Undertaker took the time to stand up and pick up Vincent’s portrait to place it in the armchair where he was previously sitting, before trying to grant him his rosette’s power.
The special thing about this is just that Undertaker
gave his place and power to Vincent, and is literally replaced by Vincent in the next panel
So yeah don’t mind me, I’m just here staring at this chapter’s beauty and marvelously implied hints and symbolisms that we’ll eventually learn to be true or not in about a decade from now.
Crack theory: the Phantomhive lineage is at the origin of the Watchdog duty
Very old idea related to ch103 & the GW arc overall that I never took the time to write.
Based on the fact that Claudia was most likely Vincent’s predecessor, which is implying that, when no more male heir available, using a woman from the Phantomhive family as the Watchdog was apparently a better alternative than giving the job to another nobleman loyal to the royal family.
@frederickabberline previously made a post explaining under which circumstances noble women could inherit anything, so it isn’t strange that Claudia was able to get that title. Still, the Watchdog position implies keeping control over the underworld, solving weird cases and cleaning up after the royal family, so it’s not exactly a normal position.
To keep it within a family specifically (the Phantomhives) could be a matter of keeping the Watchdog’s identity a secret, but…
…clearly ch132 and Vincent explain that, if no more heir, the whole thing goes back to the crown who decides who they’ll give it to next. So it’s probably Victoria who decided to give it to Claudia in the first place, allowing her to inherit despite being a woman (we don’t know when) and…
it’s also the Queen who decided that a 10 year old boy from the same family would receive that position.
So, assuming that the royal family intends on keeping the Watchdog duty as tightly related to the P family as possible, the question is why? Well, my answer for now would be the lineage thing.
Granted that we don’t know exactly what that lineage is yet, why it apparently has to be activated, etc, but it seems to at least have to do with being able to see/sense/detect supernatural beings. So far:
Ciel managed to spot the Shinigamis in ch103 despite them being invisible to normal human eyes at the time
the German Shinigamis said that “it runs in the family” so we can assume that it spans more than just two generations (so it’s most likely unrelated to whoever Cedric K. Ros- is)
And I’m of the opinion that it could probably be seen as useful if the royal family were to know about (and believe) it.
For now though, it’s hard to consider whether or not Victoria herself gave out hints that she might know about the lineage, because her absence of surprise towards Ciel’s report for the Weston arc could also be explained by John Brown most likely being supernatural and by her side, as many have guessed before.
The thing is, I find there is a possible analogy between the Watchdog’s duty
and Seb’s own situation as Ciel’s personal dog
Because Will basically said that a demon with a leash on (the contract & Seb’s own aesthetic) was better than free demons who would probably go around scavenging for souls that Shinigamis work hard to collect.
And it’s kinda the same if we’re considering that the Phantomhives are dogs to the royal family: putting a collar on them makes them less dangerous and more easy to keep under control (eventually hanging them with it if needs be, as UT pointed out), especially if what the royal family was originally interested in was how useful the Phantomhive lineage could be to them.
The other reason I came up with this theory is the Green Witch arc overall: again it’s just my opinion but, while the last part of the arc was really good, I have a few issues with the rest of it. I explained here why but, to sum up: compared to all the other arcs, the fake supernatural settings (werewolves, witch, curse/magic, etc) are rather unrelated to the true subplot (German army researching war weapons using a young genius), which is unusual and makes it too convenient as a result.
That being said, since I like to believe that Sensei does things for a reason, I’ve been thinking that maybe the fake supernatural settings of the GW arc are supposed to be relevant elsewhere in the story, kinda like how the murders at manor arc ended up being used as an introduction to the war suplot.
So initially, looking at what Sieglinde believed to be the truth, you get this story…
and let’s just say that this is a situation that could have easily been applied to the Phantomhive family, if anyone ever found out that they were “gifted”.
Again, we don’t know what the lineage is or where it comes from, but if Ciel’s ancestors ended up being hunted as heretics
at some point
because of it, then similarly to Sieglinde’s story, who knows if they didn’t agree to a pact with the royal family (the Watchdog duty), in exchange for their protection?
