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kiss-my-freckle · 5 years ago

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Yes. Back to their S7 tagline and a few parallels.

Forewarning: Lengthy post.

I stand by my prediction regarding the S7 tagline. It’s ambiguous. Like he who performed Liz’s second memory wipe: “He - He removed your memories.” Like he who found Liz: “Before he found you, could you have done it...” Like he who killed Diane Fowler: “He’s listening to Sundown.” Red’s dialogue.Trust is so - fragile. When it exists, anything is possible, between people or nations. But when it doesn’t, or worse - when a bond of trust is broken, there is no greater betrayal. There is no greater betrayal. Red can neither kill nor trust nor forgive. Dembe in S6, speaking of Red and Liz’s bond. My employer’s connection to her has been his moral compass. And that connection is broken. Yes. Without it, no one is safe. I believe Dembe opened Red’s gift when he left and realized she’s not his moral compass, he is. I think that’s why he came back to save Red. Without his moral compass, no one is safe.

He and him. Either one man or two. Whether Red was Katarina or not doesn’t matter, she is now he, so Red will always be referred as much. So we throw in the variables. Whether the big bad was a man or not doesn’t matter, he is now she, so Katarina will always be referred as much. That leaves Red, Cooper, Aram, Ressler, and yes ... Tom. Red’s dialogue. But because you have in your life the only thing that matters. People who love you. People you can depend on. People who will always tell you the truth. Six years ago, I turned myself in because of you. Now, here at the end, I’m at peace because of them. This removes Cooper, Aram, and Ressler, leaving only Red and Tom. Red’s dialogue to Liz. A confluence of peril had entered your life, and I wanted to be within reach. To have influence. Red’s dialogue to Kate. I put Tom Keen in her life to keep an eye on her, and he married her.

Back to one man vs two. Red never told anyone they can’t trust him. He’s told them the opposite. Liz, Ressler, Cooper, Aram. Every single one of them can trust Red. Dembe’s dialogue. Raymond takes care of the people who take care of him. Cooper’s dialogue, added to the one he handed Panabaker. In spite of everything, he’s committed to you. He loves you, and he has faith in you. And I think you have the same for him. Those who don’t trust Red have basically told Liz that she shouldn’t trust Red. This includes the task force as well as Tom. But the tagline is specific to he, so this person would need to be just as specific. He being Ressler telling Liz not to trust Red. He being Aram telling Liz not to trust Red. He being Cooper telling Liz not to trust Red. He being Tom telling Liz not to trust Red. The only two people I see falling into that tagline, is Red and Tom. Knock it down to Tom because Red never told anyone they can’t trust him.

Back to one man vs two. Add in the you pronoun. He told you not to trust him. A pronoun used to address one person or multiple people. Tom never told anyone they can’t trust him. He’s admitted to the lack of trust. Like Ressler at the cabin. I know you don’t trust me. If it’s any consolation, I don’t trust you either. Those who didn’t trust Tom have basically told Liz that she shouldn’t trust Tom. Far too many dialogues for me to list. Perhaps another time. The tagline is specific to he, so this person would need to be just as specific. He being Ressler telling Liz not to trust Tom. He being Aram telling Liz not to trust Tom. He being Cooper telling Liz not to trust Tom. He being Red telling Liz not to trust Red. The only two people I see falling into that tagline, is Red and Tom. Knock it down to Red because Tom never told anyone they can’t trust him.

Why am I knocking it down to Tom? Simple.

JE: Ultimately, the love story is between Red and Liz, and Tom’s death will have the largest effect on that relationship pretty much since Red turned himself in.

Let’s look at the taglines and how each season played out.

Skipping over S1 for the moment. Red and Liz. Because it’s about them.

JE: Ultimately in the end the short answer is that, when the series ends, whenever it ends, it’s ultimately a parent-child story and Tom was the most important person in Liz, ‘the child’s’ life.

For those who know what they’re watching, the writers know what they’re saying. The Blacklist is a parent-child story. Yes, a familial love story. They actually have those. You’re basically watching a series that looks like this:

A love story. Is there a force in the universe more powerful than a mother's love for her child? Liz isn’t the parent. Liz is the child. The parent is obvious. The writers couldn’t make it any more obvious. And they continue to paint this image crystal clear. Parents don’t stay angry with their children. Or their grandchildren. And that’s who you are to us. It doesn’t matter who you were. This is who you are and who you’ll always be. It doesn’t matter who Red used to be. He is and will always be her parent and Agnes’ grandparent. Period. Moving along.

The taglines added to the Red and Liz posters.

S3: It's Good To Be Wanted.

Who was wanted? Both of them. Red and Liz wanted by law enforcement in the first half. In the second half, who’s wanted? Both of them. Alexander Kirk wants to kidnap Liz and put a bullet in Red’s head.

Red and Liz.

S4: Who’s Your Daddy?

Alexander Kirk playing the role of Liz’s daddy in the first half. Leading up to the reveal of Raymond Reddington being her daddy in the second half. Though Red is an imposter, the poster fits because I don’t live a lie. I may once have had another identity, but that identity no longer exists. I am exactly who I am. And I can assure you, I’m a far more interesting Raymond Reddington than Raymond Reddington ever was.

Red and Liz.

S5: Family.Business.

There are two kinds of family. Blood-related and chosen. Let me add Cooper’s dialogue while I’m at it. Katarina Rostova is your relative. We’re your family. And we’re not gonna let anything happen to you.The first half, Liz helps Red rebuild his criminal empire. Family business for our parent and child. In the second half, Liz seeking vengeance for the death of her husband. Family business for the chosen husband and father. Family business for the in-laws, Red and Tom fight over the suitcase of bones.

Red and Liz.

S6: Two Can Play His Game.

His is ambiguous, but they jump-off who he is in the premiere. I’ve spent the last five years learning to act at the feet of the master. It’s my turn to outperform him. Two, meaning Red and Liz. Jennifer couldn’t handle it. His game, allowing her to continue believing he’s her father. Now she’s allowing him to continue believing she’s his daughter - when she IS his daughter. She’s playing against herself. That’s why I pointed out those dialogues yesterday. They’re one and the same. Betraying him, she’s betraying herself. They continue this in the second half, Liz joining Red in their game against McMahon. Now playing against someone much like her mother - a beautiful redhead chosen for the role.

Red and Liz.

S7: He Told You Not To Trust Him.

As I’ve stated above, either one man or two. Given the variables, more likely two. This narrows it down. He is either Red or Tom. Him is either Red or Tom. You have two possible taglines with Liz at the center, though multiple people could fit the you pronoun.

Again, Red and Liz.

Add in that second man.

Red Told Liz/Others Not To Trust Tom. Tom Told Liz/Others Not To Trust Red.

To consider this, one has to consider how Katarina and all current character storylines can lead into one or the other. Because it’s all about Liz, we have to look at what Liz could or would learn during this arc. He told you not to, but you trusted him anyway. The only thing that would fit Red, is Katarina’s character. Liz led to believe this woman is the real Katarina. If Red confirms her death using his blood, moreso. Katarina hurting Liz and/or Agnes after Red not only told her that her mother can’t hurt her, but her mother isn’t a danger to her child. We’d basically get a repeat of 5B. Liz no longer trusting Red, and working against him through much of the second half.

Consider Tom and what JE stated.

JE: Ultimately, the love story is between Red and Liz, and Tom’s death will have the largest effect on that relationship pretty much since Red turned himself in.

Pretty much since Red turned himself in. Key point. Tom’s death won’t just affect current storyline. It will affect storyline since Red turned himself in.

Let’s look at all characters and variables.

Back to S1′s tagline: As I stated above, skipping over S1 for the moment.

S1: Never Trust A Criminal ... Until You Have To. S7: He Told You Not To Trust Him.

This works with JE’s statement. It will affect storyline since Red turned himself in.

Red.

I'm a criminal, criminals are notorious liars. Everything about me is a lie. But if anyone can give me a second chance, it’s you.

I'm almost always honest.

don’t live a lie.

Tom.

He's a criminal.

You're attempting to build a life with a man who is fundamentally dishonest.

You were wrong about him once. What makes you so sure you're not wrong this time? Do you really want your child to pay the price for that mistake for the rest of his or her life?

Current characters and storylines.

The Townsend Directive: It's information Red desperately does not want to give, which [explains] why he surrendered to the FBI, asking to see Elizabeth Keen. - JB

This works with JE’s statement. It will affect storyline since Red turned himself in.

Katarina/Louis T. Steinhil. Anagram for The Illusionist. I went to great lengths to pretend to hurt you. Magic tricks. Illusions. Cons. People pretending to be something they’re not. Dr. Krilov is an illusionist, and Liz had her memory wiped a second time. Playing house. Promo for next episode. I am done with men controlling my life. The blacklister. You forced your beliefs on me. And hijacked my body. Kate and Red in Requiem. This isn’t about Tom Keen, it’s about your need for control. Indeed. I need to control the danger to Elizabeth. Frankie on the jet with Red. You’re holding me hostage. Kate said the same of Red in The Debt Collector. I've watched you hold Elizabeth emotionally hostage. I never thought you'd hold her physically hostage as well. Being held hostage. Krilov phsyically restrains people when he manipulates their memory. That’s holding someone physically hostage. Removing the memory of sex that resulted in pregnancy, thus allowing a woman to believe you fathered her child. That’s holding someone emotionally hostage. And I’m not just talking about Liz here. I’m talking about the actual father of her child as well as her child.

Aram & Elodie: Les Fleurs du Mal. Ladies and gentleman, drink in the moment. I want you to let the numbness of life wash away even if only for tonight, for this moment. Ressler and Samar in S3. Are you okay? I’m not so sure. What really matters is this - here, now. Nothing else is guaranteed. Aram. Um, still a bit, uh - numb, I guess. But, um - when the last real feeling you had was devastation, you’re not super psyched to get out there and feel again. But I’m good. I’m good. Cooper and Aram. But, uh - as a general rule, I admire people who insist on finding ways to be exhilarated. As opposed to being okay with feeling numb. Liz and Dr. Fulton. If by closure, you mean become numb to the pain caused by Tom’s death or anesthetize it, then, no - I don’t think you need that. With Elodie. Caring for him makes me dead on the inside. This - the craziness, the taboo of it all, I need it more than ever to feel alive, to bring me back from the dead. Liz in Ruin. No Bill, for the first time, I'm feeling pretty alive. Thelonious Prackett. People want risk. I give it to them. The chance to feel alive.

Ressler: In Aram’s love life. First three names he swipes right on ... Back to the adoption storyline in S3. And if we both swipe right, we're hooked up for life? Ressler and Liz. Look, Keen, you did the right thing by bringing Agnes home. But if she isn’t who I thought she was, if she’s a threat ... Then we’ll deal with it. We? Back to S3 with Red and Liz. We've decided to keep the baby. We? I’ve accepted Tom’s proposal. We’re gonna get married. And S6 with Liz and Cooper. Before we had Agnes, I thought Tom and I were gonna adopt, that family had nothing to do with biology. To Red in S3. I’m telling you, no matter what you believe, Tom is not the man you think he is. Back to S7 with Liz. . Illusions. Cons. People pretending to be something they’re not. Just like Reddington. Or my mother. Or Tom Keen thanks to Dr. Krilov. Back to S3 with Tom and Liz. It’s me and you. We usually do like six impossible things before breakfast. Straight back to S6 with Liz and Ressler in Marko’s episode. Oh, hey. You guys got here early. Bagels. This would take me forever to gif, so I probably won’t bother.

Cooper/Kuwait. Who they are vs who they were. Given where we’re going, the real question is, who are you? Are you the man in front of me who I know to be good and decent? Or are you the man from years ago who got himself into this mess in the first place? Red. I may once have had another identity, but that identity no longer exists. I am exactly who I am. Liz in Ruin. I was an FBI agent. A profiler. Dembe and Frankie. He seems so decent. How is that possible? Because he is decent. Complete opposite of Tom in S5. Look, Liz - you're kind, and you're decent and honest. Reddington is not decent. He's dishonest and he's dangerous. Dembe and Frankie. Raymond takes care of the people who take care of him. Tom doesn’t care for anyone but himself. Your man wasn't helping Nik. Nik was helping your man. Nik's a big boy. He can take care of himself. You can circle this back around to The Illusionist. Illusions. Cons. People pretending to be something they’re not. I thought Reddinton was my father. I thought Tom was just a teacher.

Frankie & Park: Parallels to Red’s shooting in the second half of S2. Parallels to Ressler and Liz in 2x17. Liz’s birthday vs Frankie’s fake wedding anniversary. Ressler. I thought I’d send you and your friends a bottle of wine. Red. You said The Peppermill didn’t deliver the champagne Ressler. Turns out, there wasn’t a reservation. Dembe. They said there were no reservations under Farwell or Campbell. Liz. I thought I’d have a loving relationship with someone, maybe we would be raising a family together. Red. Francesca said she was married. But according to Glen, the DMV database lists her as single. Wing Yees for Keenler dinner. Frankie eating Asian food alone. Red acting as Agent Park’s sin eater. Anchorage feeling a lot like Ruin. Park appearing to have that warrior gene. The burden of killing a man. Because you’re my burden, not hers. Liz in Ruin. What matters is that I did it and I was good at it and I didn't lose any sleep over it. Red’s response. You will. One of these nights you will. It's just a matter of when.

I think she went to Anchorage to escape something just as Liz went to the woods in Ruin. Ressler said it was out of character for her, and I do believe it was. If I were to guess on a storyline, I would have to say she was trying to escape a violent ex, he caught up with her, and she killed him. I don't think she cleaned up the crime scene like Liz did in Ruin, I think they cleared her on an act of self-defense. Young, training to be an agent. It made me think of Liz and the terrible taste in men she spoke of having in college during her conversation with Dr. Creel. I think Samar was on the money when she made that bet with Aram, but she didn't want to argue it because it was personal for Liz. This is also where they introduced the warrior gene, which Park appears to have.

Liz: In college, postgrad. I had, you know - a rough patch. Creel: You were hospitalized. I know this must be difficult for you. Liz: I took some pills. They had to pump my stomach. Creel: Was this deliberate or an accident? Liz: Kind of both. It’s not what you think. it’s not like I ever wanted to commit suicide. I took them in front of someone. Aram: Who? Samar: I’ll bet you $100 she’s telling the truth. Aram: No way. Samar: $200? Aram: It’s your money.

Liz: I had this boyfriend - Ronnie. I was so young, and he - Creel: Was cheating. Liz: I was such an idiot.

I basically believe Park’s story will run opposite Liz’s. She wanted to end it, and he couldn’t have that, so she went off to Anchorage to escape him.

Stranger/Bloom: Fate. Karma. Payback’s a bitch. Especially when there’s two of ’em. Either way, I suppose pharma-karma’s a bitch. Jennifer and Liz. How can you accept that? I don’t. But I’m not gonna let it or him control my life. Besides, it wasn’t all for nothing. Red and Stranger. But I can accept it. Things happen. You, a fatalist? Save that for someone who doesn’t know you so well. You leave nothing to fate. Liz in Ruin. Was it all for nothing? I will probably gif this bit at some point.

Agnes: I can only describe her character using stills to show what they’ve done and post the dialogues beneath it. So yeah ... here we go.

Top image of Tom and Liz in 5x2.

Tom: When did she get so big? Was I really gone that long? Liz: Oh, it happens fast.

Back to Kate in 4x18.

Kate: So big. Whatever are you feeding her?

And Red in 4x13.

Red: You’ll find your time with her goes by too quickly. That’s why cuckoo clocks are perfect. I don’t really care what time it is. I just want to hear the birds sing.

Katarina with a driver named “Berdy.”

On to Red in 6x20.

Red: She's gotten so big

And S7 with Katarina.

♪ But we’re running out of time

Katarina: I bet you can’t color a whole page in, say, five minutes. Do you think you can? [ Agnes nods ] Then that’s the contest. Take this book and these pencils, and you go into your room. In five minutes, I’ll come in and see if you’ve finished. Okay?

The comments about her being so big. Plumping Agnes up so she can be fed to the wolf. Liz in Ruin. I’m a big girl. She could handle the wolves, but Agnes ...

Katarina: “‘Grandmother, what big teeth you have.’ ‘All the better to eat you with,’ replied the wolf. And, saying these words, the Wicked Wolf fell upon Little Red Riding Hood and ate her all up.”

Red: And intrude on your mother-daughter reunion?

So many things timed this season. Most of them, in minutes.

Everyone and everything bounces off Liz’s character in some way. That’s why my prediction remains. Red told you not to trust Tom. He told Cooper. He told Ressler. He told Aram. He told Liz. He told all of them the moment he put Gina Zanetakos on the blacklist back in 1x6. All of them toasting to him in Ruin, Liz seeking vengeance in his name. It was all for nothing. You better not leave. I’ll kill you. Liz stuck feeling conflicted because she can’t, he’s already dead.

#Rederina #Anti-Tom Keen #Anti-Keen2 #Keenler baby theory

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getoffthesoapbox · 7 years ago

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[VKM Spec] Investigating VKM 14

We’re starting the year off on much more solid footing than we began last year--with VKM 13.5 and now VKM 14, the story seems to be headed in a better direction than before. I, for one, am relieved to see this, and hope this trend continues for the remainder of the story. We only take small steps forward this chapter, but the good news is, as far as I can tell, we don’t take any steps backward either.

The irony hasn’t escaped me that not three days after I complained about Hino’s storytelling tanking, she put out what is arguably the best action/suspense chapter she’s written since the end of the Rido arc. Either someone put a bug in her ear, or we’re headed in a direction that she’s actually excited about writing. Whichever it is, this is a distinct improvement to the lackluster writing and artwork we’re accustomed to, and it’s a welcome change. The old girl’s still got it in her. Let’s see if she can keep it up.

That being said, let’s get to it. Scanlations can be found in the usual places.

Obligatory disclaimer for the sensitives: This post is “zeki criticism” and “anti ky”. Please blacklist those tags accordingly.

Marking Time

The first thing that struck me when I saw the opening page of this chapter was the teaser line. I couldn’t figure out what it was about the line that gripped me, other than the obvious: it’s clearly a reference to the significant amount of time Zero’s been waiting for Yuuki to say something to him. But when I was flipping through volume 19 the other day, I realized what it was that had caught my attention--this teaser line in VKM 14 is a direct reference to Zero’s request from the original epilogue of Night 93, a request that apparently narratively is still unanswered from Yuuki.

So this teaser line is a callback to that chapter, and it also tells us several things:

Zero is still waiting for Yuuki’s reply to his request from Night 93.

VKM 9′s confession was not the answer to that request.

We are not going to be ignoring the events that took place at the end of the original series in order to move Zero and Yuuki’s story forward.

We will likely be revisiting the original series to sort out why Yuuki still hasn’t given Zero an answer after all this time.

While it’s disheartening to recall how long Zero’s been waiting for a response to his request in Night 93, at the same time I’m quite heartened by the fact that he (and Hino and her editor) does not consider his request properly responded to by Yuuki. This is a huge relief to me as someone who was not happy with Yuuki’s manner of confessing to Zero in VKM 9. One of the weights from my shoulders as far as this story is concerned has been lifted with this reference, at least for now. I’m now hopefully optimistic that we’re not finished with the revelations on Yuuki’s side about her past and her past choices, and I’m also more hopeful that we might actually get a legitimate confession from her about her true feelings for Zero in the future.

So as far as I’m concerned, this little teaser line was a great way to start the chapter. If this was all the chapter contained, I’d be happy enough, but lucky for me this is only the beginning of the goodies.

The Usual Suspects

This chapter really expanded the possibilities for the suspects behind the Vampire King bombings, but it also threw some of my theories right out the window, which is rather interesting. There’s a lot to unpack on this side of the plot, so buckle your seat belts and get ready for the ride.

We begin the chapter with a secret meeting in the underground area between Maria and Kaien. @jadedmemories mentioned to me that if we take the title page as a canon “scene”, it’s quite possible Zero was listening in on what Maria and Kaien were discussing, as in, potentially he doesn’t trust either of them. It’s an interesting possibility, and one worth keeping in mind as future chapters unfold, I think. For now there’s not much to be done with the information.

It’ll probably be easiest if I separate this section by suspect and work through what we know and don’t know of each one. I made a funny list of suspects here for anyone who wants a more thorough review of each one, but for now I’m only going to discuss the most likely suspects and the ones that are relevant to this chapter in particular. First, we’ll start with some general observations:

The Vampire King’s True Purpose

Before this chapter came out, I was hesitant to make any guesses as to what the Vampire King mastermind was aiming for. But with three bombing incidents under our collective belts, a few potential purposes are starting to rise above the others.

With only the first two incidents, I was torn as to who the target of the Vampire King’s ultimate “message” was--I thought it could be Zero, Yuuki, Zero and Yuuki together, or the general efforts of Yuuki/Zero/Aidou/Takuma/Kaien to make the world more accepting of vampires.

With this third incident, I believe the target of the Vampire King’s message is either Yuuki or Zero specifically and individually. The rest is smoke and mirrors to give the group legitimacy and to act as a screen for the true purpose. I’ll break down the two options for now and explain which one I’m leaning toward currently, but we can’t make any positive conclusions until we get more information:

Target A: Yuuki - Yuuki being the ultimate target for the Vampire King’s mastermind is on the surface the most sensible conclusion. The name “Vampire King” itself is a direct reference to Kaname that would strike her heart more than any other’s. The first attack happened to Yuuki’s friends, the second attack happened to her pseudo-partner, the third attack both threatened something she holds dear (children’s safety) and also stole her pseudo-partner from her (Zero’s kidnapping). If she’s the target, the Vampire King likely a.) wants to use Zero’s safety as leverage to stop her from doing something (likely the cure research, since she’s in charge of Aidou) or b.) wants to separate her from Zero for some reason or c.) wants to harass her and cause her pain out of a misguided attempt to “get even” for Kaname’s past actions, since she’s connected to him.

Target B: Zero - Although I think the Yuuki option has potential, ultimately my gut is telling me Zero is the true target of all of this insanity. And by target I mean he’s both the person to capture (literal target) and the person to whom the message of the group is meant to be delivered. The group’s name “Vampire King” will still reach Zero just as much as it would reach Yuuki--Yuuki, in this variant, is the “bait” to get Zero involved, rather than vice versa. So the first attack happens to Yuuki’s friends, which gets Yuuki involved, which gets Zero involved. But the second attack is deliberately for Zero, and the vampire who commits the action has an insult specifically for Zero, despite Zero not even knowing the guy. The third incident, in this scenario, is actually a decoy and a set up--whoever the Vampire King mastermind is, they know Zero will be in charge of the investigation, so they pick a target he’s sensitive to (children) and set up landmine explosives in an obvious location where he’s sure to be the first to try to help anyone who gets caught up in it. They may or may not plant info with Kain to get Kain to bring Yuuki (though right now I think Yuuki’s presence was a mistake and unintended by the Vampire King mastermind), and then while Zero’s distracted “saving” whoever gets caught up in the mines, he either dies or gets kidnapped (the true objective). If this is true, then the kidnapping is actually to get Zero before the Vampire King mastermind to allow the mastermind the opportunity to talk to him without a certain nosy pureblood’s interference. Likely, if Zero is the true target, the Vampire King mastermind is going to use Zero’s desire to save people as leverage to get Zero to do something for him/her: either a.) stop Aidou’s research, b.) separate Zero from Yuuki, or c.) help Aidou’s research to get Kaname back sooner, depending on the ultimate goal. They’d get Zero to help them by blackmailing him, using a threat against future targets as bait. Then they’d likely release Zero so that he can return to Yuuk on his own, but with the blackmail hanging over his head. For an example of how fun this type of plotline is, see Sherlock BBC’s The Great Game episode.

