The Dressrosa Arc is interesting to say the least
There is one thing about the Dressrosa Arc I noticed, but couldn’t believe at first. When Doflamingo told Law, Luffy and company that he would let them go, he really meant it. This becomes clear from his further words and actions.
逃がしてやるよお前ら // I’ll let you go.
But that would spell disaster for him and his crew, because then they would become a lightning rod for Kaidou’s wrath. Doflamingo was well aware of what it meant to be the target of an Emperor’s revenge.
ドフラミンゴを生かす事でカイドウと衝突させるのだ作戦だった… 今ドフラミンゴを討てば… [SMILE]失うカイドウの怒りは全ておれ達に向けられる!! 怒れる[四皇]と直接戦う事になるんだぞ!!! // The plan was to keep Doflamingo alive and and make him confront Kaidou. If you defeat Doflamingo now… All of Kaidou’s anger at losing SMILE will be directed at us!!! You’ll be fighting directly with one of the Emperors!!!
If there was anyone who could have escaped the island, it was Law with his devil fruit abilities. But he was nearly killed in the stupidest way possible, and Doflamingo, who, as it turned out, was watching him, intervened.
ここはただの傾いた[井戸]だ. 抜け道なんざあるか // This is just a tilted well. What secret passage could here be?
え!!?ドフラミンゴ!!! // What?! Doflamingo!!!
助けに来たのさ!! つまらねぇ罠にかかりやがって… 何が"抜け道"!! // I’m here to save you!!! You are caught in such a dumb trap… What kind of secret passage is that?!
この危機感のなさ!! くだらねェ!! これじゃあ誰にでもお前らを殺せる!!! // You have no sense of danger at all!!! Totally worthless!!! Anyone can kill you like this!!!
It looked like Doffy was ready to kill them, but was he really? He heard Kelly Funk talk about the secret passage, he heard Luffy mention the keys to Law’s handcuffs, so he must have heard the voices of Abdullah and Jeet as well and realize they eventually would come to the rescue.
バカ… ニセ者だ…!! 冷やかしにでも来たのか…!!? // You idiot… It’s a fake!.. Did he come here to jeer at us or something?!
Even Luffy admitted that Doflamingo saved them.
あァ!! 実はさっきのケリーファンク!! あの野郎おれ達をダマしてやがったんだ!! それがわかっておれ達やつを止めようとしたら… まさかのドフラミンゴ!!! あの殺し屋ケリーが一瞬で消されちまった!!! 気をつけねェとどこに敵がいるかわからねェ!! // Ah! Actually, Kelly Funk from earlier!!! This bastard got us round his finger!!! When we realized this, we tried to stop him… Then suddenly Doflamingo popped up!!! That killer Kelly was instantly done in!!! If you’re not careful, you’ll never know where the enemy might be!!!
じゃあまるでおれ達 // Then it’s as if we…
ホントにあいつに助けられたみてェじゃねェか!!! バカにしやがって!!! // …really were helped by him!!! He made fools out of us!!!
Meanwhile, Doflamingo was reminiscing. About Law, of course. Heh, if only Trebol knew where Doffy sent his clone…
んねー ドフィ今どっかに”糸ジョーカー”飛ばしてたか? // Heeey, Doffy, did you just send the thread Joker somewhere?
届け物があったが. 不用だった様だ. おまえら ローに初めて会った日のことを覚えてるか…? // There was a delivery. It seems that it was unnecessary. Hey, guys, do you remember the day we first met Law?..
ウハハハ!! イカレてた目もイッちまってたな // Uhahaha!!! His eyes were batshit crazy.
Well damn… What is this key?! He cut the keys to the SMILE factory so that the enemy would have no hope, and the keys to Law’s handcuffs were in the hands of the girls. I don’t remember any other keys featured in the plot. But if you take into account his words about delivery (which are inexplicable otherwise)… It could very well have been a spare key to Law’s handcuffs.
一応… 聞いておこうか… 万が一って事もある… …二人共ここに何をしに来た? // Let’s hear you out anyway… There’s still a chance left, so to speak… You two, why did you come here?
お前をぶっ飛ばしにだ!!! // To kick your ass!!!
失望したよ // I’m disappointed.
It’s scary to imagine how Doflamingo must feel here. He has practically said goodbye to his life, only to find out that all his efforts were in vain.
Annnd… Just count the number of times Doflamingo said Law was not supposed to be there.
無駄な攻撃を繰り返すんじゃねェよ. すっかり根性丸出しの熱い男になっちまいやがって… // Don’t repeat useless attacks. You’ve become a hot-blooded man to the bone…
お前がもし本気でおれを殺したかったのならカイドウとおれにぶつける作戦だけに終始すべきだった. 敵わねェ敵を消す方法はいくらでもある…!! だがコラソンへの思いで感情を露にし… // If you really wanted to kill me, you should have just followed through with your plan to play off Kaidou against me. There are many ways to get rid of the enemy who’s out of your league!.. However, you laid your feelings for Corazon bare and…
おれに直接一泡ふかせようと思った瞬間お前の死は確定した!! // You signed your death warrant the moment you decided to trash the life out of me directly!!!
そうさ! どんな悲劇も失態も!! 起きちまった事だけが現実っ!!! お前が”オペオペの実”を喰って逃げた事も パンクハザードでおれにキバをむき!! 今ここにいる事も!! // That’s right! Any tragedy or blunder!!! Only what happened is real!!! The fact that you ate the Ope Ope fruit and ran away, and the fact that you attacked me on Punk Hazard!!! And the fact that you are here now!!!
フフフ!! もう一人の"D"に感化されてか… お前が直接おれに挑んできたのも起きちまった現実!! だからおれは許す!!! // Fufufu!!! Probably influenced by another “D”… It’s also a reality that you challenged me directly!!! So I’ll forgive you!!!
He cut off Law’s right hand because he wanted to make Law his right hand man in the past. Doflamingo lashed out at him for his perceived betrayal of their common goals.
Doflamingo has a mental breakdown during the Dressrosa Arc, here he tries to make Law physically feel the same pain he’s in. Before that, he tried to hurt Law emotionally, but failed, so in desperation he resorted to physical violence.
Doflamingo was truly desperate.
終いにゃおれの首を取れる気でいる!! お前らが現れてから散々だ. まるで13年前の[絶望]を再び味わっているようだ!! // And to top it off, you want to take my head!!! Everything has been terrible since you appeared. It’s as if all the despair I experienced 13 years ago has returned!!!
Doflamingo already had to kill his own father and brother (なきゃならない doesn’t sound like the words that would be said by one who wanted to do the thing. I think I’ll need to touch on this topic in another post), so the third time was too much for him.
This reminds me of Episode 18 of NGE, when Shinji refused to fight Bardiel who took over Eva-03, even though it would have resulted in his own death and the deaths of everyone he knew. Shinji saw himself in the unknown pilot, so he couldn’t bring himself to kill him.
Doflamingo projects his own repressed feelings onto Law; he said it straight that he identifies with him. He couldn’t take pity on himself, so he wanted to help Law. Killing a loved one is like killing yourself, so he subconsciously (maybe even consciously) refused to commit such violence against himself again. The price didn’t matter.
Doffy was going mad in a literal sense of the word and he still was ambivalent about his decision. But I think when Doflamingo came to his senses, he was very happy that he could not kill Law.
