#eidolon writes

Now that Duq’arael has been brought back into the spotlight thanks to Camille’s story in Endfield, I think it's worthwhile to have a closer look at the motivation he displays throughout the story of Arknights. Endfield shows to the reader in-universe information that mentions that Duq’arael kiIIed his older brother Danso. Let’s have a closer look at the circumstances that led to this incident. It is true that by kiIIing Danso Duq’arael got a hold on the Blood of Tekaz, but it is important to keep in mind that Duq’arael never wanted to have the black crown. He kiIIed his brother because in his eyes Danso was bringing a false peace and Duq’arael, who had lived through real and actual peace, only wanted to have the real thing instead of a sad imitation. The Black Crown would have been his to take when he kiIIed Danso, but he actively rejected it because he hates everything connected to the crown. Taking power that comes with a system he fundamentally disagrees with was something he never wanted.

Let’s look at this in detail. During the Victoria arc we see that Duq’arael is strongly driven by the catastrophic defeat his people suffered, and yet he is one of the most isolated characters during the arc. He is holding up his ideals because he sees it as the right thing to do, not because he thinks it will make him popular with the other Sarkaz. And Duq’arael knows this. In fact, he feels so alienated from other Sarkaz that he looked at Lettou and decided that whatever lunacy was running through that Liberi was still preferable in comparison. As the story goes on you can see that Duq’arael is aware that Lettou isn't quite right in the head, but Duq’arael still puts up with him. Why would he feel that he is dealing with the lesser evil here?

A moment that manages to bring clarity into Duq’arael’s thought process that shows why he is feeling so alienated from most other Sarkaz is an exchange he has with Logos, who is shown to be a Sarkaz who has convictions that are clashing with Duq’arael’s. To Logos he explains some of the motivations that led to him kiIIing Danso. From Duq’arael’s exchange with Amiya and Logos in 13-21:

Logos   The legend of "The Toppled BIood Prince". He died in a civil war. You're his kin, did you fight in the war? Amiya   No. Sanguinarch of Vampires   No! Of course not! "Did I fight?" I shattered the Crown myself! […] He [Danso] thought I was blinded by hatred? No, I know what peace is. And that's exactly why I feel so restless! We long to see the great and powerful, true Teekaz! I absorbed my brother's blood into my body, and I watched as the Black Crown vanished before my eyes— Logos   But you did not ascend to the throne of the "King of Sarkaz". Sanguinarch of Vampires    And I do not regret that. If it could choose a formidable leader, I would be genuinely delighted. But this Crown disappoints me time and time again. Each time I am more disappointed. [from 13-21]

That part makes it clear that Duq’arael is not interested in holding power for the sake of it. By kiIIing Danso he could have taken the black crown but rejected it, because he hates everything it stands for. It disappointed him too many times to still put any trust into it. He states he would be willing to follow a bearer of the crown who proves themselves to be worthy, but instead the opposite keeps happening, so why bother? Instead he holds on to the True Blood of Teekaz, not out of the intention to use if for vengeance or to punish, but because he sees it as a way to rebuild the real and actual peace he once has witnessed. Duq’arael doesn’t explain how this peace looked like exactly, but seeing how vivid it is still present in his memory it must have been so genuine and strong that trying to reclaim it is something he sees as worth the effort. 

Logos is too young to have been present during this time Duq’arael still misses to this day. We’ve met Logos as a character who stands firm with Theresa's ideals. But if he would have been old enough to have been present during the times the Teekaz were not treated as strangers in their own lands but were living though peace and prosperity, would he feel any different? We can only speculate. But it is worth pointing out that the individuals Duq’arael is having his conversation with are two people who are far too young to relate to what he has experienced and instead know nothing but a world where the Teekaz – those with land – have become the Sarkaz – those without land – and since long have deemed as strangers by the Elders and Ancients who spread through Terra after the outside influence of Originium brought drastic changes. 

I find it interesting how the writing made Duq’arael kiII someone he used to be close with to illustrate how he puts the legacy of his home country above all else. Duq’arael was convinced that his brother was putting the interests of the non-Sarkaz above the wellbeing of the Sarkaz, so he kiIIed him.

But what would Danso have done that Duq’arael turned against his own brother? The reasons for this only get clearer slowly. Characterizing Danso is not that easy, as we can only do it indirectly, the story has never shown him in person. What complicates thing is that the bits we know about him are not really there to deepen his own character, but to show how Duq’arael was in the wrong for rejecting a "peaceful" future as a doctor and for kiIIing who chapter thirteen basically portrays as a proto-Theresa. It’s interesting though that whatever feelings Duq’arael once used to hold towards his brother, he is making it clear he feels not a shred of regret for kiIIing him. You get the impression that the frustration towards Danso must have been brooding in him since ages. There are glimpses of it when he recalls how he had to face on his own the Feranmut who was threatening Kazdel, and how even the barely lucid Feranmut was agreeing with Duq’arael that defending Kazdel actually would have been the duty of the King, his brother. The text makes it clear that Duq’arael loves his homeland and wants to protect it. It is easy to imagine he would start feeling frustrated with Sarkaz who by their title should feel the same responsibility but fail to live up to it. With this context you’ll get an idea why Duq'arael keeps complaining about the Vampires who are hiding in cozy castles while forgetting their origin as warriors [13-21].