The reason I’m currently leaning toward Zero as the ultimate target of the mastermind is simply because Yuuki’s for the most part a fairly passive character and because of how long it’s been since the forge was created. If the mastermind was after Yuuki because of some grudge over Kaname, well, it’s been 50-70 years depending on how old Yori was when she died. That’s a long time to hold a grudge against someone who’s just related to the person in question. It’d be far better to just plan an attack against the forge itself, if the forge was the problem. As for other reasons to go after Yuuki’s loved ones, there really aren’t any other than maybe a bored Pureblood wanting to start a war and stop the coexistence efforts. Even if that’s true, this particular style of Vampire King activity doesn’t seem particularly effective toward that end. Especially when it’s highlighting the vampires as the problem, rather than simply being a declaration against Yuuki herself or her comrades.

If Zero is the person the mastermind is after, we have a lot more room to play. Zero has more enemies than Yuuki, and more people with animus toward him for his role as a Hunter and as Yuuki’s pseudo-partner. Zero also has unresolved pot threads about his special status as the only hunter twin to ever be born a twin, not to mention Takuma’s secret in reference to the Shizuka incident. On top of that, it’s been made very clear that his relationship with Yuuki is not approved of in most quarters, and the hunters (who would go after Yuuki, rather than Zero) for the most part seem accepting of his situation, thus they’re unlikely to be part of the problem. Zero also is potentially a cure component, which may be a factor, and he’s part of the reason the hunters aren’t killing vampires anymore (so if this is an action by the anti-vampire faction, Zero might be a prime target as an agent of improving the lot of criminal vampires and thus seen as an enemy to their agenda).

Again, at this time this is only speculation at best; we simply don’t have enough information to make any firm conclusions either way. I’m honestly not sure anymore how smart Hino is, so perhaps the most obvious conclusion is the best in this situation.

Kidnapped!

Zero’s kidnapping this chapter brings up a few questions:

Was the purpose of the bombing threat a decoy to lure Zero out and to kidnap him?

Is Zero’s kidnapping part of the Vampire King’s plot or is it from a second party?

Was Zero the intended target or was he captured by accident?

If Zero was the intended target, why? If he was captured by accident, who was the real target?

Did Zero orchestrate his own kidnapping for a reason?

It may seem kind of silly to bring up the idea that Zero might have had himself kidnapped but given how peacefully he departs from Yuuki’s side, it’s quite possible. There’s no sign of a struggle, and although he does look over his shoulder before he disappears, his expression isn’t anxious or shocked. Whatever he sees isn’t unexpected.

I’m not sure how likely this is, however, but if his kidnapping was a genuine kidnapping that leaves even more questions. Why was he not shocked to see the person kidnapping him? Why didn’t he struggle? How did the kidnapper surprise him and knock him out without a struggle or even a word of warning to Yuuki? How did Yuuki not notice another person was there?

There are a couple options I can think of. One is that the person who approached Zero was one he expected to be there (limiting our options to Maria, Goggles Guy, or Mimi), who perhaps covered his mouth with something like a chloroform-soaked cloth to knock him out. The other is that a person didn’t approach him--a pureblood blood creature did, such as Sara’s spiders or Kaname’s bats. If it’s the latter, he could be easily whisked away the way Kaname did for Yuuki in Night 60 or the way Touma did with his bats in Night 59 and 60. This would imply a pureblood is working with the Vampire King, though they may not be the mastermind. We know Yuuki has a hard time sensing the pureblood creatures, as it took her a few minutes to figure out the fake Kaname back in Night 76; it would be entirely possible for a pureblood to whisk Zero away quickly using these creatures rather than their physical selves.

All of this brings up some very interesting questions, which unfortunately we’ll have to wait two months (or perhaps more) to get answers.

Suspect A: Kaien

In my review of VKM 13, I mentioned Kaien as a potential suspect. After VKM 14, I’m leaning toward him being a red herring, as much as this pains my Kaien-detesting heart. =P

On the surface, he’s still a great candidate for mastermind of the whole operation. Here’re the points in his favor:

He meets Maria in secret and spills a “secret” to her.

He has time to plant the bombs.

Although he’s not at the scene of the crime, that could be because a.) he already planted the bombs, b.) the Zero kidnapping isn’t part of the Vampire King activities, or c.) he planted the bombs and his associates kidnap Zero, leaving him free to attack other towns.

At the mayor candidate rally, he talks about his ideals and runs off with a suspicious bag in his hand. (Thanks, @jadedmemories for pointing that out to me.)

That being said, here are the reasons I feel he’s a red herring now:

Yuuki got caught up in the mess, which I don’t feel he would have intended, and surely he’d know that this particular style of target would get her attention.

The target was a bunch of kids, which isn’t his style--although he has no problem putting teenagers in danger, he still looked after and cared for Yuuki and Zero as children and likely wouldn’t threaten kids.

Although we don’t find out Kaien’s secret, we do find out that he asked Maria to reach out to the Academy alumni, which (while perhaps a decoy) implies whatever he’s working toward is ultimately altruistic or at worst benign in nature and something he thinks other people will support.

Hino made a point in VKM 11 of showing Kaien has some regrets about how he handled his life, and she reiterated this in VKM 6 when he was talking with Yori’s dad.

His motives for committing these attacks (especially now that human children have been involved) seem fairly weak and counterproductive to his other stated goals.

All in all, while it’s still certainly possible that Kaien could be the ultimate mastermind or part of the Vampire King group, in the end I think he’s probably a red herring whose activities will end up helping Yuuki and/or Zero in the end. He does have access to a pureblood, Isaya, who could have helped him kidnap Zero, but there are also other purebloods who could do the same thing with potentially more motive.

Suspect B: Maria

Hino conveniently decided to bring Maria back after all this time in VKM 14. I don’t think she was brought back just to resurrect Yuuki’s limp jealousy over a man she’s been pushing away romantically for over 50 years. Depending on whether or not Maria has a role to play in the Vampire King group, the reason for her return will change.

It is possible she’s part of the Vampire King group, and we’re meant to suspect her. If she is a part of the group, however, I don’t believe she’s the mastermind. Before we get to that, let’s start with why she might be a potential suspect:

She randomly decides to help patrol the tunnels despite this being out of character for her, which Zero (being the most intuitive character of the cast) immediately points out.

She has a secret meeting with Kaien where she’s framed suspiciously.

When she talks about people being on the move thanks to the academy in the first scene with Kaien, Hino puts her speech bubble over the crime scene from later in the chapter. The framing is rather ominous.

She’s working with a human we’ve never met before, who has some ambiguous connections to the former academy.

We know nothing of her whereabouts during the last few years since Night 93. We only know at some point there was a scene where she sadly watched Zero walking away, which was during the original Night 92 epilogue and where she had her original hairstyle. When that scene was and what it was about, we still don’t know.

Hino makes rather a big deal out of her wish to protect “what” she loves like Ichiru. This might imply that, if she is involved with the Vampire King, she is doing it out of misguided altruism.

She’s clearly still interested in Zero romantically, even if she’s not actively pursuing him.

She and her human partner were patrolling the area near where the landmines were, yet neither of them noticed the landmines.

Her human partner has a suspicious line about suspicious things “lying around” right before Yuuki and Mimi step on the landmines.

It’s quite possible that the reason Zero isn’t shocked or startled by whoever approaches him from behind is because it’s Maria herself, who he expects to be in the area. He likely wouldn’t struggle against her initially if she was the one who kidnapped him.

I think it’s certainly possible Maria might be involved with the Vampire King, but it’s also possible that she’s not and her partner is, and that it’s a huge coincidence that she happened to be there at the time. If the latter, then her role will likely be to cause some small trouble for Yuuki and make Yuuki question some things about herself, as Maria’s role has been since arc 2.

If Maria is involved in this whole business, she’s certainly not the mastermind. She doesn’t have nearly the motive or connections to mastermind this. While she does care for Zero and has certainly worked with shady figures in the past (Shizuka), she usually is on the side of right or good--though she was Yuuki’s rival for Zero, she still helped her against Kaname and Sara. The only way I can see her being involved in this is if the mastermind has convinced her that Yuuki is bad for Zero and needs to be separated from him (hearkening back to her wish to protect the things she loves like Ichiru). Maria doesn’t love the kids at the kindergarten, and as far as we know she only cares about two things: Ichiru (who is inside Zero) and Zero. This makes it likely that the thing she wants to protect is Zero. If that’s true, then it’s quite possible she’s involved in his kidnapping.

However, it’s also possible that she (like Kaien) is merely a red herring. If she is just a red herring, then her open and honest confession of her goals and feelings is actually in the story to serve as a foil to Yuuki, who lies about hers. Maria’s open and honest affection stands in contrast to Yuuki’s inability to be truthful about her own feelings, something she’s struggled with for the entire story. Even if Maria isn’t involved in the Vampire King organization, she still serves a vital purpose in both making Yuuki reassess herself in the canon itself and also stands as an ideal to contrast Yuuki for the reader.

Suspect C: Goggles Guy

Maria’s human companion, who I have dubbed Goggles Guy in lieu of a proper name, has a few points in his favor as being partnered to the Vampire King group, but if he is partnered with them, that opens up a whole different can of worms as to why a human would be partnered with Level C and potentially noble/pureblood vampires to sow chaos and drag the vampires through the mud. His involvement with the Vampire King group muddies the waters of potential motives, but he’s suspicious enough that I can’t write him off simply because he makes things difficult.

Points in his favor as a potential member of the Vampire King group:

We’ve never seen him before, yet he knows enough about the tunnel threat to volunteer for the vigilante group.

Although his story about his grandmother may be true, we know nothing about the remainder of his background. He could potentially be from a hunter family and be bearing some kind of grudge.

Hino has him speak a suspiciously prescient line about suspicious objects being set up and returning to an “original objective.” On the surface, this line is innocent, but as a foreshadowing technique it may implicate him as the very one who set the landmines.

This is intuitive on my part, but Hino drew his goggles to be deliberately provoking--whenever a character’s eyes are hidden, that’s usually a sign to pay attention. There was no reason to remove his goggles when we first meet him and then put them back on his face right as he speaks his most suspicious line.

If the above points are true, he is, just like Maria, probably a pawn being used in the Vampire King mastermind’s ultimate plan. This guy just doesn’t seem to have enough going for him to be a mastermind in his own right, and certainly not one who could organize kamikaze Level Cs/Ds to bomb themselves.

But as with Maria and Kaien, Goggles Guy may also ultimately be a red herring. Points against him:

His motive for joining the vigilante corps seems legitimate and sincere; Hino doesn’t use any paneling or screentone tricks to make his story feel suspicious.

Even if he’s an angry member of the anti-vampire faction, it seems strange that he’d join an organization that utilizes vampires and looks down on humans (if we assume that the second suicide bomber was an accurate representation of the people involved with this group).

He’s a human, and should have more trouble kidnapping Zero than a vampire might.

His motives seem weak, despite how suspicious he looks.

We know nothing of this guy, which narratively renders him fairly innocuous, much like the evil purebloods in volume 19. Hopefully Hino isn’t going to repeat that mistake again.

Of the characters presented this chapter, Goggles Guy is the most likely to be involved in some way, though I doubt he’s anything more than a pawn ultimately.

Suspect D: Mimi

The last suspect really highlighted by this chapter is Mimi. I’ll cover the other options in the last sub-section together. Mimi’s only appeared in two chapters so far--VKM 6, where she annoyed Yuuki at the vampire lounge and later attacked Yori with the yankee doodle vampire, and now in VKM 14. Of the potential suspects this chapter, I feel she’s the weakest, but she is the last known person to have seen both Zero and Yuuki, and that can’t be discounted entirely.

Points in her favor as an accomplice to the Vampire King plot:

She has a known animus against Zero in particular and humans in general (Yori).

She’s a petty criminal and knows the tunnels very well.

She appeared suddenly this chapter after not being mentioned at all for a while.

She’s in the last panel showing Zero and Yuuki fighting the bomb. It’s quite possible she’s the one who runs up to Zero and knocks him out.

That being said, I really don’t think she’s involved at all. Reasons why I lean this way:

Mimi’s dumb as a box of rocks and can’t keep her mouth shut for two minutes flat.

Her narrative role appears to be filling in as the Yuuki sidekick character since Aidou is being used for other purposes and Zero has been removed.

She’s being used to help Yuuki articulate her thoughts in a sincere way, and these conversations would be seriously undermined by villainous activity.

She steps on the damn landmine. What conspirator steps on the landmine? Yes, it offers authenticity, but there was no guarantee she’d escape unscathed unless it was a dud she stepped on which we know it wasn’t.

Unless she’s speed running in that last panel that shows her head, she’s too far away to be the culprit who kidnaps Zero. The shot we see from behind her is also potentially a perspective shot of the person who DID attack Zero, and who IS running past her to get to him (hence the angle and speed).

Hino never paints her suspiciously in the chapter, unlike Kaien, Maria, and Goggles Guy.

There’s an interesting moment where Mimi points to Zero with Maria/Goggles Guy and demands to know why he’s not on Yuuki’s team and is on Maria’s. This is a potential narrative device foreshadowing the arc that’s about to come, with Zero “on the Vampire King’s side” due to blackmail, and Yuuki/Mimi having to figure out why. A device like this normally isn’t used for or by villainous characters.

It may be my bias toward Mimi talking here, but honestly she’s the most refreshing character in this story since Ai lost a lot of her charm and flatlined, and I’d hate to see her used for villainous purposes when there are plenty of other, superior candidates.

Suspect X: Everyone Else

I won’t go too deeply into the other options for the Vampire King mastermind this chapter, but a quick list of characters who are still potential masterminds despite not being directly involved this chapter:

Ai - Ai’s an unlikely candidate, but since we know she can wake up and go back to sleep, it’s entirely possible she’s somehow involved, rendering this whole Vampire King thing a big sham. Given how violent it has been so far, I think she’s an unlikely choice, but we can’t rule her out yet.

Isaya - Isaya’s not normally an active character, but he can be in the right situation. Perhaps he’s off his rocker.

Takuma - My favorite option, and the one who appears the most innocent and has the most potential for juicy narrative twists. He’s not in this chapter of course, but “someone” had to tip Kain off on what was going on, and we don’t know who that someone was.

Kain - An unlikely option, given he was one of the earliest victims, but still possible since he’s the one who gave Yuuki the intel.

Kaito - With the return of Maria, the first of the two anti-Zeki characters, it’s not a stretch to imagine Kaito might return as well to be a foil to Zero, especially if in the interim between Night 93 and VKM 14 Kaito was attacked and turned by a pureblood. Kaito has a distinct animus against vampires and purebloods, and he is not supportive of Zero’s relationship with Yuuki. There’s also a scene in Night 93 of Kaito watching over Zero hugging Yuuki which might feed into this possibility. Hino hasn’t shown us what happened to Kaito for a reason, and what that reason is may be relevant to this new plotline.

Other random purebloods/nobles/level cs/humans/hunters - The Vampire KIng mastermind could certainly be someone we’ve never met yet. I would be disappointed if this were the case, but it’s entirely possible. Who knows who or why this group has been cobbled together.

So as is evident, we have quite a bit of potential for who the Vampire King culprit is. Hopefully the next few chapters will give us some new information, but for now we can enjoy the speculation. ;)

A Breath of Fresh Air

Mimi is a complete delight this chapter. She brings back some much-needed humor in a natural way. She’s not enabling Yuuki or interested in babying her. She’s dumb, but has a sharp intuition, if pointed incorrectly. Hino’s incessant need for comedy plays off well with this character, in a way it didn’t with Ai. As someone who is uninvolved in all the drama of Kaname’s interference in everyone’s lives from the previous series, Mimi has a refreshing outlook that helps break the story away from the bleak shadow Kaname cast over all the characters.

I love Mimi’s assessment of Zero. It tickles me pink that she thinks he’s a cheater and off wooing all the ladies and that he “seduced” Yuuki. This just shows how off-base she is, but I do believe she is picking up on his dissatisfaction with his current relationship, and is just reflecting it back to Yuuki in her own unique way. What I love about her perception of Zero is that she has no idea that in reality he never even tried to steal Yuuki--Yuuki chose him, Yuuki latched onto him, and Yuuki wouldn’t let go of him. The only “seducing” Zero ever did was simply be a hurt and fragile boy who stood in front of Yuuki on a dark night. The rest was all Yuuki. But of course Mimi wouldn’t know any of this, so it’s cute to see her misread the situation. ;) It also is a nice reminder of how charming, handsome, and attractive Zero is--that he is a catch and one who rightfully should have his pick of the ladies, even if Hino won’t give that to him because, well, they’d clearly outshine our “heroine,” who wouldn’t be able to compete with a proper rival. =P

I also love that Mimi has no reverence for Yuuki at all, despite dubbing her “Yuuki-sama.” She also cuts through Yuuki’s bullcrap in a way none of the other characters seem capable of in recent chapters. She honestly is a better friend to Yuuki in this single chapter than Yori was in the past 13--and I don’t mean better as in better person, but simply better in the fact that real friends don’t enable bad behavior for an entire lifetime, and Yori enabled Yuuki whereas Mimi reminds her to stop moping and dwelling and just do what she thinks is right. It’s so refreshing, and I’d love to keep this girl around for a while.

Her simple foolishness is charming and fun in a way Yuuki’s false obliviousness is not anymore, and it acts as a good contrast to Yuuki’s fake attempts at playing such a character. With Mimi around, even more than when Ai was near, Yuuki is forced to step into the adult role she’s meant to have and stop playing the eternal child who doesn’t know her adult responsibilities. All I can do is tip my hat to Mimi and thank her for channeling the true spirit of the Eternal Fool, the very person who lights the way for heroes to become heroes. All heroes step through the Fool’s Way first, and it’s long past time for Yuuki to get her own journey started. If Mimi can light the way for her, I’d be quite pleased.

Welcome Home

I won’t cover Maria as a potential suspect in this section, but I do want to talk about her role as a character and why she has returned at this time to the story. This section will assume Maria is not a suspect, but even if she is, her function in this chapter doesn’t change all that much, it just gains additional layers. Assuming she’s innocent, though, she still brings some interesting and much-needed layers to the table.

Maria is an active foil to Yuuki this chapter. In many ways, she is Yuuki’s superior and is closer to living as Yuuki’s “ideal” than Yuuki is, and this is a factor that I feel is not lost on Yuuki. Here are the ways that I feel Maria is acting more heroically than Yuuki this chapter:

Maria finds out on her own about the terrorist attack using her own intelligence-gathering abilities. (Assuming she is innocent of being part of the Vampire King plot, of course.) Yuuki, on the other hand, is sitting on her thumbs at home and the information has to be brought to her. Maria is active, Yuuki passive.

Maria is acting in the memory of her beloved and without his direct involvement and without any direct recognition from anyone. Yuuki only acts when she feels social pressure to do something, because it looks good in front of her friends.

Maria helps form and collect the members of the vigilante group. Yuuki sneaks around and drags uninvolved parties into danger.

Maria takes action despite the risks to her. Yuuki remains passive and uninvolved despite having immense power and political clout.

Maria is honest and forthright about her reasons for stepping in. Yuuki is cagey and unable to articulate why she is doing what she’s doing.

Maria’s activities bring the sincere admiration of Zero, while Yuuki’s bring only his irritation and concern.

Maria responds to Zero openly and sincerely, while Yuuki remains unable to express her true feelings honestly, despite knowing she should follow Ruka’s example.

Maria is acting out of a sincere desire to help, Yuuki to get attention and show off.

Again, the points above are assuming Maria is not a suspect. If she’s a suspect, some of the sincerity of her actions is diminished, but her role as a foil to Yuuki still remains intact because Yuuki believes she’s sincere.

I was chatting with @vampireknightmeta about why Maria comes across to me as sincere this chapter and why Yuuki doesn’t, and she brought up a brilliant point about the difference between the two (and the difference between Zero and Yuuki). I felt her point was very relevant and explains the difference well: Yuuki is the type of person who deep down knows that her natural inclination is not to do the right thing, and so tries to “act” like a good person. Maria (if she’s not acting duplicitously as a member of the Vampire King group) and Zero are the type of people who instinctively do the right thing because they are good people. They don’t have to act like good people, they are. This isn’t to say Yuuki isn’t a good person or doesn’t have the potential to be a good person--rather, it’s the difference between a person who follows laws because they’re “afraid” of the consequences of breaking them (and who, if there were no consequences, would do the acts that the laws warn against) and a person who follows laws because they genuinely believe the laws are good and are of benefit to themselves and others (and even if the laws never existed would choose to follow them on principle). The outcome is the same--both types of people follow the laws and would be viewed as “good” and “innocent” by bystanders looking in, but in their hearts the two are very different--one type is genuinely good and altruistic, the other is not but wishes they were.

I do believe Hino is trying to help Yuuki grow into such a person, a person who--although she is fully capable of great evil and great caprice--deliberately chooses not to be because in her core she truly has embraced altruism and genuine love. This hearkens back to VKM 3, where Yuuki talks about the seed of desire and her fears about it. Yuuki has never truly faced herself and the darkness within herself and the darkness she’s capable of creating, and because she hasn’t incorporated her shadow, she can’t actualize her full potential as a person the way Zero and (potentially) Maria can. Until you face your shadow, you don’t really know who you are, and I believe Maria’s return to the story (assuming she’s not part of the Vampire King plot, or even if she is) is meant to help Yuuki identify where she’s failing as a person, and why her relationships never unfold correctly. Maria’s role is always to help Yuuki course-correct, and I believe she is reprising that again this time. She represents a woman who isn’t relying on a man as a crutch, but who is using a past love as inspiration for moving forward, a direct contrast to Yuuki who is both using one man as a crutch and using a past relationship as a reason not to move forward.

By using Maria as a foil, Yuuki’s flaws as a heroine come into stark relief, and we can see more clearly where she needs to go and what she needs to do in order to achieve the happiness that surely she desires somewhere, deep down inside.

