upon him. This forces him to run away with her. So the two flee, knowing that this is a grievous betrayal, while being constantly pursued by Fionn’s knights and Diarmuid’s former comrades. Yet, just as he is in the Grail War, here he is totally fixated on duty, loyalty and honour, focused on the goal of redeeming himself. So as a result, throughout all of this, Diarmuid resolves to stay true and unblemished by refusing to make love to Granier, even though he is bound to her. This continues until Diarmuid hears that Fionn has finally decided to recognize and accept a marriage between the two. Diarmuid is given honours and seemingly accepted back, and as a result, he believes that he has achieved the redemption he saught. Fionn then takes Diarmuid with him on a hunting trip, but the two are cornered by a large boar. Diarmuid kills the beast, but is left mortally wounded. Seemingly fortunately, Fionn is gifted with the power to turn regular water into healing water - but in response to what he is now revealed to deem as an unforgivable betrayal, he chooses not to heal Diarmuid and instead leaves him for dead. He never forgave his actions, and so he punished him by taking his life.

Despite being trapped and more or less forced to doing what he did, Diarmuid is ashamed of his actions in his past life and holds no ill will, believing himself to be at fault. He wasn’t able to be loyal - as he says, loyalty was denied to him. And as such, he’s filled with regret. But he is then summoned into the Holy Grail War as Lancer and feels blessed, as if this is his chance to live a proper, honest new life as a knight and serve his new master with unflinching loyalty, to make up for his perceived sins in the past. To put it simply, he just wants a chance to fight a glorious, romantic, honest battle as a true knight. Unfortunately, he’s reborn into the worst possible situation for his goals. Because his master is Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald, a pompous and aristocratic mage who is not afraid to use canniving and underhanded methods to win, which Lancer obviously opposes. This puts him in such a difficult spot with regards to his motivations - either he disobeys his master, which he pledged to never do, or he fights without honour, which he also pledged to never do. Kayneth is able to sway him with command seals, but regardless, he is forced to embody a style that betrays why he desires to fight, and undercuts his redemption. Not only this, but his new life begins to tragically mirror his old one, and his past horrors begin to come back to haunt him. Sola-Ui, Kayneth’s fiance, gazes upon the love spot and falls in love with Lancer, plotting to become his master and cut Kayneth out. In response, Kayneth senses something is amiss, and later resorts to berating his servant for intentionally seducing her, despite him being totally blameless. In fact, it is only when Sola-Ui convinces Lancer that she intends to heal Kayneth with the power of the Grail that he finally agrees to switch masters, with the woman taking advantage of his naivety and loyalty.

It’s just so painful that in this life that he entered with wide-eyed optimism and pure intentions, Lancer is unjustifiably accused of the sins that he is trying to atone for and forced to be a cynical warrior instead of an honourable one. In either life, he is not granted any freedom to live as he wants. A selfish and cruel-hearted master, another woman who wishes to run away with him, a war that proves to reflect the things he hated.. It’s as if he cannot find any relief, no respite and nothing to grasp onto in his quest for redemption - for reasons totally out of his control.
 

The only times where Lancer feels joyful and at peace, the only times where he feels as if he is the knight he so desperately tries to be, is when he is with Saber. As a like-minded, idealistic knight with very similar philosophies to Lancer, Saber is all too happy to conduct herself in a chivalrous way and fight Lancer as a true knight. The two form a quick bond, owing to the fact that they are both genuinely good people, kindred spirits in a sense. And so whether he is fighting her or teaming up with her, Lancer seeks solace in Saber and feels proud of the person he can be when he is with her. Doing his best to continuously do the right thing throughout the story, he helps Saber multiple times at personal cost. Because she embodies everything he loves about knighthood, and he feels exceedingly happy to be able to share a battleground with her.

