MOTM End of Chapter 1 Analysis
THIS WILL COVER THE LATEST UPDATE FROM MOTM FOR CHAPTER 1! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE UPDATE, PLEASE DO SO TO AVOID SPOILERS!
OH BOY! That ending, the revalations, the implications! aggghh there's so much to cover! So, let's take this step by step.
The update starts with Cuphead and Bendy backtracking to the former's body after escaping the searchers and butchers. Head still in pieces of course, which greatly unnerves Bendy. Even before we see his face we can tell the body is greatly affecting him. The way he grips his tail and how it turns all wiggly at the end displays how disturbing it is for him. While he claimed that he deserved it, actually seeing the body again may be chipping away that line of thinking. But he doesn't have to long to continue contemplating the body before him. Because two figures come crashing in.
Time for the brotherly reunion we've been waiting for. The Bendystraw duo have very different reactions to seeing in their brothers safe and sound. Cuphead is overjoyed to see both of them are A-OK. Well, as OK as you can be after running from Searchers all day. Bendy, however, looks tense at seeing them. I imagine it may be a result of seeing Mugman again. After all, the last time he saw him he... wasn't in sound mind.
Mugman is relieved to see his brother is, well not alive per say. But still around. Cuphead for his part continues to show he doesn't hold grudges against others easily. While he does say "no thanks to you", it's clearly in a playful manner from his expression along with praising his sharpshooting not even a second later. Just goes to show how deep their bond is.
We also get an explanation for why Cuphead's soul wasn't by his body after his head was blown off.
The magic of the Cupbros is no joke. The blast from Mugman's gun sent Cuphead soaring for miles! And that was his soul! The magic in the blast managed to hit his soul! The Bbros are lucky that they've only been grazed by or hit in minor places by these guys. A well placed shot would have definitely killed them. Speaking of the Bbros, how's their reunion going?
Well, brother like brother. Now there is some irony here with Bendy's reaction to Boris' panic. He had a similar reaction his first time seeing Cuphead. Back then, Cuphead was the one trying to get Bendy to be quiet. Now it's Bendy's turn.
The switch up from Bendy is very quick. From afraid and concerned to irritated in just two panels. It's clear the concern is strictly for his brother and their safety. He still hasn't developed the concern that Cuphead has for him. All he has for him is irritation. Boris for his part, goes from fearful and concerned to shocked. He had no idea Bendy was in as much danger as he was after they separated. I imagine he was horrified for a moment that his brother was in trouble and he wasn't there for him. Then his brother turns to their attackers for guidance. The ones who got them in this mess. He's quick to call him out on this. Which in turn sparks another revelation.
We are once again shown how one sided the deal Bendy and Cuphead made. Cuphead suggested it, but Bendy's the one with all the power. He's the one who calls the shots. And Bendy RELISHES it. He has the most sinister grin we've seen since he first made the contract and gained this advantage. It hasn't fully gone to his head, YET. But it could very well happen in the future where he pushes the limit of how much he can order Cuphead around. And he's the only one with positive feelings about this arrangement. Boris is shocked about what his brother has achieved. And Cuphead is both terrified and nervous. Not just from Bendy showing off how much sway he has over him now. But he did so in front of Mugman. Showing his brother he just sold their souls. AGAIN. And Mugs isn't too happy about it.
Now, Cuphead does have a point here. With the Searchers at large, there was a big chance Cuphead's soul would have been claimed by them. Not to mention the Butchers also searching for a soul of their own. If he didn't give Bendy the power to defend them by signing his soul, he was a goner.
Now something I noticed is Cuphead brings up the Ink Machine again. That it changes everything. Neither brother has the Blot, so it won't help them with that. But if it really has all of Yen Sid's magic like the Prologue states, then it could break their original contract with the Devil. Additionally, something Cuphead doesn't mention, but the contract should end when Bendy takes them to the Ink Machine. Keyword is should.