That pact gave the royal family the huge advantage to get their own little gifted dogs, generations after generations, and to use that special lineage indirectly for themselves…
…as long as they kept a tight leash on this family.
I’m aware it might appear a little far-fetched, especially when we don’t know what the lineage
really
is about yet, but that’s why it’s a crack theory.
To be honest though, I can’t help but also wonder about the timing of the lineage thing’s introduction by Sensei: ch103 is right during the final part of the GW arc after all, so it could be a coincidence or narratively meaningful because the settings of the arc do have some sort of link to that lineage stuff. :))
Let me know if anything is unclear! As always thanks for reading!!
For the first part of this theory, I completely agree with OP, I’ve had the same thoughts for some time now (I just don’t think I’ve ever written anything on it, so good job, OP). The one about the Phantomhive lineage being at the origin of the Watchdog duty. It’s a theory I very strongly support.
In fact, I consider Undertaker as being perhaps even the very first Watchdog, the first Earl of Phantomhive, the one who first took the ‘curse of being the watchdog’, so to say. Perhaps, rather than an obsession, he’s feeling responsible for brining that ‘curse’ into the family. That’s why he ‘doesn’t want to lose any more Phantomhives’ and he seems more attached to ones who still hold the Phantomhive name, Vincent + the twins, rather than Frances and her family.
Of course, the part about UT is still a bit of a crack-ish theory, so yeah. ^^
The theory of UT being the very first Watchdog/Earl Phantomhive (or supposed to be but he killed himself before it happened and the title got passed to another relative) is by far an old fandom theory, which I also stand behind because, for now, there isn’t just one way to explain UT’s close association to the Phantomhive family.
So, sure I agree, UT being a Phantomhive many many decades/centuries ago could be an explanation, just like him simply feeling very close to Claudia is another (and a third option would be a combo of both)!
Besides an obvious connection and emotional attachment, personally I think UT also shares another similarity to them anyway
If you don’t mind though, I’ll pass on the whole “he seems to care more about Vincent’s side of the family than Frances” because, while it’s indeed possible, I think it’s way too soon to say, especially since fans used to have the same debate about UT @ the twins, until ch131 confirmed it wasn’t the case. 🙂
Besides, if our!Ciel hadn’t come back, it’s quite possible that Frances would have ended up as the next Watchdog (most likely being Vincent’s old spare and all) and in that case, your idea of UT feeling guilty about that curse would also end up applying to her.
Sorry for rambling, but thanks again for your input! :))
Crack theory: the Phantomhive lineage is at the origin of the Watchdog duty
Very old idea related to ch103 & the GW arc overall that I never took the time to write.
Based on the fact that Claudia was most likely Vincent’s predecessor, which is implying that, when no more male heir available, using a woman from the Phantomhive family as the Watchdog was apparently a better alternative than giving the job to another nobleman loyal to the royal family.
@frederickabberline previously made a post explaining under which circumstances noble women could inherit anything, so it isn’t strange that Claudia was able to get that title. Still, the Watchdog position implies keeping control over the underworld, solving weird cases and cleaning up after the royal family, so it’s not exactly a normal position.
To keep it within a family specifically (the Phantomhives) could be a matter of keeping the Watchdog’s identity a secret, but…
…clearly ch132 and Vincent explain that, if no more heir, the whole thing goes back to the crown who decides who they’ll give it to next. So it’s probably Victoria who decided to give it to Claudia in the first place, allowing her to inherit despite being a woman (we don’t know when) and…
it’s also the Queen who decided that a 10 year old boy from the same family would receive that position.
So, assuming that the royal family intends on keeping the Watchdog duty as tightly related to the P family as possible, the question is why? Well, my answer for now would be the lineage thing.
Granted that we don’t know exactly what that lineage is yet, why it apparently has to be activated, etc, but it seems to at least have to do with being able to see/sense/detect supernatural beings. So far:
Ciel managed to spot the Shinigamis in ch103 despite them being invisible to normal human eyes at the time
the German Shinigamis said that “it runs in the family” so we can assume that it spans more than just two generations (so it’s most likely unrelated to whoever Cedric K. Ros- is)
And I’m of the opinion that it could probably be seen as useful if the royal family were to know about (and believe) it.
