Chapter Text
Now, I’m not going to include body language for most of this, since I don’t know much of it because of my blindness, but this one is particularly relevant. When Link enters the room, Ghirahim is facing the door leading towards Zelda, readying his rapier. But when he realizes he’s no longer alone, he puts his sword away before facing him. Just keep that little tidbit in mind as you read, alright? Okay! Let’s begin!
Ghirahim: Look who it is… I thought that tornado I stirred up would have tossed and torn you apart, yet here you are. Not in pieces.
Believe it or not, with this very first line, Ghirahim is already giving us a great deal of information about how he goes about things. He reveals to us that, not only was he already aware of Link’s existence, but that he had ideally hoped to dispatch him quickly with the tornado. And it almost worked, if not for Link’s plot armor.
This implies that unlike Demise, Ghirahim values efficiency over sadism, even with his flare for the dramatics.
Ghirahim: Not that your life or death has any consequence, It's just the girl that matters now, and I can sense her here…just beyond this door
Okay. This is something you will find Ghirahim does a lot. Saying things that on first listen sound bad or insulting, but aren’t actually as nasty if you stop to think about them.
Essentially, Ghirahim is adding onto his first statement, that although he’d hoped the tornado would get LINk out of the way, he’s not out to harm him and only wants Zelda. Which isn’t good, and admitting to kidnapping someone’s childhood friend isn’t about to gain him sympathy, but I still think it means something.
The literal translation also states Ghirahim senses Zelda’s signature, which confirms my theory he senses things similar to Fi.
Ghirahim: Yes, we plucked her majesty from her perch in the clouds, and now she’s ours.
Note: Ghirahim says ours here. Not mine, ours. He is a team player, including the monsters in his efforts even though they had nothing to do with the tornado plan.
There’s also a sort of eagerness to this line as well. As if Ghirahim were a small child telling a parent about his accomplishments. But of course, he’s not about to get any sort of praise for kidnapping LINk’s childhood friend. I believe he forgot himself a little in his excitement, who exactly he was speaking to and how he relates to the event at hand, which makes what’s about to happen all the more sad, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
Ghirahim: Ah, but listen to me, I’m being positively uncivil. Allow me to introduce myself.
Ghirahim values politeness, as much as someone who has been with Demise for most of his existence can. He also seems to beat himself up a bit about his potential rudeness of chattering excitedly without introducing himself, calling it a stronger word, such as ‘uncivil,’ rather than simply ‘rude.’
It makes me think he has been reprimanded for talking a lot in the past. I wonder just who might have done that?
Ghirahim: I am the demon lord who presides over this land you look down upon, this land you call the Surface. You may call me Ghirahim. In truth, i very much prefer to be indulged with my full title: Lord Ghirahim. But I’m not fussy.
Oh boy. I’ve made posts about just how much is inferred from this line, but let me see if I can do it justice here.
When Ghirahim says he is the lord of the land Link looks down upon, is he actually referring to Link looking down on the land, or looking down upon himself? Skyloft and the Surface are separated by clouds, making it impossible to look at from Link’s former position. And I think it’s quite noteworthy that Ghirahim says this land you look down upon, and this land you call the Surface separately. Rather than saying, “I am the demon lord who presides over this land you look down upon, that you call the Surface.”
Not one person has anything positive to say about Ghirahim, besides Ghirahim himself. Everyone looks down on him in some way. Though I don’t think this was something Ghirahim intentionally reveals to Link, but when Ghirahim gets emotional, he tends to reveal more than he would like to.
What is with this ‘in truth’ business? Asking a stranger to address you with your title shouldn’t be something that you need to say that you’re honest about. Unless you are insecure with that title, and feel that it could be an unreasonable thing to ask of someone. Which Ghirahim all but confirms with the word ‘indulge’, implying that to him, being called Lord is a rare thing, like a treat.
Whether he really is a demon lord, I believe he’s not, but that’s headcanon territory and not the focus of the analysis, he is not confident in his rank. He doesn’t feel like it is something he can enforce.
Even then, he says that he isn’t fussy about it, that he won’t be offended if he’s only addressed as Ghirahim. This could be him attempting to get emotionally close to Link in some way, to seek out a connection of some sort, even in rivalry. Like how he tends to get close physically.
This next line is when the entire vibe of the situation changes.
Ghirahim: Did you really just draw your sword? Foolish boy.
This line reads to me as a break in Ghirahim’s character. A diversion from the more rehearsed monologue to express frustration at Link’s actions. Because I’m sorry, LInk, but it really wasn’t a wise move.
Is it an understandable one? Of course, and I don’t blame him for it one bit. Ghirahim just excitedly admitted to taking Zelda, and is still after her. Link wants to protect her.
But in Ghirahim’s perspective? He just introduced himself. Told Link he wasn’t here to fight with him. But here Link goes, being the first one to draw his weapon, which, Ghirahim only does himself halfway through the fight.
I fully believe Ghirahim didn’t want to fight Link at all here, but now that Link has made a hostile move, he must. If he doesn’t, he’ll look cowardly and weak, and people won’t take him seriously if he retreats the moment a teenage boy draws his blade.
At this moment, any small hope Ghirahim may have had of this encounter not ending in bloodshed is gone, and it shows. From this point on in the cutscene, the almost cheerful and excited demeanor is nowhere to be seen, replaced with his pent-up rage.
Ghirahim: By all rights the girl should have fallen into our hands already.
Our hands. Not mine, ours.
Ghirahim: She was nearly ours when that foul, loathsome servant of the goddess snatched her away.
Ah, Impa. Ghirahim absolutely hates her, and why wouldn’t he?
It’s not just that they’re on opposing sides, and she’s stopping him from fulfilling his purpose. It’s because, if you think about it, he and Impa are in very similar positions.
