Squall Character Description/Analysis

When he was a child, Squall was so emotionally weak that he was severely traumatized when Ellone left. So he decided that from then on, he will fix that emotional weakness by living a solitary lifestyle and never getting close to anyone so he doesn't have to depend on them.

But that’s not what really happened. On a subconscious level, what really happened was that he was so traumatized by Ellone leaving that he developed a fear of intimacy. Getting close to anyone would make him vulnerable to getting hurt again, so he decided that he wouldn’t get close to anyone ever again. This is pretty much what he admits to Rinoa in the Ragnarok--that he's only trying to live alone because he knows that if he gets close to anybody, he'll get too attached, and he's afraid of getting hurt when they go away.

So basically, Squall was so emotionally weak that he developed a very deep fear of intimacy and he was so afraid of acknowledging this fear and actually dealing with it. Instead, he gave into his fear and fooled his conscious mind into thinking that he’s living a solitary life because this way, he won’t have to depend on anyone and he’ll be stronger because of this. Immediately after that, he tells himself that the whole point to that and everything he does from then on was for an effort to become stronger (which is again, just him overcompensating for his own emotional weakness).

So his entire life was dedicated into desperately trying to make himself stronger. He never backed down from Seifer. He tried to master a weapon that hardly anybody else has mastered. He adopted a personal symbol--the lion Griever--that he believed epitomizes strength. Etc. He even rationalizes his efforts to push people away (like Quistis at the Training Area) as him not understanding why people want to depend on other people when deep down, he was actually pushing her away because he was too afraid to let her get too close. The irony here is all his efforts to make himself stronger is actually him giving in to his emotional weakness.

Aside from his confession in the Ragnarok and his numerous introspections, there were a few moments in the game where they give this information straightforwardly actually.

One is when he's walking Rinoa to Esthar. He tells the unconscious Rinoa how he worries too much about what people think and that he puts on a facade so people wouldn't get to know the real him, which he's so insecure about. On the surface, he seems indifferent to other people's opinions, but inside, he could not be any more self-conscious.

Another is when the party believes that Seifer has died and Squall has his awkward outburst. IMO it's the one scene that really summarizes the old Squall best. It shows four very important things about him:

1. Squall gets attached to people rather easily. On the surface, Squall is trying to live a solitary lifestyle, preferring not to get attached to others, but here, we see that he's actually developed an attachment to Seifer based on how much he gets affected by his death.
Before this moment, they never show anything that indicated that Squall ever hated Seifer. He had plenty of reasons to hate Seifer (especially after the training incident) considering how Seifer supposedly always bullied Squall. But Squall seemed to be fine with it. If anything, Seifer was giving Squall what he wanted: something to push against or test his strength. Seifer was a bully, someone equally skilled to train with, a rival when it comes to mastering the gunblade, etc. And in the end, he got used to having Seifer there and missed him when he thought he was dead.

2. Squall is very self-conscious. On the surface, Squall doesn't care about other people and their opinions. But as he admits later on, he cares too much about what people think. And it's pretty apparent in this scene as well. His thoughts immediately jump from Seifer to "Will they...Will they talk about me this way if I die, too? Squall was this and that. Using past tense, saying whatever they want?"

3. Squall can't handle loss. This is the reason behind Squall's personality and the main reason behind his weird outburst in this scene. The reason why he tries not to get attached, as he confesses to Rinoa, is that he can't handle loss. And here, we see how much Seifer's supposed death unhinges Squall.

4. Squall has trouble expressing his emotions. This is why the line is supposed to be awkward. Squall doesn't regularly express himself. Squall's an introvert who desperately tries to hide himself from others. Since he gets really attached to people and he can't handle loss, it's understandable why Seifer's death would really upset him. And how he deals with it is actually pretty consistent with his character.

Putting all those things together, we can understand Squall’s reaction during that scene. In the same way the loss of his Sis led him to think "I don't want other people seeing me as a weakling," the loss of Seifer led him to think "I don't want people talking about me like this when I'm gone." Really troubled, his facade cracks for a moment, and he expresses himself awkwardly, which is completely consistent with his character.

There are plenty of other moments throughout the story that hint at Squall's true nature, most notably during the times we see him alone in his dorm.

That brings us to one common misconception people get about Squall: that he suddenly goes from being annoyed with Rinoa to being completely in love with her. Now, knowing how easily he gets attached to people and his fear of loss, it’s safe to assume that he had gotten a little used to her and was simply afraid of losing her when she went into a coma. It wasn't entirely out of love that he carried her all the way to Esthar. He had some feelings for her then, but what he did then was still mainly out of his deep fear of loss. Everything he did during that part was actually quite consistent with his character and not at all a sudden 180 like people seem to believe.