Closer to Shadow than Light

I’m feeling pretty darn ambivalent about Yuuki this chapter, and this section will reflect that ambivalence. There are aspects to what we saw unfold this chapter that I enjoyed and am pleased to see, and there are other things that I’m not so pleased with when I pull back to the macro level. Unfortunately they’re all kind of meshed together, so I’ll have to talk about them together. If anyone reading this is the kind of person who is defensive of Yuuki, I’d recommend just skipping this section and going to the next one. There’s a lot to deal with here, and I’m not going to be going easy on the girl.

Yuuki is more talkative and friendly this chapter than she has been in any chapter since Night 89. It almost seems like she’s had a personality transplant, honestly. She is actively trying to learn a new skill with Ruka, she opens up about herself and her feelings to Kain and Mimi, she’s more proactive and adventurous, she even openly admires and talks about Zero. It’s like we’ve been transported back in time to the Sara mini-arc, where she was running around doing her Night Class restoration thing. She treats Kain and Mimi better than she’s treated anyone since Night 89--she’s genuine and honest with both of them. While this is nice to see in general and is certainly a step forward from the lifeless doll she’s been recently, for me it feels like too little too late and makes me genuinely angry on behalf of Zero, Ai, Aidou, and Yori. Yuuki’s been dishonest and cagey with all of the people dearest to her for decades, yet all of sudden she’s now blabbing everything about herself to two people who aren’t even her friends. It’s frustrating that she’s kept this habit from her teen years, and it’s a sign of how little she’s grown in the decades since the final volume of the original series. And this is just the tip of the iceberg that is the mess that is Yuuki in VKM 14.

When we first encounter Yuuki in this chapter, she’s in her own home having a cooking lesson with Ruka. This fact is glossed over lightly due to the scene beginning in medias res, but it brings up some interesting questions:

Why is Yuuki suddenly interested in cooking? She’s never been good at it or interested in it in her over 70 years of life.

Does Zero know about these lessons, or are they a secret?

I wouldn’t find this lesson remarkable if this was during Ai’s childhood or right before or right after Yuuki and Zero became official. But it’s arguably several months after VKM 9′s official announcement, and the timing is suspicious for Yuuki to suddenly take an interest in being domestic where before she was content to leave it to the servants/Ruka (when taking care of Ai) or leaving it to Zero. It seems too coincidental that this sudden interest in being a more attractive and useful partner comes directly on the heels of VKM 13′s final scene; we don’t know how much time has passed since then, but clearly whatever transpired afterward led to Yuuki taking a sudden keen interest in improving herself. I’ll discuss the ramifications of this more later on, but for now it’s fair to leave this as a point of interest.

We begin the scene with Kain informing Yuuki of the next potential plot of the Vampire King group--to plant bombs under the sewers of the kindergarten and daycare centers. Why this group would broadcast their plans should be the real issue for the investigators--that alone should have been a red flag that their goals weren’t the bombing itself--but that aside, Yuuki gets herself worked up into a rage over the issue of children being targets. There’s an distasteful element of hypocrisy in Yuuki’s sudden desire to protect children that bothers me deeply as a reader. Yuuki declares very forthrightly that she won’t forgive anyone who targets children. Yet this is the same woman who spared not a single moment of regret for what Rido did to her real baby brother, the real Kaname, and free-passed and ignored what Kaname’s own crime of targeting Zero and Ichiru as children. For her to run around screaming that she won’t forgive anyone who targets children now, when she’s already done such a thing in the original series, is less than convincing and is outright distasteful in my opinion. I can only hope Hino recognizes this herself and doesn’t think Yuuki’s outrage in this scene is merely a cute way to show how altruistic and kind Yuuki is--because if that’s true, then that shows that Hino (and Yuuki) both think only criminals one doesn’t know are evil, and that the criminals one does know are excusable especially if they’re romantic interests, and that is reprehensible in the most vile manner. It’s okay for Kaname to target two innocent twins for Yuuki’s sake, but it’s not okay for the Vampire King group to do the same for their own reasons. The hypocrisy is a little too thick to be ignored on this one, and I hope Hino has Yuuki get called out on this later on in VKM.

On top of this, Yuuki’s outrage is rather out of proportion to the threat, especially with so many good people (including the man she supposedly cares about) on the case. It’s clear something more is going on beneath the surface than concern over the safety of children. Even Ruka, who is one of the most maternal characters in the story besides Yori, has a much more reasonable reaction to the news--she calls the perpetrators out for being despicable, but doesn’t let it steal her chill. Yuuki flies off the handle melodramatically and is rightfully stopped by Kain--she’s out of control, and her involvement isn’t going to help matters. Ruka’s solution works out well for Yuuki, but it read more to me like an adult stepping in to keep the peace rather than a genuine compromise. Still, Yuuki trying to be proactive is better than Yuuki sitting on her thumbs, so baby steps I suppose. The most damning news, and likely the real reason why Yuuki wants to get involved, is because Zero didn’t tell her this was going on and concealed it from her. She’s upset that he’s not involving her in the case, but also knows she has no right to get her nose out of joint because it’s his job. Sneaking in and sniffing around gives her an excuse to keep an eye on him. Trying to protect children is most likely a cover up for her real reasons for going. Yuuki always tries to look good in front of others to hide her real motives; typical pureblood activity.

This scene with Ruka and Kain isn’t just to establish Yuuki’s reasons for trespassing into Zero’s territory; it’s also meant to serve as a mirror, with Ruka and Kain’s relationship reflecting Zero and Yuuki’s. Remember, Ruka and Kain are a settling relationship, the one Zero and Yuuki should be if Yuuki genuinely loved Kaname and is just moving on with Zero as her second best option. If Ruka and Kain, who are a settlement pairing, are shown in a more positive light than Yuuki and Zero, it should serve as a red flag to a careful reader.

And that’s exactly what Hino does with this section--Ruka, the woman who settled for Kain, is shown behaving like a proper wife to him. She gets upset when he dismisses the importance of their time together as a married couple, she encourages him to do his best at his work, she expresses her explicit faith in and admiration for his abilities, and then she sends him off to do his duty while going about her day, having absolute confidence that he’ll return to her in the end. This woman, a woman who held favor for Kaname for nearly as long as Yuuki, is capable of being such a wife to a man she settled for, a man she clearly cares deeply about but who wasn’t her first choice. If Yuuki’s issues with Zero are simply her failure to move on from Kaname, she should be more like Ruka, not less.

Instead, Hino casts Yuuki unfavorably in contrast to Ruka. Unlike Ruka, Yuuki has no faith in Zero as a partner. Though she does admire him behind closed doors, she never openly speaks of her pride in him when he’s present, as Ruka does to Kain. She doesn’t appreciate his hard work or his efforts, she doesn’t nag him for time together, she doesn’t support his endeavors. Instead she frets over his safety and looks down on him because he’s not immortal like she is. She doesn’t trust that he’ll return to her, as she admits to Mimi later on in the chapter. Where did all this fear and distrust come from? It certainly didn’t come from the original series, at least not before she herself destroyed their bond in Night 88--she held a deep trust for Zero before then and didn’t fear for him during the Sara arc. In fact, she even said as much openly to him back then--she “wasn’t worried about him” even as she sent him to drink Sara’s blood. That same girl now has no faith in this man at all, despite all he’s done in the meantime. Something has gone terribly wrong, and from her conversations with both Kain and Mimi, she knows it too, even if she’s unwilling to face why.

Yuuki has her first semi-breakdown around Kain in this chapter, but she’ll break down around Mimi as well. She admits that she’s all scrambled, because she knows she should be more like Ruka but can’t quite get herself to that point. Instead of taking the time to sort herself out, she focuses on irrelevant things that won’t solve the real problems--such as interfering with Zero’s investigation. She basically says that rather than deal with the snakes in the garden, she’d rather go out and hunt the wolves howling outside the walls. This section reveals her real intentions for going out on this case--she’s not interested in protecting the children, but in preventing Zero from being involved. This mindset, as her own narration implies, will come back to bite her in the future. From some point in the future, she admits that during this period all she could do was eliminate the immediate fires, rather than preemptively planning for them.

What’s interesting about the way Hino frames this discussion with Kain (if it can even be called a discussion; it’s more like Yuuki talking to herself in front of Kain), is that Kain is clearly uncomfortable with Yuuki suddenly blabbing to him about her inner worries. This tells the reader a few things:

Yuuki and Kain are not normally close enough for these kinds of conversations to be normal.

Yuuki’s starting to crack under some kind of internal pressure to the point where she’s talking to people she normally doesn’t talk to.

Notice she doesn’t talk to Ruka about her worries, despite the fact that Ruka is a far better option for this sort of discussion than Kain. In the past, she did the same thing to Yori--when Yori tried to ask her about herself, she’d clam up (as she does in VKM 13.5) or deflect. Yuuki hasn’t talked about herself openly in decades, and so for her to start blathering her true thoughts now, well, that can only imply something...unusual...has triggered this sudden need to talk to everyone who’s not involved with Zero.

She does another thing that’s rather interesting during this whole scene with Ruka and Kain--she brings Zero up when no one else brought him up. Kain never once mentions Zero, only the hunters in general. Yuuki brings him up twice on her own when no one asked her to. This also implies that whatever it is that’s spurring her into action, it’s related to him and nothing else. Coming on the heels of VKM 13, I smell a rat that’ll need to be buried in future chapters.

This all would be more than enough to chew on if the chapter ended there, but there’s still more to unpack once Yuuki gets herself into the sewers. She’s joined by Mimi, the culprit of the attack on Yori in VKM 6, who has “reformed” (so she says) thanks to Yuuki’s intervention. Mimi’s a charming girl, and she brings some of Yuuki’s flaws and failures as a person into stark relief for anyone with a knowledge of the original series.

The first thing we find out about Mimi is that Yuuki’s helped her get her life back together after her crimes, and Mimi’s grateful to her. Yuuki flat out tells Mimi that the only reason she helped Mimi was to keep her from returning to her criminal ways. When Mimi acts like she probably hasn’t, Yuuki asks her if she’s really gotten her act together.

While this is a cute scene on the surface, and if this was any other character (Zero, Aidou, Yori, or Ai, for example) who helped Mimi, it would be just a funny character-building scene for Mimi; unfortunately Yuuki’s past history with a certain other criminal highlights another aspect of her hypocrisy this chapter: she judges Mimi for her unlawful actions, but she refuses to hold Kaname accountable for his--instead she blames herself, rather than Kaname, for his crimes in order to excuse him and absolve him of them. For her to judge Mimi, whose crimes are much lower on the scale of criminality than the man who fathered her first child, is a pretty classless and hypocritical move as far as I’m concerned. I’m sure Hino just meant this scene to be a cute example of Yuuki helping people, but it was a fairly tasteless choice in my opinion. As I said earlier in the Kain section, I can only hope Hino knows how tasteless this is going to come across and accounts for it with a reckoning later.

While Mimi herself is adorable, Yuuki is fairly gruff and curt with her in the first part of their scene together; it’s clear she doesn’t like Mimi and finds her to be useless at best, irritating at worst. Mimi’s worth as a character won’t appear until later, but we can already start seeing the role she’s going to play for Yuuki in the upcoming chapters: she’s taking Aidou’s place, since Aidou is now a serious character who can’t play the fool for Yuuki, while Zero is gone from Yuuki’s side. Mimi is here to point out the things Yuuki won’t say, and to hint at resolutions to the things Yuuki is running from, just as Aidou was before her during the second arc of the original series.

When Yuuki realizes Zero is one of the three people she’s sensing in the tunnels, she aborts her mission rapidly--her hope to capture the culprits before Zero gets involved is immediately quashed. She tries to backpedal before Zero notices her, but of course no one escapes the greatest hunter who ever lived, and certainly not two girls as blockheaded as Yuuki and Mimi. But the mere fact that Yuuki tries to avoid Zero highlights a few issues right away:

Yuuki doesn’t want Zero to know she’s there.

Yuuki didn’t tell Zero she’d be there.

Yuuki knows she shouldn’t be there.

Interestingly, earlier on in the scene with Mimi, Mimi mentioned that running into the association members is what she really doesn’t want to do, likely because they’re the most dangerous for vampires. Yuuki carefully ignores her comment, but we see here that Yuuki had the same intention, if for very different reasons.

Hino uses screentones to show Zero’s none-too-happy about the appearance of his pseudo-girlfriend in the tunnels. He and Yuuki look like they’re about to get into it, but then Mimi distracts Yuuki by insulting Zero, which pisses Yuuki off. Any ensuing argument is cut short by the sudden appearance of Maria, who Yuuki clearly hasn’t seen in a while. The two teams chat for a bit, and Yuuki grows increasingly tense the longer the discussion goes on.

As I mentioned earlier in the Maria section, Maria is another foil for Yuuki, much as Ruka is, in this chapter. Beyond being a general foil, she highlights some of Yuuki’s deep insecurities specifically about Zero. Yuuki’s jealousy in this chapter, while funny on the surface, actually serves to highlight some of the true sources of her real fears about Zero, the ones she conceals behind fear for his safety, which is a more appropriate fear than her real ones. The first moment that worries Yuuki is when Zero openly admires Maria for doing something brave that is out of character for her. Zero then tells Yuuki about information he learned from Maria, implying that he and Maria have a “world” together that Yuuki’s not a part of (of course, this only because Zero just ran into Maria, so this is just Yuuki’s perception, and Zero’s being very upfront and honest).

Yuuki watches (as does Mimi) this little world Zero and Maria are creating between them and becomes increasingly anxious with each moment. Mimi serves to highlight this for the reader, because Yuuki’s unwilling to let her true feelings be known other than some leaky facial expressions. Zero makes a comment showing he resents Yuuki hesitating about whether or not he’s cheating (the guy has waited patiently at least 70 years for this girl to have a real relationship with him; he’s no cheater and she shouldn’t be fretting over that--it’s insulting to him), and Maria quickly steps in to try to resolve the issue. Of course, the manner in which she does it just digs the hole further--she elicits a gentle response from Zero that continues to create a “world” around them that Yuuki isn’t a part of.

Maria’s interactions with Zero establish a few things for Yuuki:

Zero honestly compliments Maria, yet he doesn’t compliment Yuuki or appreciate her efforts.

Zero respects Maria, yet he doesn’t seem to respect Yuuki.

Zero openly shows affection for Maria, but not Yuuki.

Maria is open and honest with her feelings for Ichiru and Zero, while Yuuki remains closed.

Zero relies on Maria, but not on Yuuki.

Yuuki is diminished standing next to Maria; her efforts to be helpful all pale in comparison to Maria’s. Zero’s admiration and affection and attention are all directed toward Maria; Yuuki is an irritation and an afterthought to him (from Yuuki’s perspective, though of course that’s likely not true in reality). Zero is warm and affectionate and openly speaks about his beloved brother with Maria. The reality of all of this makes Yuuki surly, and she brushes Zero off with a curt goodbye rather than wishing him well as Ruka wished Kain earlier. Even now, Yuuki’s still failing to fully take her place at Zero’s side.

Maria stands as a symbol of what Yuuki should be: a woman who openly speaks of her affection for the ones she loves and who acts to protect not only the ones she loves but all the things she holds dear. Yet Yuuki’s failing to do any of this, and this is why Maria receives the reward Yuuki wants--Zero’s affection, respect, and admiration. But Yuuki hasn’t done anything to earn those things from Zero, and we’ll see this continues to be true even to the very end of the chapter.

Before I leave this section, I just wanted to mention one thing I found incredibly irritating about Yuuki’s reaction in this section. Yuuki’s spent 70 years moping over a guy who is “dead” in name only by Zero’s and Yuuki’s own choice in VKM 8; Zero’s spent the same amount of time silently holding his own losses in his heart without complaint. The reason Zero is affectionate and kind to Maria in this chapter is because of her connection to his own loved one, and he actually has a chance to talk about his loved one with another person who loved him, unlike Yuuki. Yuuki can’t even handle this much; she’s too busy focusing on herself to see how good this is for Zero, how healing it is for him, and how much he’s needed this. Yet, she gets to mope about Kaname and talk about Kaname to her daughter and all Kaname’s friends and Zero, but can’t even afford a single tiny conversation about Zero’s brother to Zero because *egads* Maria has feelings for Zero and Zero might find a girl who lets him talk about his interests more attractive than a girl who whines to him about his mortal enemy in nearly every conversation for the past however many decades. It’s absolutely preposterous and honestly I hope Yuuki pulls her head out of her rear sooner rather than later because I’m getting hellaciously tired of her narcissistic naval gazing.

That aside, we come to the most revealing part of the chapter--after this new stress on her psyche, Yuuki breaks down to talk to yet another person she’s not close to, because apparently that’s how Yuuki works through things. She admits to Mimi that she knows her fears for Zero’s safety are potentially overblown, but that she can’t seem to have faith that he’ll return to her. Mimi, being a bit dumb but a good girl at heart, thinks the solution is as simple as Yuuki just letting go and having faith, rather than focusing on her anxiety. But obviously Yuuki’s anxieties aren’t about Zero dying--oh, no, they’re about him leaving. Yuuki clearly is aware she’s not the best girlfriend and that there are other women who are superior to her, and that if she doesn’t take action soon, after VKM 13, Zero might actually start to consider at other opportunities that are definitely out there. Maria clearly still is an option, Yuuki’s own daughter is an option, and we know from VKM 5 that Zero has had other opportunities. This is the first positive sign that Zero’s outburst in VKM 13 has made Yuuki realize not all is well with him, and that the status quo is no longer good enough to lead him on into the future. Her “restart” plan is starting to fail, and she has to figure out why. This is the real reason she’s talking to random people like Kain and Mimi, rather than her friends or Zero--she doesn’t want anyone to know how bad things have gotten, or how close she senses Zero is of realizing he doesn’t need her or her Kaname baggage anymore.

She clinches this with a thought that Zero smiled for Maria. That means Zero hasn’t smiled for her in a loooooong time if she is struck by his basic polite smile to Maria. He probably hasn’t smiled since Ai grew up, as we see in VKM 10 that Yuuki loves his smile for Ai and thinks that things are well because of it. But Yuuki doesn’t make him smile, and rightly so--she’s honestly a terrible girlfriend, and worse--a terrible friend. She can’t even do friendship properly with Zero anymore, much less the relationship and intimacy he clearly needs. For her to get envious over Zero smiling politely and even a bit fondly at another girl, she has to have robbed him of his smile for so long that even that sad sorry state of a smile seems brilliant to her. It’s pathetic, but perhaps it’s the wake up call she needs to get her act together.

Sadly, we don’t get any more reflection from her because of course Mimi just has to step on a landmine, and Yuuki follows suit. This yet again highlights the fact that Yuuki can’t seem to do a single thing right and always needs Zero to save her--far from saving him, he’s the one saving her. Mimi wonders if Yuuki will save her, to which Yuuki replies in the affirmative. But in Yuuki’s mind, her first instinct is to panic--rather than immediately dealing with the threat and expelling Mimi herself, she stands frozen, trapped in thought, until she senses Zero coming for her.

Despite my complaints about Yuuki in this chapter, this section is my favorite. Her fear and her love for Zero are actually palpable in this scene, more than we’ve seen since Night 88. She actually seems to care about Zero’s wellbeing here, which is more than could be said about her in previous chapters. Unfortunately, her care for his wellbeing has a darker underbelly--she stands around wasting time yelling at him rather than being useful and dealing with the threat before he gets there.

Mimi is clearly in danger (the bombs could actually kill her, unlike Yuuki), and rather than immediately getting Mimi out of the blast zone (the way Yuuki will do as soon as Zero arrives), she stands around shouting at Zero like a spoiled child. Their bombs could go off at any minute if Mimi or Yuuki moves at all, yet Yuuki’s wasting time yelling at someone who isn’t even at her side yet or in danger. Clearly it doesn’t matter to her if Mimi’s head gets blown off, so long as she “proves” that she can protect Zero. It’s foolish and stupid, and it just goes to show how much growing Yuuki needs to do and how useless she is unless she has Zero as a crutch.

When Zero reaches her side, instead of thanking him for coming (because, as always, his presence calms her mind and helps her focus), she goes all tsuntsun on him and snaps that she was going to deal with it herself. But she clearly wasn’t dealing with it--she was panicking and frozen and wasting time yelling at him and spinning her useless brains instead of focusing and doing something. She comes across not as a capable woman who is a good partner to Zero but rather as a petulant child who was testing Zero to see if he’d come running for her despite her protests. And as she surely knew, he came running to her side to save her, abandoning Maria in the process despite Yuuki playing the “bigger person” and telling him to stay by Maria’s side. If she were truly the capable woman she wants to pretend she is, she’d have already begun dealing with the bomb before he arrived to support her--that would have earned his admiration and praise. Instead, she’s uselessly standing around until he’s at her side, and then suddenly her brains work. Magical.

I do want to stress that it’s not at all that I truly believe Yuuki isn’t capable of courage, bravery, and being a useful member of the team. It’s the very fact that I know full well she’s capable of great courage and bravery (the Rido arc, the Sara arc) that makes her behavior this chapter so grating on my thinning patience. That’s the very reason why her behavior is so frustrating here--as soon as Zero is at her side, she instantaneously transforms into the capable woman she’s always been. She gets Mimi out of danger and starts dealing with containing the blast. If she’d just do this and trust Zero to support her and back her up, she’d find she likes herself a lot more, I think. That’s how they’ve always worked together, and for her to forget that after all these years shows how far she’s fallen.

There’s a weird moment when they’re bickering with each other where he touches her arm and her eyes go wide with shock. This to me says they’re really on the rocks if she’s shocked that he’s touching her. Their bickering itself only reveals surface-level issues which by now I think is clear aren’t their real issues. Yuuki does reveal she resents Zero not telling her about the investigation, so likely she’s upset that he’s not wanting her as a partner in crime anymore. But given how reckless and unreliable she is, and how for a long time she made them do things separately due to their bench agreement, it’s hard to blame him for not being a mind reader and knowing she wanted back in on the action. Really she’s just being unreasonable, and she knows it.

Of course, Zero then disappears before they can work through anything. Whether he’s been kidnapped or he disappeared of his own volition remains to be seen, but whatever is about to happen is surely to test Yuuki at last. It’s time for her to face being alone without a man to use as a crutch--no Kaname, no Zero, no Aidou. She might even grow from the experience. Wouldn’t that be something extraordinary?

The thing that bothers me a bit about how Hino’s handling Yuuki this chapter is that this sudden “action heroine Yuuki” is too little, too late. Yuuki’s failed as an action heroine since the second arc of the original series began. This girl spends more time sitting on her rear than she does helping anyone in this story or doing anything useful. Most of her “activities” are pointless and result in no lasting consequences. It’s honestly laughable that Hino wants to try to go back to the Yuuki who stood against Kaname and Rido at the end of the first arc of the original series, but we’ll see. Maybe she’ll surprise me. I doubt it though.

