PATRICK ZALA SPOILER!

Patrick Zala is Athrun's father and one of the most powerful political figures in the PLANTs. The death of his wife Lenore in the Bloody Valentine nuclear attack hardens his fear and anger toward Naturals into something much more dangerous. As ZAFT's leadership shifts, Patrick stops treating the war as a fight for Coordinator independence and begins moving toward outright extermination. He pushes Operation Spitbreak, embraces increasingly extreme weapons and ultimately turns GENESIS into a threat against Earth itself. Athrun's refusal to follow him makes the conflict painfully personal. Patrick loves his dead wife and believes he is protecting his people, but Gundam SEED does not allow those facts to excuse what he becomes. Grief explains the road. It does not make the destination acceptable.