Before Squall carries Rinoa to Esthar, there are actually some earlier signs that Squall was beginning to have some feelings for Rinoa. This is a lot more clearer if the player selects the "nicer" dialogue options in the game, which lets one see Squall's internal changes--especially regarding Rinoa--much better. For example, if the player does not send Rinoa to the missile base, the player gets to see that Squall is beginning to grow fond of the rest of his teammates and the "nice" option allows Squall to open up to Rinoa about this. And if Squall sends Rinoa to the missile base, then the "nice" option has Squall admitting to Rinoa that he missed her.

But the criticism isn't usually of the earlier parts of their romance. No, people seem to think that it's Squall's later actions--talking about hearing Rinoa's voice again, carrying her to Esthar--that were too sudden and out of character. But it's really not.

Rarely acting on his own and being socially inept, Squall doesn't know how he's supposed to deal with issues himself, which is why he's so comfortable with taking orders and just going with the flow. This fact about Squall is made apparent in scenes where he's supposed to make some important decision but is extremely hesitant to do so. One good part where this can be seen--although it might not be obvious--is just before the assassination attempt and Squall is talking about how right and wrong do not exist. It helps to realize that a lot of Squall's internal monologues and introspection is actually Squall having a conversation with himself, and a lot of times he's basically trying to convince himself of something he does not actually believe in. This is no different. By convincing himself that right and wrong do not exist, he was rationalizing his moral beliefs away, absolving himself of any guilt he may have for not acting on anything aside from what he's been ordered to do. (Separating himself from his own beliefs and emotions is basically Squall's last step in completely disconnecting himself from everybody.)

But the fact that Squall is not used to deciding based on what he really wants is why, when faced with the possibility of losing someone yet again (and someone that he's apparently fond of), he didn't know how to react properly and did something as extreme as trying to walk all the way to Esthar carrying Rinoa on his back.

There are other earlier instances where Squall is torn during an important decision, like when Rinoa was being attacked by the Iguions or when she was hanging from a cliff. But even in those moments, Squall was clearly torn between doing what he thinks a "strong" person would do and what he wants to do. Squall wasn't apathetic in those earlier moments--he was just reluctant to break the false ideals he had tried to live by up until that point. (And his extreme display of supposed apathy is again, just an overcompensation caused by his social awkwardness.) And ultimately Rinoa won out every time, since in all those moments, Squall threw out the mission at hand in order to save her. Maybe initially it was out of obligation or because he was pestered into it, but again, as the player progresses through the game, it should be somewhat clear that Squall was developing something for Rinoa.

When Rinoa became lifeless, Squall finally reached a breaking point, and from there on out he really has thrown out everything else in order to save her. It's not at all sudden, and his overreaction is not out of character given his established social ineptitude.

But again, I don't think Squall went overboard like that because he was in love with her. Not yet. At that point, even though he did have feelings for her, he was still acting more out of his fear of losing people. It's the scene in the Ragnarok that sealed the deal. It's that moment when he finally discarded his fear of intimacy, confided to somebody else, and became emotionally close with her that you're supposed to interpret as him falling for Rinoa. She (along with the others) had been getting him to open up slowly all throughout the game, so this isn't something sudden either. Even back when she was unconscious, he had already started admitting things to himself. But now, he was able to confide to someone else something that he's spent his whole life running away from. And it should understandable why an introvert like Squall would fall for a person who could get him to open up like that.

On that note, there's a little observation that I'd like to add. I think the imagery and meaning behind the Strength tarot card matches Squall really well. (Now I'm no expert on tarot cards, but I have studied them a bit--I own three decks even--and I find it fascinating how many FF characters match up perfectly to a certain arcane--not just to the archetypes, but the symbolisms as well--such as Bartz to Fool, Cloud and Sephiroth to Tower, Squall to Strength, etc.)

The Strength card refers to inner strength and one of the traditional representation of the Strength card is the image of a woman passively placing her hand on a lion, seemingly taming it with her touch. It’s meant to represent either using inner strength to control our primal drives or the value of inner strength over physical strength. (Sound familiar already?)

The lion is Griever--and again, Griever itself is a representation of Squall's false ideal of strength. The woman is Rinoa, representing Squall's inner strength. While others perceived Squall as being strong, confident, and collected on the surface, we see that he is weak, self-conscious, and conflicted inside. It was Rinoa who gave Squall the inner strength he needed to stop living in denial and shatter this false image of strength he's put up; face his fears of intimacy, loneliness, and loss; and finally open himself up to others. So like the card, Rinoa tames Griever, and Squall finds his inner strength.