Now plenty of others have already pointed this out, but it's still a great callback. The language and tone has slightly changed due to how Mugman has matured. It's no longer "your fault" but instead "you got us into this mess". Not "fix it" but "get us out". It's no where near as harsh as it was in the past. The circumstances of who the contract is with is also very different. Instead of the all powerful Devil it's just a "normal" demon who has no real idea how soul contracts work. Presumedly. So they are nowhere near as screwed as they were the first time and Mugsy is more accepting of that. All that's left to do now is revive Cuphead. Simple.
Ok, not so simple. It appears in all their previous fights against the contractors the brothers never had their heads broken. They've probably broken their bones, burned to a crisp, drowned perhaps, and no doubt shot in the heart. But their heads have never shattered. And their heads are key to the Calix Animi (the ability to revive among other gifts) working properly. Nort has stated that Cuphead can still move the body (it got cut for time), so he's not completely helpless. He just can't see or hear to walk or aim properly. Which is a problem, since there are still Searchers roaming around.
At this point, everyone is at the limit. Mugman is still exhausted from using up all of his soul. Cuphead has his body but as stated prior, it isn't in any shape for fighting. Boris tossed his only weapon at the Searcher attacking Mugman. Bendy's the only one who has a chance by using Cuphead's magic and that was with only protecting him and Cuphead's soul. Here, he would have to defend everyone present. Not exactly an easy task. Something Bendy is clearly aware of.
Something I noticed in these panels. Bendy almost has another attack. In the first panel we can see the ink starting to drip down his face. There's also some outlines of drops on his arm. Any more pressure and he might've destabilized right then and there. However a certain map activates and intervenes before it goes too far. In the second panel, where the map flies out to his face, we can see the ink has slowed down to a single drip. By the third panel, he's fully stable as the magic flows around him.
Speaking of the map, it's now fully confirmed to everyone present it's magic. Boris, the most skeptical out of everyone, notices the map glowing. Then they all see it fly out in front of Bendy. Not only that, it causes Bendy's eyes to glow the same golden color. If they weren't convinced before, they sure are now.
We get a brief look at the map's proper form. Most of the locations seem burned out except for two. Toon Town and Sunshine Forest (thanks Nort for the titles and Fly for drawing such as amazing map). These locations will be revealed as we go along the journey. But something impressive is shown with the magic.
The magic doesn't simply point to where they need to go on the map. It makes Bendy see the way forward. As the words are written across the woods "FOLLOW THE PATH". There's even a golden trail of mist winding through the trees for him to follow. This is such an interesting take on a magic map. One that doesn't necessarily show you on paper where you need to go. Instead affecting your vision to see the path in the world itself. You literally can't miss it this way.
There's also something interesting with this. We saw these words before. When Cuphead was leading Bendy away from Charlie. Those same words cropped up back there. When I first read it, I thought it was Bendy thinking that to himself. Looking back now, I think it was the map. The words aren't the monochrome colors typically done for the thoughts of the characters in a scene. They're GOLDEN. The same color of the map and it's magic. I think it TOLD Bendy to follow Cuphead. To save himself by going with him. It was silently communicating with him. Not all the time it seems like, but just enough to try and guide him when he really needs it.
Our protagonists follow the path before them to escape the Searcher. The Demon searcher lurking nearby, watching them flee. Along with another mysterious figure. Who quickly makes their goal clear.
To kill the bbros. And unlike the cupbros, they will not hesitate to complete the mission. The poor Searcher never had a chance. There is so much to the mysterious figure and who they could potentially be. I've been seeing a bunch of theories from everyone in the community as to who this is and their role. One of the most common ideas is that they will eventually join the questers as a sixth member. This is due to a later panel where they contact Mickey about the bounty on the bbros.
