(what follows is part of a series of thought-provoking articles on facets of video games, gaming, and whatnot.)
WHY SCHALA IS JUST AS BAD AS MAGUS
Nov 18, 2014 by King Aquamentus
Schala Zeal. The very image of beauty, kindness, and unfair tragedy. Her sad disappearance near the end of Chrono Trigger actually serves to make Magus an even more interesting and popular character, and given his cold, snarky nature, also makes her an effective foil. However, in her own way, she's kind of a terrible person herself.
Before I get into the reasons why, you have to understand one important thing. Schala's motivation is cowardice. She's a nice person generally, but has almost no backbone until such a point when it is too late in the game anyways, and she just has to be forced to continue. Also, SPOILERS AHEAD.
If it wasn't already obvious to those who have played the game, Schala and her brother Janus live in an abusive home. Their father is nonexistent, likely dead, and their mother not only cares more about herself than her own children, but will put Schala in harm's way (or even attack her) to get what she wants. However, Schala is actually said at one point to be more powerful than her mother, and could easily subdue her. So why doesn't she? Again, abuse. Schala loves her too much to see beyond subservience, except for one thing which only she and her brother Janus *can* see: their mother's ambition is about to get the kingdom destroyed.
Now the abuse alone doesn't make Schala a bad person, any more than a beaten wife is to blame for not leaving her husband. However, Janus is not afraid to call Schala out on the fact that the whole kingdom is at stake, and probably would have directly retaliated in her position, if his powers were as honed (He feigns impotence so that the queen doesn't try to use him as well.) When Schala finally does rebel, she has already completely empowered her mother, when she could have dealt with the issue months ago using just a few spells. Yeah, I get that Schala would not easily do such a thing (read: abuse), but even she recognizes and acknowledges the immense danger of letting her mother continue, while still deciding not to act.
And that's only a misdemeanor compared to what happens next.
All three members of the Zeal royal family have an obsession with Lavos, the game's primary antagonist. With Janus and the Queen it is much more obvious (The Queen wants immortality through its power, while Janus just wants to corner it in a dark alley and kick its ass), but not only does Chrono Cross reveal that Schala sympathizes with Lavos ("a predatory creature just trying to survive, as we are"), but the DS rerelease of Chrono Trigger shows that she actually lets herself become one with it in order to unleash her greatest desire: the complete extermination of existence
This circles back to Schala's motivation of cowardice. She cannot bear to live in a world where in order for some to live, others must die. Therefore, if she can't enjoy it, nobody can. But she's just mistaken, right?
Yeah, so were Magus and the Queen, and neither of them served as the final boss in either game.
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