#ff7r chapter 4

Biggs: “He’ll get caught up in the flow and, poof.”

Cloud: “[What’s so funny?] Just that I understand how you feel. Unlike most of the time.”

This scene struck me the first time, and it’s struck me again in my replay - this time with a bit more clarity. On the surface, this reads as Cloud simply expressing empathy for Biggs and Wedge about the struggle to save Jessie’s dad. The loss of a parent is something a lot of people can relate to, Cloud included. 

But seeing Rowan Raspberry comatose with mako poisoning is also strong callback for us returning gamers. (We know Cloud’s track record with mako poisoning.) At first, I actually thought Cloud was empathising with being ‘caught in the flow’ here. We know he’s been ‘hallucinating’ Sephiroth already and blaming it on the mako fumes. So this makes me wonder, how much does Cloud remember of being poisoned the first time? How much does he remember as Cloud, and how much does he remember as Zack? 

Biggs: “Mako’s the essence of life itself. Of memory and hope. It’s not something you burn in a reactor just to keep the lights on.”

That feeling of being caught between two identities is an eerily similar feeling, too: stuck between body and soul, caught in a flow of memory and hope. Cloud may empathise with that split feeling, even if right now he doesn’t know why.