When it comes to the 143 spoilers, the line that really struck me right away is, having found out that OCiel is not the real Ciel, Abberline says when addressing him: “Earl Phantomhive- no… Mr Phantomhive”
The reason it struck me is to do with the contract. My followers should all know how much I like parallels between season 1 and the manga, and what this line suggests is that, as in season 1, having been framed for crimes he did not commit (though this time with extra crimes he really has committed, that is, identity theft, added on top) and having the earldom taken from him (though this time having the title awarded to someone else, that is, RCiel), OC is going to lose his current method and angle of revenge
Being arrested, which might end with him jailed, and having his title taken, he’s in no position to play that waiting game anymore. He’s not The Legit earl, he’s just some nobleman’s kid with no influence other than a sweets and toys company, so he’s not the prime target for the people who attacked the Phantomhive household anymore. And that’s what the contract revolves around, the assumption that he will be worth targeting, as a symbol of the household.
This means that, possibly, the contract may be nullified (this would line up with what Undertaker wants, no?) (Of course it would only be temporarily nullified depending on OC’s behaviour and decisions, as in the anime), but unlike season 1, in order for OC to get his status back, RCiel will have to die again (Undertaker likely is not anticipating this outcome). At which point OC may rightfully regain the title as the younger brother, if he regains it at all. But so long as RCiel is even vaguely alive, the title belongs to him.
I hope Frances stands by O!Ciel. Because like, did R!Ciel put himself between a bear and her daughter? Did R!Ciel fight the dead to protect her? Did R!Ciel win her favor? I think not.
Hello there anon!! Thank you so much for the fantastic question! Honestly, this to me is also the mystery right now.
For now, I can think of a few possibilities. Lizzy may have been:
Lied to (perhaps they told her that Ciel’s method is just giving O!Ciel a little “slap on the wrist” so he will learn his lesson, and that it’s for everyone’s best interest if she plays along.)
Menaced (sure Ciel is being nice now, but we don’t actually know how he behaves when all the eyes aren’t turned on him. He may have actually told Lizzy that if she doesn’t play nice, Ciel would have to use harsher methods to put his little brother in his place.)
Manipulated (Ciel could have played the Victim Card™ and painted O!Ciel as a selfish and jealous kid who didn’t think twice to take his place, in order to make all this look like he’s simply teaching O!Ciel a hard earned lesson and that they’ll help him later because Ciel wouldn’t leave his little brother alone.)
Brainwashed (we don’t know what exactly went down during the weeks Lizzy spent on that cult, and she spent a ridiculous amount of time there. It’s not out of the question that they could have done something so that Lizzy will be more docile.)
I’m not a fan of Lizzy being brainwashed because I want her upcoming confrontation with O!Ciel to be genuine, so the brainwashing would be the least of my favorite options (though I believe her expressions this chapter do potentially raise that question). However, Lizzy being Lied to and Manipulated seem like safe bets (even if Ciel’s methods to do so aren’t the same I’ve listed above).
Plus, the cover is so, so interesting!
Lizzy’s got her eyes closed (which could be read as the scene being too painful for her to watch; but that to me represents the fact that she doesn’t have the whole truth. She is being lead on.)
Yet, she’s crying from a single eye. Her right eye. Aka, the eye that O!Ciel lost and that effectively physically differentiates him from his twin.
She’s got her hands up in a prayer. So she is basically wishing for something.
Also, I’m not necessarily a fan of the “Astre” theory but if his name turns out to be star related… this cover will gain another whole layer of meaning.
And as we all know, OC was extremely sickthe next morning and couldn’t go on the boating trip. Honey might have been in the milk, but I’m betting there was something else in the milk. A lot of poisons are sweet, and are only lethal in certain amounts.
And then, fast forward to much later–
Why wouldn’t he be coughing and unspeakably ill in such deplorable, utterly filthy conditions? He’s a sickly child, after all. With an Aunt who is a doctor with the best care he could have had he was often sick at home. After all the abuse he was subjected to in such a terrible place for MONTHS– no coughing? Nothing?
This is the first thing RCiel says to his brother. He scolds him for being outside in the rain and delivers this line. Theory: Real Ciel was hiding some dark, dark turmoil as a small child. From everyone, even his own family, his twin, and his dear butler. Likely he had a serious case of munchausen by proxy.
While RC may or may not be the mastermind behind everything, he had problems well before he became a bizarre doll.
While OC was later shown having asthma attacks, it very well could have been asthma induced by the poisons he was subjected to as a small child, between the ages of five, to ten. If he was indeed poisoned for five years it surely had some effect on his health and lungs– but it would not be as predictable and as simple to treat as an ordinary case of naturally inherited asthma.
Medically-wise, I have a few problems.
First of all, are you familiar with
MSbP? In any way other than just by reading about it on wikipedia? Because what you’re hinting at and what we see in the story definitely does not sound likeMSbP.
