LogFAQs > #980196678

9/10

I have exactly one problem with this case, and I think I've mentioned it before, but I have written fanfic to demonstrate.

May 11, 2:03 PM
Detention Center

Phoenix: (Well... looks like this is it.)
Phoenix: (Maya's been found guilty, and now I'm subject to penalty under the DC Act.)
Phoenix: (I've been locked up in here for hours. Nobody's coming to my aid.)
Phoenix: (I'm sorry, Maya. I couldn't protect -)

Rayfa appears.

Phoenix: (...It's her. What does she want?)
Rayfa: You're free to go.
Phoenix: ...! Wait, really?
Rayfa: Yes. Under the condition that I am to accompany you everywhere you go, of course.
Rayfa: This is a direct order from my father. He has granted you a stay of execution.
Rayfa: Rejoice! Yours is the first pardon a lawyer has ever received under the DC Act! You should be honored!
Phoenix: Justice Minister Inga ordered this? But why?
Rayfa: (smiling) Ooooh, it would have been awful, Barbed Head! They were going to lock you in a cage and have Warbaa'ds pluck out your eyes!
Rayfa: A fitting punishment for someone who uses their bewitching words to make people see illusions and deceit, if you ask me.
Rayfa: However, I spoke to my father and convinced him to show you but a small fraction of the Holy Mother's infinite mercy.
Rayfa: I have saved you from a terrible fate. Am I not a kind and benevolent princess, who offers second chances to even the most pathetic of lowlifes?
Phoenix: I have to admit, that's a surprisingly nice thing for you to do for someone you hate so much, Your Benevolence.
Rayfa: Hmph! Don't act as if it was merely for your sake. You have called my Divination Seances into question twice, now.
Rayfa: I cannot allow you to face your fate until I have proven to you, once and for all, that my insights are superior to your lawyerly tricks!
Rayfa: And then, you and that vile criminal Maya Fey will get what's coming to you. And there will be no third chances, Barbed Head!
Rayfa: So, let us make haste for the crime scene!
Phoenix: ...Ah, I see how it is. You had fun yesterday, didn't you?
Rayfa: (surprised) What?
Phoenix: That's why you begged your father to let me out, isn't it? So you could tag along with me on my investigation?
Rayfa: (getting angry) You... you... that is a PREPOSTEROUS notion! As if I don't have better things to do than lead you around like some mangy dog!
Rayfa: You'd best watch your tongue, Barbed Head, or I'll personally see to it that the Warbaa'ds pluck that out, too!
Phoenix: (In other words, I hit the nail on the barbed head. Guess I shouldn't antagonize her any further, though.)
Phoenix: My apologies, Your Benevolence. Let's go.
Phoenix: (Still... what could the Justice Minister be thinking? Did he really listen to his daughter?)
Phoenix: (I hope this isn't some kind of trap... but I guess I don't have any other choice but to take this chance to investigate!)

This scene, or something like it, really should have happened after the end of the first trial day. It would establish that Rayfa has a soft spot for Phoenix, reward Phoenix for cultivating his relationship with her, and give him a genuinely plausible out in an otherwise hopeless situation - and at the same time, it would be foreshadowing to the fact that Inga himself has a soft spot for his daughter.

Instead, THIS SCENE NEVER HAPPENS. Phoenix is just standing around at the temple with absolutely no explanation of why they set him free! It totally takes me out of the urgency of the guilty verdict on the first day that they didn't even arrest Phoenix or anything. Drives me completely nuts. They had this little character moment perfectly set up between Rayfa and Phoenix and just skipped it! I don't understand!

Otherwise this case is basically perfect, it's a top 5 case in the entire franchise, the murders are brilliant, the twist is brilliant, the payoff to Maya's return to the series is awesome, it's one of the most exciting cases and probably the best middle case ever, BUT THIS ONE THING REALLY BOTHERS ME