How do you rate Plot 14 of
There is always one person who ruins everything for everyone. This week, it’ll be a Spartoi who sees through who Bell and Ryu are hiding under the skull sheepskin as they try to make their way through the arena without being noticed by the monsters locked there for endless battles. In the larger context of the series, this is how Ryu sees herself: She is the sole survivor of Familia’s death, and she believes she no longer has the right to live. She said the same thing when she plotted Bell’s escape from the gym – she didn’t believe she deserved to live, and that her presence was holding Bell back. It’s a selfish belief that denies what the Stars ostensibly want from her, but her desperation blinds her to the point where she doesn’t see that she’s imposing the same on Bale.
It’s hard to be mad at her, but. It’s clear that Ryu never got a chance to properly deal with her sister’s death, to the point where she’s caught up in survivor’s guilt and self-blame. Lost in the land of what-and-ifs, trying to come up with a solution that never existed, she takes all responsibility for their loss. It’s not healthy, and as we’ll see next week, it’s also unlikely to be true, but her trauma is still so raw and immediate that she can’t get over it, or even imagine doing so. In Ryu’s opinion, she should go out like the other Astrea Familia: in the dungeon to save others.
I don’t think she fully understands her actions Similar to the behavior of Alice, Kaguya, Leila and others. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen her recall the advice and wisdom they passed on to her, and this week we’ve definitely seen her put it into practice. Lyra is the most practical of the group (probably a Prum trait, since both Finn and Lilly are very practical people), and basically tells Ryu that there is no useless knowledge. Everything can be turned into important information under the right circumstances, and we can see the truth of it when Ryu starts referencing Lyra’s training. What Ryu doesn’t realize is that every time she uses what the Lost Ones tell her, they continue to exist through her. We are all patchwork quilts of those who have left us with knowledge.
When Bell comes back to save her after she tries In trying to force him to leave her to die, Ryu suddenly starts to at least understand Alise’s words better. Alice tells Ryu that heroes are those who stay true to their ideals, and like so many things Lyra taught her, it only really resonates the moment she sees it in action. To Ryu, Alise was a hero and her death destroyed her. But, distrusting Bell and his steadfast nature, and refusing to compromise with his ideals, Ryu fails to really understand what Alice means. Alice probably doesn’t consider herself a hero by her own standards, and when she nearly perishes along with her entire clan, she won’t be remembered by anyone but Ryu. But when Bale returns and refuses to let Ryu die (or die alone), he inherits Alise’s desire for Ryu to live, and finally shows her that maybe, just maybe, the hero doesn’t have to die. If Bale was gone, neither he nor the dragon would be heroic. If he could save her, maybe they both could.
This may not be what John Donne meant when he wrote said, “So never send a message to know for whom the bell tolls; it charges you,” but I’ll take it.
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