The Solitary Sun

The flip side of Yuuki this chapter is Zero. While Yuuki’s thoughts are laid bare for us to see, Zero’s are, as I predicted, hidden. No surprise there, because Hino probably doesn’t want any Zeki fans to run away, and a peek in Zero’s head would probably send the remaining readers bolting for the hills. Better to stick with Yuuki for now.

However, we have enough clues to theorize where Zero’s headspace potentially is this chapter. We learn that he’s actively hiding intel from Yuuki, including information about the vigilante groups, which Maria (her rival) is a part of. While the likelihood of him cheating is low, this does demonstrate a lack of reciprocal trust in Yuuki’s maturity and judgment.

It’s likely that Zero’s concealing of intelligence from Yuuki is partially motivated by the outcome of VKM 13. There are a few hints that he’s still unhappy about the unresolved issues from VKM 13--he becomes angry with Yuuki the minute he sees her in the tunnels (inappropriately so; despite Hino trying to play it off as a comedic moment, there’s really no reason for him to be that angry at an immortal woman taking part in vigilante activity), and he’s the first one to bring up Yuuki’s VKM 13 request that he not die during their bickering fest as they disarm the bomb.

Given that Yuuki wanted to avoid him this chapter and he’s displeased to see her, this implies he’s at the very least been stewing on VKM 13 for an indeterminate amount of time, even if he hasn’t yet taken any action or made any decision about them as a couple yet as a result of it. It does appear that publicly he’s still holding his position in their relationship--he’s openly bothered by her pause before she rejects the idea of him cheating, and he openly calls her the woman he loves during the bomb disarming. However, these also may be signs that internally he’s starting to wonder about their relationship and is over-emphasizing it in order to keep legitimizing it. His doubts may be crumbling the foundation of the relationship beneath his feet faster than he can rebuild. Not once in all of VKM has Zero called Yuuki the woman he loves. For him to be saying this now, on the heels of VKM 13, strikes me as a red flag, and not of the “Zero’s about to be kidnapped” foreshadowing flavor. If Zero’s pulling out all the stops and openly declaring his feelings before he’s happy with Yuuki, we’re at the end of the line. This strikes me as the last desperate push to make things right before they all fall apart and he has to at last admit the experiment was a failure. But we’ll see. The kidnapping might give him a reprieve.

I don’t have any evidence for this, but his behavior with Maria vs. Yuki this chapter brought up some questions for me. He openly admires Maria’s courage, despite her actions being against her regular character. Yet when Yuuki does the same thing, he doesn’t admire her actions or her attempts at bravery--he doesn’t encourage her, as he does Maria. I’m not sure if he’s doing this deliberately or if he’s just tired of Yuuki in general and thus can no longer be a supportive figure in her life. I think what he admires about Maria too is that she’s putting her life on the line in a genuine way, a way Yuuki can’t do because she’s a pureblood and thus doesn’t have to fear those things anymore. That’s something Zero may deep down wish he still had--the ability to walk the same lifespan with Yuuki, and to take risks together with her, as opposed to being the only truly vulnerable one of the two of them.

I also was struck by how he handled the moment when Maria was explaining how she had to insist he abandon her. Zero’s obviously a kind person, but it was a surprisingly manipulative move on his part to express his concern in the manner he did in front of Yuuki. It reminded me a little of an insecure man slyly trying to make his girlfriend jealous more than a sincere question. The rest of his interactions with Maria felt platonic and sincere to me, but that particular moment struck me as odd.

Overall, in the initial scene with Maria, Zero doesn’t give Yuuki much warmth at all. Mimi even picks up on it, though she immediately assumes he’s cheating (in other words, she misreads the energy, but the energy does exist). He’s deliberately warm and supportive to Maria. This might be genuine, or it might be manipulative on his part, I’m honestly not sure yet. A Zero who is capable of what he did in VKM 13 is a different Zero than i’m used to, and so he may have some new snakes in his heart than before. Hence, he might be capable of new behaviors that he wasn’t capable of previously. If Zero is sincere in his admiration of Maria, it shows that he can tell the difference between her efforts and Yuuki’s. He knows exactly what Yuuki’s up to (spying on him and snooping), but Maria (as far as he’s aware, of course) seems to be genuinely working toward a higher cause, which Zero admires.

That also says something about the state of how Zero feels about Yuuki that is truly heartbreaking for me. Zero used to admire her straight-forward gaze and her inner courage and strength and kindness throughout all of the original series. For him to now be at a point where he’s not even acknowledging what she’s trying to accomplish, that leads me to only two conclusions: 1.) he doesn’t believe her sincerity due to his suspicions about her true motives, or 2.) he’s so angry with her he can’t appreciate her right now. It could also be a combination of the two, which is particularly unfortunate.

The other thing I feel is lurking under the surface in Zero’s interaction with Yuuki this chapter is a sense that he feels resentful of her inability to trust him. He wants her to have faith in him and his abilities, as she once did when they worked together in the original series. I think he resents (on multiple levels) her obsession with his death--she’s not appreciating his life and is myopically focusing on something that may or may not come to pass. This comes out in his deep frustration with her at the end of the chapter; he hates the idea of being her damsel in distress that she has to rescue simply because she happens to be the longer-lived of the two of them. He still has his pride as a man and wants to protect her with his own skill, even if she’s technically stronger than him.

Some of this comes back to what I feel his true issues are lurking deep beneath the surface, which I mentioned in my review of VKM 13. His real issues center on a deep insecurity about his place in her heart versus Kaname. Kaname, on the surface, is a far better partner for her--he’s immortal, like she is, he’s older than she is, he’s more mature than she is. Zero is all these things as well, but he’s not “immortal,” only long-lived. If Zero is beginning to fear that Kaname (and Kaname’s lifespan) is what’s really at the center of Yuuki’s “fears” about Zero’s lifespan, then his outburst at the end of VKM 14 may be due more to his own insecurities than any genuine fear about the trouble Yuuki might get herself into. Of course, he loves her, so he doesn’t want her to suffer, but if he had faith in her (as he wants her to have faith in him), he’d know she could get herself out of any scrape she got herself into. So this to me indicates he’s really worried about something else, and that her “arms getting blown off” is more of an excuse than the real reason.

I want to do a write up on this separately at some point, but for a long time now (since before the original series ended), I’ve had this sense that Zero is the real shoujo heroine of this story, and that the traditional “character roles” have been gender-reversed. This chapter added fuel to that suspicion, because normally the shoujo heroine is the one who gets kidnapped so the hero can come valiantly rescue her. However, I don’t think this particular kidnapping is going to play out that way--honestly I still believe this kidnapping is meant to isolate Zero so a deal can be struck with him; I don’t think Hino wants him to be seen as the damsel in distress. But with everyone targeting him in particular, and with the purebloods wanting him in the past, and with him being labeled as special far more than Yuuki ever was or has been, the chips are stacking in his favor that he’s the “real” shoujo heroine of this story, and thus many of the heroine character beats are going to him rather than to Yuuki. This makes for a difficult road for Yuuki as a heroine, because she’s not traversing the masculine beats very well--she’s just not capable enough. The Hooded Woman was a much better character for those sorts of beats, but Yuuki’s just too damaged, fragile, and flawed to play them out correctly. We’ll see how it unfolds, but for now I’ll keep mulling this over.

Ships Passing in the Night

I don’t want to talk too much about Zeki as a couple, simply because they’re in a very frustrating spot and I’ve already labored over them enough separately. However, I do want to point out a few things about their situation together this chapter that struck me.

First is that I think it’s fairly clear that underpinning the whole chapter is VKM 13, which indicates a lack of resolution on the part of that chapter. I think it’s safe to say that nothing was resolved between them, and that Zero’s words to Yuuki (that her fear was her own curse on herself, rather than anything legitimate) hit home to her, while Zero is confirmed to not be buying any of the snake oil she’s selling with her “fears” for his life. We can see this in how they both behave in the chapter:

Zero’s behavior:

Zero’s the easiest, because the best way to prove he didn’t buy what Yuuki was selling in VKM 13 is to look at his behavior. If he’d bought into her fears as legitimate, he’d be doing a couple things this chapter that we don’t see:

He’d have told her what was going on with the investigation.

He’d have asked for her help in securing the scene of the crime.

He’d be making sure she was emotionally okay with the idea of him doing his job.

He’d be kinder to her for sneaking around to check up on him.

He would be taking precautions to ease her worries.

Zero does none of this in VKM 14. Instead he:

Hides what he knows about the investigation from her.

Gets outright angry when he finds her in the tunnels.

Is not taking any precautions to protect himself, and is instead protecting other people.

Throws her “curse” and her “worry” in her face in the middle of their bomb disarmament.

Flat out rejects her worries by pointing out that he hates the idea of her getting her body parts blown off, implicitly admitting that he’d rather die than witness that.

This all points to Zero not buying what Yuuki was selling in VKM 13, which I think puts to rest the idea that his “behavior” in VKM 13 was in any way shape or form genuinely a response to her fears and a “taking on” of her fears--he was mocking her then and taking out his frustrations on her, not “empathizing” with her or giving her what she wanted. If he genuinely felt her fears were legitimate, he’d be taking them into consideration in this chapter. I feel the case is closed on that at this time; now all we have to wait for is to find out what he was really upset about in that chapter, because now we know he was upset about something unrelated to her preposterous anxieties.

Yuuki’s behavior:

Yuuki’s behavior this chapter implies the opposite of Zero’s, another point in favor of Zero’s accusation that her curse was her own and not legitimate during VKM 13. If she felt her behavior in VKM 13 was legitimate and that her fears were legitimate, we should see some different outcomes from her this chapter:

She would be angry at Zero for getting involved in another case despite her fears. She would be upset with him for not taking her feelings into consideration. (Ironically, this is why she comments to Kain that she should be “worried” like Ruka--the fact is, she isn’t worried for his safety; her fears have nothing to do with whether he’ll get blown up or hurt or killed--they’re about something she’s not willing to face.)

She would be hunting Zero down in the tunnels openly to yell at him and drag him off the case.

She would immediately deal with the bomb herself without shouting at Zero when she and Mimi step on it, because that would prevent him (and Mimi) from being in the blast zone if she handled it promptly.

Instead of this, what we get is the following:

Yuuki suddenly wants to improve her cooking skills! (That’s a bit of an odd reaction to fearing for your man’s life.)

Yuuki has a sudden “need” to be part of the investigation just because she overhears what the target is, when she wasn’t interested before other than in passing.

Yuuki suddenly starts talking to random people about her issues, as if she realized she needs to work through them and get to the bottom of them. (She even flat out admits she’s a mess and can’t work through that mess easily.) This alone confirms she knows she’s full of horse manure and that Zero was right when he called her out in VKM 13.

She immediately has anxieties about Zero and Maria, despite all she and Zero have been through since the original series. Her anxieties aren’t even about Maria--they’re about Zero!

She envies Zero smiling at Maria! If her true issue was his safety, who he smiles at shouldn’t bug her in the slightest because she has a good relationship with him and is being genuine and sincere with him.

She admits to Mimi that she doesn’t even have faith he’ll come back to her. This is not about him dying--this is about him leaving her.

We see from Yuuki’s actions this chapter the first true hints (which her actions in VKM 12 support) that she’s afraid Zero is finally fed up and is thinking of leaving. That all she’s done to string him along and “keep” him is no longer enough--her blood’s not enough, sleeping in bed holding hands isn’t enough, being “platonic friends” isn’t enough. He has finally hit the end of the road with her “I won’t let you go but I won’t do anything with you” declaration in VKM 9.

What she’s afraid of isn’t Maria per se--Zero isn’t going to leave her for Maria. But what about some other girl she doesn’t know about? There are thousands of women for Zero to choose from--thousands who, like Maria, would openly appreciate him and react warmly to his advances rather than shutting him out and clinging on to the memory of a man who hurt him deeply. Yuuki’s real fear isn’t that he’ll die--it’s that he’ll live, but not with her.

Yet for her to keep Zero, she has to “clean up the mess,” which she herself admits is “hard.” So instead of doing the real work of dealing with her own issues, she goes off to play investigator and spy on Zero and play “hero” when she has no right to. Basically, this kidnapping is quite good for her, in my estimation, because it means she’ll have to start facing those things she doesn’t want to face--the real reasons Zero is unhappy with her and their relationship isn’t progressing. What’ll come of that is anyone’s guess at this point.

Zero and Yuuki’s mutual issues from VKM 13 bleed into their teamwork this chapter--although they still work together well, it’s not seamless like in their younger days. Yuuki trying to test Zero doesn’t help much, either--your partner isn’t going to respect you if you’re testing their loyalty when you yourself have been disloyal for 70 years. Seriously, why is Yuuki always one step forward, fifty back, I have no idea. It’s very frustrating for a reader, and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for Zero to have to live with that.

Ultimately, I’m pleased as punch they’ll be separated for a while. But more on where we’re going from here next.

Past Reflections Echoing into the Future

If VKM 13 was VKM’s version of Nights 61-64, VKM 14 picks up as the inverse of the Kuran Manor mini-arc’s Nights 65-67. I suspect the parallels will continue into the future, which is why I expect Zero to “return” of his own “free” will after he’s been blackmailed by the Vampire King group’s mastermind to act “against” Yuuki (and thus parallel the Rogue Kaname mini-arc from the original series).

Because Zero was kidnapped, unlike Kaname in Night 67, this gives a different general atmosphere to this parallel to the original series, but ultimately the point is to separate Yuuki from the crutch she’s leaning on (Zero now, Kaname back then) and send her on a journey of self discovery, which hopefully this time will actually lead to growth rather than regression as it did in the original series in Volume 19.

I see us being set up for a new arc where Zero’s return gives Yuuki initial relief, but because he’s being blackmailed he has to protect her by pretending to break things off with her. In this process, he will likely say quite a few “true” things that actually do reflect his true feelings--the best way to fool your enemies is to fool your loved ones, and the truth is the best way to accomplish that. So while Zero is saying these things to keep her safe and in the dark about what he’s about to do for the Vampire King (and in order to keep other innocents safe, because Zero’s lovely and altruistic like that), Yuuki will “believe” what he’s saying, because he’ll be speaking the truth from his heart at last.

I suspect we’ll finally see that he has been afraid that she truly loves Kaname, despite what her blood tells him. We may see that he’s been contemplating bringing Kaname back for her again once the cure is in place. We may see that he’s open to the idea of disappearing from her life, because he feels he’s brought her nothing but misery. We may see that he feels Kaname was wrong in Night 93--that he doesn’t believe he and Yuuki were meant to be at all. All these fears and more are what could potentially be revealed on Zero’s side via this arc, and I would feel so relieved to see him finally speak these oppressive thoughts he’s clearly been suffering under for so long.

Even if none of this comes to pass and Hino has other less interesting reasons for these events, Zero’s kidnapping is the best thing that’s happened to this story since Night 87. Even though I didn’t get Zero walking out on Yuuki (which I would have preferred), the kidnapping still forces them to separate and (hopefully) will force Yuuki to begin to examine what’s wrong in herself and her relationship and why it’s gotten to this point in the first place.

This will work especially well if Zero does come back and is forced to act cold to her in order to protect innocents due to blackmailing from the Vampire King group’s mastermind. This would force Yuuki to have to examine how much she trusts Zero, how much of his words are true, and what all of it means for her. It’s a far greater test than what Ruka put her through when she gave her the illusion of Zero shooting her--because everything Zero will say to her here will be truth--perhaps incomplete truth, but still truth that she needs to acknowledge and deal with at last.

As for what else is coming our way, perhaps we might finally start seeing some movement on the cure. I’m quite looking forward to how that plotline mixes with this one, if indeed that’s what Hino intends for these two plotlines.

All in all, I think we’re still on track for things to unfold happily for our two star-crossed lovers, as long as Hino stops setting us back with detours. It’s time for Yuuki to get her act together and decide which man she wants in her life and what she actually wants for herself. It’s time for her to decide she prefers happiness to misery, whether or not she deserves it, and that Zero deserves happiness from her if she wants to stay with him or freedom from her if she wants to be true to Kaname. And since we know that he dies in her arms, I’d say chances are higher for the former happening than the latter.

And that, as they say, is that. Until next time!

#vampire knight #vampire knight memories #vkm spec #vkm speculation #zeki criticism #anti ky #vkm chapter review

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agnesgoesadventuring-blog · 6 years ago

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Okay, so what are concrete ways that a shipper can engage with aspects of fandom and the show they find enjoyable without alienating or upsetting people? What is something you want to see shippers as a whole do, regardless of the individual problems in their ship? What is an example of shipping fic or art that you find to encompass your experiences?

Honestly, one of the best ways I’ve seen fandoms reduce the prioritizing of shipping in the general fandom is leaving shipping content specifically to the shipping tags and keeping it out of the general show tag. This is something that’s just the natural way a lot of fandoms do things. At this point, though, I doubt that’s going to happen in the Critical Role fandom as the tagging etiquettes are pretty firmly in place.

A very small thing people can do is make sure they tag their posts with the ship names (this is also helpful to people who might be triggered by a ship for whatever reason) so that people can blacklist or filter those posts. And make sure that the ship's tag is one of the very first tags so that it actually gets picked up. There are still a lot of people in this fandom who don't tag their shipping content.

But even beyond just ways to keep the fandom space less ship-filled for people, it's important to think about the larger shipping culture and culture in general and how our behavior impacts it, and how it impacts our behavior. Just making sure people who don't want to see it don't see doesn't mean that our behavior isn't still contributing to damaging cultural norms and mindsets. There are a lot of ways that the prioritization of romantic relationships can manifest in the way we interact with media, in the way we discuss these relationships and the way we present them in fanworks. Ideas like romance being necessary for happiness, or an automatic ticket to happiness, or something that can fix someone's illness or pain. Isolating characters from other relationships and not taking those relationships into consideration and thinking about how they effect that romantic relationship, and how that romantic relationship would effect them. Making the entirety of a character's arc and story about the romantic relationship. Altering characterizations to better suit a romantic relationship or situation. Treating other characters and relationships as props for the romantic relationship. And a lot of other things. Just being aware of these issues and making an effort not to include them in or discussion or fanworks. Looking at what we're saying or writing or drawing and really taking the time to consider if we've said or done something that contributes to damaging ideas about romantic relationships and eliminating it if it does.

Like I said, doing this benefits us, too. Figuring out how to engage with a ship and fandom without doing these things makes us engage in different ways and opens up our perspective.

People just need to remember that just because they like something doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with it. It's easy to take the position of "I can enjoy the things I like however I want", but if we want to be empathetic people who care about others and avoid hurting people, we need to think about how we enjoy things and how we can change the way we act when it does impact others. Because it’s not just about liking things, it’s about the way we like things.

#Anonymous

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izzy-b-hands · 7 years ago

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K screw it we’re talking about the TV show. I have an idea of a title, but it isn’t set in stone, but maybe I can tag it with that, so if you don’t wanna see this stuff you can blacklist it?? Y’know what, let’s go with this one: ‘aly’s show in progress’. I searched it first to make sure it doesn’t coincide with anything else on here as a tag, lol.

If you guys read this all (and it is a lot, lol) and wanna talk about it, have thoughts, or just like the idea of it and wanna let me know, please do. Any feedback on this baby of mine makes me so happy.

Also, I’ll throw the rest of this behind a cut so if I ramble it won’t take up as much room for y’all.

Guys if I had a way to make this now, I so would. I even have bits of soundtracks ready to go (orchestral backing tracks--the theme song I keep hemming and hawing on who should create it, but probably not me, lol.) I know they say don’t share your stuff in progress, but right now this is such a far shot from ever being produced that I feel safe in talking about it (also because like with all my other works that I have planned to sell or produce, I’m getting copyright on just to be safe.)

So to be honest, I can’t recall how much I’ve written about it on here, and it is 12:30 AM and I can’t be bothered to search my own blog so we’re starting from scratch.

Working title is Liminal Space--a show about people who have no reason to be together in the place they are, but that’s where they’ve ended up. For now, they can’t seem to leave (that’s elaborated on further in the series) and why would they--when food is somehow replenished, and money isn’t a concern to survive. Sure, the woods sometimes glow and strange people and creatures keep showing up, but every place has something weird, right?

Specifically, we focus on a set of adult characters-names come about within the first few episodes, but in the credits they are noted as their roles in what is essentially a drive thru town-an abandoned school, a two-level hotel/restaurant set up, a wildly unnecessary car sales lot and building, an abandoned cabin, woods, and a haunted house that magically appears one day. All of this facing a highway (the haunted house on one side of it, everything else on the other.)

Our main cast consists of:

The Kids--A boy and a girl, about six and ten respectively. They are literally found by the Waitress one day near the highway, and since no one appears to claim them, the town just sort of adopts them. This means everything from home schooling them about a world that no one else really remembers for sure, plus keeping them safe from the weird shit that goes on in the town. Is it a lot for two kids? Yeah, but they could have been dead on the edge of the highway, so things are pretty good overall for them. Not sure on who to cast for these either, since young kids might outgrow the roles pretty quick--plus they might not be in every episode, if only to allow for some scarier plot lines and more serious topics to be addressed. They end up rooming in the haunted house, via a secret tunnel and a plot line in one of the very first episodes.

The Waitress--unsure of cast member. It keeps rotating between various actresses and musicians, to be honest. She works at the restaurant/hotel, despite it never really having customers (except for a few episodes with guest stars.) Nobody questions how or why they keep it running--it gives her something to do, and she gets to chat up the Pianist (which is a big Plot Point later on in the series so I will only elaborate so far here lol.) Rooms at the restaurant/hotel, in whatever room will open each night (the keys to all the rooms aren’t always there.)

The Pianist--Johannes. In part because I have no clue if he can play piano or not, but if he can’t then we get a silly in-joke here that the Pianist is supposed to play at the restaurant/hotel where the Waitress works...but then we never see him play it. This character is a lot of dry wit, and I feel like he’d carry that well. Rooms in the restaurant/hotel, sometimes in an actual room, sometimes under his piano on the floor if he’s writing music and no one (read: the Waitress) puts his ass to bed.

A quick key thing to note about any cast members--they don’t have to change how they look outside of the show, aka no band members have to chop off their hair or anything like that to play their role. What they look like outside the show, is how their character appears.

The Teacher--Henrik. He’s a little bit quieter a person, just like this character. He also seems to have a knack for reactions (aka every photo of him making a face or video of him rolling his eyes dramatically suggests he’s someone who can actually use his face to act and not overdo it.) That’s what I want from this character--when shit’s going down, he’s the book smart person in the room; he’ll help look up and figure out a solution, but we get to see him rolling his eyes or giving us some reaction that suggests he isn’t doing this passively (I also have some choice sarcastic lines for him--the ones that aren’t supposed to hit you until a beat has passed, then you and the other characters realize they just got burned horribly.) He is the one who gets to try and home school The Kids, despite only have a few books to work with--but he’s smart enough to teach them a lot of things without text books, and generally dislikes the ones they have since a. half of them are out of date and incorrect or b. show info from a universe that isn’t theirs and so aren’t useful. Rooms in the abandoned school, which he often makes repairs to himself (because they can’t exactly call out for a contractor to do so, and because he’s got the brains to not just fix but improve the building with what he has on hand.)