For now though, it’s hard to consider whether or not Victoria herself gave out hints that she might know about the lineage, because her absence of surprise towards Ciel’s report for the Weston arc could also be explained by John Brown most likely being supernatural and by her side, as many have guessed before.
The thing is, I find there is a possible analogy between the Watchdog’s duty
and Seb’s own situation as Ciel’s personal dog
Because Will basically said that a demon with a leash on (the contract & Seb’s own aesthetic) was better than free demons who would probably go around scavenging for souls that Shinigamis work hard to collect.
And it’s kinda the same if we’re considering that the Phantomhives are dogs to the royal family: putting a collar on them makes them less dangerous and more easy to keep under control (eventually hanging them with it if needs be, as UT pointed out), especially if what the royal family was originally interested in was how useful the Phantomhive lineage could be to them.
The other reason I came up with this theory is the Green Witch arc overall: again it’s just my opinion but, while the last part of the arc was really good, I have a few issues with the rest of it. I explained here why but, to sum up: compared to all the other arcs, the fake supernatural settings (werewolves, witch, curse/magic, etc) are rather unrelated to the true subplot (German army researching war weapons using a young genius), which is unusual and makes it too convenient as a result.
That being said, since I like to believe that Sensei does things for a reason, I’ve been thinking that maybe the fake supernatural settings of the GW arc are supposed to be relevant elsewhere in the story, kinda like how the murders at manor arc ended up being used as an introduction to the war suplot.
So initially, looking at what Sieglinde believed to be the truth, you get this story…
and let’s just say that this is a situation that could have easily been applied to the Phantomhive family, if anyone ever found out that they were “gifted”.
Again, we don’t know what the lineage is or where it comes from, but if Ciel’s ancestors ended up being hunted as heretics
at some point
because of it, then similarly to Sieglinde’s story, who knows if they didn’t agree to a pact with the royal family (the Watchdog duty), in exchange for their protection?
That pact gave the royal family the huge advantage to get their own little gifted dogs, generations after generations, and to use that special lineage indirectly for themselves…
…as long as they kept a tight leash on this family.
I’m aware it might appear a little far-fetched, especially when we don’t know what the lineage
really
is about yet, but that’s why it’s a crack theory.
To be honest though, I can’t help but also wonder about the timing of the lineage thing’s introduction by Sensei: ch103 is right during the final part of the GW arc after all, so it could be a coincidence or narratively meaningful because the settings of the arc do have some sort of link to that lineage stuff. :))
Let me know if anything is unclear! As always thanks for reading!!
Am I the only one thinking that whenever Seb says something like that, it’s because he’s aware that Tanaka’s physical condition isn’t the best ever since 4 years ago? So basically he’s never asking Tanaka anything because Tanaka needs to conserve his strength for when it could be necessary?
I mean, there is no doubt that Tanaka is freakishly strong and skilled, but I can’t help but think that it was even more the case before 4 years ago. After all, he received at least two injuries back then (one to his right side, one deep in the back), he possibly was caught in the fire that destroyed the manor too and when Ciel sees him again, he’s…
in a wheelchair and we know he doesn’t come back to the manor until after the ceremony making Ciel the official Earl Phantomhive in mid-March 1886 (which means that he needed a real recovery).
So while we still don’t know how he survived through the attack of December 14th
when no one else did
or how he got to the hospital in time, the fact he’s still capable of…
…being an absolute badass after everything that happened to him makes me think it’s only possible because he doesn’t do anything the rest of the time.
Well, until now I always considered that Ciel noticing the Shinigamis precisely as he did in ch103 and when it never happened previously was possibly the result of:
Seb trying to eat him a few hours before (no matter if it was “just” intended as a wakeup call or not, Seb did attack him)
Wolfram almost killing him
and then being almost blasted to bits by the panzer
In other words, I used to think that maybe the fact he experienced so much trauma (both psychological and physical) in the span of a few hours activated this special part of his Phantomhive lineage somehow (with Seb’s supernatural attack being the biggest trigger).
