Possibly the most famous of all the Final Fantasy relationships, seeing as the FF8’s theme is about witches and love. It’s also one of the most infamous. I too thought it was really horrible. It wasn’t until recently when I discovered it was actually part of something much bigger. First, let’s get the points. Travel to love, or hate?

Hate. Bad news first. The relationship is most disliked by others because of how suddenly the relationship took a turn. First, Squall is annoyed by her, the next minute he wants to hear her name. For me, I was like “What the -- …okay, whatever”. The problem with it is that most people probably don’t understand Squall’s irrationality.

Squall falling for Rinoa is actually is quite reasonable. If you take a look at his past more carefully (from the point where Ellone left him and on), he had too much Sophrosyne, which is “nothing in excess”. Sorry to bring out the Aristotle. Basically, he lead a somewhat boring, day to day routine kind of life. This is probably not due to being in a military academy, but, like he said, he likes it that way. Do you recall him liking the quite in Galbadia Garden? I don’t know about you, but if it’s quiet too long, it gets quite boring (especially something as boring as passing through the hallway). Now, when Rinoa fell into a coma, he acted pretty… weird. Really irrational. I’ll call that situation the Catharsis, which is the “:purging of emotions”. If you suddenly have Sophrosyne for too long, and then get a dose of Catharsis, then you’re most likely to act pretty strange. For example, someone who stuck around the house and bored all the time (Sophrosyne) uncontrollably laughing at a joke heard for the first time in a while (Catharsis). I know it’s a pretty crap example, but I hope you kinda get the idea. It’s completely understandable (of you get it) for Squall to act that way. That’s not exactly the whole reason though. I’ll get to that in a bit.

Love yay! Good news ^_^. Okay, I’m not really going to talk about how cute or sweet it is or anything (although I do agree =D). I thought the best part of this relationship wasn’t the romance, but the happy ending; the way it ended to be more specific. I mean, here have this guy who doesn’t really have anything that really satisfies him. Sure he’s got his good looks and great swordsmanship, but do you think he’s truly happy? The one thing he wants is what he lost in the first place: someone to be there for him. Ironically, it’s also the one thing he’s terrified of having. He doesn’t want that self-satisfaction because he’s not willing to gamble with emotions. Who wants rejection? Then again, who doesn’t want self-satisfaction? Ultimately, he isn’t comfortable with any decision; he’s stuck; take a look at how he debates with himself all the time. He thinks he knows what he’s doing, but then again, he doesn’t. That’s what makes this character so interesting to observe.

At the end of the game, Squall gets Rinoa. What really hits it is when Squall almost doesn’t make it, and Rinoa cries over him. I felt so sorry for him. The guy who doesn’t have anything almost ends up losing. Almost. When I learned that he lived (haha, yes!) it was a really good thing. Although a bit typical, I thought they did a pretty good job on the ending (the showing of the last scene after the credits kept me on the end). Squall is finally rewarded with what he deserves. Not only would someone be there for him, but he could be there for someone too. For Rinoa, it also satisfies her need to be protected. Seeing as her mother died when she was young, and her dislike toward her father, it makes perfect sense. In turn, they saved each other. It just…fits, I guess.