I have to wonder, though: why was she kidnapped and slated for death in the first place? Was it just to make Edelgard suffer more than she already had by getting rid of her friend, or did they also want to use her for experiments?

I think it was both. Rare Crest + connection to Edelgard = Thales being all over that.

I adore Monica, though, I already ship her with Edelgard so hard. And Manuela/Jeritza was...quite the interesting support. I may ship that, too.

(And yes, Petra's dark side from her A support with Caspar is becoming clearer now that her father's killer is nearby. I wonder how that'll shake out.)

I saw the Ferdie/Edie support on Youtube and it made me sad for them both. :( (Even sadder given Ferdie's VA died recently. I bet we see a dedication to him in the credits.)

Azure Gleam's tone is actually quite different from Azure Moon's, and you get to play as Rodrigue. Who is a lifesaver of a unit.

Golden Wildfire is cool, but yeah, it's...kind of a touchy subject among fans. All I'll say is I forgot what it was like for Claude to be vulnerable to arrows. And Ingrid. I got them to S+ in flying in Three Houses so I've been spoiled by being able to send them out and not have to worry about bows.