However, now I wonder if the answer to him noticing the Shinigamis for the first time couldn’t also be linked to…
…the fact that he lost his sight for a little while when he suffered from PTSD during the arc.
I mean, this part was never really explained besides possibly being a side effect of either the miasma or the PTSD itself (more the PTSD than the miasma though, since he could see again from the moment he recovered his mind), so I wonder if this acute blindness couldn’t also be the trigger to his lineage “activating”, which then led to him noticing the Shinigamis in ch103…
Maybe it’s a mix of both the PTSD (losing his sight for a while) and all that he experienced in a few hours upon solving this case (especially Seb “jokingly” trying to eat him)… Thoughts??
This is actually really interesting, especially the reaction of Tanaka to his temporary loss of sight. I’ve always thought he as the oldest and wisest of the servants (the no-supernatural ones I mean) acted as the most rational in a desperate situation pointing out what nobody wanted to, which is O!Ciel losing his sight in his remaining eye, but what if there’s another reason behind his behavior.
A lot of Kuro’s theorists have discussed the role of Tanaka in the Phantomhive linage, and how he probably started serving at the manor at Claudia/Cloudia’s time. What if Tanaka already saw this “temporary” loss of sight in Vincent or Frances as they were kids, and that’s why he acted so accordingly? As a “phase” this extraordinary lineage children have to endure to have supernatural vision. He does seem concerned about the state of O!Ciel, but maybe… It’s just a thought tho.
@piolhyna Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts. :)) TBH I really enjoy your idea (especially since I 100% agree on Tanaka being around ever since Vincent and Frances were kids), although I’m not sure of how likely it is, since Ciel’s loss of sight really appeared to be correlated to his PTSD (he gained it back as soon as he went back to his usual controlled self).
I mean, in the first place, maybe I should have added that I don’t think the lineage thingy activates at some point for all the Phantomhives. Certain conditions are probably required for its first activation (be it loss of sight, being attacked by a supernatural being, being in danger, etc), which would be why it happened for Ciel at the time of ch103 and not previously in the story.
So I do see his loss of sight as a potential trigger to his lineage “activating” which is how he noticed the Shinigamis, especially since Seb also attacked him with his demonic form in order to “wake him up” (so maybe it’s a mix of both). However, I’m not sure that the loss of sight specifically had to happen as a necessary condition for its activation if that’s understandable (especially when Lizzie possibly had the same sixth sense thingy during the Campania arc when she fought and as far as we know she never lost her sight)?
It would be really interesting if that were the case though, because it would mean indeed that Tanaka knew exactly what was going on (having possibly seen it happening in the past with Vincent and Frances), but yeah it could also be that Tanaka was genuinely worried about our!Ciel and he knew there was nothing to do because he’s aware of how much trauma our!Ciel experienced in the past. ://
Thanks again for sharing, I hope my answer made sense!
Well, until now I always considered that Ciel noticing the Shinigamis precisely as he did in ch103 and when it never happened previously was possibly the result of:
Seb trying to eat him a few hours before (no matter if it was “just” intended as a wakeup call or not, Seb did attack him)
Wolfram almost killing him
and then being almost blasted to bits by the panzer
In other words, I used to think that maybe the fact he experienced so much trauma (both psychological and physical) in the span of a few hours activated this special part of his Phantomhive lineage somehow (with Seb’s supernatural attack being the biggest trigger).
However, now I wonder if the answer to him noticing the Shinigamis for the first time couldn’t also be linked to…
…the fact that he lost his sight for a little while when he suffered from PTSD during the arc.
I mean, this part was never really explained besides possibly being a side effect of either the miasma or the PTSD itself (more the PTSD than the miasma though, since he could see again from the moment he recovered his mind), so I wonder if this acute blindness couldn’t also be the trigger to his lineage “activating”, which then led to him noticing the Shinigamis in ch103…
Maybe it’s a mix of both the PTSD (losing his sight for a while) and all that he experienced in a few hours upon solving this case (especially Seb “jokingly” trying to eat him)… Thoughts??
@hannibalcatharsis it seems there is a slight misunderstanding, please allow me to explain again! :3
There is absolutely no doubt that what allowed Ciel to notice the shinigamis is his Phantomhive lineage, so no worries. I was just wondering about what the trigger that activated his lineage was, since what happened in ch103 was a first.
