#tpn analysis

Is because Gillian would have shot that man in the heart.

She's the one that notes they are wearing bullet proof vests because she's the one that took the shot.

Gillian (like Ray) was fully ready to kill those bastards AND SHE COULD HAVE DONE IT TOO.

(i really them to have closure after their argument about going back for yuugo and lucas :( They just say sorry and its never addressed again)

In this moment I kind of read it as Gillian wants to kill the people that took their home away from them rather than protecting what they have (they both have valid points obviously but it's interesting how the vengance that first scares emma that she sees in oliver and Barbara almost threatens their chance to live/escape here)

Not to mention the other older kids are fully on board with killing humans. I would have liked to see a bit more of that conflict in the return to Grace field.

For Norman's mindset he saw humans as demons because of his time at Lamba (and even before that it was enforced by isabella's betrayal)

In the first arc he fully accepts that Isabella is a demon that can't reason with and have to beat by any means necessary.

it would be cool to expand on how willing Goldy Pond is to kill humans because they never had a Mom.

I imagine the information at Grand Valley that was available to the kids was much more censored so they wouldn't question the lines in the sky/dome that was put in as a safety measure rather than trackers and they could afford to since it was centered on physical rather than mental development

They had "teachers" and no parental figures before Lucas. They never had Isabella to make them consider another perspective. They never questioned how Sisters/Moms have to make a life or death call at 12 years old while staring death in the face.

Oh! Ohhhhhhh!!!

This is such a cool question.

Okay, there’s two alternate routes I can see for this.

1. The Triforce pieces reflect the aspect each character most represents.

(For this, I assigned elements based on which value the trio tends to default to, or fall back on)

Emma: Courage. Taking on the impossible and fighting for what she knows is right, even when her own logic tells her it can’t be done, is pretty brave. She understands the odds, but she fights back anyway. Emma’s very much the Hero of this narrative. Courage seems like the most natural choice for her.

Ray: Wisdom. His penchant for learning and observation aside, Ray’s approach to the world is the most grounded, and arguably the most holistic, of the trio. To me, wisdom involves more than knowledge— it takes honesty, discernment, and experience. Ironically, even during his story’s darkest beginnings, Ray displays all of these.

While he’s trapped in his own twisted headspace, he still values truthfulness more than either of the others (even as he lies to them), has the most ‘realistic’ worldview, and constantly draws from experience to inform his actions.

Norman: Power. While he’s certainly brave, and might seem wiser than Ray at first, Norman’s priority is to be the one in control. He loves taking on the odds and enjoys mind games, but it always comes down to a kind of battle of wills with him. When his situation strips him of agency and/or objectifies him, we’ve seen that Norman will sacrifice both courage and wisdom to give himself some sort of power over his circumstances, even if it’s mostly an illusion.

As Emma puts it, “you’re stronger and kinder than anyone, but at the same time, you’re arrogant and a coward!” Norman’s so focused on being in control because he thinks that’s the only way to ensure his family’s lives and desires are protected. His wisdom is clouded by an ironic sort of arrogance, born from self-hatred, and by stifling his own deepest fears and insecurities, he loses himself in his own cowardice. This leaves him as the most powerful, but least balanced, member of the trio.

2. The Triforce pieces reflect the aspect each character most develops over the course of their arc.

Emma: Power. While she gets both braver and wiser over time, Emma’s relationship with power— both outside herself and her own— has the most impact on her growth. Even as she contends with others’ will to power, her deepest struggle comes from inner conflict over her own authority.

As the allies and enemies she confronts become stronger and exercise more control over her world, Emma decides that if she’s going to force her way into the future she wants, she’ll have to shoulder the responsibility for it herself. Her last major decision has her exercising an unprecedented amount of power over her enemies, her friends, and the entire cosmos— and while she understands the implications of this at the time, in the end, she never really gets to confront it (courage) or learn from it (wisdom).

