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Did Edolon become Seinru? Well, yes. But actually no. (Edolon Character Analysis)

Content warning: Discussion of abuse, manipulation, cults, mentions of gore, and a panel of drawn grotesque injury near the end

Spoiler warning: Snowbound Blood Volume 12.

Full analysis under the cut

In discussions of Edolon, something that people have found confusing is his seemingly drastic change from what we’ve seen of him pre sacrifice of Seinru and post sacrifice of Seinru. Before Snowbound Blood Vol. 12 came out, this was especially the case.

From what we’ve seen of Edolon pre-ritual is a much more dependent and less confident person in comparison to those traits basically inverting post ritual. This paired with some concerning dialogue and actions pertaining to “becoming Seinru” has led to some… worrying conclusions.

First, let's quickly go over some observations that have caused confusion or concern in some readers. Some of these will be elaborated on later.

Seinru saying to Edolon before their death, “As long as you're still here, I'll never truly be gone.” 

After Seinrus death, Edolons had a drastic change in character that involved picking up many of Seinrus traits.

Edolons severed hand was replaced with Seinrus hand.

So, did Edolon become Seinru? What does that even mean? Did Seinru really possess him?

Well, I find the theory that Seinru possessed Edolon after the ritual interesting because while it wouldn't make much sense character writing wise, it gives a good introspective into people's perception of Edolon. Rather than analyzing why Edolon changed so drastically, many people opt for a more ''easy to understand'' theory. Along with this, the theory basically dissolves Edolon of any blame and just goes for the belief that “Seinru possessed him because they’re evil and Edolon has done nothing wrong” which is just a total butchering of both of their characters.

In order to understand why Edolon changed so drastically, we have to analyze the way he was pre-ritual, leading up to the ritual, post-ritual and factors that would impact why he changed in the way he did.

As said before, prior to the ritual, Edolon showed less confidence and a dependency on Seinru. In many moments both his reliance on Seinru and his nervousness is shown,

A gaunt man steps from the shadows and slides up next to Seinru. They give his hand a gentle squeeze before disappearing behind the altar. As he nervously leans forwards(...)

Described as nervous, as well as going straight to Seinrus side.

SEINRU: Dolo.  Out of the corner of your eye, Seinru steps forward, taking Edolon's hand in hers. She squeezes it, gently.

Seinru senses his nervousness and reassures him, giving him courage.

Edolon approaches you, taking Seinru's place as they retreat into the sacrificial slab's gloom. Where Seinru knelt beside you, Edolon tries to loom. It only emphasizes his stoop. You laugh. To your displeasure, so does Pozzol. (...) Edolon glances in Pozzol's direction. His eyes drift instinctively to the altar, to the rim of darkness in the vague outline of Seinru. SEINRU: This is your moment. SEINRU: Everything, from here to obliteration, belongs to you..

Upon being laughed at by Pozzol for being unable to replicate Seinru, he looks at Seinru for reassurance, once again showing his dependency on him.

Along with this, Edolon isn’t confident that he’ll be capable of taking her place as the highest ranking member of the cult,

EDOLON: i'm just not convinced i have what it takes. EDOLON: i'm not like you. EDOLON: i'm still afraid. i'll still feel the pain, even when you don't. EDOLON: what if i can't do any of it? EDOLON: then all i'll have accomplished is adding more misery to my life. SEINRU: That's not going to happen. EDOLON: and this is not a role i was meant to play.

While I absolutely do not doubt that Edolon was able to take action without Seinrus guidance pre-ritual (as shown in his pestering of Serpaz being something that has been going on for sweeps before the sacrifice), these quotes show that he wasn’t as confident as in the present. 

Though post-ritual - without Seinru there to guide him - Edolon is much more confident and capable of his role in the cult. This confidence only ramps up to extremes as he both unlocks his alchemic potential and ESPECIALLY as the events of Incursion take place. I don’t think analyzing quotes would do this change justice. Just look at any of his actions he takes to progress the game, crash an inauguration and speak without faltering while the entire world watches. 

So what does this mean for Edolon? How did he become so much more confident after the death of Seinru? 

In order to understand why Edolon responded this way to the death of someone he loves, you have to remember that this is Edolon. There are many factors of his life and upbringing that change the way that he responds to trauma. Due to the severe brainwashing from both Seinru and the cult, as well as the severe abuse he faced in his childhood, the way he reacts to the traumatic event of losing his partner is much different than a majority of the people faced with this kind of loss.

Rather than reacting with anger, fear, depression, numbness, or many of the other common reactions to the death of a loved one, he reacted in the way that Seinru manipulated him into reacting. Before their death, Seinru told Edolon what they wanted from him after death, and Edolon in turn became what they wanted him to become. He wanted to accept the gift and chance to grow that Seinru had told him she was dying for so that he wouldn't let her down.

