#jellal analysis

As grim as Jellal’s tragedy had been, something that resonates about it is that in some sense it is realistic. Not everyone gets justice as they are owed. Not every story gets a clean ending or comfortable resolution. 

Look at the real world, how many actual terrible criminals go unpunished because they have the law on their side or the police/influence on their payroll. And look at how many innocent people suffer and continue to suffer because someone else has the power to let that happen and no one can/will step in.

As sad as it is, corruption is real and prevalent. Utterly evil and heinous people get away with doing the most unimaginable crimes, some never even being found out until after it’s too late or even never at all. All whilst the names of victims are just added to obituaries, the happenings are told but that’s just it. No real justice is being done usually, someone just tells the story yet, the horror retold yet it doesn’t make up for all the pain and torment the innocent have undergone.

You’re probably wondering as I mention this rhetoric, how does this relate to Fairy Tail or Jellal?

Let’s think back to the Tower Of Heaven/Zeref and remember what it truly was. Though it was a slave camp that was isolated from society, what was done in order to conduct and maintain it? People were abducted all over Earthland; adults and children, their villages razed to the ground, mass murder and looting most likely conducted alongside and then of course the horrors of the tower.

Of course the Tower and it’s purpose remained a secret for a long time, yet even so, it didn’t leave a non-existing trail about it’s creation. People were missing by the masses all over and villages were going up in smoke—something that would have alerted those who weren’t captured. And when it would become clear that children were amongst the masses, innocent vulnerable children, the situation would become something that would alarm anyone.

In regard to adults people may think they have gone on their own accord, but children? That raises suspicion. And given how eccentric and theatrical the garbs of the TOH slavers were, it’s unlikely they operated in subtlety. Rather they seemed proud in their sin—in their cause—only ever really hiding because their mission required it.

But of course, that makes you think that those who caught wind of these happenings or may have even been related to someone who was caught in the midst of them, what were they doing? You wouldn’t expect people to be mum about the disappearance of people, adults, children, or the destruction of villages.

You’d imagine they sought for help. 

And yes realistically they probably went to their authorities, pleading for search parties and what not. Maybe seeking out guild workers to help find the missing people (I believe this was the case of how Rob eventually ended up in the tower, correct me if I am wrong-), or whatever they could in order to find some lead or conclusion to this looming mystery/tension.

Of course maybe search parties were sent out and they were fruitless. Maybe those sent from guilds also ended up being prisoners like Rob or maybe worse. Maybe the bare minimum was done just so people would stop hounding etc. 

Regardless of the actions taken (or not) the worry wouldn’t just disappear due to a lack of evidence or leads. Those emotions would carry on, maybe in hope that something would come up eventually. Maybe in grief in believing nothing could be done. Maybe even in anger, for why isn’t this being stopped?

Even if the tower was hidden, the repercussions caused were not.

So that makes you wonder, what must the affect have been when the atrocities of the tower were finally revealed.

What must the reaction have been to that?

Shock of course.

Horror.

Grief.

Mourning.

Guilt.

For the victims of the tower. For the children that never grew up. For the names that were forgotten until they were amongst many others. For not doing enough to keep this from happening.

But then after that?

Anger.

Distrust.

Paranoia.

Cynicism.

But towards who? 

Yes towards those who did the deed (ie. the slavers). Yes even Zeref (As the cult was in his name). And of course anyone else involved in running this atrocity. But then another party also falls under scrutiny when the public outrages.

The authority.

Those who were begged. Those who were hounded. Those who sat comfortably on their high thrones. They are the next in line for the public reaction. Because why didn’t they do more for the victims? If there was more protection in place then none of this would have happened.

‘If only they had just listened!’

But then—eventually—in the spiral of grief, questions may mutate into to doubts.

‘Why was this allowed to go on for so long?’

‘Was anything really done to help, or was it just to shut up those asking?’

‘Who’s to say they weren’t in on it too?’

‘Do they understand our fear and grief or are they pretending?’

Etc.

Etc.

There’s a domino effect.

The tower was a colossal atrocity, a failure of protection by the multitudes and for that—the outrage would also be equivalent. The questions and doubts would grow and discourse would heighten until something would answer the emotional output seeking understanding.

So now that begs the question, where does Jellal come into all of this?

Of course we know that Jellal infiltrated the council by the alias Siegrain whilst he was reigning at the tower. And with all the commotion he stirred up whilst trying to activate the R-system, the name that is always mentioned in relation to the tower is his.

Not the slavers who enslaved him as a child and killed his mother and many others beforehand. Not Ultear who took advantage of his mental state at his most weakest and most vulnerable moment. Not even Zeref who the tower was constructed in commemoration of.

It’s Jellal.

Jellal Fernandes.

His name and face have become synonymous with the cardinal betrayal, as can be seen with the intense fear, distrust and loathing people have/had towards him. The disgust and outrage spans from cast members (eg. Erza) , to side characters (e.g Miliana, Sho, Wally, Kagura) to even the unnamed.

Irrelevant of what actually happened, the fact is he could have never accomplished this sin alone.

Yet it is his alone to bear.