Ray: Wisdom— again. Ray definitely gets braver and more powerful throughout the story— heck, learning to take risks is a major part of his arc— but his growth has more to do with expanding his worldview than it does with either his bravery or his mastery. Learning to trust others and to accept (or at least run with) things beyond his comprehension takes courage, but more than that, it takes humility and discernment, the better parts of wisdom.

Once he’s free of the poisoned environment of Grace Field, Ray’s instincts for reason, realism and loyalty have the chance to thrive, and by the end, he’s the wisest and most reliable of the trio. His memory and his experiences also give him a boost here— he’s the only character who encounters and remembers everything the readers do, in some form or another. The boy deserves a break, and all the love, and he carries so many stories inside him.

Norman: Courage. His arc follows a kind of cyclical paradox. When he first comes face to face with his own fear of death, his instinct is to deny himself that feeling, pushing himself into more and more dangerous situations, as a dehumanized tool to achieve the dreams of those he sees as better than himself (particularly Emma). Norman never gets to experience the relative freedom, and the diverse friendships, Emma and Ray meet with beyond the farms, so he spirals further and further into his black-and-white, self-destructive inner world.

Norman finally begins to grow when Ray and Emma force him to confront his own fears. From that point on, he develops the courage to admit his weaknesses, to hand over control, and to rely on the people who love him. If there were a “Dark Link” in TPN, it would be Norman’s monster to fight. After all, true courage requires you to “conquer yourself!”

Annnnd that’s a lot of words. Clearly, this was a lot of fun to think about! Many thanks for the question!

(Inclued Ray and Emma too but mainly Norman)

Norman decides he must kill the demons because it's the only way his family can survive when there's truly no Neverland to escape to. Those who insult hard on Norman for murder overlook this: Norman was dying, and before he died, he wanted to leave a world to live in for the people he valued most in life and for whom he had worked for years. He thought he had no other choice, he would bear the price of this murder, he should bear this burden. All of these come from the responsibility and sense of justice he has felt since childhood. Just like Ray decides he can take the burden of killing people when Minerva's first shelter is found. "I am ready to carry this burden."

Everyone else is like ‘oh no they skipped over so much of the manga’ and I’m just like????? No??? Because the way I see it the whole Lambda thing is a cop out that makes exactly 0 logical sense. After season one they lost the plot. Simple as that. They did irrational things for the sake of drama.

I mean think about it, they didn’t want to actually kill Norman so they came up with this elaborate experimental plantation but it doesn’t make sense. Norman was the cream of the crop, the one they were looking forward to, they wouldn’t keep him alive and experiment on him and possibly make him inedible. When we farm animals do we do that?! It’s illogical. If they were trying to clone him I might get it but they weren’t. And then when Norman goes crazy from the torture (because drama!) part of his arguments is that the demons in charge want to maintain the status quo. They’re supposedly very happy with the current system. If that were the case they wouldn’t be doing those experiments at the cost of their best product!

And don’t even get me started on the whole ‘eating humans to be intelligent’ thing. Like… that’s not… where did that even come from!? But oh wait! There’s this super convenient solution! It’s so convoluted but also so forced, like… that isn’t how biology works. I get that this is a fantasy world but that’s too far.

If it were me, I’d have season 1 stay the same and just scrap season 2 for parts. I actually like Sonju, even if his appearance is a bit deus ex machina. His motivation for helping them is interesting and I think he creates a unique situation for the kids. I like the religious fanatic angle, and I like the kids having a mentor. If they’d just let things continue organically instead of forcing it… I mean Ray isn’t stupid, he wouldn’t carve the coordinates where enemies would see. He would have at least used code. They could have stayed at the base thing and built a freaking safe haven and then launched a quiet war against the farms. Guerrilla warfare, slowly rescuing more and more kids, building more bases. Do it realistically, none of this ‘one chemical weapon solves all our problems’ and ‘but wiping them out is wrong!’ quick fixes and simple plans stopped only by moral dilemmas. It too simplified but they try to disguise it with all the drama. It’s okay we took the cowards road and didn’t kill Norman cause he’s so traumatized we can barely recognize him! It’s okay we’re pulling easy solutions out of our asses because they trigger moral strife and end in the main characters struggling to choose the path of light! Drama!

