I'm going to sound like Inigo here, but I keep reading that Cullen is "retcon". You keep using that word, I do not think it means what you think it means. There is one example of retcon with him and it has to do with a blurb at the end of Origins. Please site these other examples. If the examples are how different he is from Origins to DA2 let me ask you this, would you be the same naive, kind hearted, young person if the people you thought you were protecting tortured you and killed all your friends? I doubt it. You would question your own naivete and perhaps have survivor's guilt. You would trust in those above you because surely you have been totally wrong, for if you had been right, you would not have had the Broken Circle in the first place. Retcon means changing everything to fit the current narrative, not growth. If you can honestly say that you would not have changed after the events of the Broken Circle, then I would probably throw a bs card down. Every event, big or small, alters the way we react to the world. Days or weeks of constant torture, no sleep, no food, watching friends turn mad and die, would alter ANYONE. Cullen however didn't turn into this radical a-hat like Alrik. He didn't think all mages should be made tranquil or killed. He would have had ever right to resign to that philosophy after what he endured. Would you honestly blame him? It may not be right. Two wrongs don't make a right, but you could at least see why he would be coming at it from that point of view. Alrik had no such reason. He was just a pervy sociopath on a control kick.
And that's another thing. Cullen never got on a power kick. I direct you to this http://en.wikipedia....ison_experiment for an understanding of why the circle doesn't work and why so many Templars go bad. It also shows the strength of Cullen's mind because he does not act this way ever. He goes from naive boy to distant man who won't underestimate a Mage again to having accepted that he has made mistakes and learns from them. That is exactly the type of person you want advising you.
Also, the Chantry isn't the problem. It is a religion. Their views on magic are the problem. The Inquisition does not answer to the Chantry. It is its own entity that was created as a loophole back in the beginning. That being said, pretty much everyone in Thedas is Andastrian. Dismissing people as advisers because they worked for the Chantry is just ridiculous. Who are you going to have? All Qunari, who take away peoples free will and sew up mages mouths? All "atheists"? I seriously doubt there are that many in Thedas. It is like being in Italy during the Renaissance and refusing to work with someone because they were Christian. If you haven't watched the Borgias or Davinci's Demons, I suggest you do to see that in a "medieval" type environment finding people with no faith is virtually impossible. You don't have to ascribe to the faith yourself, but to "bring it down" just isn't going to happen. Even Anders is Andrastian. He wasn't attacking the Chantry. He was attacking their lack of intervention in the atrocities being committed by their military side.
And there's another point. The Templars are military. That means you have to follow a chain of command. You can't just overthrow Meredith because you think she is crazy. You keep an eye on her and report her if things get worse. Even if you report her, it takes time to investigate. That could be months or years. It is not overnight. No magic wand to poof her to a nice padded cell away from the lyrium idol. Cullen does vocalize concern in Act 3, please replay to see what I mean. He also refuses to follow a blatantly bad order. Now, if he has no leadership qualities, why do they other Templars wait to see what he does with Hawke? Why don't they attack with Meredith? Why don't they try to arrest Hawke at the end? Why do they follow what Cullen does if he isn't someone they respect and are willing to follow?
I am utterly confused as to how the actual influence of history, Cullen's obvious (to me and several others) growth, and just blatantly ignoring military structure is so prevalent in this thread other than for whatever reason you don't like Cullen. And that is fine. Go on with your bad self, but why the intense hate? Why say you are being forced to have him. Leilanna, and Cassandra around? You aren't. Don't like them, don't talk to them. Why say things like "pandering" and "fanservice" just because you don't like the character? I'm sure you have your reasons as to why you don't, but you don't have to defend them to me. However those of us who do like Cullen, who see him for more than a potential romance have to defend our opinion with the Sword of Andraste repeatedly otherwise we just want him around to romance. I would like, just once, to see detailed arguments against Cullen rather than the "he isn't experienced enough" (please site reason why you think that other than it has only been a year. See Commander Shepard) or "he's not good, he's only here because of crazy fangirls." Just once. Anyway... rant over.
Peace, Love, and Slay the Archdemon 