Along with this, Edolon is driven by his need for revenge against Corporate. After being abused by The Executive for not being able to live up to his expectations and later abandoned by Corporate because of this, his goal became to take down Corporate as a whole. In order to enact his plan, he needs to go through with the events of Incursion without faltering because of Seinrus death.

From these factors, we can see that Seinrus words have a very strong impact on Edolon. This comes from both Edolons love for her, as well as the fact she’s manipulating him into going through with the ritual by saying exactly what he needs to hear.

With this context, the way that Seinrus words impact Edolon after her death becomes more clear. 

The most important scene that shows Seinrus impact on Edolon and Edolons fear of disappointing Seinru is their conversation before her sacrifice.

EDOLON: and i wouldn't ever wish to disappoint you, either. EDOLON: but there's still a part of me that feels like i can't do it on my own. EDOLON: i need you, sen.

We can see Edolon admit directly that he doesn’t want to disappoint Seinru, something that shows the importance of their words on him. 

SEINRU: You're not as powerless as you were before. And you'll certainly be even less so, once you realize all of that wonderful potential you have tucked away. SEINRU: You're capable of achieving great things on your own, despite how you've been made to feel in the past.

In this, Seinru reminds Edolon that despite the abuse he faced, he’s capable of achieving great things without the harsh guidance of The Executive telling him everything he’s doing is wrong and fixing it for him. Along with this, Seinru reminds Edolon that his upcoming unlocking of his alchemy will give him the strength to be a huge threat against Corporate. These statements reassure his fears about not being strong enough without him. 

SEINRU: I want you to be the one to grow from this. SEINRU: I want you to be rewarded for everything you've been forced through in your life. SEINRU: You've come so far, Dolo. SEINRU: And you've helped me tremendously in our time together, don't you forget that. SEINRU: I only want to help you see in yourself what everyone else couldn't. SEINRU: I just knew you'd do great things the very moment I met you, you know. SEINRU: All of this is for you. SEINRU: So please, don't reject this gift. Don't let me down, now of all times.

Most, if not all, the words Seinru says during this conversation is manipulation, but this is one of the many passages where it's the most glaring. In this, Seinru guilt trips Edolon into going through with the ritual so that they get what they want. 

(There’s a lot more to be said about their relationship and this conversation, but it gets so convoluted so quickly so I’m sticking to very surface level analysis for this last passage. Seinru and Edolons relationship is a HUGE analysis for another day that might not even be finished until we have more information on the two.)

So, in a way, Edolon did become Seinru. Not because of possession, but because of a variety of factors that impacted and influenced the way that he reacted to the trauma of sacrificing and losing Seinru. 

The more the story progresses, the more glaring the changes to his character will become. Incursion was a huge turning point for Edolon as a character as it showed drastic changes to his character and solidified him as an actual threat against the world. 

We can already see these changes in the comic. For example, his reaction to seeing Seinrus corpse before and after Incursion.

The timid and insecure person he was before was a version of him that existed. It’s shown in the comic that when alone it is a part of himself that slips out (see: him putting this “mask” on after he runs into someone on page 1107). But after Incursion, it is now erased as he goes beyond filling in for the role of Seinru. He is no longer playing the part, he has become the part. 

A lot of what this analysis boils down to is what Edolon becoming Seinru represents: the cycle of abuse. The cycle of abuse in this case specifically is in reference to victims of abuse becoming their abusers due to not healing from the trauma of their abuse. Many victims of abuse who have not healed will subconsciously inherit the traits of their abuser and continue to perpetuate them through relationships of any kind, thus creating new victims. If this cycle is not broken, it will never stop. 

Because of this, Seinru will always be a part of Edolon; mentally and physically. 

On Edolons Incursion outfit, we can even see her blood color and center of her sigil - a diamond - pressed close to Edolons heart and placed throughout the outfit. 

The fact that Edolon and Seinru were bonded before Seinrus death also represents this. Edolon will never not feel the pain of losing Seinru as the withdrawals continue for the rest of his life. On top of this, Edolon literally replaced his own hand with her own. She quite literally ingrained herself to his core. 

Even Edolons witty one liners and :) emoticons come from Seinru.

And while Edolon has been manipulating people for a long time, this manipulation has only become more like Seinrus as he subconsciously replicates the manipulation he went through. 

In one scene, we can literally see him manipulating Calder while typing with Seinrus hand.

Not to mention, “Let's get you the respect you rightfully deserve.” sounds awfully a lot like something Seinru would say to manipulate Edolon. Maybe something like, “I want you to be rewarded for everything you've been forced through in your life.”?

I think to wrap this up, I’ll end this with the quote that started it all:

“As long as you're still here, I'll never truly be gone.”

HELLO RICHY ARE WE FEELING THE BARBIEDOLON TONITEEE???

HELL YES WE AREEEE!!!!

We are rejoicing and being merry in this Barbie Dream House tonite >:-]