Look, I haven’t read the manga yet but I don’t know how much more I would’ve liked it. It doesn’t matter if we get more context, it’s still just burying the plot holes and cop outs in more drama. We don’t need a simple answer, that’s not how systemic oppression is fixed, that’s not how war and rebellion works. There are plenty of ways they could have gone. Hell there are other, better ways they could save Norman! His shipment was abnormal and unscheduled, Isabella could have saved him or Minerva and his followers, something else, anything else.

I'm really going through it now. Okay you know that unconsolable dread one is afflicted by when history goes lost. Ancient libraries burning, historical art pieces being destroyed; it shakes to the core, because to destroy books and art and historical artefacts means to destroy the last items that carried the memory of people long gone; and doing so means killing them again, once and for all. Because if there's one thing more scary than death, that's the thought of being forgotten forever; then, you won't just be dead, but you'll cease to have ever existed.

I needed to preface that because no sane person would do that of their own will; it's going against the natural emphaty all humans share and that is ineherently human; it's going against one's own humanity.

But that's what Cecile did when she threw the sisters' embroidery to flames. The history of sister after sister who fought against the system, a legacy of trainees hoping in a better world, hoping that even where they failed, someone else could still succeed. Young, abused girls who still believed escape was possible, that a world of freedom could be real. And Cecile threw all of that away. She killed those girls again, and that makes her ruthless. And she did that because she loved another person.

And to do that because you love another person. To do put everything, everything on the line to grant their survival. To go against your own humanity just because your love for them is stronger than anything. To selflshly (can I say that?) condamn every. other. person if it's to save the person you love. To be willing to have them hate you till they're alive, as long as they stay alive.

Like idk I don't think we talk enough about Cecile as the figure of the traitor. Because she intentionally made herself guilty of betrayal thrice at least. She betrayed the system; when she put Krone's survival over hers, going against all the principles the mama system is based on. She betrayed all the sisters that came before her and that had entrusted her with the embroidery as a way to escape; to make Krone appear innocent. She betrayed Krone, by framing her; to grant her survival. And all of that- all of that, she did for Krone.

It's funny- in Dante's depiction of Inferno, the deepest circle of hell is where traitors get punished. The circle is divided in four rounds; on the first round are punished the traitors to family. On the second, traitors of the nation. The third is for hosts who betray their guests. The fourth is for traitors to their lords / benefactors / masters. It's curious, Cecile kinda fits every category: she betrayed her family (Krone), the nation (the system), the guest (the mama structure that gave her a new place opposite to sure death, though this one is a stretch); the benefactors (her seniors, the sisters that came before her and gave her the means to escape). The last round is dedicated to the punishment of what Dante deems the worst sin a man can commit: the betrayal of your own benefactors. The people there - Judas, who betrayed Christ, and Brutus and Cassius, who betrayed Caesar - are forever damned to be incessantly eaten by Lucifer.

Cecile is the epitome of traitor. Not a traitor like Minerva Norman, who tried to kill Emma's friends when she was away in order to pursue the greater good; she's probably a closer traitor to GF Ray, who gave the lives of other children in exchange of the sole survival of the people he loved because he thought there was no other way. Who was willing to be hated by them for that, as long as they would have survived.

Ray's Protective Stance

This is one of the small details that I appreciate in the anime so far, particularly since I'm enjoying all of Emma's and Ray's interactions from the episode.

Let me be soft about this moment:

In the manga, Ray holds out the lamp to see in the dark at who's approaching.

In the anime, Ray isn't actually holding the lamp in that hand but rather he's shielding Emma from what's coming.