This practical approach of his of how to handle problems already got apparent in [11-10] when Duq’arael complained about the arrogance of heroes who drown in prophecy. Even I am amazed at how they write their own stories for their own entertainment. Unfortunately, our Victorian friends are too reliant on fiction. It’s the mindset of someone who has little patience left for farfetched promises of a perfect future or ideals that in his experience have already proven themselves to be incompatible with reality. He can look at this with disbelief when he encounters this among enemies, like the Victorians. But he will see this sort of mindset that detached itself from reality as a threat the moment he sees it in someone like Danso who should be on his side. 

So as we see Duq’arael held many disagreements against Danso since some time, but what could have been the incident that made him think it was time for drastic measures? A collectible from IS5 that offers us some insight into Danso’s personality may give some clarity:

[Transcript: The BIood Tax Mystery is a Collectible in Sarkaz's Furnaceside Fables. Item description All allied and enemy units have -35% Max HP; only active in Bizarre Fragments "Duq'arael ultimately failed. He stepped forward bravely, but did not manage to stop his brother Danso. The deep red chains then tethered all life on this land, so we now leave a trail of bIood with every step we take. This bIood tax is to repay the baseless debt we owe." Effect While in the secret floor, both friendly units and enemies have their HP reduced by 35%.]

It’s interesting how alternate-universe Duq’arael’s failed attempt to overthrow his brother gets described as brave here. I wonder if this alternative outcome is supposed to show that Danso was not the pacifist everyone seems to take him for, but a tyrant at heart. And that once Duq’arael would have been gone there no longer would have been anyone around who would have made Danso hold back on these urges and he just would have fully given in to them.

Look at the effect of that relict. It drains everyone, friend and foe alike of their bIood. I can imagine that Duq'arael would have been in favor of doing that to non-Sarkaz, but to fellow Sarkaz? Less likely. He wants them to have the advantage over the enemy. A suggestion like this bIood tax must have sounded like the complete opposite of the one true peace Duq’arael once had experienced. And hearing that his older brother proposed this idea, who witnessed the decline of this peace together with him, must have felt abhorrent and like a betrayal. Restoring the freedom and reliability the Sarkaz have lost? Apparently not under this bearer of the Black Crown. Under Danso’s BIood Tax everyone can live under a twisted sense of equality by existing as blood cattle. That may not be the equality people love to demand, but the one you get if the bearer of the crown decides that is what he wishes for: Have fun with your bIood tax.

But it doesn’t stop there. What I always found interesting is that already in his introduction in chapter 10, when he hunts Vina and her Glasgow Gang down the sewers, Duq’arael looks down on aristocrats who won their status not by their own merit but through family privilege: Duq’arael: No... so-called royal families are no more than a lie, so called to consolidate power and coin, as laughable as this nation's culture. Even if she [Vina] is that runaway's cub, the smell of her bIood would be no different to any other Feline[10-17].

An interesting statement from someone who values the purity of Sarkaz bIood and appears to come from some sort of Vampire nobility himself. But when you factor in that he did not see Danso as deserving of the titles he was holding, then Duq’arael’s statement to value merit and ability over lineage makes a lot more sense. The text proves this statement to be true a second time when later in the story Duq’arael points out that he values Lettou – a Liberi – as a friend because he values his personality and intelligence [11-10]. It shows that despite his low opinions towards the Ancients and Elders there are non-Sarkaz individuals he can appreciate if he feels they give him a reason to. It also shows though that Duq’arael finds it hard to trust any non-Sarkaz: He will reprimand them the moment they get genius ideas such as making him lose face by criticizing his methods in front of an entire audience of their subordinates. 

As being part of Londinium’s resistance Vina is giving no reason though to let Duq’arael see her as anything but a nuisance who needs to be taken care of. Duq’arael hunts Vina down in the sewers while calling her prey, but even this manages to highlight the different mindset between him and Danso. Prey? At least prey can fight back and has a chance to escape. Prey is not expected to behave compliantly, you expect them to defend themselves. Vina and her gang manage to flee. As shown in BIood Tax Mystery though, Danso expects his subjects to behave like obedient and well-behaved cattle. It’s an approach that doesn’t even let them have the tiniest chance to escape.

Having this added context it is getting clearer why Duq'arael saw his brother as a threat to the Sarkaz. And it’s easier to understand now why Duq’arael accused Danso of showing him a false peace when he showed him the possible future of Duq’arael becoming a doctor in 13-21. And with the context of BIood Tax Mystery we even can go so far as to consider it a possibility this future as a doctor would simply have been a nice sounding title for someone who would have been supposed to collect the baseless debt of Danso's blood tax. Forced silence and compliance under pressure is no peace. It would have been tyranny for everyone living under Danso. And it shows that throwing out platitudes like “equality” as a suggestion of how to mend the rift between the Sarkaz and non-Sarkaz is no solution, because like in the outcome described by BIood Tax Mystery that would have let Danso keep his power, these ideas can get twisted by those in power into something dehumanizing.