The Man Out of Time (aka yes, a time traveler)-- John. I can’t quite explain why he feels like the best fit--the character came into my head, already as John. I can’t explain this character’s full deal without giving a full ep synopsis, but to give some summation--to save the town, he sacrifices his ability to travel back to his time. He’s a straight up good guy; he wants to help these people even though he ended up in their time and town on accident and barely knows them. He ends up residing in the abandoned cabin, as a happily accepted new neighbor. He’s a nice guy, plus that’s one more person to make sure The Kids aren’t accidentally killed by like, an inter-dimensional squid or something--that’s a nice bit of stress alleviation for all the other adults.

The Car Salesmen--Jack Black and Charlie Day. A set of very panicky brothers, selling cars that have never worked (like, they literally have no engines or wheels...) But they insist that they are needed, and that the cars will work, when It comes for them. What is It? Why should they fear It? All anyone gets is panicked laughter as an answer, so they just roll with it all. Besides, who doesn’t like window shopping, even if the cars aren’t necessarily something you could ever use or buy? Everybody tries to be accepting and calming towards these two, who are almost always convinced that It is on the way. They mean well, the poor things. They room in the building of their car sales lot--there aren’t any display cars in it, so they can keep sleeping bags on the floor.

The King--I swear to god, I thought up this character before Avatar Country came out. It is a pleasant coincidence that Kungen is who I chose for this role (in part because I mean...his nickname literally means The King. As of Avatar Country’s release, we have proof he is a good king. Why not keep a good thing going?) And he is literally a king--who shows up one day, claiming to be king of their town (that is really barely even quantifiable as a village.) No one knows what to make of it, so they roll with it, because he doesn’t actually make them act like much of subjects--he might ask for food randomly during the day from the Waitress, or ask them how the ransacking of neighboring towns is going (it isn’t, because no one ever leaves the town, but he never seems bothered by that.) Otherwise, he just likes to hang out and ask everyone what they’re doing and educate them on the Royal History--how and why he became king, what he’s done as king, etc. For a king, he’s down to earth and just likes to visit with people. Maybe he’s lonely--they’ll never know for sure. Rooms wherever he feels for each ep he’s in--but ends up a lot a the hotel/restaurant, as it has the most rooms of any building in town. Technically a series regular, but yet not--kind of like the Kids, in that sense. This is subject to change as I keep writing though; he’s ended up in a lot of eps so far, lol.

The Waiter--Tim. Can’t fully reveal this character’s deal without major spoilers, but he plays a big part in the Waitress’ story arc (a no duh, per the character title, lol.) I needed someone who has good natural humor, good comedic timing, and can do good impressions (for a few episodes particular story arcs.) That, and someone who seems like they’d be up for a character with a weird backstory--not a bad one, The Waiter isn’t a villain, but it is a complicated one. Once he’s in the town though, things are good--and his character is well-liked, for a whole variety of reasons that again, if I elaborate on more I give away a bunch of Big Ass Plot Points. So maybe later, lol. Rooms at the hotel/restaurant, and works there too once his character is introduced.

The Doctor--Brendon Small. Catchphrase is “I dunno, I’m not a doc...wait, I am. Still, I dunno.” A very tired physician who drove in one day to catch a cup of coffee after driving all night, then found after he left the restaurant his car was gone. One of the only citizens who isn’t wholly chill with being perpetually stuck in the town--he can sense something’s up with this place, but he can’t quite explain it. Despite his catchphrase, is actually a very good doctor--sometimes possessing knowledge of how to heal things he’s never seen or dealt with before, which kinda freaks him out. Rooms in the abandoned school with The Teacher--which leads to occasional shouting arguments between them, if only because you can’t always put two very smart and active minds together like that with time to spare to talk, and expect them not to argue over some things (like what the town would do if a plague rolled through, why don’t the Kids seem to grow at all, etc.) Despite this, they do enjoy each other’s company, really.

Guest Stars consist of so many--like so many you guys. I can’t fully explain these all without giving away full episodes, and some I can’t even mention yet, so a lot of these are gonna be a bit of a mystery unless any of you guys want to message and talk plots:

The Drifter--Rob Zombie

The Pianist’s Brother--Ville Valo

The Fixers--the McElroy brothers, because these characters require chaotic weird energy and a variety of personalities, and I think they would have all that covered very well. What do they fix? Well, if I told you that I’d be giving something important away.

Slash--as himself. Yes, really. He’s baffled as to why he was given directions (incorrectly) to this place, when it was supposed to be directions to a regular gig.

The Skeleton in the Closet--Tobias, but in Papa I gear (provided he agrees to ‘reanimate’ the papas for this lol.)

The Priest--Tobias, but in Papa II gear. Shows up to try and fellowship with them (for Lucifer, of course.) Ends up a bit disappointed and confused--not because they refuse to believe, but because he’s informed he just missed Lucifer by about five years. Its a fun episode, this one.

The Flirt--Tobias, but in Papa III gear. Literally just Papa III being lost and utterly useless at reading a map to find his way elsewhere. Takes a liking to all the adults, aka all the adults are getting hit on (but will he actually sleep with any/all of them? That’s a secret for that particular plot synopsis.) Eventually gets on his way, but is missed.

The Pied Piper--Tobias, as the Cardinal. Playing along with the Rats thing here a bit. But he doesn’t lead the Kids, nor rats out of the town--what is it then that he takes with him? Another Plot Point to remain hidden for now.

The One of the Woods--Doug Jones.

The Trickster--Taika Waititi. This isn’t even really a role, I’m more or less just asking Taika to come have fun for an episode and vamp it up.

There’s more guest stars I’d love to note here, but if I do I again risk major spoilers that I’m not quite ready to give up, lol. More to come later, perhaps.For now, yes, three out of 12 are technically the same person. Tobias would hopefully be up for all of that, lol.

Setting: Ideally, somewhere in Sweden, since by the time I get this anywhere near production I’ll hopefully have been living there for years. May as well keep it local, plus there are certain locations out there that I have in mind and want to use. But I’m open to other places--so long as it is appropriately creepy and deserted like. That is to say, the highway this town is by is only rarely busy. Otherwise they barely see cars, and the few they do see rarely stop. So essentially an abandoned highway is what I need, lol.

I could go on here (even just about the soundtrack I’m working on) but I’ll stop because I think this is getting long. Like I said before, if anyone has feedback, or any interest in this and wants to talk about it--you’ll make my year if you let me know! If not, that’s cool too, but I’m sick of letting all this rattle about in my head--I want to share it and talk about it, even if I can’t make any of it happen right now!

#text post #Alyssa talks about her writing #aly's show in progress #Avatar and Ghost fans that follow me #hit me up on this lol #I doubt any of my dream cast would ever agree to this show #but I can hope right?

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chapter-17 · 7 years ago

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You know, I’d describe last week’s episode as a guilty pleasure. I enjoyed it but felt...kind of OFF in enjoying it, like I wasn’t supposed to enjoy it. The more I thought about it though, the more things that were in the episode that didn’t make sense at the time began to make sense. As a result of this there are now two ways I view this episode.

The first, which I am assuming is the intended message, is that it’s an episode about the dangers of fame and mass attention from hundreds and hundreds of ponies, with a few nods to the fandom thrown in just for lulz. This version of the episode is somewhat flawed and a lot of stuff doesn’t end up making sense, chief among them being that the admittedly great song that’s still stuck in my head attempts to refute an accusation that I don’t remember any pony in the episode leveling at the mane six.

Their beef with Rarity was that she’s unlikable, not that she’s flawed. They HAVE no beef with Rainbow Dash or Applejack I could see. They think Fluttershy’s character arc is repetitive. They think Pinkie Pie is a one note character. They think Twilight Sparkle has undergone changes that make her less entertaining as a character with some even thinking the premise of the entire show doesn’t work. None of these ponies gathered the mane six together and accused them of being bad because they weren’t perfect.

So in total the literal reading of this episode is that a bunch of ponies had issues with the writing and stories in the journal while completely ignoring that it was a work of non fiction, the mane six completely misunderstood and addressed something that nopony was accusing them of, and the episode ended with nothing resolved and I assume Rarity’s business is going to be just fine for the rest of the season instead of tanking under public pressure until she’s forced to resign from the fashion industry altogether due to being added to various blacklists.

But there’s another reading of this episode, and it makes way, WAY more sense to me but at the same time I’m probably just reading into it too much.

Twilight Sparkle sees two fillies having a fight and threatening to end their friendship over it. She gets them together for a lecture and ends up repeating one of the friendship lessons from years past, which seems to work. This gives her an idea, and she gets her friends together and publishes their collective works for public consumption.

This is symbolic of the show’s staff making the show with a target audience of little girls in mind.

Suddenly the journal they published gets really, really popular with full grown ponies that are suddenly flooding into their lives and breathing down their necks in ways they never ever expected. Rarity gets boycotted despite all the good she’s done, Pinkie Pie’s personality is disregarded save for one trait, Rainbow Dash gets eternally fawned over with nopony even so much as batting an eyelash as she allows foals to follow her toward potentially dangerous lightning clouds, Fluttershy’s progress as a character is completely ignored, Applejack is forced to endlessly expend resources on ponies that feel entitled to it because they want it, and Twilight Sparkle’s entire character arc is summarily designated incorrect.

This is symbolic of the bronies and other adult fans of the show that nobody expected. The individual problems each of the mane six face can also be linked to specific aspects of this flood of fandom. Rarity is at the center of fandom hate, a character the fandom singles out and hates no matter the circumstance and they will not relent until the character is killed off or otherwise completely removed from the show. Rainbow Dash is the exact opposite, and is loved unquestioningly with people either ignoring or refuting every single flaw attached to said character no matter how deep or obvious. Pinkie Pie is essentially reduced to an endlessly repeated meme, without a single soul acknowledging other interesting traits of her character. Fluttershy is held to hypocritical standards that her detractors would never stick to themselves, and even if she rises to meet these standards the goal posts are shifted so that she can never win. Finally, Twilight Sparkle, the very core of the show, is seen as inferior and incorrect making one bother why these ponies even bothered to finish the book, or came all this way just to tell the authors how much they suck.

But even more interestingly to me, a bunch of ponies show up on Applejack’s farm, declare themselves her family, and proceed to freeload around while she gives them a bunch of stuff for free. This doesn’t make any sense to me. Applejack is a farm pony, a business mare, and cares deeply about family. Why would she actually give these ponies what they wanted and consider them her family because they just declared it? Surely she realizes that giving a bunch of ponies free stuff for no reason isn’t a sustainable plan? She needs those apples and that cider in order to do business so that Sweet Apple Acres can stay afloat. Why the hay didn’t she just say she appreciates the good sentiments from all her fans and doesn’t mind a visit here and there but that she and her actual family need to run a business and they need to leave? Well...here’s something to think about in regards to that...

How many dollars have you personally thrown at Hasbro for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic related things? How many dollars do you think other fans have thrown at Hasbro for My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic related things? Do you watch new episodes on TV when they air where you viewership can be counted up for the ratings number, or do you watch a stream of it later on youtube or dailymotion, where your view doesn’t really help at all? Do you buy My Little Pony merchandise? More specifically, do you buy official My Little Pony merchandise made by Hasbro, the kind of sales that they keep track of and from which they can profit? Commissioning fan work doesn’t really count in that regard, because Hasbro doesn’t see any of that money.

The point is that a no doubt large section of the fan base is enjoying My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for free, and all their enthusiasm and spreading of the brand is nice but it doesn’t change the fact that they still are not contributing financially to the franchise. This is what Applejack’s predicament in this episode makes me think about.

For the record, I watch streams of new episodes since I don’t get cable or satellite. I have however bought all four Equestria Girls movies and their soundtracks from iTunes. So while I have technically thrown money at Hasbro, I still overall consider myself part of that particular problem for not contributing to the ratings.

Then there’s the song Flawless. As I said before, this song doesn’t make much sense in the context of the episode...but it does make more sense if you think of it less as the mane six talking to the crowd, and more as the makers of the show talking to their audience. But much like in the episode, no amount of appeals to reason or introspection will ever work, and the fandom is still going to lob hate at them regardless of what they do, forever.

With the main conflict summarily impossible to resolve, Starlight brings in the two little girls that Twilight saw arguing at the beginning of the episode. As it turns out, the journal the mane six published together has convinced them to remain solid friends to one another in spite of difficulties they might experience. Having seen this, they all resolve that being able to help like this is worth the sheer unending misery their fame has brought them.

So in summary, this alternate reading of the episode that makes far more sense to me personally reads something like this:

“We made this show for little girls. Unexpectedly, a bunch of people we never intended it for has taken a liking to it. At first we thought this was amazing, but over the years this unexpected fan base has proven to be nothing but unrelenting misery and hardship that foists hate upon us while having done nothing to contribute. Negotiating or reason is impossible and we have pretty much given up on anything good ever coming of them. However, regardless of the burden this places upon us, we will soldier on and continue to make the show, because the audience we actually made the show for enjoys and benefits from it.”

Like I said, I’m probably reading way too deep into it, and as always my interpretation is likely colored by my rampant self hatred. But after dwelling on it for a few days I can’t help but be at another one of those moments where I wonder if someone like me, someone who pretty much lives in grimdark, would have done far more good for the franchise by just leaving it alone forever instead of having chosen to engage with it to taint it with my mere presence.

#My little pony friendship is magic #fame and misfortune

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eaglechica19 · 8 years ago

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THEORY: DID RED STAGE LIZZIE’S KIDNAPPING FROM THE SUMMER PALACE AS A CHILD?

AND IS HER TRUE MEMORY OF THE FIGHT THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE ACTUALLY BETWEEN RED AND HER FATHER, AND NOT BETWEEN HER PARENTS, AS WE’VE BEEN LED TO BELIEVE?...

(THUS MAKING RED PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF LIZZIE’S PARENTS AND FORCING HIM TO TAKE ON HER DEAD FATHER’S IDENTITY TO PROTECT HER?)

For the last few seasons I have been trying to figure out exactly who kidnapped Lizzie as a child and took her to the United States. I have always gone back and forth between thinking it was Red who took her from Katerina and the idea that it was her father who took her. But after learning the story of Hans Van Houser in last week’s episode, I have come to believe that they were both somehow part of the abduction.

This theory, like all of my other ones, is based on information from Red himself, stories from side characters connected to Red, as well as from various Blacklister plots that parallel the overall myth arc of the series.

If you’re interested in my ramblings, please continue reading and like always, if you can dispute it, or have questions, or something to add, please don’t hesitate to join the discussion!

Fair warning again... this may crash your tumblr phone app, so I advice opening it on a tablet or computer...

If you’re here, then thank you for humoring me. This theory is not completely written out and explained, as we still do not have all of the facts to fill in the blanks, but I believe it has enough substance to at least be considered as plausible. So before we begin, I will lay out exactly what I believe in regards to this theory, and then attempt to provide ‘evidence’ to back up my claims. And here they are...

MY BELIEFS

Red and Lizzie’s father may have worked together to steal little Lizzie away from Katerina while she was at the Summer Palace.

The kidnapping was possibly staged by Red in order to ‘create a problem’ for Katerina that he could then help ‘fix.’ (I believe it was also staged in the hopes that it would draw Katerina to America and expose her as a double agent.)

Red was working for Katerina, and unbeknownst to her, he was undercover for the United States government during that time and was spying on her, and possibly Lizzie’s father.

Red and Katerina had a close working relationship, filled with respect, empathy, and and even a type of trust for one another, even if they were in actuality enemies due to their respective nationalities given the time period in history.

Red’s real daughter is dead, and her name was Elizabeth. I think her name was given to Lizzie at some point before the night of the fire, and that this is possibly what led to her death.

The memory Lizzie has of her parents fighting the night of the fire is fraudulent and was planted by Dr. Krilov and Red over twenty years ago. The real memory is the one we were first shown in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II,’ of her father and Red fighting in the hallway. (I believe this fight was staged by Red and her father in order to accomplish something, perhaps to help Red gain Katerina’s trust.)

The fight went horribly wrong and led to Lizzie killing her father.

Red then carried Lizzie out of the fire before Katerina then whisked her away to Kate and Sam.

Red has felt guilt over the fact that Lizzie killed her father because of the staged fight and has been trying to make it up to her ever since. That is why he made it his mission to ‘become’ Raymond Reddington after Lizzie’s father died.

Lizzie’s real father’s remains just may be the ones inside the suitcase that Tom is now in possession of.

RED AND LIZZIE’S FATHER PLOTTED TOGETHER TO ABDUCT LIZZIE

I believe that at the very least, Lizzie’s father was involved in her abduction, just like we’re told in the show. I also believe that it’s possible that Red may have had something to do with it as well, but this remains to be seen.

The first indication that Red was involved in Lizzie’s abduction as a child came about during 'The Cyprus Agency.' In that episode, Red talks to Lizzie about abducted children and how difficult it is to physically transport them and reestablish them somewhere else with a new identity. He is talking about the actual logistics of accomplishing something like that.

He tells Lizzie, “The Cyprus Agency is in the abduction business. The don't locate kids for adoption. They steal them and adopt them out to new parents. And moving stolen children is difficult. There's copious amounts of paperwork.” Lizzie surmises, “They're using a forger.” Red confirms this, stating, “One of the best, but I'm biased. He's one of my best.”

So in this exchange we learned that Red apparently has had experience in the past with the relocation of children. And since most of the Blacklisters have an underlying parallel story that is similar to the overall myth arc of the show, it seems safe to assume that Red's experience dealt specifically with stolen children.

The next clue that either Red or Lizzie’s father (or both) were possibly involved in Lizzie's abduction as a child came during the episode 'The Caretaker.' In this episode, we learn about a man who kidnapped a young girl from her father after witnessing the man physically assaulting the child.

At the end of the episode, we see Red burn a letter that he had intended to go to Lizzie upon his death.

The letter contained a secret that Red wanted Lizzie to know, but was apparently too afraid to tell her while he was still alive. After Lizzie tells Red near the end of the episode that some things are beyond forgiveness, he becomes scared and burns the letter. Thus Red's plan for Lizzie to ever find out the truth seems all but abandoned at this point.

It just seems too purposeful that we hear the story of a man kidnapping a child (with the child then finding out the truth about her abduction) and then shortly afterwards see Red burning a letter that contains some sort of secret he intended for Lizzie for it to be a coincidence.

A less obvious clue that Red was possibly involved in Lizzie’s abduction could be construed from the entire story arc of Kate helping Lizzie, Agnes, (and Tom) run away from Red during the Alexander Kirk story line.

Kate tells Red that her decision to help Lizzie fake her death and run away was made with the very best of intentions, fully believing that she was helping to keep Lizzie safe. Kate explained to Red that she viewed him as the biggest threat to Lizzie’s safety and life, and hence took it upon herself to make the ultimate decision of what was best for Lizzie... without considering the consequences.

And for those that argue that ultimately it was Lizzie who decided to fake her death and run away, I would argue that that is only half true. Kate only approached Lizzie with the idea of faking her death once the situation was completely spiraling out of control. Instead of bringing this idea up to Lizzie months earlier, as she easily could have, she waited until Lizzie had been attacked at the church, hurt in a car accident, and her baby was in a possible medical emergency. Feeling out of options, scared, and more than likely willing to listen to any advice coming her way, Lizzie would have been much more susceptible to listening to Kate’s plan than she probably would have been at any other time. Kate took complete advantage of that knowledge and used it to sway Lizzie towards what she thought was best for her.

On the plane back from Cuba after losing both Lizzie and Agnes, Tom tells Kate that she has nothing to apologize for, that she was trying “to help us [Lizzie, Tom, and Agnes] find a normal life.” He continues, telling Red, “I don’t regret trying to get away from you.” Red snidely retorts back, “Of course you don’t. Regret requires age or wisdom.” Tom explains that, “we were trying to protect Agnes.” And again, Red dryly remarks, “I guess that didn’t work out.”

Once back on the main land, Kate again tries to explain her decision to Red, stating yet again that she believed that Red’s “existence in their [Lizzie and Agnes] lives puts them in constant danger.”

She also tells Tom in the car that she ultimately betrayed Red to help Agnes, and no one else, including him.

At the end of the episode, Red tells Kate her biggest mistake was in “presum[ing] to decide what was best for me. And yet, I know you believe what you did was best for Elizabeth.”

Red again states that he knows Kate’s intentions, however misguided, were pure, in ‘The Debt Collector’ while talking to Dembe. Red tells Dembe on the ship, “She was wrong to think Elizabeth and her child were safer without me in their lives. But in the end, she was... she did what she did out of love for the little girl she swore to protect what seems like a lifetime ago.”

I think this entire story is simply one big easter egg in regards to Lizzie’s original abduction as a child. Red’s comments to Tom about him lacking the wisdom or age to have made the correct choice sounds like it is coming from his own past experiences in a similar situation. His comments to Kate about understanding her belief that she was doing the right thing for Lizzie also speaks volumes. Kate’s ultimate plan to rescue Lizzie away from the perceived threat - Red - ended in complete disaster, as we saw. The fact that she made the decision for Lizzie only worsens the blow.

I believe this is exactly what Red did all those years ago - I think he was hired by Katerina (in some capacity) to keep Lizzie safe while she was a little girl, just like Kate was. (This would explain Red’s comment to Kate in ‘Requiem’ about their shared bond and interest in Lizzie.)

But I think he viewed Katerina as too dangerous of a threat to Lizzie’s life, and decided for her to take her away to her father in America. His decision to abduct Lizzie from the perceived threat - Katerina - ended with a similar disastrous outcome to this present day version of those events.

His comments to Dembe on the ship in ‘The Debt Collector’ seem to back this belief up, as Red seems to be talking about himself in the above scene just as much as he is talking about Kate. Red even looks up and away, like he is looking into his own past during his speech and the camera lingers on Red for several moments.

Then there is the evidence that Lizzie’s father was involved in her abduction that we hear from both Red and Katerina...

Red tells Lizzie in ‘Lady Ambrosia’ that her “parents loved each other very much. The Cold War was hard. Too hard for your father. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, he took you from her. She gave up everything to follow him. To follow you.”

Katerina confirms this statement in ‘Requiem’ when she tells Kate that a blonde haired man was seen carrying Lizzie off the grounds at the Summer Palace. She believes the man to be her lover, ‘Raymond,’ and states, “I started pulling away. We couldn't continue the way we were. He didn't take it well... He thinks she's his... I know where he's taking her. Home to America.”

Now it’s important to note that just because Katerina refers to her lover as ‘Raymond,’ I do not believe this is Red. If you believe either of the imposter theories - that either Lizzie’s father was Raymond Reddington and Red took his identity the night of the fire, or that Lizzie’s father took Red’s identity at some point before the night of the fire - then the person Katerina knows as her lover ‘Raymond’ simply cannot be the man we know as Red.