In the manga, the person immediately dives for Emma and grabs her hand. She also grabs Ray a moment later.

However, Ray is a bit more cautious in the anime.

As the person goes around, Ray still stays in front of Emma and holding out his hand protectively. They couldn't get a chance to grab Emma.

This is largely inspired by the fact that I talk about the characters’ zodiacs nonstop in the fanfic I’m working on for my tpn witch au, and I’ve been chortling to myself the entire time about how well some of them fit their sign and how some of them just... don’t. I’m going to simply infodump about each character, their sign, element, and some attributes they fit to a t while others don’t make sense. I will also touch on compatibility for all you shippers out there, don’t worryyy. Now this isn’t at all a critique or review of the characters themselves— I know astrology is not the first thing authors consider when choosing character birthdays, if they even do at all, this is simply me rambling about my hyperfixation and projecting onto fictional characters like we all do.

A couple last notes— one character in particular (cough cough Ray) has a different “canon” birthdate from “actual” so I’ll discuss both. Also, while I will be doing surface level research to make sure I’m not talking out of my ass, im not a professional astrologist, I’m simply a witch with an enthusiasm for zodiacs. Well then, without further ado, let’s talk about the kiddos.

Emma

Birthdate: August 22nd

Sign: Leo

Element: Fire

An overview: The funniest thing to me about Emma is that she’s literally the epitome of a Leo. Fire signs are generally very outgoing and energetic—they talk a lot and tend to be the leaders of the packs. Leos in particular are incredibly admirable and truly know their way around a conversation. If I ever wanted to get stuck in an elevator for 48 hours with no wifi or connection to the outside world and only one random stranger to talk to for the entire duration, I would pick a Leo in a heartbeat. Emma is very much the leader-type, she’s someone everyone pauses and listens to when she calls for their attention, and she always prefers to talk her way out of conflict rather than fight—but not in an underhanded manipulative way, no, Leos are very genuine with their feelings and will be upfront about their reasons for their actions.

Take this scene between Emma and Leuvis for example— this to me is about the closest to perfect of a summary of what Leos are like, and how Emma fits her sign beautifully.

She doesn’t want to fight, but she will if she has to—for the good of her friends and the good of humanity. She can stick to her ideals and yet extend a hand to the enemy anyway. This is what makes Leos such a force to be reckoned with in leadership roles.

Compatibility and ships: I know I know, this is the part you’re most excited about. I’m going to attempt to refrain from sharing my opinion on each ship itself, I will simply point out which have the highest compatibility levels. First of all, essentially all signs are most compatible with 1. Other signs of the same element and 2. Their compliment sign, their elemental opposite.

Since Emma is a fire sign, she’s generally compatible with other fire signs (Sagittarius, Aries, and of course Leo) as well as Air signs (Aquarius, Gemini, and Libra). So speaking broadly, she’s compatible of course with Norman as an Aries, as well as Ray IF he truly is an Aquarius. But if we narrow it down a little bit, I should mention that fire signs being fire signs can often clash with each other because both their energies are so high (personal experience lmao), and therefore their elemental opposite, air, are generally the way to go. Usually you’ll find on astrological charts and sites that Leos are most compatible with Geminis and Aquariuses, so Ray again if he is an Aquarius, and then we bring Violet into the picture because she’s a Gemini. (Uh, speaking as a Gemini, Leos are my favorite people to date, and I always seem to crush on them as well. I have a problem. A Leo problem.) I’m so sorry Gilemma shippers but fire and earth signs are like the worst combo, I don’t know how this happened because I love Gilemma with all my heart. The stars simply did not align for us this time

Norman

Birthdate: March 21st

Sign: Aries

Element: Fire

Overview: okay listen. I didn’t believe Norman was an Aries at first because he’s not as high energy as most fire signs, but then the more I thought about it, the more it just makes sense. The most key trait to an Aries is loyalty. They are so incredibly loyal and caring to the people they love that they often neglect themselves in the process. They can be very quick to anger if someone hurts or insults their friend, and are unafraid to start a fight or commit morally gray or even black actions in service of their loved ones. Point is you don’t mess with an Aries’ family or friends. You will get burned.