Interestingly we keep seeing that Duq’arael feels so sensitive about the topic of power being abused and targeting those he feels a responsibility for. He was cautious with this when it came to Danso, and he keeps being cautious about it when it comes to the relations between the Vampire tribe with the other Sarkaz. During the entire Victoria arc we see that the relations of the Vampire court with the rest of the Military Commission is rather bad. It comes as little surprise when it is implied that Theresis set the Duq’arael up for failure at Brentwood to get rid of him entirely. Babel clarifies that these tensions were nothing new and the relations of the Vampire court with the rest of the Sarkaz had been terrible for at least centuries[BB-1]:

Duq'arael: You have long reached a consensus. The only obstacle to your Military Commission is myself—and the Vampires. You would foist some ridiculous title upon me before forcing all Vampires to bow down to your Commission． When did you learn this political trickery that those Victorians and Leithanians so love? Why not just take my head here and now, and sIaughter the Vampires within this city's walls? [Duq'arael in BB-1]

He feels that he and his Vampires are being singled out and scapegoated by the rest of the Sarkaz for the sake of an unstable idea of 'progress'. These tensions make you wonder why Duq’arael agreed to go along with Theresis' plan in Victoria to begin with. At least one does until his fight with team Amiya on the Command Tower when there is so much old and pent up bitterness coming out of him. It’s also here where it gets clear that he doesn’t reject Amiya as being the bearer of the Black Crown because she is not Sarkaz. He rejects her because he sees her as standing under the influence of Kal’tsit who mobilized entire armies on Kazdel only two hundred years ago, during a time the Sarkaz were just trying to mind their own business. From his past experience someone like Amiya simply cannot have the best interest of the Sarkaz she is supposed to be responsible for in mind. Duq’arael in 11-17: Cautus, you are not worthy of the crown that Theresa bestowed upon you. Not because you are not Sarkaz, but because you have never tried to understand the nature of the Sarkaz. Like Theresa, you have been blinded by the creature that calls itself Kal'tsit[…]. The Sarkaz were never the same people as the shameful invaders... the Elders and the Ancients were never the same people. Kazdel was never a city, nor a nation. When the Sarkaz were known as Teekaz, when they still had a home, Kazdel meant the entire world that we saw before our eyes. Kazdel was Terra. 

He blames the Ancients and Elders for driving the Sarkaz into a corner during the centuries they gained power and influence due to Originium how drastically changed his home of Terra. And the people he seems to despise the most are the Sarkaz who are denying their heritage by trying to make peace with non-Sarkaz: Theresa was a ridiculous one... She tried to have the Sarkaz bow down to our invaders, namely Victoria [11-14]. In Duq’arael’s eyes the invaders keep proving that they are not trustworthy by looking out for only their own best interest while treating the Sarkaz as a nuisance. For him trying to make peace with the Ancients and Elders, who in his experience have proven to be nothing but foreign invaders, is a naïve Iunacy that is going to lead to even more ruin and misery for the Sarkaz. 

It just gets to me how everything about Barachiel’s creation is driven by vioIence and force. The mere act of Ernstmann to create an artificial angel, the act of willfully replicating a messenger of God, is so full of hubris and pride that one can only shudder, and the way the story frames this is reflective of this.

It’s really interesting how Ernstmann collecting Uriel’s DNA is presented here. It looks like someone holding a gun to the temple of his victim, executing him, and really, that’s what this is: Ernstmann always intended to kiII Uriel the moment he had his artificial angel created and got him to function as a replacement.

We know that it hurts Ernstmann’s pride that critics of the angel engine project claim that his invention only has value thanks to the angel fueling it. It’s due to two reasons he created Barachiel: To shut those critics up and to prove them wrong, because if there is something Ernstmann can’t bear it’s being perceived as stupid and inferior. The second reason is that he wants to get rid of Uriel and a blasphemy of this sort can only be achieved through a specific sort of weapon: The only being able to kill Uriel seems to be Barachiel. You’d think the most reasonable thing would be to keep two angels around for your miracle machine that needs them as fuel, but if you take into account that Ernstmann collaborated with the antichrist since some time it would make sense the presence of a truly divine and good being would unsettle the deceiver.

By the time of Barachiel’s creation Ernstmann was fully on board when the media called him “the father of the angel” in the articles that put him back into the spotlight. Fading into obscurity after getting recognition when winning the Nobel Prize in is twenties wounded his ego greatly.

And now his attempt to create an artificial angel succeeded he’s ready to replace his first son with his second one. Ernstmann must have felt so clever when he gave Barachiel his name, and I really love how both of their names interconnect. You see, Ernstmann’s first name, Geoff, respective the full form Geoffrey is a variant of Godfrey, meaning “God’s Peace”. The name he’s going by, Geoff, it just means God. A fitting name for a man who has the hubris to create his own angel. And the name Barachiel is Hebrew for “God’s blessing”. So, when Ernstmann presents Barachiel to the world with the words here’s my blessing to this world, that is literally what Barachiel means in this context: Geoff’s blessing, God’s blessing for this world. Ernstmann is fully and consciously playing God, and he lets the world that he felt abandoned and shunned by know.

Everything we have seen so far about Barachiel’s creation is a blasphemy, an act of pride and hubris. Creating Barachiel was an act of revenge for Ernstmann and it was proof to himself that he was not a failure. And it hurts me so much that every time we see a glimpse of Barachiel’s personality it reflects none of these vices. The motivations that drive him are loneliness and a search for belonging. He craves human connections, he wants to make friends. He wants nothing more than the love and recognition from Ernstmann, who Barachiel sees as his father. But Ernstmann only ever treated him like a tool and a weapon.