It’s also important to know that at this point in the story, we don’t know if it was Lizzie’s father or Red who took her off the grounds. Both Red and Lizzie’s father were apparently blonde, both were married and had a child, and both were American. We also know that Red was at the Summer Palace at this time in some capacity - more than likely in an undercover role and spying on Katerina. Katerina never actually saw Lizzie get abducted. She was simply informed that it was by a blonde man. So it could have been done by either one.

More evidence pointing to Lizzie’s father being the culprit can be seen in the flashback scenes from the night of the fire in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ In that episode we see a man put Lizzie in the closet and hide her with her ‘stuffed’ bunny, telling her not to come out and to remain hidden.

We also have the snippets of conversation between Katerina and Lizzie’s father from those same flashbacks:

Flashback #1

Katerina: “Where is she?” Father: “You should’t be here! You can’t - (garbled)” Katerina: “I’m not leaving without Masha.” Father: “Her name is Elizabeth.” Katerina: “MASHA!” Father: “She’s not going back with you!” Katerina: “You can’t take her (garbled)” Katerina: “…opt to steal her though! (garbled)” Father: “YOU WOULDN’T LET ME SEE HER!” Katerina: “Masha!” Father: “Get out!”

Flashback #2

Katerina: “Did you think you could get away with it? That I wouldn’t find you?!” Father: “Okay, you’re not here for her.”

Flashback #3

Father: “She’s not here.” Katerina: “Did you really think I’d let this happen? That I wouldn’t come for her?” Father: “Hey!” Katerina: “That I wouldn’t find you?”

From these conversations, it seems apparent that at the very least, Lizzie’s father was somehow involved in her abduction.

Then there is the strange ‘tangent’ memory that Lizzie has, of a mysterious man calling out to her at the Christmas tree farm. We never see the man’s face, but he does call her ‘Lizzie,’ the nickname that Red uses for her.

Is this possibly a memory Lizzie has of a short time she had with Red after he helped bring her to America?

All of this ‘evidence’ makes it seem very clear that Lizzie’s father did indeed take her from Katerina and that Red may have been involved as well. Perhaps they believed Katerina and her life was too dangerous for Lizzie to be a part of it. Just like in ‘The Caretaker,’ they took it upon themselves to rescue Lizzie from the situation and brought her to America.

RED CREATED A ‘PROBLEM’ FOR KATERINA IN ORDER TO ‘FIX’ IT

I believe Red helped Lizzie’s father abduct her from the Summer Palace in order to create a problem for Katerina, only to then swoop in and save the day. This may have also been a grand scheme designed with the intent of tricking Katerina into coming to the United States in order to take her into custody and expose her as a double agent.

If Red was working for Katerina somehow, (most likely in an undercover capacity unbeknownst to her) it is possible that he was a trusted advisor/guard/confidant to her. When Lizzie then went missing, a scared and distraught Katerina would have probably turned to Red for help, thus making him invaluable to her.

Red even stated in ‘Philomena’ that the best way to get close to someone and gain their trust is to become a close friend. He explains how Philomena does it: “After studying her subject for weeks, or even months, and acquiring whatever skills she might need along the way, Philomena enters her target’s life as if by mere coincidence, or accident. Philomela’s patience and subtlety are what maker her so credible.”

He also tells the Task Force that Philomena has “elevated the rickety practice of bounty hunting to a sort of, performance art.” And that “one of the most effective ways to retrieve an unwilling target is to slip in under their radar, get close, make a friend...” (The camera is on Red during this scene.)

Is this possibly what Red did? Was he secretly working for the Cabal and was somehow sent in ‘under the radar’ to spy on her?

We know that Katerina and Red went to America to go after Lizzie, her father, and the Fulcrum after she was taken, culminating in the night of the fire. Red admits this to Lizzie in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II’ at the end of the episode. Lizzie asks Red, “You were there, weren’t you?” Red answers her with a simple, “Yes.” Lizzie continues, “There were people with the woman, looking for it. The Fulcrum. You were one of them.” Again, Red admits as much, but warns Lizzie, “It’s not that simple.”

So obviously if Red did help plan Lizzie’s abduction, his scheme worked, as he was present that night with Katerina, meaning she decided to bring him along.

When Lizzie tells Red, “Everyone talks as if she [Katerina] was a terrible person,” in ‘The Troll Farmer,’ and then asks, “Was she?” Red refuses to answer her. I think this is very telling for the mere fact that whenever Red does not want to tell Lizzie the truth about something in fear that it will hurt her emotionally, he always opts simply not to answer.

We know Katerina had something to do with the Fulcrum and she also admitted to spying on Lizzie’s father in the flashback scenes:

Katerina: “Listen, you’re in trouble.” Father: “Because of you!” Katerina: “Yes!” Father: “You told them!” Katerina: “Yes, I did. I told them.”

Katerina: “It was my job.” Father: “To spy on me?” Katerina: “Yes, yes. No, I didn’t want to. I-I tried to protect you.” Father: “Is that what you call it?”

Katerina: “They’ll kill you if you don’t give it back to them.” Father: “They’ll kill me if I do!”

In those same scenes, Lizzie’s father accuses her of being the reason why some unknown entity (probably the Cabal) was after not only him, but Lizzie as well.

Katerina: “Did they threaten Masha?” Father: “That’s what I just… (garbled)”

Red also accuses her of being a traitor to two countries in ‘Requiem’ while he is talking to Kate, and he seems bitter by the fact. When Kate accuses him of being a hypocrite, he confidently tells her that [he] “makes no apologies for who I am or what I do.”

Through his words here, it sounds as if Red has full confidence in his choices and actions and still see himself as honorable, loyal, and righteous to his country and/or his cause, (despite rumors to the contrary) while he viewed Katerina in a much less favorable light.

Another interesting thing to consider is a quote from Red to Lizzie from ‘The Cyprus Agency.’ Red tells Lizzie that “not every missing child is on the back of a milk carton.” When Lizzie asks what kind of parents wouldn’t go to the police when their child is taken, Red tells her “People who won't, or can't, go to the police.” Lizzie surmises, “Criminals.” This idea comes into play in ‘Requiem’ after Lizzie is abducted.

In that scene, Katerina tells Kate that a blonde haired man - possibly ‘Raymond’ or the man she knows as Raymond - was seen carrying Lizzie off of the property. Kate asks her if she told this to the police. Katerina tells her, “Never. It would put Masha in danger, even more danger.”

Katerina then continues, saying that she knows where ‘Raymond’ is heading and that she is “going to have to go find her [Masha] on my own.”

If we look closer at this entire scene, we are given no evidence that Katerina ever actually told the police that her daughter was missing. We aren’t even sure that it was actually her who called the police. For all we know, it could have been Alexander Kirk who called them, as he is still unaware at this point that his wife is a spy. Katerina could have then pulled him aside and informed him of the truth (that she was a spy), told him it was too dangerous to go to the police, and then found an excuse to send them away, possibly stating that there wasn’t even a child on the grounds.

A piece of ‘evidence’ that could back up this idea is the fact that a mysterious man can be seen removing a framed photo of Lizzie from the front entrance while the police are still outside.

It looks like the police have just arrived on scene and are still waiting for someone to come to the front door, as we can see the officer pacing on the front porch.

And as this is my own field of work, even though the front door is open, police never just enter a house unless exigent and extreme circumstances are present, and in this case they are not. (An already presumed missing child would not fit that criteria whereas a child believed to be in the process of being taken would.)

Also take note that we never see the man’s face. Was this man possibly Red, who was going around the house and removing all evidence of Lizzie’s existence in order to give credence to the idea that it was all just a misunderstanding and that there never even was a child involved?

In summary, if Red knew that Katerina couldn’t go to the police about her missing daughter, he could have used this to his advantage by stepping in (like Kate did in this scene) and offering to help her find Lizzie, all the while knowing exactly where she was and who she was with - her father.

We have seen Red create these ‘problems’ before in the show, typically tricking a Blacklister into believing only he can help them, thus making sure they are indebted to him. Kate tells us he has been doing this for years, and it is one of his main tactics. Red admits as much to Lizzie, telling her that the best way to get information or services out of someone is “not because [they have] to, but because [they want] to.”

Red did it in ‘Ivan,’ when he told the FBI the location of the supposed Blacklister they were chasing, only to then enter the very restaurant where said Blacklister was dining, tell him of the impending raid and, (after a hefty service fee to recoup the money that was stolen from him by the Blacklister) agree to help him escape, on his private jet no less. Red even staged a fake shootout with Ressler and Meera to make it more convincing.

Another example of Red creating a ‘problem’ in order to gain trust of a possible business associate was shown in ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov,’ with the story of Hans Van Houser.

In that episode, we learned that Red staged for the man to be kidnapped in order to create an alliance with the father, Werner. As we quickly learned though, things went horribly wrong for both Hans and Red. We’ll explore more of this later.

RED POSSIBLY WORKED FOR KATERINA AT THE SUMMER PALACE

We know that at the very least Red was keeping tabs on Katerina and Lizzie's father well before the night of the fire, and therefore Lizzie as well. He even knows information about Kirk, like the fact that his real name is Constantine Rostov. It is possible he had so much intel on them because he was literally around them during these years while spying on them in an undercover capacity.

He tells Lizzie in 'Quon Zhang' that he “knew her as Katerina Rostova. One of her many names.” So right there, we learn that Red is aware that Katerina used aliases. He continues, “She was a KGB agent.” He also knows Lizzie's original name of Masha, and that she was born in Moscow. He tells her, “Your parents – father and mother – they were both in foreign intelligence.”

Red also knows extremely personal details about Lizzie, stuff that the FBI, possibly Sam, and even Lizzie are unaware of. One example of this is the fact that Red knows that Lizzie carries the ‘Warrior Gene,’ something that is not present in her medical file.

Samar finds it more than a little curious that Red gave them that particular case in ‘Dr. Linus Creel,’ stating, “Do you think Reddington could have known? That when he gave you this case, you’d find out?” Knowing she’s probably overstepped her bounds, Samar then backs down, saying, “What do I know?”

More evidence that Red is more than aware of Lizzie’s apparent trigger mechanism can be seen in ‘Marvin Gerard.’ In that episode, we see Lizzie ‘lose it’ after being attacked by the man in the diner. Lizzie flips out and breaks the man’s ribs, causing his lung to collapse. Lizzie’s eyes are wild and unfocused and she seems to be unable to calm down. Red then gently and unthreateningly approaches Lizzie and manages to bring her ‘back’ from the brink. It is almost as if he knows exactly what just happened.

This may be something that Red either knew about since at least the night of the fire if not before, or something that he suspected after the events of that night.

In ‘Tom Connolly’ Lizzie shoots the Attorney General only after he threatens to kill Red. We know from ‘Dr. Linus Creel’ that stressful situations can trigger the gene into activation. In the case of ‘Marvin Gerard,’ Lizzie being on the run as a fugitive, and then being attacked by a man in the diner, would certainly be cause for a trigger. (Apparently threats to Red’s life have the same effect.)

This may not have actually been the first time this has happened to Lizzie in regards to threats made against people she cares about. When Lizzie shot Connolly at the end of the episode for threatening Red, she had a sudden flashback to the night of the fire. Lizzie suddenly remembered shooting her father in the belief that she was protecting her mother from harm.

Keep this in mind for later...

As @lynnblacklist pointed out after ‘Requiem’ aired, it appears as if Red might have been Katerina’s chauffeur - as well as possibly holding other job titles as well - during the years leading up to the night of the fire.

When we see Kate in the backseat of the town car while it is pulling up to the main house at the beginning of the episode, she glances up at the driver via the rearview mirror. Kate, as well as the audience, are only given a very brief glance of the man. But in that quick glance, screengrabs have shown him to have possibly green eyes, light hair, and sideburns. This could very well be a young version of Red.

(UPDATE: TBL Writer Daniel Cerone answered questions regarding the show via Twitter recently and stated that Red is NOT the driver in the car here... could this then possibly be the REAL Raymond Reddington we’re seeing?)

Red even tells Kate at the end of ‘Requiem’ that she is actually more familiar with him than she realizes. When Kate ‘first’ meets Red in the warehouse after she is approached by Sam, Kate tells Red, “I don't know you.” Red replies, “I’m not as unknown as you might like to believe, Miss Nemec.”

Red is shown here in the dark, in shadows. If Red was the driver at the Summer Palace, and remained unnoticed in the background of the activities going on around him, Kate probably never took notice of him, and therefore wouldn’t realize that she perhaps already does know him despite what she says here.

When Mato tells Red that Kirk has taken Lizzie to the Summer Palace, Red states that he is familiar with the place, and he looks like he’s seen a ghost.

He calls Cooper and tells him, “Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Kirk owns a cottage there where he would go to escape the dreary summers of Novosibirsk.”

More evidence that Red possibly worked at the Summer Palace is the fact that he is fully aware of the ‘comings’ and ‘goings’ of Kirk during those years, specifically at that location. In ‘Dr. Adrian Shaw, Part II’ Red tells Kirk, “She [Lizzie] lived at your house, as your daughter, on and off for four years. Sometimes you were there, sometimes you weren’t.”

Red told Lizzie repeatedly that Alexander Kirk was not her father, even when Kirk himself believed that he was and had a DNA test proving it. In that instance, Red told Kirk, “You saw what Katerina wanted you to see. She lied to you. About everything.”

He is even aware that Katerina targeted multiple men and seduced then in order to gain valuable information.

And yet Red has told Lizzie repeatedly that her father is dead, that he died that night in the fire by Lizzie’s own hand. Meaning he knows exactly who her father was.

For Red to have such intimate knowledge of this information while everyone else seems to be completely in the dark on the topic lends more plausibility to the idea that Red was intricately involved in the everyday affairs of Katerina and Lizzie’s father.

RED’S RELATIONSHIP WITH KATERINA WAS STRICTLY PLATONIC

Besides believing that the man Katerina had an affair with was not Red, I also believe there was never any romantic involvement between her and Red either.

Lizzie seems to believe that Red had an affair with her mother. This idea builds momentum after she finds a photo of her mother and herself in Red's Bethesda apartment in 'Leonard Caul.'

She even sounds a little disgusted by the idea, telling him in 'Quon Zhang,' “You have a picture of her in your weird little apartment. Were you in love with her? Is that why my father died? You killed him because you were in love with my mother?”

Red doesn't answer her, but not answering is not an admission of guilt, nor is it a confirmation in her beliefs.

Lizzie puts more stock in the idea that her mother and Red had an affair after she finds her mother's journal. In 'Miles McGrath' Red asks her if she found anything interesting in her reading, and Lizzie replies, “She talks about you. About the affair. I'm up to the part where she writes about you pressuring her to leave her husband.” Red doesn't take the bait, and instead simply continues his conversation about the upcoming plan to get the Blacklister.

Lizzie continues to read the journal in the episode, learning that her mother was “In love with the man I was sent to seduce and betray. An American. Raymond wants me to run, take Masha and disappear with him, but how could I do that to her? She's my entire life. She's everything.”

But again, there is no actual proof that she is talking about Red here. It simply could be the man she knew as 'Raymond.'

Think about it - we’re told by Red that ‘Katerina’ was more than likely an alias, and many people, even Russian agents of the old regime who were ordered to find her, as well at the agents at the OREA complex, weren’t even sure she was a real person, but instead could have been a series of stories put together to ‘create’ Katerina. Now obviously from the show we know that Katerina was a real person - but it lends to the idea that perhaps she wasn’t truly who everyone thought she was. And if that can be true for her, why not Red?)

Personally, I do not see any actual evidence in 'Cape May' that Red and Katerina were ever romantically involved. They obviously had a close working relationship, as they are able to work together as a team flawlessly, to the point of not even needing words to communicate their plans or actions.

Red also tells Lizzie in 'The Troll Farmer' that her mother “was the cleverest, most resourceful woman I have ever known. No matter how dark the moment, she could always find her way through.”

It appears he even had great empathy and understanding for her as we saw in the scene between the two of them in the garage when she tells Red she needs to leave her daughter in order to keep her safe.

He obviously had a high regard for her, and respected her abilities greatly, and possibly even admired her, but I think it ended there in terms of their relationship.

In 'Cape May,' when Katerina is taking a bath, Red remains outside the bathroom respectively, giving her privacy. If they were lovers, why would he do that?

He also keeps their clothes on when he rescues her from the ocean and places the both of them in front of the fire.

Katerina even tells Red in that instant, “It’s not that he died. It’s not even the way he died. It’s that the things I said to him... just... before he died.” So by her own words, the man she loved and that Lizzie shot - Lizzie’s father - was not Red, but another 'Raymond.'

Katerina confirms this yet again for us in ‘Requiem’ after she brings Lizzie to Kate at the motel, telling Lizzie that she shouldn’t blame herself for what happened. As we know, Lizzie shot and killed her father that night.

So I think it's safe to say that Katerina and Red did not have a sexual relationship, even though Lizzie believes that they did at this point in the story.

RED'S REAL DAUGHTER WAS NAMED ELIZABETH AND WAS KILLED

Despite what the writers are trying to make us believe, and despite what the Taskforce believes, I still do not think Carla and Jennifer were Red's real family, but instead think Red lost his family that night on Christmas Eve just like he told Madeline Pratt in the episode bearing the same name.

I am not going to put all of that evidence here however, as that would be enough to be it's own post. If you're interested in that fan theory, it can be found in my 'Imposter Red' theory linked at the top of my page.

Going with that idea, I do believe Red's real daughter's name was Elizabeth. I believe this because of the admission Red gave to Kirk in 'Dr. Adrian Shaw, Part II' when asked if Lizzie - or as Kirk says, ‘Masha’ – was his daughter. Red answered that yes, “Elizabeth is my daughter.”

Notice how Red stated 'Elizabeth' is his daughter. He purposefully didn't say 'Masha,' or even 'Lizzie.' He used 'Elizabeth.'

Now we were told that night by the writer of that episode, Daniel Cerone, that Red was telling the truth to Kirk in that statement. Cerone also then told us via social media that it still remains true that Red has never lied to Lizzie and that it’ll all make sense in the end.

So how can it be true that Elizabeth is apparently Red's daughter, and yet at the same time be false? The only logical explanation is that either Red and/or Lizzie is an imposter. Putting the 'Red Is An Imposter’ theory on the back burner for now, let's look at the possibility that Lizzie is an imposter.

We know that Lizzie's real name is Masha.

We know that Lizzie's father likely abducted her away from Katerina and was attempting to hide her in America.

We also know that by the night of the fire, Lizzie's father apparently has been calling Masha 'Elizabeth' for some time, even compelling Katerina to call her that as we witnessed in the flashback scenes.

Now given those facts, along with the knowledge that Red apparently lost a young child, and his admission to Kirk that he had a daughter named Elizabeth (but not the Lizzie we are familiar with as we have been told continuously that Red is not her father), isn't it possible that at some point, and for and by reasons yet still unknown to us, Lizzie was given Red's daughter's identity?

This would allow Daniel Cerone's seemingly contradictory statements - that Elizabeth is Red's daughter and that Red is not Lizzie's father - to both remain true.

The name 'Elizabeth' itself is important in the show, as the writers have used it eleven times so far in addition to it being Lizzie's name:

The little girl that is kidnapped in the ‘Pilot’ episode is named ‘Beth.’

Dembe’s daughter is named ‘Isabella.’

His granddaughter is named ‘Elle’ or ‘Ellie.’

The friend/teacher/nurse that helps Liz after she shot Tom is named ‘Ellie.’

The alias Red gives Lizzie when she goes undercover in ‘The Mombasa Cartel’ is ‘Elsa.’

The niece of the building inspector that Red bribes in ‘Sir Crispin Crandall’ is named ‘Lisa.’ (She also resembles Lizzie with her dark brown hair, blue eyes, and pale complexion. She is also her uncle’s emotional weakness, just as Lizzie is to Red.)

Aram’s spy girlfriend Kate goes by the alias of ‘Elise’ while she is dating him.

The Blacklister Judith Pruitt goes by the alias of ‘Isabella’ Stone.

The name of the young girl who Frederick Barnes gets his son’s experimental antidote from is named ‘Elysa.’

The little girl who finds one of the Deer Hunter’s victims hanging from a tree is named ‘Elsa.’

The ballet company where Red’s daughter used to attend was named ‘Elise Le Blanc.’

The back story of Dembe also lends a significant parallel to that of Red’s own history and the idea that his daughter was possibly named ‘Elizabeth.’

In ‘The Mombasa Cartel’ we learn that Dembe lost his family when he was young after his father decided to stand by his beliefs (in regards to animal poachers.)

After that, Dembe became a criminal even though his deeds are typically far from nefarious.

In ‘The Troll Farmer,’ the two most important women in his life - his daughter and granddaughter - are threatened by the Cabal.

All of this parallels the story we are told of Red. Like Dembe, Red seems to have lost his family when he was a young man, specifically, the two most important women in his life - his wife and daughter. After the events that led to the destruction of his family, he too became a criminal. If all of this resembles the story we know of Red, and Dembe’s own daughter’s name - and granddaughter’s - is a variation of ‘Elizabeth,’ isn’t it possible that Red’s own daughter shared that name as well?

If it is true that Red had a daughter named Elizabeth and that she was killed, the question then becomes, when did she die? Did she die some time before the events leading up to the night of the fire, (in which case Lizzie was given the identity of a corpse in hopes that no one would realize the switch?) Or did she die possibly right around the same time as the night of the fire, possibly after being mistaken for being ‘Masha?’

‘Evidence’ pointing to the former idea comes into play if you look at the story from the episode entitled ‘The Caretaker.’ In that episode, the Caretaker tells Harold that his “wife and unborn child died a few months before,” with ‘before’ referring to the day that he kidnapped the little girl from her father.

While not matching the Caretaker’s story perfectly, as Red’s daughter was obviously older at the time of her assumed demise, it does make it possible that Lizzie was perhaps given his dead daughter’s identity as a cover well before the events leading up to the fire.

Another clue that Lizzie possibly used the identity of Red’s dead daughter as a cover could be seen in the fact that the last time we see a flashback of her (if this is in fact his daughter) is from 1987 at her ballet recital of ‘Swan Lake,’ three years before the night of the fire.

The other possibility is that Red’s wife and daughter died around the same time as the night of the fire. We know from the flashback scenes that the fire occurred somewhere around Christmas time in 1990. We also know that Red came home to a house of blood after running out of gas on his way home for the holidays. Red’s account is backed up by Ressler who states that Red’s car was found abandoned along the side of the highway with presents in the backseat on Christmas Eve in 1990.

Red told Diane Fowler in ‘The Cyprus Agency’ that he does not know what happened to his family that night when he came home to the house of blood. Fowler teases that she does.

