Bandit LOAF
Long Live the Confederation!
I was mistaken and confused, I guess. Didn't they describe Tolwyn as looking angry or disheveled?
Nope. Here's the section about Tolwyn:
Blair noted Paladin prominently seated among the Terran representatives, and near him was Admiral Tolwyn. The court of inquiry found the admiral blameless in the loss of the Behemoth, and he had returned to active service just in time to be a part of the protracted negotiations. Blair thought it was fitting, somehow, that Tolwyn played a role in the final triumph. Though he never agreed with the man's style or motivations, Admiral Geoff Tolwyn was a central figure in the Confederation resistance throughout the war, and it was only right that he should see it through to the very end.
As for the rest of this discussion, I don't think y'all are giving Tolwyn the proper credit. He's one of the most fleshed out, three-dimensional characters in the Wing Commander universe -- to simply see him as simply an evil villain is cheap.
Tolwyn's tragic flaw is that he's always believed he knows best. From telling off More at his graduation to his suicide, Tolwyn's entire career has been alternating praise and damnation solely because he's done what he thinks is right. And we'll applaud him when it agrees with is -- he went against orders to save Tarawa because his ideals would let him do no less... and we'll demonize him when we think it was wrong -- from believing cloaks can't exist to beleving mankind had to be readied for another war. But that's what made him a great and realistic character.