If this seems familiar, then it’s because I’ve made this post before. Due to the recent increase of EdgeLord Dredgens, I have felt the need to spread the Truth. So, let’s start by analyzing the common insult hurled at Zavala, “Zavala is a coward!” In the Red War, however, Zavala is the only one who rallies the guardians on Titan to make a counterattack, and although attacking the Almighty directly was a foolish idea, he at least wanted to do something, unlike Ikora who was wallowing in Self-pity and Cayde (Blasphemy!) Who was just gonna get himself killed (Although you could say he was trying to do something as well). And in the end, he is the one who devises the plan to retake the city, with us Disabling the Almighty, and Zavala fighting on [i]the Front Lines[/i]. This situation is where the Vanguard shines, and I hope more like it come soon. In Curse of Osiris, he really wasn’t against or for our actions (I don’t really know what he was doing.) so we will skip that expansion (which is probably what most people did). In Warmind, Zavala doesn’t want us to mess with Rasputin, and everyone seems to forget the last time someone did that Rasputin nuked the Iron Lords and unleashed SIVA. Rasputin is a Wild Card. And even when we protect him from Xol he still says he’ll “Defend humanity on his own terms.” There’s even an ongoing debate on whether or not he shot the traveler (although I personally don’t think he did) And now to Forsaken, where everyone favorite Hunter was mercilessly gunned down by the son of a Glitch known as Uldren. Ikora, the emotionally unbalanced person she is (no offense) calls for [i]every single guardian[/i] to storm the reef and kill Uldren to avenge [i]ONE[/i] person. Cayde or no, one person doesn’t merit the entirety of the Guardians to storm the reef, a place of no strategic importance, to kill Uldren, who was literally going mad. I even suspect that Zavala, as an Awoken, felt it wrong for him to kill his own kind, and a prince and brother to Mara Sov, no less.m! He tells us once the deed is done that he would’ve done it himself in another life, and I believe him. If he wasn’t solely responsible for the protection of the City, and would’ve seen Uldren kill Cayde, I bet my ghost (Sorry Echo) he would’ve done the same. Then we have the Lost Cryptarch quest, which is basically us doing the same thing as Forsaken but for a flipping [i]CRYPTARCH[/i] who wasn’t even from the city! We go to the Cosmodrome and learn that it’s been quarantined, and Zavala isn’t allowing anyone to step foot there. First of all, the quarantine was put in place by Saladin, not Zavala, and was even there before Rise of Iron, albeit not yet including the Cosmodrome. Second, the “Irradiated shank” that we encounter shows us that the Cosmodrome likely has large amounts of Radiation, which as the lore book “Ecydis” tells us is dangerous to guardians as being exposed and dying to it would start and endless cycle of death and resurrection. Thirdly, we simply have no reason to be there (unless of course you’re in hot pursuit of a certain Splicer captain). As I have said we’re already Avenging a random Reef Cryptarch, the place holds no strategic importance, and the Splicers and Devils and Hive packed up and left once the Red Legion arrived. Now for the Allegiance quest, where many Edgelords showed their true colors and sided with that shifty-eyed drifter. Some may point out that the ending is the same no matter which one you choose, that the investigation just proves that Drifter is Innocent, and the fact that we’re not siding with the vanguard at all, and rather the Praxic order, which also aren’t as bad as people (and the drifter) say they are, but that’s for another post I disagree. The choice matters, because both sides will remember your choice. Aunor is close with Ikora, so when the time comes she’ll remind her of our choice. Plus, if you side with the Drifter, he talks of a coming collapse and how we’ll escape with him, which is precisely why people don’t like Zavala! That, my fellow guardians, is true cowardice. Abandoning humanity just to save yourself is just wrong, even if you say you’ll save those who come with you. But the biggest reason that Zavala isn’t the “-blam!-“ everyone makes him out to be, is this:[spoiler][i]Whether we wanted it or not, we’ve stepped into war with the Cabal on Mars. So let’s start to taking out their command one by one. Valus Ta’arc. From what I can gather he commands he Siege Dancers from an imperial land tank just outside the rubicon, but with the right team, we can punch through those defenses and break their grip on Freehold.[/i] And I’m not just meming, either. This is an attack ordered by Zavala, which is the opposite of cowardice.[/spoiler]