Martha Marriott - Tumblr Posts
Henderson and Martha backstory in today's new chapter...was not expecting that, but it was really good! I know people were shipping them before, but now the ship has really set sail ๐
So Martha is the origin of Henderson's "Elegant" catchphrase...how cute, lol.
Now we know why Henderson was so shocked when Becky said this! ๐
I'm not into reading fanfics, but I still got some "Twiyor Eden AU" vibes from this chapter!
I see some of Twilight in young Henderson: Twilight is constantly conflicted with keeping up his spy persona despite growing feelings for his family, just like Henderson was obsessed with perfectly upholding the rules of Eden...until he started to realize that even the prestigious school was being corrupted.
Also similarly, Twilight's realization about the need for information, which eventually led to him becoming a spy, is just like Henderson's realization about the need for education, which led to him becoming a teacher.
And still another similarity is Henderson becoming so obsessed with his pursuit of education that he cast aside desires of wanting to have fun and enhance relationships with others...just as Twilight has been doing since he became a spy. But it seems like present day Henderson realized how ignorant he was back then...maybe Twilight will eventually realize this about himself as well?
I've mentioned many times before that I love how Endo is able to so seamlessly bring darker themes into otherwise non-dark stories, which makes the setting, characters, etc, more interesting. Even in something so simple like the short mission with Bond last chapter where he gives a glimpse into the horrors of animal experimentation, in this chapter he brings in themes of impending war and corrupt education in what would otherwise be a benign school romance story.
Looks like this arc will continue with at least another chapter, possibly more! I'm still curious to see how Martha ended up becoming a soldier and eventually working for the Blackbells. Or maybe she ended up being part of Garden, as some people theorize. Regardless, I really don't think ballet stayed her main focus throughout her life. Also, didn't Henderson eventually get married and have a child later on? Hope we'll learn even more about them in the next chapter!
Today's new chapter continues the Henderson x Martha angst ๐ญ In just a couple chapters Endo has done an amazing job conveying how much Martha loves Henry, how volatile the war-torn world they live in is, and how Henry's ideals about education shaped who he became...but also led to regret. If Endo can weave this much of an engrossing side story about minor characters, I can't wait to see what he'll do with the main characters!
A lot of people have pointed out parallels between Henry and Martha's relationship with that of both future Twiyor and Damianya. They definitely have similarities, and while there's no guarantee that Henry and Martha's story has any bearing on the outcome of the other two relationships, my interpretation of it, at least right now, is that it's a cautionary tale...it's showing that this is what could happen to Loid/Yor, Damian/Anya, and honestly any future couples, if things don't change for the better. What we're seeing from Henry and Martha's story is how relationships can get so easily torn apart from war, as well as how clinging so hard to one's ideals - like what Henry has been doing - is also a recipe for tragedy. I mentioned in my last chapter review that I see this as a parallel to Twilight holding on so hard to his spy persona and ideals that he could be doomed to lose out on potential happiness if he doesn't realize his true feelings.
Also, if Twilight fails his mission and another war does break out, the consequences would be extreme both on a worldly and personal level. We saw in this chapter that Martha's path in life was greatly altered as a result of the war (she changed from wanting to be a ballerina to joining the army) and thus she and Henry were torn apart further. What would happen to the characters in the current generation if Desmond does do something to entice war again?
I also really liked the below panel showing what's probably the last scene of where Henry and Martha spent their most pleasant times - now it's empty, one chair has fallen, and a bird chips while war planes fly overhead. Such a great use of subtle symbolism to hammer in the tragic mood.
The chapter ends with mention of Henry potentially getting married due to pressure from his parents than because he wants to. I'm really curious how that turned out, plus how Martha ended up working for the Blackbells. Looks like their sad story will continue for at least one more chapter ๐ข
As if the season 3 announcement several hours ago wasn't exciting enough, now we have one hell of a new chapter ๐ญ
It's just one tragic event after another...Martha can't bring herself to confess to Henry (and regrets it later), her letter gets censored so she's left waiting in vain to see him, she's basically forced to join the front lines or be killed, meanwhile Henry is struggling to figure out his own feelings but then has a total breakdown when he thinks Martha's dead, gets beaten up and thrown in jail, then is coerced by his father into marrying someone else. Gosh, these two just can't catch a break ๐
But my favorite part of this chapter is young Donovan Desmond's speech. What he says here so perfectly conveys the overall conflict of Spy x Family and sets him up as the ideal antagonist.
