Pandora Hearts Retrace LX Discussion
Okay! Chapter 60 is out and we have lots of things to talk about! Prepare yourselves! This chapter was short but it was action-packed!
Sorry I haven't looked this over since I wrote it, I'll probably do it later, please excuse any typos. ^^'
- Let's start with that gorgeous cover! Oz, Gil and Alice in mourning clothes surrounded by yellow flowers. Oz. Looks. Beautiful. Alice's face is covered, and Gilbert is completely turned away in addition to the majority of out view of him being blocked by the flowers. Those are the same flowers Sensei painted Oz with after the earthquake and tsunami, right? The ones that symbolize overcoming adversity (see this post)? They sure look like the exact same.
- Gilbert's face is completely turned away. For some reason this makes me think that he will turn out to be the one most affected by this whole ordeal.
- Oz is boldly looking directly in front of him. I think this symbolizes more growing up on his part: facing his problems head on (and overcoming adversity) rather than pretending that they aren't there like he used to do at the beginning of the series.
- And Alice, I don't know.
- "He and his beaming smile disappear into the light." Really. He's an illegal contractor, isn't he? Technically, he should be going to darkness. I think this quote has a double meaning. One being something regarding the Abyss, the other, more obvious one, being that he died in such an admirable way that it was almost a positive thing.
- And the chapter is titled "Eggshell". I hope everyone's been paying attention to the titles, "Humpty Dumpty Sat On a Wall", "Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall", and now "Eggshell". In other words, he can't be put back together again. Meaning that Elliot isn't coming back. Sorry, guys.
- Even Rufus looks stressed. This must be big. Even bigger than we already know right now.
- Sharon implying that maybe the Baskervilles didn't want to kill Reim? I wonder why? I know that Lottie gave orders not to kill anyone, but are there other motives here?
- Gil's creepy face on page 11: I think this was brought about by Sharon's identification of Oz as a negative force. Looks like a bit of the brainwashing if you ask me. She said, "Being with Oz will only add to your worries." This is true, but I think the reaction in the face was, "How dare you say something like that about my master." in his defense. Brainwashing. Definitely.
- I think that, with Vincent, Elliot, worrying about Break (and Reim) and trying to be there for Oz, Gilbert is definitely too burdened right now (explaining his position on the cover). Poor thing needs to take a break with a blanket, a hug and some hot chocolate.
- "My master still hasn't shed a single tear. How could I, as his servant, shed them?" Why this quote struck me, I don't know. But it's totally the line of the month.
- Sharon got everyone else out using Eques while she (and mystery speaker, I couldn't tell who) found a way out of the burning building on their own? She didn't even think about herself there, not for one moment. I'm so proud of Sharon right now, all grown up <3 *sigh*
- Oz has a new vest. And it's far too similar to the one Jack wore in chapter 57. The whole outfit isn't the same, only the vest. Sensei doesn't do stuff like that on accident (she doesn't do anything on accident). She's got to be trying to tell us something by having Oz and Jack wear the same clothes. And in this situation. What do you think it is?
- "The sky is so beautiful. In spite of what happened, the sky is so clear. As if nothing was the matter, a new day arrives. This, and many other things, are strangely irritating." CAN WE GIVE OZ A ROUND OF APPLAUSE RIGHT NOW? RIGHT NOW? Here we have Oz, facing hardship and taking it as is. Not ignoring or "adapting" to it, but acknowledging that it's there and that he isn't quite ready to accept it. And that maybe the world should stop funcitoning for a little while becuase God dammit, Elliot is dead. And Oz is in mourning. He has very slowly been progressing since the start of the series but this is a huge turning point for him. I wouldn't hesitate to say that PH is a coming-of-age story of sorts, and Oz has just come of age. And it was at his coming-of-age ceremony too, interesting. Maybe that's why the first one was interrupted: because he wasn't ready. Yes I know there were specific plot reasons why the ceremony was interrupted, but I'm thinking more lit-analysis.
- And I still don't know why the heck Alice bit his ear? I know she relates biting cheeks to making a person feel better, but if Sharon has been showing Alice books with ear-biting (which I doubt) I would have to raise an eyebrow at Sharon. Besides, Alice didn't just bite him. She bit him, ground her teeth in and kept them there until she drew blood. I'm not sure what the point was, but I think Alice's goal was to make Oz bleed. Especially since Sensei emphasized the single drop of blood ("will carve the way into his land" is how the rest of the prophesy goes, though I'm not sure if that is relevant). And oh look! More Abyss bubbles!
- Look at the left image in the second row on page 25 (in reading order, the 4th panel). I was going to cut it out and just put it on the post but LJ's being difficult *shakes fist* What the heck is going on there?! And why does it look totally separate from the rest of the scene (even though Oz's dialogue is still there)
*sees Yura's fur-trimmed coat, flowery heels and ugly hat* o_o ...
...Cruella de Vil~ Cruella de Vil~ If that doesn't scare you, no evil thing will~!
- The descendants of the sorcerers were most likely consumed by the power of the Abyss (consumed in a bad way). Is that even possible? It seems like something that would happen. Especially since they were corpses still in their clothes.
- I have to wonder how much of Yura's revelation was actually what was recorded and how much of it was his own twisted interpretation. I'm banking on the latter.
- So Leo is still being plagued by Glen. I wonder how long this has been going on for. Possibly since Leo accepted him in Sabrie to save Elliot (though not likely, because it would have come up earlier). But it seems from Leo's tortured screaming that Glen left him alone for the duration of Elliot's life, and now he's back to wreak havoc on poor Leo's mind.
- I'm assuming that Papa Nightray's disappearance was him going into hiding, since things are so quickly coming to light. And apparently whatever he was up to or was planning did not agree with Vincent's plans. Snip snip! A little snippy in the right place (the artery in the throat) can be quite effective, I'm sure. ;D
- I'm curious as to what he will really tell Leo. Hoping against hope here, but I really don't want Vince to make things worse for Leo (or tarnish Elliot's good name).
Wanting for next chapter:
For Break to wake up.
For Break and Reim to have some time to really discuss what happened with his "death".
For Oz and Gil to comfort each other, because they need it (or at least have some kind of time together! I'm starting to go into withdrawal from my favorite duo, Sensei, that's not good!)
But, knowing Sensei, she probably won't give me any of those things next chapter, just because I want them to happen (maybe she'll do just one?)