As intelligent and ambitious Jellal was (or Ultear possessing him?), he was not the sole manipulator of all the events that allowed the tower to remain in construction. Yet he did play into the manipulation of systems that would give him the results he sought. Exploiting weaknesses, personal agendas, maybe governmental secrets and failures that all made his movements that much more sure.

It wasn’t just arrogance.

It was calculation.

It was failures on fronts that he could take advantage of.

Yet of course, those who he was surrounded by will definitely not even try to admit their own shortcomings. I’m not talking about Ultear here, but the council that entrusted him. The government that allowed him way. They won’t hold up their hands and be like ‘we should have done better’. 

‘We should have vetted him more thoroughly.’

‘We shouldn’t have been as easily swayed.’

No, because why would they want to point a loaded finger towards themselves?

So of course they make the one who is the face of the failure, burden the brunt of the consequences and destruction.

One man instead of a ministry.

And thus Jellal is made a scapegoat.

A place for all the fingers to finally be able to point the blame at and be the target of all the intense, unbridled animosity. A name to be cited when talking about the tragedies for the many years to come and to ‘recognise’ who allowed it to happen. A face is given for rage to be directed to whilst others are concealed and saved from scrutiny and backlash.

The minor details all become a haze now since one is being pushed center stage.

The one that seems to make everything in the picture complete.

And the importance of it is being pressed on and on.

Through the media, through word of mouth, through government action.

Every other name involved and every other possibility is forgotten because Jellal is the one remembered.

Jellal is the one upheld.

Of course though, going away from the council’s clear cowardice, now I want to go into Jellal’s perspective of this.

About him being a savior and the burden he holds (or even chose to hold) and why it may be more than just symbolic like I initially believed.

I have stated before how I have wished Jellal would allow himself to let himself feel the extent of injustice he has suffered and mourn his life. Don’t get me wrong I do wish for that still—But now I have wondered if his role of being a scapegoat isn’t just something that was delegated to him, but something he intentionally carries in the bigger scheme of things.

Now you may wonder, why would anyone willingly want to become public enemy number one, to the point that people want him dead on sight? What would anyone possibly want from that? He’d have to be mad to willingly take the role of the most wanted man on Earthland.

What is to be achieved by putting a bounty like this on his head?

Yet—what if this is Jellal’s sacrifice in order to protect something greater than himself?

We’ve already gone over the public outrage and how the anger and grief would boil over if left unchecked, but let’s stew on the consequences of that.

In trying to exact justice, if all those involved in the tower were named and shamed for public disapproval, what would happen?

Of course we’ve already seen what happened to Jellal; He was equated with filth, hunted for his blood, people wanted to murder him on sight (and probably so much more that the story hasn’t shown).

By him alone we saw how Kagura, whose brother was killed by his hand—made it her sole responsibility to exact revenge on the man who killed her brother. She trained rigorously, fuelled by hatred and grief with the belief she would one day spill the blood of her brother’s murderer.

This was her idea of justice for Simon.

This was the extent her unresolved feelings drove her to try and strike balance between what happened.

This isn’t even including all the atrocities which were tied to Jellal’s name.

And Kagura’s reaction isn’t out of proportion either. It’s human. It’s realistic. Anyone who lost a loved one, they would be trembling to make justice on their name.

This is just one person with grievances towards about what happened.

One person who didn’t just remain to sharp stares and spiteful words, but instead took action since others hadn’t.

Grief and rage driving her.

Inherent things.

Human things.

Just one person.

Yet if we bring more names into the mix?

And if we bring in more perpetrators?

Or even bystanders?

Witnesses?

Then this reaction amplifies.

The hatred, the animosity, the violence increases by folds. More targets for pain means more outlets, even if in the name of ‘justice’. And even ‘justice’ can become blind when driven by strong emotions such as rage and grief. In a moment of vindication, further sin can be committed and in most cases it is (e.g. relatives to the criminals are targeted and attacked, harassment by association, ostracisation etc).

By then it’s not just Kagura out for blood but more and more emboldened by that same blood thirsty mourning spirit, changing the course of order and peace all in the name of vindication.

The inevitable result.

And this is even before the authorities are named.

If those in charge of the country—of people’s safekeeping— were to be outed as behind the failure of the public…and on such a large grotesque scale…what follows?

Anarchy.

People begin to fear their governors. There’s a irreparable collapse of trust in the system. Order as it is seen becomes fragmented and chaos ensues. And the effect goes on and on. The threats, the rage, the violence all ripples outwards.

It’s not contained to one person anymore.

Not to one face.

But multiple.

And more than that, the faces of those who were trusted by millions upon millions.

Imagine the havoc that would ensue if all that unchecked and unjust hatred wasn’t just pinned on Jellal, but was spread out? Rightfully so, but then what happens? It’s no longer just a shoot on sight command or just ill gossip and a death wish about that man with a tattoo. The problem becomes much more grave than this.

We already saw what hatred and loss from the tower did to members in the cast. Oraçion Seis—they willingly chose corruption as recompense to the ill hand fate gave them and look how far they went in their evil because someone had gave them purpose to.

Yet the picture is bigger than even that.