All the loyalty applies to Norman so incredibly well—the way that his plans and actions revolve entirely around Emma and Ray, and the way that he sacrifices himself for their escape even though he’s terrified of dying. But even more so this loyalty strikes you in the face when he returns as William Minerva, willing and committed to full on genocide all to keep his friends alive and safe. As I’ve said Aries are quick to anger, which seemingly isn’t very present in cool-headed, thoughtful Norman, but then you remember this:

Look at his expression. Even if he doesn’t easily lose his cool, when he does it’s terrifying. So essentially Norman is a much more subtle Aries— he’s not in your face aggressive or full of energy, but he has all the hidden signs. So yeah, I honestly can’t think of any other sign that describes him better. Norman is an Aries.

Compatibility and ships: being a fire sign and all, Norman’s compatibility is actually very similar to Emma’s. He’s compatible with other Fire signs (Sagittarius, Leo, and Aries) as well as Air signs (Libra, Aquarius, and Gemini). Speaking broadly that makes him compatible with Emma and Ray again, but narrowing it down Aries are much better in general with Libras and Leos so congrats Noremma shippers you won.

Ray

“Canon” Birthdate: January 15th

“Actual” Birthdate: February 5th

“Canon” sign: Capricorn

“Actual” sign: Aquarius

“Canon” Element: Earth

“Actual” Element: Air

Overview: alright Ray is a bit of a mixed bag to unpack. Because it’s been stated that Ray’s January 15th birthday is not his actual birthday outside of the source material, then it’s reasonable for me to count both birthdays because people have different ideas of what’s canon and what’s not. Interestingly enough though, Ray does indeed fit well enough into both the Capricorn and Aquarius signs, however I personally believe one shows through him better than the other.

We’ve been talking about fire signs for Emma and Norman so it’s finally time to dive into two other elements! We’ll start with Capricorn then, the Earth sign. The most important thing to remember is that the Earth signs are the most grounded and practical. If you want someone who can give you logical and rational advice, your best bet would be the Earth signs (Air signs are also good at this but this ain’t about them. Although you will notice some overlap in traits between these two, particularly in Capricorns and Aquariuses).

We can already see the ‘practical’ side show through in Ray by the way he hyperfocuses on taking Norman and Emma to escape but insists on leaving the other kids behind. This isn’t to say he doesn’t feel for them, on the contrary, Earth signs are indeed very in tune with their emotions and empathy, but Capricorns really know how to set that part of them aside in favor of the calm and certain route. They like tangible solutions, things they can grasp with the least amount of risk, and they’re very resistant to changes—like giant rocks. This is also noticeable in how Ray gets so very flustered by Norman and Emma’s impulsivity. He clashes with both of them because Earth signs prefer to take things slow while Fire signs just like to make a leap and hope for the best.

Note how Emma says “not that I mind...” meanwhile Ray is out here going “I MIND!!” Which we learn is because of his identity as the spy. He’s got his own plan and a tangible solution to shoot for, and Norman and his impulsivity and Emma going along with it is messing everything up. Thus, he forcibly retakes control of the situation via making a deal with Norman after the traitor is revealed. Very Capricorn stuff.

And if you want an image that just completely sums up the Capricorn in Ray, here you go:

On the OTHER hand, if we’re to go off Ray’s “actual” birthdate, which was so lovingly calculated by Tempo, then we get Aquarius Ray, the Air sign. The most important things to note about the air signs is that they’re the thinkers—the farthest from impulsive, they’re the least in tune with their emotions, and they are oh so horribly indecisive. Where Earth signs will be able to give advice that adheres to both logic and emotion, Air signs stick purely to logic. Where Earth signs are able to make calm and rational decisions, Air signs will agonize over options and often find themselves lost, searching perpetually for a solution with no cracks in it. Hello. I’m an Air sign. :’))

I’m gonna come right out and say it. I hate Aquarius men. Aquarius women and enby folks, they’re great. But Aquarius men? I may, as a Gemini, get along with them in surface level casual conversation, but behind every Aquarius man’s back is a Mal waiting to strangle him the moment I am given the opportunity. I’m so sorry Ray my son but you are not an Aquarius okay. Alright. Well, let’s just talk about the parts of him that do fit Aquarius.

