Edelgard was noted as being the subject of a "fandom explosion", featuring
fan art and
cosplay, as well as being the most-deployed character in the game as ranked on its internal leaderboard. Patricia Hernandez of
Polygon stated that "much of the fandom in
Fire Emblem now revolves around shipping and romance, and it seems as if most people are falling for Edelgard." Over time, however, her ranking was noted to have been supplanted by the character Dorothea. Daniel Friedman of
Polygon stated that "the developers at
Intelligent Systems have evidently been reading some
George R.R. Martin along with their
J.K. Rowling, as there's an unmistakable
Daenerys Targaryen vibe to Edelgard," calling her "intense, driven, and willing to pay any price or inflict any cost on others to achieve her goal." Lucas White of
Siliconera agreed with this, claiming that "supporting Edelgard is the most morally sound choice", and stating that "Edelgard pursues a complete, violent upheaval of everything, literally destroying the Church and reforming the Empire into something new". Despite saying that "Edelgard is no innocent in
Three Houses violent world. She schemes, assassinates, and betrays," he concludes that "her mission is the only one that holds Rhea and her secret society accountable for their actions." Nathan Lee of
RPG Site acknowledged a divide within the fanbase, with many players disliking Edelgard, but called her his favorite
Fire Emblem series character and one of the best gaming antagonists. Citing her "noble" reasons for declaring war on the other nations, such as creating a meritocracy within the limited lifespan she has remaining, he contrasted her with most other
Fire Emblem villains, who simply sought power for its own sake. Lee cited the lyrics of the game's theme song,
The Edge of Dawn, which were presumably written from Edelgard's point of view, noting that they conveyed conflicted emotions and heavy guilt for her actions, as well as a desire to live like a normal person. Lee pointed out that Edelgard also trusts in Byleth a great deal, and is a staunch protector of her allies. While he played devil's advocate by describing Edelgard's flaws, calling her actions driven by cold logic, such as teaming up with Those Who Slither in the Dark, he nonetheless described her as a complex character rather than a "devilspawn". Stephanie Minor of
TheGamer criticized Edelgard's philosophy as the worst of the three main lords, calling her desire to eliminate the strong dominating the weak hypocritical. By forcibly stripping people of their faith in Sothis, she would be similarly as tyrannical as she claims the Church of Seiros is. While stating her opinion that each lord's philosophy is flawed and doomed to fail to change the status quo, she describes Edelgard's as causing the most death in the process, suggesting that Dimitri or Claude's ideals would be most likely to enact positive change. The optional support and romance between Edelgard and Byleth, the main character, was called a "lovely, touching scene" by Todd Harper of
Vice, but also criticized due to the fact that is "90% the same" no matter what gender Byleth is. Harper states that, with regards to female Byleth, "that queer reading that hit me right in the gut emotionally has absolutely, positively no impact whatsoever on the actual story of
Three Houses." == References ==