It’s not just matter of vengeful wizards who want to do wrong to the world because they were wronged.

But the scope of the problem encompasses more, making anyone a potential victim. Because the government/council can affect anyone one of them, and that proximity then causes a natural fear when trust has been shattered.

That then begs the question that will eventually land in people’s minds, who’s to say it wouldn’t happen again?

Atrocities alike to the tower?

The abductions?

The mass murder?

The mass failure?

The betrayal?

With all this taken into account, I think Jellal is entirely aware of this. He sat on the council, he knows how authority operates and the trust it holds over millions. He knows the effect that power has on the innocent and blissfully ignorant—both from being a direct perpetrator and a bystander.

So perhaps, in order to avoid the possibility of anarchy and further loss, Jellal allows his name to be the sole target of grief and hatred. Because in the bigger picture, that is a greater win for everyone. Order remains intact. The outrage, while intense, is contained and manageable—rather than spreading into a chaos no one could control.

Jellal knows firsthand what can ensue if the mind gets clouded by hatred and darkness, and instead of allowing the problem to emerge on an uncontrollable scale, he does the unthinkable. He puts his head on the chopping block, so the blood stops running anymore than it has to.

He sacrifices his peace—for the peace and safety of others.

And this is not out of character for him at all.

From young we saw Jellal has always been incredibly altruistic and sacrificing; he would throw himself in harm’s way so others wouldn’t suffer. In the Nirvana arc he was willing to literally die if it meant stopping the impending consequences of Nirvana. He went against Acnologia alone to buy time for the others, knowing well that he could have become gravely injured or worse. Even regarding the new information about Jellal’s past, after the loss of his father, he was willing to pursue the life needed in order to protect his mother.

This behavior is what defines him.

And the core principle translates in this instance as well.

Jellal would readily sacrifice his world so others can live in and preserve theirs.

Of course, this isn’t to erase the very real harm caused during his villain era or to romanticise it. The Tower left scars, and nothing can undo that. But because of how the story has panned out, it’s been making me think—perhaps Mashima’s choice was never about making him “innocent.” Maybe it was about showing how one man became the vessel for a nation’s grief.

If that is the case, Jellal’s tragedy, then, is not a neat redemption arc—rather it is much harder and more nuanced as it is dealing with the fallout of national scapegoating, systemic cowardice, and the unbearable weight of carrying pain that was never his alone. 

Of course it could be the fact that even if Jellal wasn’t accountable, Jellal shoulders the blame as penance for all the collateral damage caused as a result of his reign. But this new perspective really makes Jellal’s weight feel so much more than just tragedy upon tragedy.

Though since in the previous conversation I touched on Jerza, I would like to return to them here too. Through this new lens, even Jerza changes shape. Erza’s forgiveness stops looking like blind leniency and emotional labour, and instead becomes recognition—that she sees the man who not only suffered as a victim, but who chose to bear the grief of thousands so the world would not collapse under it’s own outrage.

However on the flip side, it may be the case that Jellal may never truly reveal what he chose to inherit in order to keep Erza from talking him out of it, or burdening her with that grief. That could be a reason why maybe they never have those conversations of who did what, because uncovering it would bring up more than just them. Maybe Jellal intentionally keeps it under the wraps in hope to mitigate further fallout.

That’s a whole other conversation to unfold later on.

Either way—whatever the case is, it shows how the bond between Jellal and Erza isn’t just about love or loss.

But about the shared understanding of carrying burdens no one else could or should.

They are both protectors of the world in their own right.

I used to think Jellal’s constant mention of his ‘sin’ was excessive at points since I couldn’t understand the thought process of wanting to own something you never truly consciously did. On this immense scale. Especially when he didn’t have the answers to pursue such actions.

I thought it was self flagellation, even performance at points.

Because that was the role the world had gave him.

Whilst the truth may hold shades of that, I don’t think now Jellal’s situation is something he has helplessly resided in.

Atleast not fully.

Because maybe it’s not just passive acceptance from his side, but a concious burden. Every time he cites the sins in his name, he secures a narrative no one can question or change and thus the fear of colossal fallout is quelled.

Tragic yes.

No one would bear such upon their name.

Not even the named heroes.

But he does.

That’s maybe why he doesn’t try to push/spread the blame. That’s maybe why he doesn’t allow himself his anger. That’s maybe why he doesn’t fight the hate or injustice or grief.

Because doing so would only lead to more.

I don’t know any other character who has consistently sacrificed to the extent Jellal has,

And for that I have nothing but respect for him.

Even after all this reflection, there’s no knowing if he is truly innocent or not. But maybe that was never the point of the story. Maybe it was about the due price that had to be paid for and who would be willing to pay it.

Even if they had no need to do so.

This new lens I am seeing Jellal with changed a lot for me. He may not actually be a man suffering aimlessly in a circle. But something harder, sadder and much more beautiful:

A man who chose to suffer so the world could keep standing.

I wonder if this is what Mashima was trying to portray with the narrative direction.

If this is the case, then honestly it’s beautiful.

Rare, subtle and beautiful.

And it just shows how exemplary of a person Jellal truly is.

Despite everything about him that had to die—the protector inside him never did.