Second, there is no way to fake asthma in any way or form – my brother has asthma, I know what I’m talking about. A doctor should know the clear difference between pure asthma and poison.
Plus, I don’t think any type of poison could induce asthma…
I’m not one to go against theories, I love theories, no matter how dark and messed up they are, but the foundation of this theory…
Aren’t we trying too hard to make this child too evil?
If not MSbP, then something extremely similar to it. He feels he has a caretaker role to his brother. He also loves his brother.
Antisocial Personality Disorder / Sociopathy is also possible.
I didn’t claim OC was faking asthma, or his respiratory issues.
One of the first symptoms of poisoning (many, many different kinds of poisons) is heavy coughing, and permanent lung damage. It looks like asthma to even a modern doctor that has no reason to suspect a child is being poisoned, it can be misdiagnosed as such. Especially when asthma runs in the family.
Again, I don’t think RC is evil even if all this ends up being true.
…that with Lizzie now back, we may finally be able to witness some interactions between her and the Undertaker (it’s been 27+ volumes…).
And it’s important because we know that UT cares about “the Phantomhive family”…
but we don’t know who that represents exactly.
He mentioned Vincent…
and the twins…
but we don’t know if he’d want to bring Frances and possibly her children back from the dead too, should something happen to them.
That’s why finding out about if UT includes Frances’ side of the family in the people he’d rather not lose is important, because that’d give hints about his possible identity, as well as his state of mind.
I talked about this before, but the way UT instantly declared that he liked the twins because “they’re both Phantomhives as regards [him]” in ch131 is… hard to take at face-value because:
if UT is Cedric K. Ros, then the twins are his grandkids so him instantly caring is logical and there is nothing else to say
if UT isn’t Cedric K. Ros tho’, then he automatically validated the twins “because they’re Phantomhives”, which means only because he loved Claudia or happened to find Vincent an enjoyable guy + which implies that, whatever the twins are like as their own person, he gives 0 care about and that’s meh. ://
Personally, I like to think that at least ch84…
…is enough to say that UT does see our!Ciel as a person different from his father and grandmother, but then there is ch35 which could be seen (in extreme cases) as a hint of the opposite…
so I’d like to know which one it is for sure: does UT care just because of Claudia, or does he care because he has a soft spot for all of them (whether he’s Cedric K. Ros or not)?
Hence me being really eager to see how UT acts with Lizzie, because it should be an indicator as to whether he cares or not about the Midfords and…
Should he care about Frances’ side of the family, it also implies that he should see Vincent and the twins as their own person and not as proxies for Claudia, which is a good thing (+ you can take this as another hint for the UT = Cedric theory).
Should he not care, well, I think that rules out the UT = Cedric theory + it’d also imply that UT’s attachment to the P family could just be all about Claudia and seeing proxies for her through her son and grandsons, which is… not good or healthy.
Sensei said before that UT was no villain despite the appearances, which I think is meant regarding our!Ciel’s character more than Seb’s. Nonetheless I think that it makes more likely the version that he cares and sees Claudia’s family (including Frances, Liz and Ed) as enjoyable people for different reasons.
I’d just like an official confirmation about this, since it’s a subject of debate,
as well as a big answer about UT’s characterization and a good clue about if he’ll stay in the narrative for a little while longer or not.
One last thing: whether UT cares about Frances’ side of the family or not doesn’t change the fact that he’s a selfish a**hole who should find a better way to cope about things. Sensei implied he was no villain but that doesn’t mean he’s free of guilt or that he shouldn’t change his ways.
Because UT is completely wrong about bringing back the dead thinking it will change everything about how he or Lizzie or our!Ciel feel. It’s just that also caring about Frances and her kids may just give him better odds at realizing that he messed up.
And, to add onto what I already answered you @mourninglockets, the other reason I like the idea that UT actually cares about Frances and her kids isthat the harder redemption is, the better character development will turn out to be.
Think about it, since UT is no villain, that means he’ll have to find a way to make it up to the people he cares about and whom he hurts, that is if he ever realizes that he was 100% wrong.
However, assuming he does, Ciel alone is not really a challenge in that aspect, because Ciel showed that even after the Campania and Weston arcs he still trusted the Undertaker (probably because he could guess with the lockets that UT had a special link to his family).
That’s why, should UT also care about Frances’ side of the family, that means he’d have to make it up to them too and that’s where it gets harder, not so much as far as Liz and Ed are concerned, but I doubt Frances would forgive him easily (Cedric K. Ros or not).
That’s why I favor this stance between the two. So far it seems UT really stays around because there are still Phantomhives to watch over.
So because he did some crazy shit during three arcs, if he claims to care about the Phantomhive family (even if just because of Claudia), then he’d better find a way to make it up to them properly.
He’ll just be more dedicated to doing it right for everyone if he cares about/stays and intends to protect more than just our!Ciel in my opinion, that’s all. 🙂
midnight-in-town 