Xehanort's Objective: Questions and Theories

[MrFranklin95]

I'm an actor... in training anyway. And something one of my acting teachers always brings up is the "super objective". To put it simply, it's the character's reason, or underlying emotional reason which often vary, behind their actions they take on their ambitions goals. This is something I was thinking about when replaying Birth by sleep for my KH marathon for Kingdom Hearts 3. What is Xehanort's super objective?

This is hard to answer or make any real sounding theories about because in order to answer, we have to look at the emotional core of the character itself. Xehanort doesn't seem to have that so far.

For better or worse, Kingdom Hearts isn't known for having the greatest writing but one thing the series has been consistently good at is character motivation. Sora wants to rescue and protect his friends for a number of different reasons we can all resonate with. Riku seeks redemption for his past mistakes to become a better person in not only other people's eyes but his own and defeat his own self-doubt. Roxas ultimately wants his own agency and to not be tied by any outside forces to control his destiny, whether that'd be the organization or Sora. And most of these are influenced by the experiences they've had and the people around them driving that motivatiom forward. These are all motivation we can understand.

Xehanort... wants to recreate a war in order to bring balance to the universe... not many people can really resonate with why he would want to go about such a mad scheme.

But still... I can only wonder, when watching the first trailer for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep in the beginning where a young Xehanort says the words, "This world.... is just too small". A simple line but even the most simple of words can have the greatest meaning. Despite appearing as a cartoonist villian in a lot of ways, Xehanort is still human. He had dreams of seeking the outside world just like Sora and Riku. So he couldn't have come to the conclusion of wanting to destroy and recreate the universe itself in elaborate and almost self-harming ways just because "curiosity" and "balance".

So I pass the question off to you guys, do you think in KH3 they will reveal a hidden motivation that drives Xehanort? If you have any theories, what do you think is Xehanort's true motivation behind his objective? Or do you think isn't any at all besides what's already been said to us and that he's just a cold-hearted mad scientist and not more to it?

 

[Veevee]

I always felt that Xehanort is a person who likes to have control over others - not only in the literal sense. He is a witty man who loves challenges which we can see through his iron will: He had several attempts for his big plan who all failed in a way, yet he isn't giving up. Being able to reach something as flimsy as Kingdom Hearts is a demonstration of power - towards others, but also himself. It means overcoming a lot of hurdles and prove oneself as the strongest, smartest - the series doesn't illustrate it too well because most of the stuff goes wrong because the main characters are playing idiot ball instead of showing how Master Xehanort outwits them all, but I still think it's about proving himself.

 

[Deleted member 246005]

Maybe curiosity run amok?

 

[Nayru's Love]

I can only wonder, when watching the first trailer for Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep in the beginning where a young Xehanort says the words, "This world.... is just too small".

Definitely the most revealing line of Xehanort. He retains a very human sense of curiosity over what waits beyond the boundaries of one's home, which one day led him to his formal training. His curiosity then moved on to what lied beyond the impending keyblade war. I think the point where his character starts to head down south would be when he obtained the No Name keyblade. No Name originally belonged to the MoM, who shared in his obsession over the aftermath. Perhaps, through No Name, Xehanort's innocent curiosity twisted itself into the MoM's.

 

[Sephiroth0812]

I think the point where his character starts to head down south would be when he obtained the No Name keyblade. No Name originally belonged to the MoM, who shared in his obsession over the aftermath. Perhaps, through No Name, Xehanort's innocent curiosity twisted itself into the MoM's.

If anything this theorized scenario would line up with the general idea of the No Name Keyblade being similar to the One Ring of Lord of the Rings in the vein of being a semi-sentient object that is part of someone (the MoM in this case) and capable of influencing individuals to a degree.

 

[Nayru's Love]

If anything this theorized scenario would line up with the general idea of the No Name Keyblade being similar to the One Ring of Lord of the Rings in the vein of being a semi-sentient object that is part of someone (the MoM in this case) and capable of influencing individuals to a degree.

Which would make the MoM Sauron? I mean, his eye is everywhere in this series.

 

[Twilight Lumiair]

Perhaps that's exactly what he wants. A bigger world. Maybe he thinks that by obtaining Kingdom Hearts, he can somehow reunite the worlds like in the age of fairy tales. He also mentioned light and darkness existing in equilibrium and that to much of the darkness was stamped out. Looking at these ideas and comparing their similarities seems to suggest that Xehanort's ultimate goal is true freedom. Having such a large and vast world to explore alleviates much of the feeling of being trapped in one unchanging place. Having light and darkness existing in equilibrium ensures that no side is dominant over the other or that there is any "right" affiliation, so in other words, people could be free to be whatever they want to be or use whatever they choose to use without being shamed or attacked for it. People could do anything in a world that seems completely unending, and that's when they'll truly be free. Or at least that's how I'd imagine Xehanort seeing it. Sure it could just be an unnatural hunger for power and control, but it might not have started that way. It's a very idealistic dream to be sure, and the actions he made to reach that goal were wrong and very cruel. But extremist often go to great lengths to achieve their goals no matter what becomes of them in the process, and he could just simply believe that the ends justify the means.

 

[Smithee]

So far, his "grayness" has been tell-don't-show.

There's a reason he's listed as an Unintentionally Unsympathetic (TV Tropes) example.