Daily Debate: Do You Feel Any Sympathy or Empathy For Zant In Twilight Princess?
Posted on December 02 2018 by Sean Gadus
In his early appearances in Twilight Princess, Zant inspires terrifying dread. His monstrous steel helm is grotesque with a thick, elongated tongue strewn across the lower mouth. Add in the enormous bulging bug eyes, and you have some excellent nightmare fuel fit for your worst enemies. It’s the perfect set up for an imposing villain. Later in the game, Zant’s villainous mystique grows as he creepily whispers into Midna’s ear, revealing a mouth that drips with saliva and split oddly at the edges. His cruelty is evident as he traps Link in his wolf form and brutalizes Midna, leaving the twilight princess on the edge of death.
As I entered the Twilight Palace, I felt prepared to face the demon at its center. Until the moment I entered the room. In the place of a cold blood and viscous tyrant, I found an unhinged and addled child. The usurper king spun around the room, howling strange noises, twisting his body in unhealthy ways. In a flashback I witnessed Zant’s tantrums, smashing the ground and moaning like a petulant and jealous child. He was pathetic and weak.
Until the moment Ganondorf came. Ganondorf used Zant as a pawn, granting him powers that Zant could never hope to grasp or control. Zant, a weak and sniveling servant, was gifted power beyond his imagination and it is arguable that the power broke his mind. With Ganon’s power, Zant could achieve all of his goals, no matter how ill advised they were.
That being said, do you feeling any sympathy or empathy for Zant? Zant was weak and jealous and he coveted the throne. The usurper king made a deal with a powerful being that he could never hope to understand. Ganon used him as a pawn, caring little about the damage to Zant’s sanity or health. If a person had the power to fulfill all of their deepest and darkest desires with a snap of their fingers, would any of us end up any better than Zant?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Sean Gadus is a Senior Editor at Zelda Dungeon. His first Zelda game was Ocarina of Time, and he loves all of the 3D Zelda games from 1998-2011. The final battle of Tears of the Kingdom is one of his favorite final battles in the entire series. He wants to help build a kinder, more compassionate world. You can check out his other written work at The-Artifice.com.
