I was a bit let down she was only with me for one case in Justice for All. I missed her.

hide Maya's drawing in the card? Possibly she was feeling threatened by Maya, or simply didn't Want Phoenix to see it and get any weird ideas.

Right before this scene, she had been about to give up. She had decided she would never prosecute again. Perhaps she was even considering going into hiding or killing herself. But Edgeworth changed her mind. When she was holding that card and saying she would give the card back to Phoenix, what I thought she was saying was that she would not give up, she would continue to prosecute, she would continue her life, and she would continue until she won. This scene was more about Franziska's character development than her liking Phoenix.

Of course he was concerned. She was SHOT. At first he didn't even know WHERE she was shot, so far all he knew it was in a potentially fatal part of her body. When he brought her the flowers in the hospital, I thought it was sort of an apology rather than a show of affection. Remember that de Killer basically told Phoenix that Phoenix was the reason that Franziska was shot, so I'm sure he felt guilty about it. Doesn't mean he loves her, it means he's a decent person.

You see, I think the entire crux of the relationship in 3-5 is not that Phoenix must be with Ayame to be happy; it’s that he must be able to move on from Ayame to be happy. That he must be able to find closure over what happened with Chinami, to discover the truth. And Ayame gives him that in one of the most beautiful scenes in the entire series.

But part of what makes it so special in the first place is that it’s a bittersweet, intensely beautiful goodbye.

Phoenix and Ayame can never recapture what they had. So let’s take a look at what they did have. Phoenix was willing to lie for her, even when he thought “she” was guilty of murder. He was willing to risk death for her. Ayame was willing to kill to protect him, even if she had to die in the process. That is incredibly powerful.

It’s also unhealthy. It is an immature form of love, where two people become the center of the world. To Phoenix, there was no one more important than Ayame. To Ayame, Phoenix was even more important than the sister that had ruled her life for so long. But, Phoenix didn’t care about who got hurt because of that. He didn’t care that in his lying on the stand, he could very well let a killer walk free. He even went to far as to attack Mia in order to save “Chi-chan”.

Ayame and Phoenix brought out the BEST in one another, towards one another. But in doing that, the rest of the world ceased to matter to them.

There is also no getting away from the fact that their relationship was built on a lie. Phoenix didn’t know Ayame as she was, he thought she was “Chinami”. Ayame, for all her love of him, never told him. Those powerful feelings were genuine, but their basis was not. Ayame is aware of this. She tells Edgeworth “I know him, but he doesn’t know me”. This is why she doesn’t want to tell Phoenix the truth. At least without him knowing, she can continue lying to herself that what they had was real. But if she tells him and he rejects her? It’s broken beyond repair.

And, instead, Phoenix reaffirms what they had was real. He was within his rights to reject her, and instead he acknowledged her. He gave her a gift she didn’t even DREAM of hoping for. That is why she cries when he says that he always had faith in her.

I’m going to go into Godot for a moment. This is important. The issue with Godot is his inability to move on from the past. The past hangs around his neck; it weighs him down. He can’t get over Mia and what they had. Phoenix, at the beginning of 3-5 is much the same way. Even after seeing Chinami for himself, he still can’t quite believe that it was the woman he loved.

He goes to Hazakurain not to rekindle a love, he goes to find answers. He, unlike Godot, faces his past. And that is what allows him to say goodbye to Ayame, and keep what they had intact. They might not be able to go back, but that memory will no longer hurt. It will bring warmth, the warmth of knowing that they once shared a love that powerful. That’s a gift not a lot of people can claim.

I have stated time and time again through this that Phoenix and Ayame can’t go back. Why is this? Phoenix has changed.

Phoenix is no longer able to make Ayame the center of his world like he did before. His world has expanded too far beyond that. He has a family, friends, that would never let him be that selfish. His responsibilities are too numerous and important for him to ever get caught up in a love like that again. And…he and Ayame have grown too far apart. His home is no longer her home. His goals no longer have a place for her. He can make room for her in his life, but he can’t build his life around her like he might have been able to before.

Ayame is very much the same as she was, but that’s because she’s been unable to move on. Her love for Phoenix has trapped her in time. She still loves him even now, but she’s afraid to face him, afraid that she might be broken by him. But by affirming their feelings and letting her go, Phoenix allows her to move on. She is free now. And, a part of her will always love him, but she doesn’t have to cling to it desperately, to protect it with all her might. He already validated her.

I am going to quote a line from Phoenix. It is probably THE most important quote in regards to their relationship:

“Let me say one thing. You really are the person I believed you were. Even after "Chinami Miyanagi" received the guilty verdict...I still believed in you. “

Did you notice something? He only has one thing to say to her. Not “many things”. And his one thing is that he always believed in her, that she was the person he thought she was. Not that he loves her, not that he is still in love with her.

But, him telling her that he knew her, that he had faith in her, that their love was real? That’s a far more precious gift than “I love you”. She allowed him to move on. He validated her and set her free.

And that loses all power if you see it as a validation of a current relationship. Phoenix/Ayame is so wonderful and amazing because it was fleeting. Because it was a part of the past that has no future. Because the fire could die, but they can still warm themselves by the embers and be happy.

And then, after everything is over, Phoenix goes into the lobby, where his friends and loved ones are waiting. As Raelle said: A little bit stronger and more at peace with himself than he was before. He doesn’t think about her again, he doesn’t have to think about her again.

It was beautiful. It was goodbye.