And in one of the most easily overlookable scenes we see this artificial Angel search for his connection to God. The episode that shows us the cold and clinical creation of Barachiel ends with a shot of him being introspective, looking lost, uttering the simple question How can I find God? I’m going to cry. This is an individual that was created by using the DNA of a captive and tortured angel, a being born in blasphemy. And yet Barachiel wants to find God. There is something in him that yearns for the divine and wants to find it. And the worst thing is that we don’t know how we’re supposed to answer his question. I don’t know how an individual that was created under such abysmal circumstances, forced into being through the connection of a divine angel and a human, can find God. I don’t know if Barachiel’s soul is treated the same way a human’s or an angel’s is, I don’t know if he can repent, if he can find forgiveness. Nothing we have seen in the story so far answers these questions. Can he find God? Seeing the humanity and compassion he has shown on many occasion I hope for him that he can.

Remember how I pointed out above that part of Ernstmann always intended for Barachiel to kiII Uriel? Well, Barachiel refused to follow this command. He did not want to kiII his brother. He stood firm in his refusal. Uriel appeared to answer humanities plea for help and got betrayed. Barachiel tries to lessen Uriel's plight instead of adding to it. This caused the cruelest verbal reprimands by Ernstmann and Ecklebloom, they called out the insecurities that would hurt Barachiel the most. They called him a failure and mutt that is neither human nor angel, told him his wish to find friends had to go nowhere and that his only place was in the laboratory. Mutt? Hey, Ernstmann, who had the genius idea to mix angel DNA with that of a human?

POV Ernstmann: That feeling when the sentient weapon you created is refusing to kiII his brother you intend him to replace.

For a man who loves to get called “the father of the angel” Ernstmann sure loves to physically and mentally torture both of his sons. Do you know how the minions of the antichrist manipulated Barachiel into helping them to destroy civilization as we know it? By promising him these actions would turn him into a real angel and that it would make Ernstmann proud. That manipulation never would have worked if Ernstmann hadn’t given him the feeling he failed to live up to his expectations.  

Ernstmann uses him, and yet Barachiel loves him. Ernstmann is the only consistent emotional connection he has. How to cage an angel? In the case or Uriel trap him in the angel engine. In the case of Barachiel, use his insecurities and need for love to keep him on an emotional leash. And everyone in the laboratory knows and exploits that fact. A flashback shows us Marquez who has strapped Barachiel into the Angel Engine, trying to silence his pleas to stop the painful procedure with the promise that he “needs to be brave if he wants to see Ernstmann again.” This is Barachiel’s deepest wish and motivation. He doesn’t know how to find God, but if he behaves he can at least be with his father. The same episode shows us an insight into his dreams when the laboratory wakes him from an artificial sleep between experiments: Barachiel dreams about getting the love and attention of his Dad. It’s all he wants.

What do artificial angels dream about when they sleep? To be loved and appreciated by their father.

And now that the world has fallen into the clutches of the antichrist Barachiel is no longer even getting scraps of this. With Ernstmann overpowered and caged by the deceiver, Barachiel lost what little he had left of his Dad, flawed and calculating as he might have been. Newer episodes let me think this is a loss and absence that festers heavily on Barachiel’s mind. Witnessing Seila going through the murder of her father resonates with something in him. He tries to comfort her over the loss, clumsy as his attempts are, he apologizes for failing to save her father. It’s also here we witness one of the very few instances where Barachiel gets angry. When a soldier of the Second Tower of Babel tries to pressure Seila to reveal information about the Gate of Ishtar by telling her she could see her father afterwards, Barachiel very resolutely tells him to stop telling lies. Getting stringed on with the lie that you can see your beloved father if you just behave, even though that promise will never happen… it’s a manipulation tactic Barachiel knows too well.

There are some moments in the series where it’s shown that Uriel not only came to earth to help but that he also should be seen as a soIdier of God, and what I find interesting is how those moments add to his characterization. I really like how in the Boots episode, Uriel is the character who gets to recite the poem, because the entire sequence offers us an insight into his state of mind. Boots is a poem that was written by Rudyard Kipling in 1903 during the Second Boers War, and its bleak perspective on war from the point of view of a soIdier was not a typical topic for its time. The Boots episode, as well as its remake, is making the interesting choice of playing excerpts of an actual sound recording of the poem that was performed in 1915 by the American actor Taylor Holmes. I always found it chilling how effective this recording manages to show the desperation this poem carries.

In the episode we see pictures of the war that gets unleashed after the nucIear strike has hit the Second Tower of Babel and the following unrest that results in a global war. We see tanks, the fire and destruction of war. And interestingly, most characters we see in this episode are the unnamed soIdiers who are caught up in the horrors of this war. The character who recites the poem in this episode is Uriel, and he is looking at the war unfolding with two perspectives: On the one side he looks with compassion at the human soIdiers who are caught up in this war and are suffering through this apocaIypse he tried to prevent but couldn’t. And on the other side, he is looking at this war as a fellow soIdier, a soIdier of God, who is suffering with them.

Uriel is looking at this war from two perspectives, and this visual represents that. When he recites the poem we see him twice. As a winged angel who is locked up in the angel engine and as an individual who by his appearance looks fully human.