The color for the text is purple. A similar purple to the gloves on the toon just out of frame in the Thanksgiving and Christmas updates. Adding to this is the character would balance out the color dynamic the questers have going for them as seen in the character cards. We have the primary colors for Cuphead (red), Mugman (blue), and Bendy (yellow). While Boris and Shelly have secondary colors associated with them (green and orange respectively). And then Pebble has his own thing going for him (blue-gray). This mysterious stranger would add the last secondary color to the team. This is pure speculation of course, and I plan to dive deeper into them in a later post. (The only reason I'm not is because there's ALOT of images I want to use for visual aids and I'm near the limit already. Curse you Tumblr for image limit!)
They contact Mickey while he, Felix, Oswald, and Sheba are trying to figure out where the Cupbros and Bbros could be going. It also gives us some insight as to how long the Cupbros have been hiding since their Collector days. According to Felix, their last known physical location was around 2 decades ago. When they were still acting as bounty hunters. This means they've been in hiding this entire time. On the outskirts of the city, another part of Inkwell Isles, or somewhere else entirely. Fortunate for them, as it means our friends at Wish Upon can't find a good place to start looking for them. But the Cupbros aren't the only ones they can use to try and find our protagonists.
This is something Mickey mentioned when Bendy first introduced himself to him. The name rings a bell. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Until now. Because Bendy was associated with someone Mickey knows. Someone who rose up the ranks of entertainment until the people decided to have him lead them. Someone who is possibly connected to the Butchers roaming and hunting the Bbros.
DANDY. Star of Medicine. The head of Gardenview himself. Bendy's former costar in entertainment. As of right now, we have no idea who Dandy is, how he's leading Gardenview, or what his history with Bendy was like. But we can get some inferences from some of the final panels of Chapter 1.
The crew sees Dandy's face on the side of the cargo car at the train station they were lead to. And Bendy is none too pleased to see it. He looks exasperated, annoyed, maybe even a little angry. Whatever happened between them, it's clear it ended on a sour note. For Bendy at least. These two headed in very opposite directions after their days in the limelight together after all. One ascended up to the top of the world and put in charge. The other fading to near obscurity with a deadly illness and on the run with a magical map to guide him. Their reunion in chapter 2 will be a very interesting on.
Something else of note is the reactions of everyone else to Dandy. Both those present and those not. Bothe of the Cupbros just look befuddled by the graffiti on the car. Boris however? He looks shocked. This is something I'm very curious about. See, we know for a fact Bendy knows Dandy. But it's entirely possible Boris knows him too. Not as well, but well enough. As Bendy's brother, he would no doubt want to keep up with his exploits from time to time. That would also include anyone Bendy performed with. So he may have met Dandy at least once in the past. As to his opinion on him, we'll likely find out when he and Bendy see him again.
Now concerning the graffiti. It's clear they don't particularly like Dandy and whatever he "promised" them. One even goes so far as to call him a "monster". Whatever happened must have been bad. Now, I want to shoutout @yockytherocky for pointing this out in their post. They pointed out that the Barley Butcher has a plate with the word "liar" painted on it. Much like the graffiti we see on the car here. This could lend further evidence to the idea that Dandy is associated with the Butchers and Searchers we've seen in the forest. After all, what's more monstrous than messing with the dead? Additionally, Bendy has been shown to have a history with the Butchers in some way. Whether it's a positive or a negative one is also up in the air at this junction. But with the idea that Dandy is responsible for the Butchers' current conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if he picked them to either mess with or as a "favor" to Bendy. Either way, it's still a grim fate for them. Along with whoever left these messages behind.
There were a number of questions that were answered in this update. And plenty more were raised. Regardless, we'll have to see what happens when our ragtag group of misfits make it to Gardenview in Chapter 2.
And that's it for the update analysis! I shouldn't have waited so long to do this, but AHHHHH, there was so much to go over and I loved every second of it! @nortsauce, @flygutzz, AMAZING END TO THE CHAPTER! It was so well done! And to anyone who stuck around this long, thank you for entertaining my ramblings!