So from the very start Ray is obviously a thinker, someone who considers his options very carefully before he makes a decision, and someone who hates making choices based solely on emotion. In fact, he hates expressing emotions at all. Aquariuses are very good at repressing or hiding their emotions behind other emotions (most air signs are). The most common way to do this is to put up a wall of either numbness or full-on rage. We can see both in Ray.

Instead of showing vulnerability in a healthy way, he would rather do that. Ok cool Ray.

Aquariuses can also be very quiet people, and Ray’s pretty dang quiet for most of the series too. They’re the intellectuals you know are intellectuals even though they aren’t up in your face about it. Their reserved nature makes them 10x scarier when they’re genuinely angry, because boy can an Aquarius rage.

The thing about Aquarius Ray for me here is that while Ray does indeed have Aquarius energy, it’s not the Core of Ray. To me he’s so much more of an Earth sign, so therefore I diagnose Ray with Capricorn.

Compatibility and ships: ok this is a mixed bag again. Now if you got Aquarius Ray then of course he’s compatible with other Air signs (Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius) and Fire signs (Leo, Aries, and Sagittarius), which would make him compatible with Norman and Emma for sure, as well as probably Ayshe for you Rayshe shippers because my personal HC is Aquarius Ayshe.

If you’ve got Capricorn Ray, then Capricorns are compatible with other earth signs (Taurus, Virgo, Capricorn) and their compliment water signs (Cancer, Pisces, and Scorpio), though they’re best with Cancers and Tauruses. So yes, Anna is a Taurus, which makes Rayanna a compatible pair. But guess who’s a Cancer. Don. ALL MY RAYDON SHIPPERS GET OUT HERE YOU COWARDS IM CALLING YOUR NAME. YOU WIN THE SHIP GAME.

Gilda

Birthdate: May 13th

Sign: Taurus

Element: Earth

Overview: So again with the practical and grounded Earth signs. Tauruses now, are the most stubborn of them, which can be a little irritating at times, but it’s also a great asset when you consider how reliable they truly are. They’re bulls, which makes them solid and difficult to move, and you can always fall back on them when you’ve leapt too far ahead. Gilda is of course the epitome of reliable, and her stubbornness does show through at times—like when she’s the one person against Emma going out into danger all the time, constantly trying to talk her down into a more practical and certain solution. She’s also the first to attempt to bring Emma to see Ray’s side of the escape plan, which is very earth sign of both of them good job guys.

Compatibility and ships: I know I know I’m still upset Gilemma isn’t compatible astrologically but we can talk about other Gilda ships! Tauruses are most compatible with other earth signs (Capricorn, Virgo, and Taurus) and water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, and Pisces) which makes her compatible with our other lovely Taurus, Anna! Gilanna shippers unite. But they’re best with Cancers and Scorpios, which means Gildon is is at highest compatibility.

Don

Birthdate: July 4th

Sign: Cancer

Element: Water

Overview: HEY YALL ITS TIME TO TALK ABOUT MY LEAST FAVORITE SIGNS: W A T E R. (I’m sorry my water friends, I’m sure you’re lovely, but as an air sign I am always extremely suspicious of water signs at first meeting because our compatibility is so low it might as well not exist) So the water signs are at the absolute highest emotional level. This can make them extraordinarily kind and nurturing, but it can also make them absolutely unreasonable and destructive. None is this more present than in Cancers, one of the most sensitive signs, but also one of the most empathetic. We can tell very clearly in Don that he wears his emotions on his sleeve—he’s unafraid to cry or show his anger, but he also takes very good care of his younger siblings and shows such an intense concern for them that it can become frightening.