And while it seems unlikely Fowler was ever actually a part of the Cabal, she most definitely was involved in nefarious schemes within the United States intelligence agencies, probably including not only the massacre of Red’s family, but also with events regarding the night of the fire.

Diane made it perfectly clear in that scene that she knew Red and his personal history. She probably even knew his job within the government, as well as his assignments. Diane being privy to all of this personal information about Red, information that Red doesn’t even know, makes me wonder if his family was killed because of a case of mistaken identity.

If Red helped smuggle Lizzie to the United States, is it possible that he callously opted to use his own daughter’s identity to help hide her? In addition, going with the ‘Imposter Theory,’ is it also possible that Red was somehow mistaken for the ‘Raymond Reddington’ that was involved with the theft of the Fulcrum and who was also the father of Masha?

If the Cabal, or whoever was after Lizzie and her father, found out that Lizzie -Masha at that time - was using the alias of ‘Elizabeth’ as a cover, and also erroneously believed that Red was the same ‘Raymond Reddington’ that they were hunting, did they perhaps go to the wrong house - Red’s house in Tacoma Park that he blew up - and mistakenly kill his family thinking that they were Masha and Katerina who were using false names?

Is it also possible that Red was perhaps completely unaware that Masha had been given the alias of ‘Elizabeth’ until the night of the fire?

At this time, there is no way of knowing which man - either Red or Lizzie’s father - was the original ‘Raymond Reddington.’ It is also unclear when Lizzie was given the name ‘Elizabeth’ and whether Red knew about this. But if something like this did occur, it could mean that his family was killed simply by being mistaken for someone else.

LIZZIE’S FALSE MEMORY VS HER REAL MEMORY

This is where things get tricky. In the original flashback scenes from the night of the fire in 'Luther Braxton, Part II,' we are shown Lizzie walking down a hallway where she sees two men fighting in front of an open window.

If you slow the footage down, you can clearly see that the man on the left is wearing what appears to be a fedora.

We can hear yelling and fighting, as well as Lizzie's subconscious version of herself pleading with Lizzie to turn around and go back down the hall.

At the same time, we hear Katerina yelling in the background, shouting, “Raymond let go!”

Present day Lizzie tries to continue down the hall, but it stopped by someone blocking her path.

Lizzie physically tries to push her way through, but is again stopped by the individual. The slowed down version shows that the person holding her back is a woman, and is more than likely Katerina.

We then hear a gunshot go off, followed by the man with the fedora walking away as little Lizzie runs back down the hall screaming.

Lizzie then wakes up from her hypnosis session and exclaims that she just saw her father.

However, when Lizzie shoots the Attorney General in ‘Tom Connolly,’ she sees a slightly different version of that memory.

In that version, everything remains quite similar to the memory sequence above, including Katerina yelling, “Raymond let go!”

However, there is one very noticeable difference - it is now her father fighting with her mother instead of with who we can safely assume was Red in the original flashback.

When Red meets Lizzie in the park after she shoots Connolly, Lizzie tells Red that she remembers the events of night of the fire.

At this statement, Red looks as pale as a ghost.

Lizzie continues, stating, “I remember what happened, and I understand why you didn’t want me to find out.”

At this, Red grimaces, and even takes a physical step backwards, as if bracing for the worst. The entire time Lizzie recounts her memory, Red remains quiet and anxious.

Lizzie tells Red that when she pulled the trigger and shot Connolly, she suddenly remembered that she shot her father that night because he was physically hurting her mother. Lizzie then surmises, “That’s why you blocked my memory. Not to protect yourself... to protect me.”

Red, now looking ashamed and crestfallen, suddenly looks down before mumbling a quiet and simple, “Yeah.”

I believe Red is not being entirely truthful with Lizzie here. While I still think Lizzie did in fact shoot and kill her father while he was fighting with someone that night in front of the open window, I think Lizzie is remembering a false memory in this case. I believe the real memory of that night is the one that includes her father fighting with Red, and not the one where he was fighting with her mother.

And technically again, Red isn’t lying, because as far as Lizzie is concerned, this memory is real, so he is just agreeing with it. But I admit he’s definitely pushing the boundaries of honesty on this one.

We know that Red hired Dr. Krilov all those years ago, as he admitted it to Lizzie twice, first in ‘Quong Zang,’ and again in ‘Dr. Bogdan Krilov.’ But there’s a catch. Lizzie states that Dr. Orchard told her in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II’ that someone blocked her memory.

In ‘Dr. Krilov,’ we learned that this is not exactly the truth. Dr Krilov specializes in something much more specific than simply blocking memories - he actually distorts them, replacing intact real memories with seemingly real new and falsified information. We saw a prime example of this when he distorted Ressler’s memory of the supposed kidnapping of the witness to Reven Wright’s murder.

Red himself even slips up at the beginning of the episode when he gives Lizzie the Blacklister’s name while in the record store, stating that Dr. Krilov is “one of the few people who have mastered the science of memory manipulation.”

Lizzie seems less than convinced, joking, “Science, or science fiction?”

But Red persists, telling her, “You of all people should know the answer to that.” Lizzie continues, saying, “I understand suppressing memories, helping someone to mute out a traumatic experience. But manipulating them?”

And here he basically admits it: “The memory of an accident, a tragedy, a fire in which a four year old killed her father?”

Lizzie then asks Red, “This man... Is he the one who erased my memory of that night?” (Notice how yet again Lizzie uses the word ‘erased’ when referring to her own memories, instead of the more accurate, and completely different definition of ‘manipulation.’)

At this question, Red does not answer Lizzie, at least not completely and without a catch. In answer to Lizzie’s question, Red states that this is how Kate knows about Dr. Krilov. But that is technically not what Lizzie asked. She asked Red if Dr. Krilov was the one who ERASED her memory. As we know that Red refuses to lie to Lizzie, he instead discreetly skirts this issue by giving her ‘something,’ as an answer which still remains truthful to a degree. In this case, Dr. Krilov’s connection to Kate. But he never corrects Lizzie when she mistakenly uses the word ‘erased,’ in regards to her memory instead of ‘manipulated.’ Yet again Red seems to have lucked out by Lizzie unknowingly asking the wrong question.

More evidence that Red actually manipulated Lizzie’s memory from that night instead of just suppressing it comes from the fact that Dr. Orchard warned Lizzie in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II’ that “the people and events may have been there, but in different roles.”

Which brings us back to the original idea that Lizzie’s memory of it being her parents that had been fighting is false.

I believe the real memory is that of Red and her father fighting in front of the open window while her mother attempted to hold her back, just as she ‘somewhat’ remembered in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ Ashamed that he is ultimately to blame for Lizzie picking up the dropped gun and killing her father, Red then had her memory of the event altered, replacing himself with a vision of her mother in his stead.

If this ends up being the case, it would explain Red’s remorseful behavior at the end of ‘Tom Connolly.’ When the episode first aired, it appears as if Red is simply devastated by the fact that Lizzie apparently now remembers killing her own father, something that he tried desperately to keep from her for all of these years.

But working under the assumption that Red altered Lizzie’s memory to remove himself from the event, if you look at that scene again with this idea in mind, the scene can be read in an entirely different way.

As stated earlier in the post, when Red approaches Lizzie in the park and she cryptically states that she now remembers everything from the night of the fire, Red looks fearful. As she continues her recount of that night, Red seems to get more and more tense, as if he realizes Lizzie is about to accuse him of being a horrible monster again. He even winces, gulps, and backs up at one point.

But to his surprise, relief, and more than likely guilt, Lizzie surprises him by stating that she remembers her parents fighting right before she shot her father. Red then visibly relaxes, but he also looks ashamed. He bows his head, and agrees with her version of events, simply stating quietly, “Yeah.”

Now as for the fact that Red does not lie to Lizzie, again, he skates by on a technicality. Even if Lizzie’s version of that night is false, it is the version SHE remembers, thus in her mind, making it truthful. So technically, at least in Red’s mind, he is not lying to her when he agrees with her assumptions about that night. He simply is not correcting her on the one slight, yet significantly wrong detail.

Removing himself from the fight with her father would have allowed Red two favorable outcomes in regards to Lizzie:

Firstly, I think Red’s more honorable reason for altering her memory remain intact - he did not want Lizzie to have to remember the fact that she shot and killed her own father. That would be a devastating memory for anyone to have to lie with what with all of the guilt involved.

Along those same lines, by replacing himself with Katerina in the fight, should Lizzie ever figure out the truth that she killed her own father, it would be much easier for her to accept that guilt if she was living under the false assumption that she had been protecting her mother when she pulled the trigger than if she remembered killing her father while he was fighting another seemingly random person instead.

And now for the less than honorable reasons, I believe Red selfishly removed himself from Lizzie’s original memory simply to allow himself to stay in her good graces and keep up his own false illusion that he was less to blame for her father’s death than he truly was.

You can tell that Red feels guilty over allowing Lizzie to continue to wrongly assume that she killed her father by the fact that he is constantly reminding her that she was just a child and did not know any better.

He first does this in ‘Lady Ambrosia,’ after Lizzie learns that her mother supposedly committed suicide after Lizzie killed her father. Seeing how devastated she becomes, Red hurries to remind her, saying, “It was an accident,” and “Lizzie, you were a CHILD.”

He even goes as far as telling her that “There never should have been a gun for you to grab.”

Red does it again in ‘Dr. Krilov’ when he reminds her that her memory was blocked in order to protect her from the fact that she killed her father when she was a child. He pointedly uses the word “accident” again to describe the event.

THE ABDUCTION AND FIGHT WENT HORRIBLY WRONG

The reason Red may feel so much guilt over being an accessory in the death of Lizzie’s dad may be because the entire situation was simply a farce taken too far. If the abduction of Lizzie was planned by Red in order to get to Katerina somehow, and a fight somehow broke out (or was staged), Lizzie would have had no way of knowing that, or have truly understood at that age what she was about to do. She simply believed she saw her father fighting a man and tried to intervene.

As stated above, “there never should have been a gun involved.”

Someone decided to bring a gun that night, possibly to make the threat seem more authentic, and as we know, that loaded gun then fell lose and dropped to the floor where little Lizzie managed to scoop it right up.

The theme of kidnapping children is one of the most prevalent themes in the show. The vast majority of the episodes deal with the abduction or exploitation of children in some way. Most of time in the episodes, these abductions do not end well, even for those that had good intentions.

In ‘Marvin Gerard,’ Red explains to Lizzie that Marvin was upset with the way his son was being treated by his ex and decided to intervene. He kidnapped the boy, but was brutally hounded by the mother and her family. Red tells Lizzie that Marvin’s wife “was the princess in a very prominent and powerful legal dynasty... They tracked him down of course. Returned the child to his mother. Marvin was disbarred, convicted and incarcerated. A year later Timothy [Marvin’s son] hung himself.”

And like ‘Raymond Reddington,’ Marvin was a man on the ‘up and up...’

Red states, “Marvin Gerard was one of the most respected defense attorneys on the eastern seaboard. Perfect wife, perfect job. Perfect.”

Ressler adds to the accolades, telling his fellow agents Marvin “graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, where, at the tender age of thirty one, was the third youngest full professor in the institution’s history. He served as a prosecutor for three years, New York. Later, joined his father-in-law’s criminal defense firm as full partner. He was on the short list for the federal bench...”

Besides a few minor details, this sounds extremely similar to the story regarding Lizzie’s abduction as a child.

Throughout the series, we have learned that Tom was abducted as a child as well. He was presumed dead by his family (or so they claim) and spent his entire childhood fending for himself and becoming a man that he is now less than happy to be.

And like Lizzie, he was taken from his home in the middle of the night by an abduction. An abduction that we later learn was staged in hopes of getting him away from perceived dangerous parents.

Because of his circumstances and subsequent military like spy upbringing under the ‘care’ of the Major, (which were no fault of his own as a child) he lacks certain characteristics and emotions that allow a person to be genuine and ‘normal.’

He has been struggling to become a better man and ‘redeem’ himself ever since coming back to Lizzie, if that is even realistically within the realm of possibility for him. Even when his intentions seem genuine, he often falls miserably short of achieving a positive outcome in any given scenario.

Alexander Kirk abducted Lizzie and Agnes multiple times in his attempt to ‘save’ who he thought to be his family, leading the the deaths of numerous individuals, both from guilty parties involved, as well as several unassuming civilian casualties.

Kirk’s plan to try to ‘save’ Lizzie from Red almost led to the death of Agnes and himself when he was willing to jump off the roof with her in his arms, and ultimately led to the death of his girlfriend Odette before learning that Lizzie was not his biological daughter.

Kirk’s attempts to kidnap Lizzie also led to Kate’s fateful decision to try to help Lizzie fake her death in order to escape from Red (and Kirk) as well. And we know how that turned out...

Scottie Hargrave was originally hired to kidnap Lizzie - not to kill him.

She ends up sending Matias Solomon to the church where Lizzie was getting married, leading to the shoot out and car chase which ended with what appeared to be the death of Lizzie. Again, uninvolved civilians were killed in the all of these situations.

Scottie’s brash plan also led to the emotional downfall of Red, possibly almost ending in a suicide attempt at Cape May, and added to the already harsh strain coming over first the relationship between Red and Kate, and then between Red and Lizzie herself upon her return from her supposed death.

Scottie even admits plans went awry, telling Red, “I couldn’t foresee what happened to that poor girl [Lizzie] any more than you. I told you , I was hired to abduct her, not take her life.”

Alan Fitch also helped a child escape a parent when he helped bring Berlin’s daughter Zoe to the United States during the Cold War. Berlin ended up in prison for several years. During this time, he was given various body parts of a young girl, and was told that they belonged to his murdered daughter.

Mistakenly believing that Red was behind the death of his daughter thanks to a frame job by Fitch, Berlin then came to the United States for retribution. In his misguided quest for vengeance, Berlin ended up killing and hurting several people close to Red and the Taskforce, including Carla, Harold, and of course, Meera Malik.

Fitch himself could not outrun Berlin’s attack and ended up dead by the end of the story arc.

As for Berlin’s daughter - she ended up being alive, but wanting nothing to do with her father after learning the type of man that he’d become. Berlin eventually gave up his quest for revenge, and was killed by Red at the end of the episode.

As bad as Fitch may have seemed, he did in fact seem to care about the men and women under his charge. He told the bomb tech that “on my order, 763 men and women have died in service to their country. And there wasn’t a grieving wife, or mother or husband I didn’t either call or visit personally. Thank them for their sacrifice. That’s what makes it the hardest, the families.”

Despite the things Fitch admitted to doing to Red in the past, I believe his attempt to get Zoe away from her father was a genuine act of good intentions. But like we’ve seen, those intentions often end up with horrible repercussions.

In ‘The Alchemist,’ Eric Trettle attempted to reunite with his estranged wife and daughter after faking their deaths and kidnapping them.

Trettle was basically a fraud who became an expert in his field, despite having no accolades to back up his claims. During a murder trial, Trettle testified on behalf of a soldier in a notorious crime family and used falsified evidence to help acquit the client. Meera explains, “Trettle was outed as a fraud and disgraced. Two weeks later he disappeared. It was believed either the D’Angelo family had him killed or he fled to avoid indictment.”

When Lizzie goes to visit the wife, the wife tells her, “You shouldn’t be here. Eric is a very dangerous man. In his head, he thinks we’re still together, a family.”

When Eric believes the FBI is getting close to him, he murders a woman and young girl that resemble his wife and daughter in order to kidnap his still very much alive family and flee with them. The crime lab technician tells Lizzie, “Two victims. Gunshots at close range. It’s not pretty.”

This story gives credence to Red’s account in ‘Madeline Pratt’ of his arrival home on Christmas Eve to find a house of blood when talking about his own wife and daughter.

Trettle is eventually cornered by the FBI at a gas station and in the chaos, his daughter ends up shot in the abdomen. Trettle then tries to make a deal, stating he will “get them [the FBI] the names [of his victims and clients] and I get full immunity. With WITSEC and relocation for the three of us.”

While Trettle is talking to the FBI, his wife picks up a gun and shoots her husband dead in order to save her daughter. Again, several elements in this story mimic those of both Red and Lizzie’s father. Red in the fact that he lost his family possibly as a way to steal their identities, and Lizzie’s father in the fact that he was ultimately killed by a family member after he attempted to abduct them.

As shown earlier, Kate’s decision to help Lizzie fake her death and escape from Red also ultimately ended badly for everyone involved. Just like with every other case mentioned here, numerous innocent people were killed along the way, loyalties and friendships were destroyed, and in the end, everyone ended up worse off than when they started.

In the end, Red takes Kate out into the woods with the intention of killing her.

He basically explains to her that he allowed her to continue helping him try to rescue Lizzie and Agnes as he knows that in her mind, her intentions were pure honorable. But he follows that up with the lamentation that he can no longer trust her, and therefore she is a threat to him. He then shoots her in the head and leaves her for dead.

The story of Hans Van Houser is what ultimately led to this theory post. In ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov’ we are told the story of one of Red’s earliest attempts to ‘create a problem, and then solve it.’

In this case, Red was an up and coming criminal in the underworld and was trying to become a trusted associate of a much more powerful crime lord named Werner Von Houser. In order to gain not only future deals with Werner, but trust as well, Red planned a staged abducted of Werner’s son Hans, with the intent to them swoop in and rescue the man, thus gaining the gratitude from Werner while improving his own reputation at the same time.

However, the team that Red hired to abduct Hans botched the job, and the young man suffocated while in transport. Dismayed and sickened, Red nevertheless kept this information from Werner for over twenty five years, instead choosing to mislead Werner into believing Red was completely unrelated (and innocent) to the kidnapping of his son in order to continue benefiting from his gratitude and friendship.

Once Kate tells Werner the truth, Red feels he has no choice but to kill his old friend, if for no other reason than to keep his involvement in the son’s death secret from other associates, thus protecting his enterprise.

Before killing him, Red tells Werner that he never underestimated how much Werner loved his son, lamenting that this was a fact that he used to his advantage. He also told him that he knew that the day would eventually come where the truth would come out, and one of them - either Red or Werner - would not recover.

I think this story is a direct clue that Red was involved in the abduction of Lizzie all those years ago. Red used the closeness between himself and Katerina to his advantage and staged Lizzie’s kidnapping for personal gain, possibly for intelligence gathering or to locate the Fulcrum. Just as Red told Werner he understood the depth of love between himself and his son, I think Red understood the love between Katerina and her daughter (as well as her love of ‘Raymond’) and used that against her in a similar fashion. Similar to Hans’ death during the botched staged abduction, I believe Red’s plan to steal Lizzie away led to the death of her father, and eventually her mother as well.

A less obvious example of a botched staged abduction occurred in the same episode as the story of Hans Van Houser.

In ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov,’ Ressler goes to Philadelphia to meet with a supposed witness involved in the murder of Reven Wright. While at her house, a tactical team raids the location, knocking Ressler out and ‘kidnapping’ the witness. Ressler is then taken to Dr. Krilov where his memories are altered to make him believe Laurel Hitchens was involved in the witness’ abduction.

Ressler then goes to Hitchens’ house to try to locate the missing witness and confronts her, even shooting an agent in the process. Lizzie and the Task Force arrive on scene and tell him that the abduction was all staged, that there never even was a witness. Ressler is then taken into custody for shooting the agent and threatening Hitchens’ life. It can be argued that he almost pulled the trigger, in which case he would have been arrested for murder.

Yet again, we have innocent people hurt and in this case, almost killed, because of a staged kidnapping. And Ressler’s reputation, job, and life, would have ended if he had pulled that trigger.

In ‘Philomena,’ we have another simplified version of a staged abduction. The Blacklister, after managing to get herself hit by a car while riding her bicycle, is contacted by the woman who hit her. Philomena then begins crying into the phone, claiming that her ex husband is trying to take her son away from her, saying, “He’s trying to steal my little girl.” The driver of the car feels guilty and empathizes with her, even going so far as to put her in contact with her lawyer brother in hopes of helping her out with regards to the custody of her ‘daughter.’

Viewers soon learn that the driver of the car’s brother is Marvin Gerard, and that Philomena staged not only the car accident, but made up the custody story as well in order to get close to Marvin to take him down.

One of the biggest - and most similar - parallel stories to Lizzie’s abduction can be seen in ‘The Caretaker.’

In this episode, we learn the story of a young man who came to the aid of a small girl after he witnessed the father hitting her. A confrontation occurred, with the young girl’s father accidentally dying. The man then took the the little girl with him and raised her as his own without the child’s knowledge.

Years later, the Caretaker’s daughter is seemingly kidnapped by two men demanding that the secrets that the Caretaker is responsible for maintaining be released to the public. Feeling blackmailed and fearful for his daughter’s safety, the Caretaker releases one of the secrets, leading to a man’s death.

The FBI, prior to learning this truth, tell him, “The video that was released, a man died because of it. We're told other people will die when other secrets are released. Is this a deliberate leak or negligence? A flaw in your security? Who penetrated your system?”

The Caretaker answers, “No one. The system is perfect. I released the video.” He goes on to state that, “For three generations my family has guarded the secrets of presidents, corporations, criminals. The traditions, the pride of my fathers, is nothing compared to the love I hold for Rose. She's all I have. They know that. They took her and the ledger. They have the names of my clients, and the locations of the secrets I keep for them. They've ordered me to betray a second secret by midnight or Rose will die.”

The kidnappers next demand was that he had “twenty four hours to release ledger item number 2156,” which was a secret contract between Luftreiber Airlines and the German government.

The Task Force learns from Red that the Luftreiber passenger plane that crashed on take off in 2007 was not actually an avionic malfunction, but was actually caused by a lack of action taken by the German government in regards to a terrorist threat. Red tells them that terrorists were behind the plane crash, and that they warned the German government of the threat in an attempt to blackmail them. But the German government failed to take the threat seriously, and also failed to warn the German public and airline of the impending attack.

When the terrorists’ demands were not met, they destroyed the plane.

Red explains, “Luftreiber claims responsibility shielding bureaucrats from a scandal in exchange for remuneration for the inevitable blizzard of lawsuits. One hand washes the other.”

Samar guesses “So the airline places the contract in escrow with the Caretaker as leverage against exposure.”

Red warns the Task Force not to release the secret, as it will humiliate and expose the German government, who is a strong ally (and possible future adversary if humiliated) to the United States. He tells them, “I warn you, do not expose the Germans.”

Samar argues that if they don’t, a young girl will die. (In many ways Samar is the female version of Red in my opinion.)

The Task Force eventually decides to go against Red’s advice and releases the secret to the public. This ends up being a mistake, as soon afterwards, an unrelated terroristic threat to the United States is uncovered, and the only ones able to provide intelligence and support on the matter are the Germans.

Panabaker then informs Harold that the German government is angry by the exposure of their secret scandal and are now unwilling to share their intel on the two suspected terrorists.

Red finds out that the Task Force released the secret and warns them that “now many more will die.”

