#if it wasn't clear i headcanon shad and telma as gerudo as well

[ladyrijus]

If Malon is Gerudo (as noted by her father saying that the Gerudo Mask reminds him of her mother), then that would technically make Link in Twilight Princess Gerudo by default, since it is implied that he is a descendant of both her and the Hero of Time.

One might wonder, does that make him the Gerudo male born every 100 years? Sure, he could be, since Ganondorf's birth technically does not prevent other males from being born 100 years after him (we aren't told how much time has passed between Ganondorf's exile to the Twilight Realm and the beginning events of Twilight Princess).

Which is something I guess. Personally, I prefer to make him trans.

Anyways, not the point!

The point is, we know that the Gerudo no longer exist in the Gerudo Desert anymore. We don't know why exactly, though the environmental storytelling points towards genocide/exile. The only markers of their existence in history are the Arbiter's Grounds, the desert that bears their namesake, and Ganondorf himself.

Imagine what it must be like for Link, born with fiery hair and dark skin, dehumanized and treated as an unruly beast just as Ganondorf and the rest of the Gerudo were after entering the Twilight. lmagine him coming face to face with people like Telma and Shad, who share a knowing look at him that he can't seem to understand. Imagine him lingering over every Gibdo he kills, a strange sense of wrongness tugging at his heart as he makes his way through the Arbiter's Grounds.

And imagine what it must be like for Ganondorf, who has been sitting and waiting for Link and Midna. Imagine the surprise he feels, coming face to face with who could be the last warrior from his tribe. It almost slips through the cracks of his facade. Imagine how tragic it would be, that his ultimate downfall is not a sage's sword, not an archaic shadow relic, but a Gerudo boy hellbent on protecting his family.

Maybe that is the exact reason why Ganondorf dies. Not to the Master Sword, not to Zant. He dies with the knowledge that the last known members of the Gerudo are fighting for the wrong side, a kingdom that eradicated their people and is crumbling before their eyes, and even then, are still winning. That's defeat.