And so "Lion Heart/Leonhart" fits quite well with that theme actually. The lion's true strength didn't lie on the surface,but rather, in his heart. (Cheesy as that may sound.)

It should be mentioned that Ultimecia's personal story actually parallels Squall's. Ultimecia was so determined to avoid her fate that she dedicated her entire life to avoiding it, but wound up triggering the chain of events that ultimately made it possible. Compare that to Squall's story: to rid himself of his emotional fragility, he developed a defense mechanism that would dictate his whole lifestyle, but in truth, he was actually giving into it even further. There's a lot of irony in their efforts to change their own fates.

And Squall's story not only parallels Ultimecia's, but Cloud's as well. Both Cloud and Squall deal with the issue of having to find the inner strength to shed a false persona (that they made for themselves to compensate for a perceived weaknesses) in order to uncover their true selves. The only difference is in execution. Cloud's was done with fantasy elements and Squall's was more realistic. Also, Cloud was basically transformed to Squall in AC. In AC, Cloud was traumatized by earlier experiences of loss and distances himself from others in order to avoid any further pain. That's pretty much Squall's deal in FFVIII, complete with the supposed claim of apathy ("Not interested." = "Whatever.")

Unlike Ultimecia, Laguna isn’t in the story as a parallel to Squall, but rather as a foil. There are many ways in which these two characters are opposites of each other. Squall is introverted; Laguna openly speaks his mind (like with Julia in the hotel room or the fact that he’s a writer). Squall is self-conscious; Laguna doesn’t seem to mind his image (apart from the understandable nervousness he gets when speaking with the girl he likes). Squall wants to just go with the flow and follow orders; Laguna wants to follow his dreams. Squall doesn’t want to act on his own moral beliefs, which makes him hesitant to help others; Laguna doesn’t hesitate to help others and does what he thinks is right (like fighting monsters in Winhill or saving the moomba in Esthar). Squall is afraid of intimacy and loss; Laguna builds many relationships throughout his journey, and experiences plenty of losses as well (Julia, Raine, Ellone, his son). And lastly, as Rinoa notes in the Ragnarok, Squall missed out on a lot of things in life because of his solitary lifestyle; and while Laguna has loved and lost, it seems as though he’s lived a fuller life.

And while Laguna is the opposite of Squall, Seifer instead has several of Squall's desired traits taken to extremes. Seifer has no concern for the feelings of others; he disregards personal obligations; and he eventually rids himself of his friends. Even Seifer's "romantic dream" could be equated to Squall's desire to become a strong individual.

And maybe this is part of why Squall never hated Seifer despite having many reasons to. Squall actually respected and admired Seifer because in his mind, Seifer was just like the kind of person he would want to be. But eventually, as the main party gets Squall to open his eyes, he starts seeing the flaws behind his life philosophy through Seifer. Blindly following orders without any regard for the morality behind his choices, as well as severing ties with people who care about what happened to him has not only landed Seifer with the villains, but has also reduced him to "a lapdog" as Squall himself noted.

Anyway, understanding Squall’s growth actually helps one to understand FFVIII’s ending as the events there parallel his growth. Initially, Squall is fixated on some trauma from the past and he keeps going back to that in his mind throughout the entire game. His fixation is what lands him in the past. As mentioned in the game, to ride out time compression, one must focus on other people and on a particular place. Squall is supposed to think about the orphanage, but his obsession with his past lands him in the wrong time. And Ultimecia’s obsession with her fate (she either fixates on Squall or the time/location where SeeD is first created) is what takes her to Squall. (Note that this event echoes Ultimecia’s story as well.)

In the story, Squall comes to terms with that trauma from his past instead of just burying it. And in the ending, Squall gives Edea the idea to create SeeD, showing that Squall accepts that he can’t change the past, so he simply has to accept it. And from there, he moves on--he goes back and tries to find Rinoa in the present.

He desperately reaches out for Rinoa, but his fear of intimacy and loss still lingers and hinders him, which itself was a final test for Squall. He was still afraid of losing Rinoa in some way (like death, which is shown when Rinoa’s helmet broke in space, or to the fact that she’s now the world‘s enemy, which is what I believe the game was hinting at with the single frame image of Ultimecia and the black wings). And of course, as in the main plot, Rinoa’s persistence wins over as she finally finds Squall, who eventually remembers their promise.

I think Squall’s development is very interesting because it’s not very typical. It’s gradual, and most of it is internal. Relatively speaking, it doesn’t seem like much, but it is very significant. And more importantly, it’s a very realistic growth; it’s very easy to imagine someone in the real world changing in this exact same way, which, in my opinion, makes Squall the most realistic Final Fantasy character thus far.