There are certain lines that show that Uriel is not looking at this catastrophe as a distant onlooker, but as someone who is facing the same trials as the human soIdiers. He is in this with them together. There is no discharge in the war. There is not. Once you’re in you have to suffer through it until its conclusion. We still don’t know for sure why Uriel never made an attempt to escape from his capture. It is implied that only by a human freeing him mankind can prove that there is still something good in it that is worthy to be saved. But at this point we do not know the exact circumstances for certain. Ernstmann stated several times that tests show that Uriel could escape is he wanted to. Looking at Uriel’s powers, this sounds plausible. Ernstmann could be lying, but his statement could be the truth. What’s for sure though is that there is really no discharge in the war: Whatever the exact reason, by this point the series has established that Uriel won’t be freed until someone will make the decision to help him.

Boots is a poem from the perspective of the soIdiers suffering, and it shows that from this pain there is no true escape, only ways to cope: Try to think of something different. It’s more than just distraction, it’s something that is necessary to ensure destruction won’t find you. Fall into despair and the boots around you will eventually trample over you. The poem paints a bleak picture of war, and it acknowledges that this kind of horror can be too big for a mind to comprehend when it outright begs Oh my God/keep me from going Iunatic.

There is no way a person can come out unchanged of these horrors this episode shows them having to endure. Even keeping their mental sanity is at question. The only power left they can hope to get guidance from is God. And that’s true for Uriel as well. Through the entire series we see him keeping his composure the absolute majority of the time. During the Boots episode we see him trying to come to terms with the bIeakness he has to face, we see him trying to keep his mental sanity intact. Throughout the story he seems to have succeeded with that, but there is one part later in the series where pain overwhelms him.

Most of the series we see Uriel being forced to hold up his composure while he is surrounded by the people who are holding him captive. That’s why it is so insightful when we witness him during a moment he no longer has to do that. It is not a moment where is alone thought. It’s the moment he is facing Christ, and Uriel ends up voicing out all the pain and disappointment that has been piling up in him. Where were you? Why didn’t you save me? Why didn’t you protect me? Did you even notice that I was dying? And Christ listens, trying to give Uriel words of comfort. We can read his words on screen, but in an interesting stylistic choice we can’t hear him: Christ is the only character in the series that has not yet been given a voice. In the world of Angel Engine Christ is not silent and he has not disappeared. But because many chose to no longer listen to him, the forces of hell could grab the chance and spread their bad intentions on earth. Uriel ending up captured and tortured is a direct result of that.

I can’t but notice that from all the atrocities Uriel had to endure, the incident that is standing out to him the most is Ernstmann taking a tissue sample of his DNA to create Barachiel.

Seeing Uriel lose his calm in that moment is a reminder that for all his patience and kindness he keeps displaying, he is still an individual who has his limits. Most of the time it is not safe for him to show any weakness, and it is telling we see him at his most emotional vulnerable with someone we have all reason to assume he trusts and loves. Uriel feeling at loss in that moment? Yes. Him still feeling enough trust towards God to vent his sorrows? Also yes.

Because you know, Uriel is not doing anything wrong by getting desperate and expressing doubt at God’s intentions in this scene. Expressing doubt towards God is no sin. Neither is having a crisis of faith. Several people in the Bible go through these struggles while going through hard times. Christ himself accused God of having left him when he got overwhelmed with pain on the cross. The human mind has limitations when it comes to facing pain. That’s why poets end up writing works like Boots, to share and process the pain they had to endure. That’s why in this scene Uriel is voicing thoughts that sound similar as Christ’s on the cross.

It’s interesting to see how Angel Engine keeps comparing Ernstmann to Abraham. More exactly, it keeps referencing the episode where Abraham was fully ready to follow God’s command and sacrifice his son Isaac. The comparison has become a pattern by now. The first time the story makes this comparison it directly quotes the Bible passages of Abraham getting ready for the journey to sacrifice Isaac while showing the audience a scene of Ernstmann and Uriel that is resonating with these words. Clearly the writing wants the viewer to pay attention to this point.

After the apocalypse Uriel tells the people who can still hear him to repent. And from what we are seeing of Ernstmann’s mental state he is doing just that. He feels immense guilt towards Uriel, constantly remembering him. And there is good reason for this guilt. Ernstmann always fully intended to use and abuse Uriel’s power, putting him through abysmal pain for the sake of letting his miracle machine run. To this treatment it stands in contrast how he proudly let himself get celebrated as “the father of the angel” by the media, feeling he was getting the recognition back he had lost. Fading into obscurity after winning the Nobel Prize in his twenties really wounded his ego. And after he had caged Uriel he was ready to use his older “son” for the sake of creating his younger one: He created Barachiel with the intention to replace Uriel. He wanted a source of power for the angel engine that only belonged to him. Calculated as these actions were, we know that already by the time of the apocalypse Ernstmann felt guilty about it. There are even vague hints he started to feel regret earlier, around the time he vanished. With the collapse of civilization having arrived, we see this guilt in how his mind confronts him with the image of his two sons he never treated as anything but tools to reach his own goals.

“You knew.” And yet you did it anyway.

The only reason Uriel is still alive is because Barachiel refused to kiII his brother, even though that provoked the wrath of his father. Ernstmann was ready to sacrifice his older son, and now that it’s too late and the world has fallen in the clutches of the antichrist he regrets. We can see how the memory of what he has done to Uriel haunts him and interestingly the story uses yet again references to Abraham when it shows how Ernstmann is going through his guilt. And once again it quotes from the Bible, the part where Isaac – here Uriel – is asking his father where the animal for the intended sacrifice is supposed to be. Pay attention to the ram, it will come up in a second.

