#wha86

otherwise titled "THE TRAGEDY T_T"

Thank you Dagda for saying out loud what everybody is thinking, which is to say trust people and stop erasing memories whenever it's convenient for the system (and not for the victims).

What a guy, not only does Dagda have a better solution than magic to offer (because magic can't solve everything when it's used for the wellfare of the oppressive system in place and not for the people), but most importantly, only a true father would have been able to find that answer.

His relationship with Coustas is beautiful and I wonder if Sensei is making a criticism of the often terrible master/students dynamics we've seen throughout the series, through Dagda and Coustas.

I mean, amongst magic users, it's not family that seems to bind the most (see Agathe and her mom, or Riché and how close she is to her brother but no real mention of their parents, or Tartar and his folks iirc whereas his grandfather means well), but beyond that we've had many distasteful masters who only care about their name & reputation, instead of the education & wellbeing of their students.

It seems like Dagda & Coustas (and to some extent, Eoleo the Prince and his parents) are really criticism of that, considering that the education of children (to help them understand and decide what's allowed & forbidden, what's good or bad) is really a main theme of WHA.

It's very sad that Dagda has to die for Coustas to live, but at least we have high ranked witches like Lulucy who will probably be able to use Dagda's example to change things. Hopefully.

Last but DEFINITELY not least,

it was already so painful for Coco to witness Dagda giving his life to save his son, her friend, but the fact that it wasn't enough (because of Ininia ?) caused her immense grief. Gosh, how I hate to see the despair and anger in her eyes ! :(

And just as I hoped we wouldn't be able to reach an even lower and more painful moment for her...

She will now have to face Ininia and Tartar, while still having to save Coustas.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think Tartar joined Ininia or the Brim Hats off screen, none of that. Tartar is as much Coustas' friend as Coco is so it makes sense that he's there, to help Coustas' condition. However, Tartar's fate is as threatened by the Brim Hats, as Coco's is.

We've been warned from the start that Coco is Iguin's hope, precisely because she's torn between upholding the Witches' (unfair) system and fully understanding what the non-magic folk feel like. Tartar is similar : with his questioning of why the separation of magic and medicine is necessary, he borders dangerously on the same edge as Coco, which is why they get along so well and why they perfectly understood Coustas' anger and resentment.

This above (from ch51) is what the cliffhanger calls back to : Coco keeps facing that the Witches don't always have the best answers to offer with their rules and Tartar wonders about how responsible he is, for upholding rules without questioning how relevant or fair they are.

Meanwhile, Ininia represents the Brim Hats'. She's there as a temptation for Tartar and Coco, since Coustas is not yet saved. Again, she's not to blame, Lord Restis who's using her is (which is why it's quite heartwarming to see Galga and Atuarto trying to get her back from Coustas' Silverwood tree).

Speaking of tentation, in my opinion, I think it's too soon for Coco : the Brim Hats keep trying and, with every arc that ends, she's walking closer to that edge, but I am not sure this arc will be the final step for her fall into the abyss, because she still trusts Qifrey.

Tartar however ? He was questioning everything more than Coco initially did, because of his own medical condition and not having found a master who would try their hardest to teach him, despite his illness. Also he was saved by medicine just a few moments ago in the current arc, so... to quote ch42 :

Narratively, he and Coustas are very similar, which is why I once thought it'd be very symbolic for them to be taken in by the same master. I once thought Atuarto would be that guy and I still hope it's going to be the case, because otherwise I fear the Brim Hats' way is going to be too tempting for these boys.