He began to think about how his life actually meant more than that, and he hadn’t put enough time into being Lee Chong Wei, the father. All his life, he had been Lee Chong Wei, the badminton player. That made Lee Chong Wei question his sense of self and identity. Eventually, he was diagnosed with nose cancer and his doctor told him that if he continued to train hard, he would die. Though he was number one in the player rankings for considerable lengths of time, he only won silver and always stood second on the podium. My friend recently told me about Lee Chong Wei, the Malaysian badminton player who dreamed of winning Olympic Gold for his country all his life.
Those familiar with Fate/Stay Night know that Waver doesn’t get to participate in the upcoming Holy Grail War, and some persuasion from Gray might be what Waver needs to amicably let go of an obsession which has consumed him throughout adult life - the desire to see Iskandar one last time. I imagine this conversation will be relevant character development for Gray. If I had to guess, she envies Waver and despises how he was unable to call off Iskandar from charging to his doom and defeat at the hands of Gilgamesh. I think this moment might be key to unlocking Hephaestion’s character, her philosophical viewpoint on the master/servant dynamic, and why she resents Waver. That said, things immediately took a hostile turn once Gray revealed her knowledge of an extremely private moment from Hephaestion’s life - where she defied Iskandar in an attempt to prevent him from dying young in the futile pursuit of his dream. I never quite saw this parallel, but it really makes sense. They both devoutly serve as primary confidantes to their master, and while powerful in their own respect, possess abilities that are mere shadows of ones possessed by significantly greater historical figures. And accounting for the difference in culture from those times, especially when it comes to honour, chivalry and respect, I thought Hephaestion’s decision to spare Gray’s life and save her from the avalanche was well justified: Iskandar’s aide views Arturia’s imitation as a kindred spirit. The conversation Hephaestion had with Gray greatly fascinated me, because the parallels between their characters were emphasised and the content of their discussion revealed a lot about them.