When you look at this scene, you can see that Ciel’s reaction is divided in two. First he sensed something, most likely the Shinigamis’ presence (precisely when Sascha mentioned his family)…
…and then he turned around in their direction to immediately spot them, to everyone’s surprise.
It is unknown whether Sascha and Ludgar had chosen to be visible to human eyes or not in ch103, but either way, no matter if the two Shinigamis were visible or invisible, the fact remains that Ciel sensed and then saw where they were exactly.
So I don’t know if the lineage is a sixth sense thing (knowing that something possibly similar happened with Lizzie on the Campania, without mentioning Vincent having an odd moment or two), or an ability to see supernatural stuff, or both, but Ciel definitely noticed the Shinigamis because of his lineage. 🙂 The question now remains as to why this happened in ch103 exactly and never previously in the story, which is what I was trying to find answers to, in my post above:
Is it Seb attacking Ciel with his demonic form, for the wakeup call?
A supernatural attack (especially since it never happened before) could have triggered the activation of a supernatural ability of his lineage for all we know.
Is it related to the PTSD during which he lost his sight, or to Wolfram and the panzer almost killing him?
Because it could also be that the supernatural side of his lineage was triggered since he went through a lot in such a short period of time, as some sort of defense mechanism for example.
However, there has to be some sort of activation to this lineage, otherwise we wouldn’t have seen such a big reaction out of Ciel for the first time in ch103. 🙂
I hope it helps, sorry again for creating confusion :33
Well, until now I always considered that Ciel noticing the Shinigamis precisely as he did in ch103 and when it never happened previously was possibly the result of:
Seb trying to eat him a few hours before (no matter if it was “just” intended as a wakeup call or not, Seb did attack him)
Wolfram almost killing him
and then being almost blasted to bits by the panzer
In other words, I used to think that maybe the fact he experienced so much trauma (both psychological and physical) in the span of a few hours activated this special part of his Phantomhive lineage somehow (with Seb’s supernatural attack being the biggest trigger).
However, now I wonder if the answer to him noticing the Shinigamis for the first time couldn’t also be linked to…
…the fact that he lost his sight for a little while when he suffered from PTSD during the arc.
I mean, this part was never really explained besides possibly being a side effect of either the miasma or the PTSD itself (more the PTSD than the miasma though, since he could see again from the moment he recovered his mind), so I wonder if this acute blindness couldn’t also be the trigger to his lineage “activating”, which then led to him noticing the Shinigamis in ch103…
Maybe it’s a mix of both the PTSD (losing his sight for a while) and all that he experienced in a few hours upon solving this case (especially Seb “jokingly” trying to eat him)… Thoughts??
Hi Anon! Ah, of course Nina doesn’t outfit the Queen’s Watchdogs only but still, nope, I think the man we see before Claudia is her predecessor (her father maybe?) because…
you can also catch sight of him in ch15, when Randall explains about the Watchdogs & the Phantomhive family.
The only way for this man to be Cedric would be to say that he was Claudia’s predecessor and she became the Watchdog after he tragically died one day because Vincent was still too young, but…
Cedric clearly wasn’t born a Phantomhive, so he couldn’t have been the Watchdog. So I strongly doubt it’s him before Claudia on these panels.
I hope it answers your question Anon, have a nice day!
Okay Anon-chan, here we go with a list of hints :)) Just keep in mind nothing is certain for now:
The family tree
The hint is in how the birth and death dates for Cedric don’t show the years because, being a shinigami for a long time and deserting only 50 years ago, UT as Cedric wouldn’t have lived during the 19th century but way earlier, which is possibly why Yana hid the years. 🙂
You don’t have to agree that it is a hint, but Sensei included a very similar hint for the 2ct on that tree too (it was only half-hidden that Vincent had two children), so… 🙂
Another hint would be that we never saw the shadow of Cedric K. Ros (unlike Claudia whose shadow we saw twice) while UT’s real name is still unknown, so if you associate the two you get that maybe UT’s real identity is Cedric K. Ros.