I’m pretty certain the landscape we are seeing is supposed to show the area around Mount Moriah, the mountain Abraham went up to sacrifice Isaac. It is in the Negev desert near Beersheba, where Ernstmann built the Second Tower of Babel. Abraham was from Beersheba. Coincidence? I think not.

Remember how when God commanded for Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac this only was the first part of what happened there? Before Abraham could go through with the sacrifice, God intervened and send him an angel, commanding him to stop. The thing was that God never had intended for Isaac to die. Instead a ram was sacrificed that Abraham spotted in that moment. How does that connect to Ernstmann’s situation? Well, just like Isaac survived Uriel has to this day survived his ordeal. Ernstmann tortured Uriel, but he did not go through with his sacrifice. He was stopped. There was an angel who intervened: Barachiel. He refused to kiII his brother. There is nothing malicious or evil Barachiel’s personality. He is a person who yearns for human connection and friends. And for the love and recognition of his father. More, Barachiel is an individual who is asking himself how he is supposed to find God in the desolate situation he is stuck in. He asks himself this question, even though there is no one around who is willing or interested to engage with this question. KiIIing an Angel – who also happens to be his brother – it is a line he never would have been able to cross.

The motif of the ram is important in this context. The ram taken in Isaac’s stead was a promise of for what God already intended: He would offer his own son to free humanity from its sins and from death. The world of Angel Engine already got this promise fulfilled. It’s no coincidence the story of Angel Engine starts in 2033 AD. In this year it’s been exactly two thousand years since Jesus Christ died on the cross. But the world of Angel Engine forgot about this, going so far as to cage and use the Angel sent by heaven when humanity prayed for a miracle that would help them out of the crisis they found themselves in.

Angel Engine wants you to know this. Ecklebloom is framed here by a painting of Titian that shows the motive of Abraham, Isaac and the Angel. On the other side you see Babylon-1. On the one side you have a God who loves you and prevents you from sacrificing your child. Instead he will send you a ram and eventually his own son to die for your sins. On the other side you have the forces of the Antichrist who hate you and will try to lead you into ruin.

Titian: Abraham and Isaac

The question remains what exactly was motivating Ernstmann wanting to kiII Uriel. It’s not easy to find an answer to this, because it’s important to keep in mind that he was starting to get influenced by the antichrist since before he even built the angel engine. And since his resurrection Ernstmann has been truly possessed by the antichrist, so whenever we see him after this it’s not always that easy to say if we see his personality or if the antichrist is acting through him. I’m pretty certain though that kiIIing Uriel was the antichrist’s idea and that he convinced Ernstmann to go along with it. Because think about it, from Ernstmann’s perspective it would be way more logical to keep two angels around for his miracle machine that uses them as their fuel. Hurt ego over having to rely on Uriel or not, getting rid of him could hurt Ernstmann in the long run. In contrast, an Archangel being present in the Second Tower of Babel could eventually pose a serious danger for the antichrist. Someone could eventually listen to Uriel’s pleas to set him free. The antichrist has every reason wanting to get rid of Uriel.

That Barachiel spared Uriel when he was ordered to kiII him tells us something about Barachiel’s personality and I suspect it’s a moment that eventually is going have a broader meaning. If Uriel would have been kiIIed, I suspect that would have been the moment all hope of redemption for humanity would have been lost for forever. I think the reason Uriel never made an attempt to escape is because only by a human freeing him can the world prove that there is still something good in it, something worth to be saved. As long as Uriel stays alive humanity can still redeem itself. And I hope that salvation will also include Barachiel and Ernstmann. For Barachiel because despite being created as a blasphemy he keeps proving that there is genuine good in him. And for Ernstmann because for all the despair he has brought over the world, he is showing signs of feeling true regret and a wish to repent. I don’t know if the man who willfully collaborated with the antichrist deserves redemption and forgiveness. But I would like to see that even for someone like him there can be hope that even the vilest forces of evil cannot touch.  

I think I finally understand why Babylon is desperate to find Uriel. It’s not just because they want to get rid on an angel that in some vague way could become a danger should he eventually be freed in the future. From the looks of it, it appears to be the case that the demonic entity that is possessing Ernstmann will only be able to fully overtake Ernstmann’s body once Uriel is kiIIed. Since his resurrection Ernstmann has become possessed, but there are still situations he gets control back over his body. He is still able to ward off the demon possessing him after the time skip, two thousand years into the future. The reason for this is not yet clear, but as long as Uriel is alive the deceiver seems not to be able to fully use Ernstmann’s body as his new vessel. Because we know that this is Ernstmann’s intended role Babylon still wants to use him for: In recent episodes Babylon the Great explicitly states that he will be the “perfect vessel”.

I was looking for more evidence that strengthens my interpretation that it was not Ernstmann’s idea to get Uriel kiIIed by Barachiel, but that the deceiver manipulated him to go through with it. It’s really the explanation that seems to make most sense from where we stand so far. From Ernstmann’s perspective kiIIing Uriel makes no sense. He needs an angel to fuel his machine, and even though he now has Barachiel, there might come a time he needs to rely on Uriel in the future. KiIIing an angel could hurt his invention in the long run. The forces of hell have every reason though to get rid of an angel. Should Uriel ever be freed, he could pose a grave danger to them. And really, later episodes further show that it was not only Ernstmann who tried to pressure Barachiel. Babylon-1, respectively, Babylon the Great, also tried to convince him to kiII Uriel. She did it quite reprehensively, trying to frame it as a mercy kiII that would free Uriel from his suffering and tried to guilt trip Barachiel like that.