The series has shown us over and over how people are indeed liars, but it's also shown us time and time again how amongst all the lies, mostly through the Forgers, that people can still come to understand each other. Donovan's view is one of hopelessness - that true understanding can never be attained and human beings will always wage war, and while the series doesn't downright portray this as false, it does show that there is hope...that, even though people will never stop committing atrocities, at the very least, a middle ground of peace can be found even amongst those who lie to survive.
Donovan believes that we can never know the true intentions of others because we ourselves are hiding our own true intentions...the Forgers are hiding their true intentions, but in spite of that, they've come to love and understand each other. Like Twilight said when he first met Donovan, he won't ever stop trying to understand others and will always try to meet them "in the middle" if he can. Again, this is why Donovan is shaping up to be a great "final boss" who challenges the hopeful message the series has advocated so far. Another example of how, even though this arc seemingly has nothing to do with the Forgers, Endo still ties it back to them and the story overall.
Now the question for the next chapter is...who saved Martha? Also, judging by Henry's reaction when he first sees Martha in the present time (pictured below, chapter 72 during the bus hijacking arc), it doesn't seem like he had thought she was dead at that point. So he must have found out somehow before this that she had survived.
We'll have to wait until next time to find out! Even as the series hits chapter 100, Endo isn't done with this tragic love story just yet ๐
After 5+ years, Spy x Family has finally reached triple digit chapters! Congrats to Endo and the team for hitting chapter 100 ๐
But despite that, seems like Endo isn't done with Henry and Martha's backstory just yet! Instead of having fun fanfare to celebrate this milestone, he's still tearing our heartstrings out with this tragic flashback arc ๐ญ As usual, even though it's a comedy series, he doesn't shy away from depicting the horrors of war if the story calls for it, as we can see with what happens to poor Martha and her comrades.
We see the seed of Martha's loyalty to the Blackbells here as well.
Martha's parting reaction to Anabel, though not as hostile, mirrors Loid's reaction to Franky during the next generation's war...each side blames the other when it's really the people at the top who instigate and benefit from the war who are to blame, the people we don't see who never dirty their own hands. To quote one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, "The executioner's face is always well hidden."
I like how the chapter ends with a parallel to the Stella Lake chapter...despite being on different sides, we share the same sky.
I guess more Henry/Martha angst awaits us in the next chapter ๐ญ We still have yet to see how Martha starts working for the Blackbells and how she somehow gets back in contact with Henry (as I mentioned in my previous chapter review, their reaction upon seeing each other in the current time at the end of the Red Circus arc did not seem like their first meeting after all this).
Also, just a quick announcement that my thoughts on the next chapter, which comes out on July 7th, will be delayed since I'll be at Anime Expo for the early part of that day!
Now that I'm back from Anime Expo, I finally had time to read today's new SxF chapter...and yeah, more Martha angst ๐ญ But I don't know what I was expecting with how the previous chapter ended. Not only did poor Martha see her friends get killed in battle and suffer severe injuries herself, now she has to flee in disguise while constantly fearing for her life, not to mention fighting off cold and hunger. Can this girl please catch a break?
Like I've mentioned all throughout this arc, Endo continues to throw punch after punch about the horrors of war and political conflict. This seems to culminate with the war finally ending in this chapter, however that doesn't mean the suffering is over. All the battered soldiers now have to get their lives back together, while some, like Paul, just couldn't hold out any longer. This scene reminded me of Biddy's death in the bus arc with how harsh and unfiltered it's portrayed.
According to this tweet from Endo, the Martha/Henderson backstory arc will conclude in the next chapter. I know a lot of people are complaining about how long this arc was and how it's been X amount of days/months since we've seen this or that character...personally, I don't mind. I've discussed this topic in detail here already, but overall, I'm fine with whatever Endo deems best for his work, whether that's taking more breaks or focusing on side characters for a while. If you've read other long-running manga, especially shonen series, it's not unusual at all to have long arcs that focus on side characters, with the main characters not being seen for a while. That's just one way mangaka flesh out the setting and lore of their stories, as well as providing depth and sympathy to the rest of the cast of characters. Of course I'd rather see more of the Forgers too, but this arc provided some great world-building for the series and was just an overall well written and heart-wrenching side story. And who knows? What Martha and/or Henry have been through could become important in the future of the series, or at least provide some kind of parallel or foreshadowing related to the main characters. So to write the arc off as unimportant is a bit premature in my opinion. But yeah, even though I enjoyed this arc, I'm also eager to get back to the Forgers ๐
Also, I have a couple more Anime Expo-related posts to share, so stay tuned for those in the coming days~
According to this tweet from Endo, today's new chapter will be the final installment of the "Henry x Martha backstory" arc...and it definitely went out on a high note! The part where Martha meets Henry's wife was absolutely heartbreaking...in particular the below page, starting with an upside down view of the scene, showing how the world is literally warping for Martha, followed by shards and shreds of her various memories with Henry, all the while the "throb, throb" of her heart is overlaying all the panels. Definitely one of Endo's best portrayals of a truly shocking moment.