However, Red is able to use his multitude of contacts and manages to locate the Caretaker’s daughter.

They end up raiding a motel and ‘rescue’ Rose. During the raid, a young man ends up dead, shot by Ressler after seeing the man reach for a gun.

Samar later asks the daughter if she is aware of the fact that the men who took her were former Marines. Rose claims that she didn't know, but this is a lie.

Samar continues, “Nothing in their file suggests that the men who took you had the ability to penetrate your father's operation. Do you have any idea who they might be working for? Someone they met overseas?”

Rose continues to plead ignorance, until the ruse becomes too much for her and she admits that she staged the whole thing with the help of her long lost brother.

Ressler, meanwhile, unaware of this new development, is interrogating her brother, Van Zandt, saying, “We know you and your partner were just the muscle... We know how close the two of you were. What we don't know is why you're protecting the man responsible for his death.”

Van Zandt tries to put the blame on Ressler instead of on himself, saying, “YOU shot him.”

Ressler says, “Yeah, I'm angry about that. I'm angry that somebody turned a war hero into a kidnapper... put him into a position where I had to shoot him. I'm angry at his friend for not giving up the son of a bitch that made that happen.”

Van Zandt continues, “This wasn't supposed to happen. I TOLD HIM WE DIDN’T NEED GUNS. He thought it would help sell it... That we were trying to hurt her when all we were trying to do was help her.”

Rose explains that she ‘kidnapped’ herself to get away from her ‘father.’ She found out one day what her ‘father’ did to her all those years ago. Cooper tells the Caretaker, “She knows what you did, Mr. Janus. She's known for months. Imagine how she felt finding herself on a missing-children's website. Her real name is Jessica van Zandt. Did you know?”

He goes on to tell Mr. Janus that Rose not only felt betrayed by her ‘father’ lying to her all those years about her past, but that she felt that what he did for a living should be stopped.

The Caretaker tries to explain to Harold that no one understands how delicate and important his work is, stating that if Rose released the ledger, she's done more damage than she realizes.

Harold says he thinks Rose knows exactly what she's done. “For generations, you and your ancestors kept other people's secrets. But it was your secret, her, that put an end to it all.”

The Caretaker, defeated and upset, solemnly agrees, stating, “Yes.”

The story of the Caretaker has several pieces to it - many of which seem to directly tie to the overall myth arc of the show.

First of all, the idea of a person being formally in charge of delicate secrets that could tip the balance of power in the world sounds strikingly similar to those in possession of the Fulcrum. Is it possible that either Red or Lizzie’s father had a similar job in regards to the secrets of the Cabal?

Secondly, the story of the German government and the airline cover up also sounds similar to the Cabal and their secrets. Red warned the Task Force, “Do not EXPOSE the Germans.” In this case, the Germans represent the Cabal. Of course, the Task Force does just that, and the German government immediately turns on them.

It’s curious too that Samar questions whether Roses’ abductees were working for someone they met overseas. Why would she think that? Is this again a clue that Red helped Lizzie’s father abduct her?

Roses’ brother admits to Ressler that he never thought a gun should have been used in the staged abduction. This is an almost identical reference to what Red told Lizzie in ‘Quong Zang’ when she finds out she was indirectly involved in both of her parents’ deaths. In that instance, Red told her, “There never should have been a gun for you to grab.” And like Lizzie’s father and/or Red, the men involved in Roses’ ‘abduction’ were decorated military men.

Also similar to Red and Lizzie’s shared past is the fact that both Rose’s brother and Red try to put the blame on someone else for the loss of life that occurred in their respective staged kidnappings. In the case of Roses’ brother, he blames Ressler. In the case of Red, he blames Lizzie by constantly reminding her that SHE ultimately pulled the trigger that killed her father.

Along those same lines, Ressler became angry when he found out he killed a man under false pretenses. I’m sure when Lizzie finds out that the same thing possibly happened to her, she will be angry at Red as well.

During one point in the episode, Red asks the Task Force, “Have you got leads on who abducted his daughter?” The camera is specifically on Red during this scene. (Is this another clue that Red was in on young Lizzie’s abduction?)

Red’s statement regarding his opinion to not release the German’s secret is also an intriguing one...

If you relate this story to the Cabal and the Fulcrum, is it possible that Red was accused of having it while he really didn't, and thus when he could not return something he was never in possession of, they murdered his family?

He also believed that they should have sacrificed the daughter to save potentially many more people.

Is that truly what he believes though? Is that what he did in regards to his own family? Did he somehow sacrifice them to save others? Was he supposed to sacrifice Lizzie to save others all those years ago? Or possibly sacrifice Katerina or Lizzie’s father instead? Or possibly sacrifice HIMSELF to save others?

By the time Rose figured out the truth about her childhood abduction, she only had one biological family member still alive - her brother. In relation, Lizzie only has one living relative that we know about - her grandfather, Dom.

Another parallel story to the myth arc can be seen in the fact that the Caretaker released the secrets in order to protect his daughter which he believed had been kidnapped. Is this what Katerina or Lizzie’s father felt they had to do in regards to Lizzie?

Was Katerina working as a double agent, and trying to get the Fulcrum, in order to protect Lizzie? Or perhaps it was the other way around, and her father was using the Fulcrum as leverage against his ‘enemies’ to keep both himself as well as Lizzie alive, as we witnessed in the flashback scenes from the fire?

Lastly, the secret agreement that the German government made with the airlines is also reminiscent of the pact that Red has with the Cabal. They agree not to harm him, as long as he stays in ‘line’ and does not use the Fulcrum against them or expose them in any other way. As Red said, “One hand washes the other.”

RED RESCUSED LIZZIE FROM THE FIRE

After Lizzie’s father was killed by her hand, I believe Red was the one who pulled her from the closet that night and at least helped get her to relative safety before Katerina managed to get her to Kate at the motel.

The first clue that this is what happened occurred in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ During Lizzie’s memory sequence, she ‘sees’ a figure grab her hand and pull her from the closet.

In the present day, Red is holding Lizzie’s hand.

He is looking at her intently, almost willing her to remember.

Lizzie then opens her eyes and looks right at Red, saying, “You were there.”

In that same episode, there is a short, (and very dark) scene of what looks to be a man carrying Lizzie through the house. If you slow the footage down and lighten it, you can see what appears to be a man’s face right above what appears to be a red nightgown with white trim. Now this can’t be Lizzie’s father, as he has just been killed. We also know that Lizzie was wearing a red nightgown with white trim the night of the fire.

This would also explain why in the earliest versions of the flashbacks why we see the silhouette of a man holding a stuffed bunny, but do not see the figure’s hand. It is more than likely because the man had Lizzie under his coat to protect her from the flames and her arm was too short to reach to cuff of the coat.

Another clue that Red was the one who pulled Lizzie from the closet that night can be taken from a similar scene that we witnessed with Ressler.

In ‘The Kenyon Family’ it was Ressler who found the sole survivor of the church massacre hiding in the closet.

The little girl bears a striking resemblance to young Lizzie, right down to the dark brown hair and blue eyes, while Ressler has always appeared to be our example of the man Red was before turning into a criminal.

From what we now know, Katerina then helped get Lizzie out of the house and to Kate, who was hiding out at the motel.

RED THEN MADE IT HIS MISSION TO PROTECT LIZZIE

Note: This is where the ‘Imposter Red’ theory comes into play. If you want to read that post, it can be found at the top of my tumblr page... Without accepting this theory, the next part of this post will be confusing for readers...

Viewers can see clear as day that Red holds some sort of guilt over what happened the night of the fire. Through his various speeches to both Lizzie and others, some of which are explicitly related to the subject of her parents while others are hidden amongst related stories going on in the episodes, we know that Red was somehow involved in the death of her parents and feels a great sense of responsibility for the life that Lizzie has had to live because of that loss. I believe it is around this time that Red took on the identity of Lizzie’s dead father.

In ‘Wujing,’ Red tells Lizzie that he is in her life “because of [her] father.” (It was unclear at the time what exactly he meant by that statement. But as the series progressed, and we learned that Lizzie’s father was dead, it seems more apparent that Red is looking after Lizzie out of a sense of some type of loyalty and debt to her father.)

Lizzie persists, asking, “What does that mean? Did you know my father? Have the two of you met somehow?” At this remark, Red visibly winces. He goes on to give some cryptic explanation that doesn’t really answer anything, and frustrated, Lizzie leaves the car. (Remember, this is before Lizzie knows her father is dead.)

We see Red lament about Lizzie’s father again in ‘Dr. Adrian Shaw, Part II’ when Lizzie states that she wishes her father could be there to see his granddaughter grow up. Red tells her, “He would have wanted that too.”

Red also tells Sam in ‘General Ludd’ that he will try to love and care for Lizzie as well as Sam did. He acknowledges the amazing job Sam did in raising Lizzie, especially given the circumstances, and hopes he can do the same.

In ‘Tom Connolly’ Red tells Lizzie that he is a “sin eater,” and that he tries to protect people by taking their burdens as his own.

By the end of the episode, Lizzie realizes that he is her sin eater. Red admits it, saying, “Tried to be. But I failed.”

After the death of the Harbormaster, Red finds out that Lizzie is trying to financially take care of the man’s daughter in order to lessen her own guilt in her involvement in his death. He warns Lizzie that there is really nothing she can do to accomplish this, telling her, “Be careful Lizzie. Because the truth of it is, once you start down this road, there’s no logical place to stop. You can see to her education, health insurance, housing. You can watch her... Or have her watched. Keep her safe. Try to ascertain her hopes, dreams, desires. Pull strings, call in favors to discreetly smooth the path. And for the first few years it may work. You’ll draw some measure of virtue from being her invisible benefactor. But that won’t last. It’s all a fraud. That it’s really not about her at all. That it’s all about you. And you’re just going through the motions to salve your own guilt. Look, all the money, all the time and effort, all the favors in the world, cannot possibly equal what you took away from her. Everything else is... Just a nice gesture.”

It is more than obvious to both Lizzie and the audience that Red is talking about himself here, and everything that he has tried to do for Lizzie over the years since her parent’s deaths.

Evidence of this can be seen by all of the gifts Red has bestowed on Lizzie, and then Agnes, even in just the last few years.

Red bought Lizzie an apartment overlooking the Potomac River, he bought her a couch for her new apartment (after she sold the one Red bought her), he made a coocoo clock for Agnes, and set up a trust fund for Agnes (which again Lizzie turned down).

In ‘Mr. Kaplan, Part I,’ we find out that Red even has a 96 acre private island estate set aside for Lizzie, complete with a full service staff and protection.

Red tells others as well that he feels responsible in some way for the loss of Lizzie’s parents.

In ‘Natalie Luca’ Red tells Baldur Magnussen that “for the longest time I’ve been perfectly comfortable knowing I could die at any moment. I could walk out of this room and be shot in the street. I’ve always been fine with that. But lately I can smell it in the air around me. Like death is slouching towards me from the corners of the room. And I cannot tell if it’s here for me, or just an echo of the past.”

I think this is again evidence that Red knows that one day he will have to pay the price for what he did to Lizzie and her parents.

Red again allows his guilt to come forward in ‘The Caretaker,’ when Red tells Lizzie he's happy she is looking forward again, instead of dwelling on the past. “What you said about forgiveness changing the future... It comforts me to know you're looking forward again. The future holds such promise. The past... so many regrets.”

In his first meeting with Kate in ‘Requiem,’ Red tells her that he feels a certain responsibility for Lizzie, saying, “After Katerina’s sudden departure, I felt a responsibility to watch over the girl from a distance. I’ve provided for her and Sam financially.”

When Red goes to see Lizzie’s grandfather Dom in ‘The Artax Network’ he apologizes to him for the apparent death of Lizzie. He tells Dom that he “thought [he] could protect her. I DID protect her. All these years, I’ve anticipated almost every threat. But this one... A medical complication in childbirth...”

Dom argues that even so, Red ultimately failed her, dooming Lizzie by the choices he made for her years ago, stating, “She’s gone because of choices you made for both of them. First Katerina, then Masha. As far as I’m concerned, you killed my entire family.”

In ‘Cape May,’ Red tells his subconscious version of Katerina that he was faced with a ‘Hobson’s Choice’ and had to choose between saving Lizzie or her, stating, “They were both doomed. Both would die. I could either save one, or lose both. I chose the child. It was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. Worst thing by far.” ‘Katerina’ tells him, “You didn’t have a choice.” He disagrees, saying, “There’s always a choice. I was arrogant. I presumed that there was an order to things. That there was - That if I nourished and protected and taught the child, that she would safe... and happy. No matter what I tried to do, all I brought her was misery and violence.”

He is clearly guilt ridden over that fact, but by the end of the episode, ‘Katerina’ tells him yet again that there was never a choice to make - that it would always have been Lizzie - and that he chose correctly.

Red apologizes to her again, but ‘Katerina’ brushes it off, saying, “Raymond, you DID save me, through her. It was the only way. You chose well.”

Red has been trying to make things right for Lizzie ever since that fateful night, stating that it is literally his mission to keep her safe.

He tells Lizzie in ‘Wujing’ that he “believe(s) I will always do whatever I feel I have to do to keep you safe.”

When Lizzie asks Red in the next episode how he can live with being such a monster (after he threw the Blacklister into a chemical bath of death), Red tells her “By saving your life.”

He demonstrates this objective time after time in the series. He came out of the DARPA containment box for her in ‘Anglso Garrick, Part II,’ he risked his immunity deal when he went on the run with her in Season 3, risked being locked in a CIA black site for the rest of his life just to find the Fulcrum to keep her safe, he traded places with her during the Alexander Kirk story arc, and so on. Even turning himself in to the FBI in the ‘Pilot’ episode was done simply to keep Lizzie safe.

Dembe also makes references to Red’s ‘mission’ to keep Lizzie safe. In ‘The Debt Collector,’ he tells Red not to lose focus on the ultimate goal they are striving towards, stating, “Remember why you surrendered yourself to the FBI in the first place. Remember what all of this was about. You can’t give up now. You can’t let Kate destroy everything that gives you purpose. Our work is not yet done.”

Red tells us that his ‘choice’ to become a criminal and sacrifice his freedom and essentially any chance at a normal life was made in order to protect Lizzie. In ‘Requiem,’ he tells Kate, “if anyone learns her [Lizzie’s] identity, the only way I can stop the threats from rising is to rise up as a greater threat than all of them.”

He reiterates this again at the end of the episode right before he turns himself in to the FBI. Kate warns Red that turning himself in will put into motion a set of events that cannot be stopped and that he’ll potentially destroy all of their efforts to keep her safe. Red agrees with part of it, stating, “Indeed, I need to control the danger to Elizabeth. I’ve built a vast criminal network predicated on that very principle. It’s time to live up to my mission statement.”

He even finally admits to Lizzie in ‘The Debt Collector,’ that the entire reason he became a criminal was to keep her safe, saying, “I’ve spent thirty years building an intelligence network of spies, informants, patriots, traitors. I’ve used it to build an empire that exists for only two reasons - to keep me free, and you safe.”

RED IS TERRIFIED THAT LIZZIE WILL FIND OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT HER FATHER

In the season finale, Kate tries to tell Lizzie an important truth about her past. Fortunately for Red, she kills herself before ever revealing what that secret was.

By the end of the episode, Lizzie has received the DNA results from the paternity test Harold ran for her, (which were based off of a thirty year old sample taken from who we can now surmise was the ‘real’ Raymond Reddington.)

Of course this being the case, the results naturally showed a positive match between herself and this man. However, if Red did in fact take over Lizzie’s dead father’s identity, this means that the man we know as Red (and who everyone else knows as Red) is still not her biological father.

I say that to say this...

In the very next scene, Dembe asks Red, “You didn’t deny it?” Red answers, “I didn’t.” Dembe continues, “And she thinks that’s Kate’s secret?” To which Red responds, “Yes.”

Remember what Red told Lizzie in ‘Berlin, Part II,’ about knowing the identity of her father...

“I loved Sam Lizzie. Of all the difficult things that I’ve done, that may - may be the most (referring to when Red killed Sam in the hospital.) But I did it to keep you from learning the name of your real father... To protect you. And you must understand, having done that, I’m certainly not going to tell you who he was now.”

So basically Lizzie now is under the false assumption that that was the secret Kate was trying to tell her. And Red allows her to believe this, because it is much safer for Lizzie to continue believing Red is her dad than for her to find out the true identity of her father.

(And if Red really was her father - which he isn’t - then according to his own logic, he should have found a way to deny that he was anyway, but I digress.)

The real secret that Kate wanted to tell Lizzie involved the suitcase that we saw at the end of the episode.

The suitcase that contains a skeleton.

When Red and Dembe go to the location where the skeleton should be, it has already been dug up and is missing. We soon learn that Kate left instructions for Tom, and he is now in possession of the remains. I believe those remains are of Lizzie’s real father, the original ‘Raymond Reddington’ and I think that Kate helped him dispose of the body.

We know that this is the secret that Kate was referring to because she brings it up to Red during their confrontation on the bridge. Kate tells Red that it suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t have to physically try to get Lizzie away from Red. Instead, all she had to do was tell Lizzie the ‘truth,’ and that that would drive a wedge in between Red and Lizzie just as well.

Kate tells Red that she has a contingency plan to release the truth to Lizzie even if she is gone. She tells tells that upon her death, her “confidante will be alerted, and Elizabeth will be given our secret from Tansi Farms.”

I believe Kate found out the truth about Red at some point during her years by his side, possibly even being told by Red himself the moment she agreed to work for him in ‘Requiem.’

This can be argued by the fact that in ‘Requiem,’ upon meeting Red for the first time, she still fully considers him a traitor to his country, a horrible father/husband who left his family, and also believes him to be the father of Lizzie. But by the events taking place in the present day she admits to loving him like family, is fully committed to his cause, and most importantly, she refers to Lizzie as “A” child when talking to him, instead of saying “HIS” child...

She tells him in the woods at the end of ‘Mato’ before he ‘kills’ her, “You entrusted me with everything you valued - your freedom, your life, a child...”

Kate then agreed to go along with his scheme of pretending to be ‘Raymond Reddington’ over the past few decades, up until recently when she begin to believe that Red was more of a threat than a help to Lizzie (and Agnes’) safety. As one last effort to tell Lizzie the truth and possibly convince her to leave Red’s side, it appears as if Kate has dug up those mysterious remains in an effort to destroy everything that Red holds dear.

I believe that was the point the writers were trying to make when they showed Kate uncovering all of those bodies at the end of the season.

When Red tells Kate that she cannot hurt him, she reminds him that “Our stories are written in flesh. And I’m going to use that lesson to render you powerless. You forget that I was by your side the WHOLE time. I know what was required to amass your power. Who you hurt, who you betrayed, who you killed. More importantly, as your cleaner, I know where the bodies are buried. WERE buried, dearie.”

I don’t think the writers were simply referring to the eighty six bodies that she turned over to the FBI. I think her speech to Red here, is more specifically referring to ONE body - the one that is in the suitcase.

Kate knows who is in that suitcase because she more than likely put him in there all those years ago after the night of the fire. Now even in death, she holds that information over Red’s head as a sword. Red even tells Dembe, “We have to find that god damn suitcase.”

More evidence that the body in the suitcase is that of Lizzie’s real father may be found again in ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov.’ When Kate recounts the true story of the death of Werner’s son to him, Werner asks if she has any proof to back this up. Kate tells him, “I can do better than that, Mr. Von Hauser. I can return your son’s body. So you can give him the burial he was so wrongly denied.”

According to Red, Kate was the one who disposed of Hans’ body all those years ago, probably just like she did with Lizzie’s father. Like Hans, the body in the suitcase was never given a proper burial, much to probably the guilt, (but necessity) of both Kate and Red.

This guilt of Red’s can be seen in the parallel story of Hans while Red is talking to Dembe. He tells Dembe “In a rage, I obliterated the Taddicken Brothers. It remains one of my most profound regrets, but of course, I never told Werner the truth.”

Like the truth surrounding the death of Hans, I believe not only was Red at least partially responsible for the death of Lizzie’s dad, but he then killed anyone involved in that night who knew the truth, and then hid Lizzie’s father’s remains before then taking his identity. Red is now terrified that those remains will be discovered by Lizzie and she will think the worst of him.

This is not the first time that the writers have shown Red fearful of Lizzie learning the truth about her father and that night.

In the ‘Pilot’ Red asks Lizzie about her scar and how she got it. He is trying to figure out if Lizzie remembers what actually happened the night of the fire.

In ‘The Freelancer,’ Red asks Lizzie to tell him about her job as a profiler, bluntly asking, ”How close to the truth do you think you can really get?”

He then tells her, “Tell me about your husband. Does he know you as well as you know him? Does he know about you as a child? Does he know about the fire?”

At this point in the show, Red was trying to accomplish two things here. He was trying to figure out if Lizzie truly knew who he was - an imposter - and also trying to find out exactly how much her spy ‘husband’ Tom had figured out about her and Red’s shared past. Remember, at this point Red does not know who Tom was now working for.

We don't really see Red concerned again until ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ In that episode, Red seems extremely concerned with knowing what Lizzie was ‘seeing’ in her flashbacks.

He even asked Dr. Orchard during one particularly dramatic outburst, “What is it? What did she see?” He tells her repeatedly in that scene to only look for the Fulcrum, and not to focus on anything else in her memories. He even tells her, “You don’t want to see this. Go back. Go back Lizzie.”

And as we saw in ‘Tom Connolly,’ Red was terrified when Lizzie told him she remembered what happened the night of the fire.

As stated earlier in this post, Red burned the letter that was supposed to explain everything to Lizzie upon his death, with him saying, “Now I’m not sure I ever want her to know.”

Also in ‘The Caretaker,’ while Red is talking to Harold about the Caretaker’s ledger, Harold tells him, “If it were up to me I’d burn it. I’ve learned the hard way that some secrets are best left in the dark.” Red cryptically replies, “Mine certainly is.”

Now even Dembe has changed his tune. At first pleading with Red to come clean to Lizzie, he now states that he is unsure if Lizzie will ever be ready for the truth concerning Red and her father.

In conclusion, I believe Red ultimately feels guilty for the deaths of Lizzie’s parents, as well as responsible for the darkness and danger that is in her life due to his involvement in both Katerina and her father’s lives.

His honor and duty to his nation, cause, or original mission, destroyed not only his life, but in many ways, Lizzie’s as well. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, and how much of this turns from theory to fact.

Only time will tell, as more secrets are slowly revealed. But until then, it’s fun to theorize and have a ‘go’ at it ourselves.

If you’re still reading this, kudos to you, and as always, thank you. And please feel free to discuss or debate this, adding your own thoughts and ideas. Until next time... ;-)

#theblacklist #nbcblacklist #raymond reddington #red reddington #imposter theory #red staged lizzie's abduction #james spader #elizabeth keen #megan boone #theory time #the blacklist theories #parallels make the universe go round

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