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“Brave Saber.. THe only thing in this world that grants me peace is your fighting spirit.” 10 mins, ep 16

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And yet, in the ensuing fight that was meant to settle everything with honour, the cynical realities of war emerge from the shadows in the form of a blackmailing Kiritsugu. Right in the middle of his battle with Saber, Lancer is forced to kill himself by Kayneth as the latter prioritizes the life of his fiance over the possibility of winning the war. And Lancer looks towards a shocked, clueless Saber who had no knowledge of this, agonizingly hurt and betrayed by the one person who he believed understood him the most. And he curses everyone around him for stomping all over the wishes of a lonely knight - cursing Kayneth for betraying him despite his loyalty, Kiritsugu for his underhanded methods, and most importantly, Saber - for denying him the one thing he wanted the most. 

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“I CURSE YOU!” Episode 16. 16 mins

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And it just so happens that, whether or not there was some sort of karmic force that rendered Lancer’s final words significant, the Grail WAS cursed. All of the pragmatic cutthroat attitude, all of the ruthless planning - all for naught. The end of honor brought the beginning of terror, symbolic of Fate/Zero’s somber reflections on the nature of conflict. And some of the seeds of this were planted right here.

This fate is lamentable for a number of reasons, but the primary one for me is that he believed that his shining light, the one person who truly understood and valued him as a person and a knight, was just like the rest of a world that spared no thought for him. It inspires some sad thoughts - what if Lancer had been born into a Grail War without Kiritsugu? What if he had a different, more understanding and kinder master? This event is a stroke of genius for how it introduces the brutal reality of this story, how it keys us into Kiritsugu more than ever before, and how it shifts the tonality of the second season, and it’s always been one of my favourite episodes in spite and because of how painful it is. It’s a suffocating piece full of brutality, and it just drives home the fact that Diarmuid was never meant to have a fair shake - not in life as a Knight of Fionna, nor as a reborn servant. His death is the signal that this world is cruel, that his brand of idealism is foolish, and that those who seek dreams closer than the horizon, believing that the destination can be reached instead of taking pride in the journey like Rider, will be left wanting when all is said and done. Though the difference here is that Diarmuid never really had the chance to have a worthwhile journey, either.

In another life, another time, he could have had the romantic battle of honour he wanted. He could have had redemption and fulfillment, his pure desire satiated. But that isn’t the kind of world he was summoned into, and that isn’t the type of story Fate/Zero is. And instead, he died - believing that his honourable, like-minded adversary betrayed him and crushed his desires, cursing those who would use his foolish dreams as a means to a selfish end. Stories don’t always need to make you feel good - sometimes, we can find value in the pain, and it’s this element of “what if” that allows this character to resonate. An isolated, wandering soul, just looking for a chance to atone for sins that were thrust onto him - To me, Lancer shines not just because he’s a personality full of idealism, not just because he’s got endearing interactions with Saber, and not just because he’s one of the most sympathetic characters - he’s a prime example of what could have been. And in that way, he’s a character who evokes almost as much emotion and thought outside of his screen time and in reflection compared to in the story. 

Yet although Lancer was cursed to a terrible master and put into a reflective situation that had him sinking from the moment he was reborn, it isn’t as if he didn’t feel fulfillment during the war. He felt joy, value and exhiliration in his bouts with Saber, in fighting Caster, and in simply being given a chance to live his life the way he wanted to. And his brutal end hurts as much as it does because he was so close to finding what he was looking for, yet never able to really be free. Only ever able to peak through the clouds to see the sun on rare occasions, but never permanently and never long enough. And as sad as it is, I think that there is value and fulfillment in picturing what could have been with him, in dipping our feet in melancholy and truly feeling for Lancer. That’s what stories are for - indulgence, enlightenment, and emotion, and the Knight of Fionna is a great example of that. With some of the strongest narrative material in the story, he’s a beautifully written and presented character, one that I was enraptured with from the very beginning and one who I find myself reflecting upon years and years later - a soul full of pure yearning that never fails to capture the imagination and heart. Many thanks for watching.

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“End with him smiling. - Saber - I am glad to have met you.” Episode 16. 11-12 minutes

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