He’s such a good boy 🥺

Compatibility and ships: okay so same drill, Cancers are generally compatible with other Water signs (Scorpio, Pisces, and Cancer) as well as Earth signs (Taurus, Capricorn, and Virgo) though their highest compatibility is with Tauruses and Capricorns. So again. GILDON AND RAYDON SHIPPERS R I S E.

^^^ viewing with my friends

__________________________

. More thoughts:

I loved how ep2 used a similar sequence of shots to immediately bring our minds to conny's shipment and further connect us to Emma's association / state of mind.

+ waterdrop of death continues, glad to have it back 

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. “Humans outside”

I also talked about this in the video, but I find it interesting that we’ve heard two different insights from Krone and Sonju. “Humans on equal footing outside” vs. “there are no humans outside of the farms”. I really emphasized the “equal footing” thing in video, which also still does seems weird to me, and I can come to the following conclusions:

Krone just thinks they’re equals because they’re higher up the hierarchy than she is, but in reality even the top of the farms are oppressed by the demons as well.

for some reason, even after being heavily outnumbered by demons, humans found a way to be close to equal footing --- I mentioned breeding the humans for them in the video, and I still think that could be part of it but I also had a different thought: it’s interesting that it’s 1000 years - sad, my 2000 years theory didn’t hold up - because that implies 1000 years of technological advancement (phones, the camera, electronics are clearly a thing) still happened in the demon “world” (and we’ve never seen demons use them, they seem to be a human thing). The highest up the hierarchy we’ve seen happen to be the scientists. That’s why I think it’s plausible that humans are smarter than demons (cue the fascination and desert of smart people) and they provide technological advancement and food, and in exchange the top of that chain in the humans can “co-exist”. But we haven’t seen a lot of demon society so it’s hard to say if they’re just not as inventive as humans. And even if that WERE the case, I don’t think that’s enough to call it “equal”, it’s still a massive power difference. Though apparantly, SOMEHOW, the struggle used to be equal 1000 years ago, so- like I think “We’ll kill you” is still something that’s likely to be the winning argument even if there was the chance to be on equal grounding again.

But now that I’m thinking about it, even taking the “equal” thing away, it’s still contradicting. Krone specifically talked about the humans delivering goods, which are technically “outside” and still “in the farm (system)” - but they are definitely not on equal standing. So I don’t think she means the other working parts of the forms.

So I just wonder if there are humans who are benefitting from this system in some way for damning others. Hello ominous guy from the OP.

He doesn’t seem too oppressed, going to be honest. 

It’s possible I guess that the demons wanted to make sure that there wouldn’t be an uprising by having humans “on their side” and the higher ups, not concerned for the humans further down the food chain, agreed, thus making it a deal and “equal”. Since they can’t kill every human because they’re their precious food, so it’s a good idea to keep them in check and not have them hate them actively, but I think demons could still stop a human uprising??? It might be unnecessary drama though.

But even then, you can’t really say they keep up a good relationship with the higher up humans to make people further down cooperate, since they are driven by existential angst (become a mom or die). They know humans will cooperate them if you threaten them with death.

So I’m just really confused what makes the higher ups so different.

inb4 it was just Krone’s subjective knowledge and I make a fool of myself but again, ominous guy from the OP seems like he’s really enjoying this (assumingly high) standing he has.

I’M JUST CONFUSED.

I don’t understand politics, clearly.

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. The Promised Exposition

[someone talking about how it was portrayed boringly]

yeah, I imagined some sort of visual to go along with the exposition bc the music sounded so fairytale / telling ish but then again, the anime never really showed things that were explained; and let the viewer imagine it.