…it’s possible that UT’s ring initially belonged to the P family and was part of a set with the ring Ciel currently wears: maybe the blue ring is the Watchdog’s ring while the white ring belonged to the Watchdog’s spouse?
So in the idea that UT = Cedric and thus was romantically involved with Claudia, it would explain why he has this ring in the first place, because he kept it all these years due to what this ring represents to him.
EDIT: careful with that point, because it could also be a ring that UT kept from his previous life. All I’m saying is that this ring is supposedly a symbol of nobility and that there might be a hint to it, depending where it comes from.
UT’s weird devotion towards the P family and still mourning Vincent
Also works even if UT isn’t Cedric K. Ros though, but I might as well mention it anyway. I explain my opinion in this post. 🙂
One of Yana’s recent sketches could be a hint, according to an Anon who shared their thoughts
and you can read Anon’s analysis as well as my answer here.
Drawing similarities?
This is relating to what Yana once explained:
“The Phantomhive siblings, Vincent and Frances, share the same concept as the Midfords siblings, Edward and Lizzie, i.e. I draw them with the typical image of “girls take after their father, boys after their mother” in mind. So maybe Ciel’s grandfather looks like Edward 🙂 -Toboso”
Again, it’s really subjective but I decided to make comparative sets for UT & Frannie and UT & Ed just to see what it would give…
and for me it works, but you’re free to have a different opinion!
Hair similarities?
This is from my most recent post, including @the–dark–crow–smiles‘ interesting input, about Frannie (and thus Lizzie) possibly taking her free curled strand of hair after UT, thanks to the shadow of what he looked like before he became UT:
Aaaaaaand I think that’s it so far? So you see, nothing particularly conclusive, just shallow hints but I like ‘em, even if the Cedric = UT theory can be a pain sometimes. :))
I hope it’s helpful, have a nice day Anon!
EDIT: Personal timeline for UT as Cedric (can change):
came back as “the Undertaker” to work for/keep an eye on Vincent (at least 3 years after he became the Watchdog)
** => another idea is that he didn’t leave after Claudia’s death but before, because he couldn’t stand watching her destroy herself because of the Watchdog’s duty, but then he found out about her death and it follows back to the rest of the timeline.
(I think there is a chance that him getting scars everywhere is lowkey related to Claudia’s death tho’ and in that case that would mean he left after her death)
As a follow up to this post about what the family lineage might be.
I definitely spoke about this before, when ch108 came out and for an old analysis I did of Frances’ character, but it’s been over two years since then and lately I was wondering once more…
…if what awoke within Ciel during the arc in Germany, allowing him to see the Shinigamis, was activated only from time to time or became permanent.
Thus here’s a reminder of the parallel between Frances and Ciel both staring at Seb’s face for no particular reason (Ciel more than Frances, since he literally said it was nothing when Frances called Seb names afterwards), when they both share the Phantomhive lineage.
I can’t be sure whether it was made on purpose or not (I do agree it sounds super random though), but I personally always took that part (above) from ch108 as a possible hint that the lineage thing somehow activated in ch103 and is now permanent, meaning that Ciel’s eyes can see things that he couldn’t before:
like shinigamis even when they’re supposedly hiding themselves from humans
and possibly even through Seb’s human disguise as well.
TL;DR what runs for generations in the Phantomhive family may be the ability to spot either just Shinigamis or supernatural beings in general, and:
No but seriously though, Bravat aside (no matter if he can really see through Seb’s disguise despite being a human), what if…
that’s more or less how Frances sees Seb, thanks to the Phantomhive lineage???
Hence why she’d not only criticize his hair (even if she doesn’t like bangs on everybody so it’s not really a hint) but also his face, when humans in general will describe him as good looking?
Maybe the lineage only allows Phantomhives to notice Shinigamis or maybe it allows more than that? Mayyyyybeeee?
((Imagine Frances’ reaction tho, if she had a way to know Seb was a demon from the first time she saw him: her brother’s family was thought to have been completely annihilated but it turned out that one of her nephews survived…..! Except that he came back with his soul chained to a demon. Poor Frances T_T))
midnight-in-town 