Both are absolutely devoted to protecting those that they serve, but there is one key difference. Impa is loved. Impa is praised for doing what she does, and her goddess treats her well, Zelda considers her a friend, even. And how is Ghirahim treated in comparison?
No wonder he is angry. No wonder he is jealous. No wonder he is lashing out.
But notably, he hardly ever gets physical about this. He’ll badmouth Impa until the cows come home, but he will only attack her when she is actively getting in his way. And even then, he doesn’t kill her.
Ghirahim: Do you have any idea how that makes me feel inside? Furious! Outraged! Sick with anger!
I know, I know. This is a very hammy and kind of silly line, but it is actually commendable for Ghirahim to express his feelings in this way. He is using his words. He is telling LInk how he feels. Directly. No mind games, no passive aggression. Just complete, and total honesty.
Let’s talk about ‘sick with anger’ for a minute, here. That is a very fascinating word choice on Ghirahim’s part. Sick implies something painful. Something that shouldn’t be there. Something that is inhibiting you in some way. Ghirahim has so much rage inside of him because of things he can’t really do much about, and no good ways of venting. So it’s building up inside of him and making him feel sick.
Ghirahim: This turn of events has left me with a strong appetite for bloodshed.
After you literally just said that your fight wasn’t with LInk? Yeah, sure, Ghirahim. Keep telling yourself that this is what you wanted all along.
Ghirahim: Still…it hardly seems fair, being of my
position, to take all of my anger out on you.
Ghirahim. Values. Fairness.
He could have easily just ran LInk through the moment he entered the room, if bloodshed was truly what he wanted here. But he doesn’t. Despite Demise, despite being made to think of himself as a ‘weapon without mercy,’ he still clings to some semblance of a moral code.
Deep down, I think he knows that what he’s been ordered to do is wrong. That it isn’t okay to treat someone like this, take his anger out violently. But it was the only coping mechanism that was encouraged and/or expected from him.
Ghirahim: Which is why I promise up front not to murder you…
Yes. I know you can get a game over in this fight, but that could simply be gameplay and story segregation.
The fact Ghirahim says the word murder here rather than something more derogatory like ‘slay’ as if LInk were a beast, or even something more neutral like ‘kill,’ means that Ghirahim on some level sees how killing LInk here would be wrong. He does have an issue with it.
But he can’t risk showing that too strongly. Link still needs to understand that Ghirahim is dangerous, he can only hold back so far, they’re destined to clash, no matter how he may feel. Thus, this next line:
Ghirahim: No, I’ll just… (does the tongue thing) beat you within an inch of your life.
Then he laughs about it.
Just an evil laugh, right? All villains do that.
No. At least, I don’t think so.
Ghirahim consistently laughs like this when he is in distressing or painful situations. Note that he never laughed like this when talking about Zelda earlier, it was more of a lower, more bored and forced sounding chuckle back then.
Then the battle begins. Ghirahim doesn’t draw his own sword, not yet. Instead, he fights bare-handed. Except fighting is a stretch in the beginning, he’s just trying to take LInk’s blade, which he will even give back the first time and say:
Ghirahim: Hah, quite the sword you have here.
But so long as you telegraph your
attacks like the novice you are,
you'll never land a blow.
First, Ghirahim compliments Fi.
Second, he gives link a tip. It’s not Fi who tells him this, it is Ghirahim.
And of course, he tries to add an insult to it as usual, calling Link a novice, but it’s not even that bad of an insult. It’s just the facts.
And then, Ghirahim falls from the same fainting trick more than once. The first or second time I could see it being a fluke, but multiple times? Come on!
This entire fight plays out more like a dangerous training session than an actual battle.
Moreover, Ghirahim’s hit animations. They are different from any other Zelda enemy. No one else flinches like that when they get hit. What does that say about Ghirahim?
Ghirahim: Well… You put up more of a fight than I would have thought possible out of such a soft boy.
Everyone speaks a slightly different language. One word that means nothing to someone can be incredibly offensive to someone else, depending on what they associate it with. And clearly, Ghirahim associates softness with bad things.
To him, being soft means you aren’t safe. It means you will be hurt, taken advantage of, walked all over.
This is as much an insult to hide the fact Ghirahim was impressed, then it was a warning.
Ghirahim: That sword of yours is the only reason you still live.
That, and the fact Ghirahim promised not to murder him and was very much helping him. But we don’t talk about that. Can’t let yourself think that you might actually fail, or that you’re sabotaging your own chances right now, huh, Ghirahim?
Ghirahim: The girl's presence has all but faded from this place, which means there's no reason to linger here.
No matter what Ghirahim might feel, his mission, his master, is what will always take priority for him.
Even if LInk hasn’t been beaten within an inch of his life, Ghirahim will still stop and leave.
Ghirahim: I’m being permissive but
You shouldn’t get in my way twice.
Good-bye, sky child.
Permissive. What an interesting, interesting choice of words, Ghirahim.
It reminds me of permissive parenting. Letting your children walk all over you. Not being firm enough, or in this case cruel enough.
He knows. He knows he is not behaving the way his master expects of him here. He could get punished if Demise found out. And yet, he still does it.
He even warns LInk that he can’t be this ‘permissive’ twice. He is polite enough to say goodbye before he goes. And: he calls Link ‘sky child.’
This is actually the only instance of him doing so in canon, and it tends to get exaggerated in fan works. I am guilty of this if you have read my fanfics before. But you know what? It’s cute. So I don’t care.
Calling LInk this may be a reminder to himself. That yes, even though he is the hero, LInk is still young. It could be a way for him to anchor himself to whatever restraint he is allowed to have in his position.