Another scene that strengthens this interpretation is a moment from the episode that shows how Barachiel was created through artificial means in the laboratory. There is this moment I never could make any sense of until now. Once Ernstmann has explained how he managed to create his artificial angel by fusing angel with human DNA, we see a shot of the faceless demonic entity that is possessing him and its words are quite cryptic. It appears offended that it is still without a physical body and has not yet gained control of Ernstmann’s. And then the faceless entity observes that Ernstmann has succeeded in creating his artificial angel. Why show that seemingly unrelated part in an episode fully centered on Barachiel’s creation? Because is implies the forces of hell wanted Ernstmann to create Barachiel because the deceiver has use for such a being. Like getting access to an individual capable to kiII Uriel. There is no other being on earth able to kiII an angel than another angel at that point: All demonic entities we’ve seen like the faceless one or Babylon-1 have not yet gained a physical body and are only present through their spirit.

“Where is my body? Ernstmann was able to build the angel.”

The scene that ends the episodes explaining Barachiel’s creation answers the question the demonic entity was asking: Why isn’t Barachiel functioning as intended? The deceiver wanted an artificial angel as a living weapon, and Ernstmann went along with the idea because it would allow him to prove that the success of his miracle machine can function without Uriel fueling it. But what everyone who created Barachiel as a tool did not consider in their plans was for Barachiel to have a moral framework that is intact despite everyone’s plans for him: The episode ends with him being alone and thoughtful, asking himself the question of how he can find God. Barachiel wants to be a good person. The tragedy of his character is that he is not given any guidance on how to do this while living in an environment that is running on falsehood and sin.

Yet Barachiel asks himself how to find God. We must assume that he tries to come to his own conclusions. Barachiel refused to be a tool for kiIIing, he did not want to kiII Uriel. He stood firm with that even though that meant having to face the disappointment and cruelty of Ernstmann. I always had the feeling that moment would end up to be crucial in the long run, because it shows so clearly who Barachiel is as a person. He loves Ernstmann and sees him as a father and wants nothing more than his love and appreciation, yet here has come a moment he cannot agree with his demands. He does not want to harm Uriel.

Did you ever notice how Ernstmann never gets loud when he’s angry with Barachiel? Instead he gets very quiet and very disappointed.

What adds weight to this moment is that in other episodes we have seen that Barachiel will go as far as harming volunteers of the Angle Engine Initiative if that means he can help Ernstmann: He did so when Ernstmann was still dead and no attempts to rise him again had succeeded, and Barachiel was thinking of a solution that would work. For the sake of bringing Ernstmann back Barachiel was willing to harm other people. But he was not willing to kiII Uriel, who from a biological standpoint is standing somewhere between being Barachiel’s brother and father, and who is the only known kin he has on earth. There is his human mother, but I somehow doubt she had much contact with him once she had given birth to him.

I really hope we eventually find out what Ernstmann was up to in the time he was declared missing from the Second Tower of Babel. There is the possibility the entire thing was just a lie so the Angel Corps would have an excuse to go out and search for... something. But there is also what official illustrations imply but what as of yet has not come up in the series: Ernstmann might have joined the anti-Angel Engine organization of the Yellow Coats in an attempt to help them stop the Antichrist. And if that is what really happened then it likely has been due to Uriel's influence Ernstmann took that step.

Nooo, don't blur the face. Make it clear. We must know.

Let's look at this chronologically. One point that repeatedly and since earliest episodes has come up is that Ernstmann keeps ignoring Uriel's pleas to free him. He is willing to let others suffer to gain back the spotlight and success he once had. He faded into obscurity after having a brief flash of attention when winning the Nobel Prize for chemistry in his mid-twenties, and the experience of not being able to make new scientific breakthroughs made him feel like a failure. We see in flashbacks how he had fallen into a depressive slump before he started working on the Angel Engine, confessing his feelings to Ecklebloom.

"And just like that almost twenty years have passed.” You know, I just find it interesting to see Ecklebloom was there for him when we see Ernstmann at the low of his depression. They entered the contract with the devil as friends. Real besties make foolish mistakes together.

Later episodes confirm Ernstmann started working together with the faceless demonic entity that is now possessing him even before he build the Angel Engine. Building the miracle machine, finding a reason to let an angel appear on earth and capturing it to use it as the machine’s fuel: It all probably was planned from the start. It’s ruthless but also a desperate action. Someone who had gotten narrow-minded from despair would be an ideal target for the deceiver and his forces from hell. But what drove Ernstmann to go to these lengths? We don't know that much about Ernstmann's personal backstory, but canon has been hinting at his motivations a bit. These official memes are too insightful to not show here:

Yeah, you know, I can see that. It fits with how Ernstmann’s sense of self-worth seems to be connected so tightly to his ability to have success and being able to prove he’s the brightest mind on earth.

The determination he is driven by falters though once Ernstmann gets resurrected from death and the demon truly starts to possess him. Now Ernstmann finally realizes he himself only ever has been a tool for the forces of hell. That realization doesn't humble him though. He becomes fatalistic, feeling all hope has been lost, that he damned his soul and this world beyond salvation. His entire worldview always has relied on winning and being the best, and now that he has to admit defeat he doubles down on the areas he still has control over. We see him being cruel to Barachiel when he feels disappointed with him. And we see again and again how Uriel’s pleas to help him stay unheard.

