His single-minded focus of personal revenge is being progressively replaced by focusing on the people he can yet save. Vaan finds the maturity and kindness in his heart to forgive Basch, the scapegoat that the Empire has so cleverly put as the source of all evil, despite hating him at every waking moment since his brother was murdered and despite Basch being more than willing to bear that shame and burden of the world all by himself. His contribution to the narrative posits that the value of Vaan doesn’t rely upon his personal power, as his status already dictate that he will never have the reach and power that even a left-for-dead princess like Ashe still has, but in his ability to bring people together for a common cause. It would even have remained this way had he not been saved too! Final Fantasy XII had displayed the past, present and future of a youth like Vaan, of any youth in Rabanastre even, if given enough time. How can you stand to live when you wake up to see your enemy infiltrating every aspect of your life? You either resign to it, or you fight back and end up living the rest of your days in a dungeon, and the latter is exactly what happened to Vaan. Vaan is the evidence of the rot that the Empire is inflicting to the people of Rabanastre every day. His antics and unwillingness to let go showcases the deep-seated trauma that has encroached his mind. To Vaan, the murder of his brother Reks, who took the place of his dead parents and cared for him, ended up being the most devastating moment of his life and transformed him into a bowl of hate and frustration.
They are disposable garbage meant to be taken out. People like Vaan and his older brother are considered as even less than pawns. He and his kind are so much of nothing, that his own brother was framed, tortured, and murdered for the sake of political games like a used tissue to be discarded. How could he? His enemy is an empire that constantly invades every facet of his life. He is powerless, weak, unable to stand up against the enemy by himself. Vaan is one of those people at the bottom of the chain. Final Fantasy XII is displaying the breadth of a social caste and highlighting the flaws in the system they are a part of, and them working together to prevent a bigger conflict to sweep them away.
However, that is because Final Fantasy XII is a world-driven game in which characters aren’t highlighted for their ability to save the world, but to showcase this moment in history where everyone is coming together to face their struggle despite their difference. He is part of a larger narrative in which his (lack of) importance isn’t driving the plot. Vaan is a very different character from what Final Fantasy is used to see.
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