So now I really have no idea if it's like... actual geographical separation (#more walls time) or like,, parallel worlds?? I feel like taking away the visuals kind of leaves more room for interpretations, and imagination but I still agree that it's sad they don't really play with imaginary things. it's kinda grounded in LA techniques in that aspect I feel.

About the reveal itself: I didn’t expect the potential solution to be revealed so soon, and it was different to what I expected. I’m still a little confused on how the demon vs human fighting was so balanced?? did demons use to be more like Sonju and Mujika, because then I can kind of get it I guess? Like humans have a chance then.

Or where they all just dumb dog demons bumping against trees because then I get it too pff-

Either way, as touched upon higher up: The demon world seems to have some classical human inventions. Does that mean that

a) the demon world just happens to have the people in it that made those inventions?

b) someone else invented them and there’s a similar technical progress in the “human world”? 

c) there’s no crossing between the worlds (according to Sonju), so it can’t be that the inventions are from the human world, I think. I wonder if we’ll see it and how different it’ll be from the demon world’s humans inventions.

.

The more I think about it, the more interesting I find this potential solution. It still seems a little too magical, but the setup is already magical and as my friends pointed out, it’s not just a matter of “go over there and be safe”.

Breaking the promise could start the demons being enraged at it and breaking it too, and the hunting could re-start.

Maybe it could be missed or just not noticed if just our group left, but Emma has learned nothing from her compromise in S1 and now plans to take EVERY CHILD, apparantly, probably soon to be replaced with every human. And that’s definitely not going to go down well with the demons.

I wonder if the eventual conclusion will be to save a small group of people, paralleling S1′s conflict. Save everyone vs. saving those you can right now and coming to terms with the sacrifices you made (which technically, hasn’t happened yet. For Emma it’s not like she gave them up, she’s going back for them. But as this story is being setup now, I think it’s highly impossible to take every human/every child). Which has pretty dark implications! You might get out, but the cycle will just start again as long as any humans exist in the demons’ world; the suffering will continue. Escaping already likely endangered the humans in charge of the farms, who likely won’t (or can’t in case of the implants in the moms) escape even if there’s a big scale rescue operation (plus good luck with getting everyone while having all demon forces on your back).

But I feel like that’s a more likely resolution than fighting a rebellion against the demons, which would likely have no end and no satisfying resolution. Obviously I’m not really sure where this story will lead and what will have to be done in order to cross over.

If it breaks the “promise” and figurative “wall” between the worlds, it could be damning all of humanity. So I guess the alternative resolution would be that they stay in the demon world, to not risk that, and do their best living a good life there, and also.... probably coming to terms with not being able to save everyone.

It’s also definitely not as satisfying from a storytelling perspective, but there’s a lot of interesting conflicts and dangers being setup.

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. Sonju

Yeah it was sweet how he was like careful being like "i can't leave this around the kids", and being like "it's hard to say this" when he had to tell them about the rule to the promise or later when he asked Emma if they should not do the gupna thing this time. Like he's honest and direct but still caring and that's sweeto

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. Mom Gilda

The scene with Emma and Gilda was amazing, it was so funny, but even then the art actually did look intimidating, which I felt they struggled with in S1 sometimes (Emma holding Ray’s hand telling him to never do it again was just like “pff-”) but this was really well done.

It just heavily parallels Isabella trying to tell Emma to become a Mom so that’s??? an interesting thing, that kind of threw me off for a bit.

But maybe that’s just confirming that Gilda is indeed the mom.

i feel like the art in general improved a bit tbh. Obviously with nature and fantastical elements there’s a lot more to MAKE look pretty but idk, it’s just nice! 

.

All the stuff surrounding this was so sweet too, Jemima is too precious and panicky Ray as she’s crying is just adorable udshdjs. Also Lani and Thoma being like “can’t leave him alone for 2 seconds, keeps trying to die” is a big mood but also RIP Ray.

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. RIP Ray

Speaking of RIP Ray......

:>