Bombers’ Notebook: Medli

My favorite characters in any kind of media are always the “quiet-but-determined” kind. Yuna from Final Fantasy X, Lucas from Mother 3, and of course Medli from Wind Waker are just some examples of this type of character.

It’s because I relate so well to them that I find myself cheering them on in their adventure. More than that, they give me hope and strength in my own life, as I often feel the same way that they do.

Medli is a member of the Rito tribe, which very quickly became my favorite race in the Zelda series. She has all the traits I described above, but she also puts in a lot of effort into everything she does. Medli plays the harp, which was given to her by her late grandmother, only after realizing that Medli would have an important task later on in her life.

Unfortunately, Medli’s grandmother passed before she could pass on all her knowledge of the ancient Hylian language, so Medli had to take up the role of Valoo’s attendant without being able to fully understand what he says. This leads to her not feeling as though she is worthy of the title, so she tries even harder at everything she does.

For me, this is an extremely relatable characteristic. Oftentimes I feel as though all the praise I receive is never truly warranted. I put in a lot of effort to make up for that feeling, knowing full well that it would never be enough for myself. I often wonder if perhaps Medli feels the same way. She is given a position she doesn’t feel she can properly handle, and yet those around her think she can and as such expect her to do so.

I think this is why Medli really resonated with me on my first playthrough. I often had good grades in school, so I received a lot of praise and expectations heaped on me. Although, similarly to Medli, for me, it was just something that had to be done; nothing more.

It’s funny then how much Medli mirrors Link in his journey and his title as the hero; Link doesn’t ever complain about his position and merely accepts it as it must be. In that way, Medli and Link are very similar characters, which I theorize that perhaps Link sees himself in Medli in this way. I always felt as though the friendship they had bloomed as well as it did because of this mutual understanding of their respected destinies.

This becomes even more prevalent once Medli awakens as the Sage of Earth. Medli is given a role of even greater importance, but by this point, she has grown so much that she takes on the task with vim and vigor. Despite this, she still maintains her old self and doesn’t allow the new duty to change who she is. This subtlety in her character is another aspect I love about her. It’s easy to ham-fist a character’s development where their personality essentially does a 180-degree turn to emphasize change, but this isn’t usually the case with believable characters or, for that matter, real people.

As well as all that, she looks after Prince Komali, and she feels in part responsible for his withdrawal to his room early in the game. She believes that she has failed him because she can’t fully understand Valoo yet, and so she feels as though if she’d been better, Komali would have his wings and things would be better than they are now.

Of course, it’s irrational for her to think this way, as we learn that Komali is a bit pampered in contrast to Medli. He doesn’t feel the need to try as hard because everything is so difficult and trying in these times, on top of the pressure for him to perform as a prince. The duality of these characters helps us to see more sides of them, and it also shows how two characters deal with similar problems but handle them in different ways.

The determination that Medli shows throughout the game is truly admirable. In many ways, I aspire to approach all things in my life in the way that she does. She handles her failures gracefully, and though she might take them to heart at times, she never gives up and continues to try and improve, hoping that maybe she can fulfill the expectations of those around her, as well as the expectations she has of herself. Perhaps because of her shyness, she possibly feels that she cannot be confident and strong.

But I like to think that by the end of the game, she realizes that she is capable of doing amazing things. Only by accepting herself as she is and doing what she can by giving it her everything, she becomes the Sage of Earth and helps Link in a way that only she can. It is that quiet strength and fortitude that makes Medli such a wonderful character in my eyes, and is a testament to just how amazing and wonderful the characters in these games are, even when at a cursory glance they seem simple. Look at their actions and the subtle ways they change however, and you’ll find this to rarely be the case though, and for me, Medli is my favorite example of that.