Maybe I’m just spitballing here, but it’s interesting to me that the Red Door has been synonymous with brainwashing / MK-Ultra. The Numbers already held that purpose because it’s been established as a generic brainwashing technique, anyone can be victim to it
but the Red Door specifically was Bell’s defense against brainwashing.
and thanks to Season 6’s intro, we know the destruction of the Verdansk station was beneficial to the CIA, but not for the Perseus Faction, meaning Adler, who’s hinted to be behind it, acted on someone else’s order. It’s not a new concept of someone intercepting brainwashing, Viktor Reznov did the exact same thing in BO1 for his own revenge plot against Kravchenko, Dragovich, and Steiner. It fucks you up, but as evidenced by Mason, there is hope of recovery.
But who in the Perseus Faction would want to sabatoge the progression of Stitch? Maybe the one that lost the most.
I’m putting down the theory of Bell surviving the assassination just as Adler did, but they’re only sabatoging Perseus because they want to send a message not to abandon one of their own.
Yes, it’s true Perseus had been looking for Bell, but it was a “Dead Or Alive” deal. And Volkov wasn’t too keen on the “alive” part, (e.g: “Only a grave can cure a hunchback.”)
I like to think this is Bell’s way of saying, “You can’t get rid of me so easily.”
Or, maybe I’m reading too much into it and funny Red Door is just like funny Numbers! what do they mean, Mason? go through a door, Bell! <3