In fact, Ernstmann is displaying such a stubborn refusal that we see Uriel lose his patience for one of the few moments in the series. He is asking Ernstmann with utter exhaustion why he won't listen. Ernstmann's answer is as cruel as it is revealing: "Why would I listen to someone suffering in a cage?" It's an answer that lets shine through how narrowly his mindset is focused on winning. He locked Uriel up, so why should he listen? He has won, so why take the opinion of someone depending on him into consideration? It's the hardened mindset of someone who got conditioned to always aim for the place on top.

It’s interesting how Uriel responds once he is confronted with this mindset: Uriel: Was he not pleased? Ernstmann: What do you mean? Uriel: Up on the cross? Was he not filled with joy?

Uriel reminds Ernstmann's on Christ's sacrifice for this world and that it only could be achieved through his suffering. It's a statement Ernstmann has no argument for. Being confronted with someone who achieved his goal not through competition but through his own sacrifice, it's a concept standing in contrast to everything we have learned about Ernstmann's worldview so far. For this he has no answer. He damned his soul by aligning himself with the devil, and since the entire scope and gravity of his actions have been dawning on him he has only grown more hopeless and fatalistic.

But now Uriel has confronted him with a way where getting defeated does not mean to lose. Now he has been confronted with an approach where winning and being number one is not the only way to reach victory.

We see that Uriel's words are something that keeps resonating with Ernstmann. At a later date we see him talking with Ecklebloom. He reminds him – and himself – that Christ on the cross suffered but that this was also the moment of his victory, where he accomplished all he had set out to do. And what greater joy could there be? He talks to Ecklebloom with quiet conviction in that moment, his earlier fatalism and indifference have vanished.

I got reminded of these two screenshots I made from pretty early in the series, sometime before the time skip. And it just occurred to me that earlier in the series we had neither any detailed insight into Barachiel’s character nor information about his origins. Early on in the series he got introduced as the pinnacle of Ernstmann’s hubris. When Ernstmann created his artificial angel he intended to play God. It wasn’t until after the time skip we got a much better insight in who Barachiel is as a person.

I have so many thoughts about Barachiel. He was created to be a tool and a weapon but refused to be one in the one moment it mattered the most. His refusal to kiII Uriel might have prevented humanity to be judged in that moment. His kindness towards the angel humanity holds captive might be the reason there is still hope. He is both an angel and a human, and yet he is neither. There is real kindness in him. He dragged Ernstmann back from death because he loves him and sees him as his father. To him his creator is his father, is his dad. How does it feel to be born as the pinnacle of someone else’s hubris? He wants to have friends. He is told he is not supposed to have any. He would do everything for Ernstmann. Except to kiII Uriel who is Barachiel's biological father. We’ve seen the woman who gave birth to Barachiel, but it’s likely he hasn’t much of a memory of her. He probably never once met Uriel. The number of the elephants in the room keeps growing. An Angel should not be a father. Barachiel should not exist, and yet he's here. Not even Ernstmann in his silent dissapointment over Barachiel refusing an order once went so far as to call this a mistake.

Barachiel wants to find God but he does not know how. His name means God’s blessing. How does it feel to carry God Himself in your name when you don’t know how and if you ever will be able to reach him?

We saw Barachiel getting locked into the angel engine and his pleas to stop this painful procedure were ignored. He keeps getting taught that his pain does not matter. His coping method of dealing with the isolation in between experiments is to dream of a world where Ernstmann is proud to be his father and loves him. Did you notice that Barachiel’s face lacks any bigger scars and disfigurements when he sees himself in his dreams? He will endure pain if that will bring Ernstmann back to him. Barachiel can perform miracles of the like such as bringing a person back from death, but the scientists who should know about his powers best fear him the least. But maybe they should fear him a little. He hurt human volunteers in his attempt to bring Ernstmann back to life. He sees your spirit. If he wants to he can read your mind. He sees you fIesh. He knows how to break it, in theory. If your name is Geoff, he will try to heal it. Barachiel doesn’t seem to fully realize what kind of immense power he actually has. He never fully realizes why so many people are scared of him either.

The Angel Corps member who keeps getting punished for trying to resists Babylon observed that Barachiel knows nothing, not even himself. And this is true. His entire life Barachiel has been kept ignorant. First the scientists never told him the full truth and now Babylon is deceiving him to ensures they can keep taking advantage of him. There is the possibility Barachiel is one of the people the deceiver sometimes imitates in his attempts to mislead others. And Barachiel has to keep himself ignorant to somehow deal with the horrors he has to face in Babylon. He tells himself that the pain the disgraced Angel Corps member faces is not real. That the Angel Corps member actually deserves his punishment. Because facing the fact that he is stuck in an environment that makes innocent people suffer is not something Barachiel can just accept.

His name means Geoff’s blessing. How does it feel to have a name that reminds you that the person you care about the most has been taken away from you since two millennia?

Barachiel calls the hero he has been told to watch over his friend and protects him from violence. I doubt the hero shares his interpretation. Barachiel is kind to Seila and tries to comfort her over the loss of her father, even though in his awkwardness the way he expresses that sometimes outright scares her. Babylon needs these children for their plans and these plans may mean the ruin of these two. There is the possibility Barachiel is kind to them because even though their fate seems to be decided, he at least doesn’t want them to suffer more than they need to.