It's also interesting that we never see Lucia's face, despite her having a big panel when she first appears.
Endo has done this before with other characters, Loid's parents being the other big example. We also never see their faces, despite them appearing several times during his flashback arc.
With the few examples we've had, to me it seems like Endo hides the faces of characters who 1) appear as flashbacks only and 2) who have had a significant emotional impact on the character whose memories they appear in, but at the same time, that character has since done their best to get over the painful memories associated with them. So they basically represent some past trauma for the character (even if they don't necessarily dislike them) but in the current time, they've more or less left that part of their past behind. Hence why their faces are obscured in the character's memories. This is also why I think we'll never see Loid's parents or Lucia's faces outside of flashbacks. This is just my interpretation of course, and I'm curious if there will be more examples in other characters' flashback arcs.
But back to Henry and Martha, I also liked the fact that, despite her broken heart, Martha still saw Lucia as a good person and became friends with her. Henry seems to love her as well. This actually ties back very well to what Martha tells Becky at the end of her story about how dangerous it is to latch onto preconceptions and prejudices without knowing the truth.
In Becky's simple world, she would see Lucia as the "evil seductress who stole Henry away" and Martha has to get him back. But as Martha said, things aren't always that simple and don't always adhere to our preconceived notions. Sometimes things can't end up exactly how you want or expect, so you have to be grateful for what you have and see things as they truly are, despite living with lingering regrets. In fact, this whole speech from Martha at the conclusion of her flashback was extremely deep and profound. Not many people can write both comedy and drama so well, but Endo is certainly one of them.
Also, is this Wiesel's first appearance? Still waiting for the doggy play date chapter with Wiesel, Bond, Max, and Aaron! ๐ถ
Since it's been so long since I read the first chapter of this arc, I couldn't remember if Martha had actually revealed the identity of her lover in her story, but makes sense that she didn't. I can imagine Becky storming into school yelling at Henderson and causing total embarrassment for all ๐ Funny that she almost guessed correctly though.
I'm surprised we never found out how Martha started working for the Blackbells, but that's an easy enough mystery to solve - she needed work after the wars were over, and being a bodyguard suited an ex-soldier. Also seems like she never told Henry her true feelings either...maybe by the time Lucia died, it was too late and they had both grown somewhat apart by then, and/or they had some additional falling outs about Martha joining the other wars, etc. It just wasn't meant to be and the message of the story was Martha coming to terms with that and being wiser for it.
In conclusion, this was a great arc that really shows Endo's range as a writer who can do both comedy and drama very well. Despite Henry and Martha being side characters, I have a feeling that the struggles they experienced will have relevance later in the series. But for now, I look forward to seeing the Forgers and other characters again (and getting back to the last major uproar of Anya telling Damian about her powers...seems like ages ago, lol). Endo will be taking a well deserved break, so the next new chapter will be on August 19th!
I also have some new posts planned in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for those as well ๐
Spy x Family volume 14: bonus chapter and official timeline translation
Volume 14 was just released and it included a ton of great extras, including an extra bonus chapter and a timeline of events! Firstly, here's my translation of the 4Koma (4 panel) bonus chapter!
Lol at Anya telling Yuri to go to work ๐ I also love how Anya has a teacup once Yor is home โค๏ธ
Next, much to everyone's surprise, Endo provided an official timeline...sort of. It doesn't have specific years and a lot of information is redacted, but it's something! Sorry for the sloppy editing, I pasted an excel sheet over the original text since that was much easier. Also, the letters in the "Character Age" column refer to the first letter of the character ("L" for Loid for example).
Did I forget who "Coco" was or was that never actually in the manga?
Even though much of the timeline is redacted, it does confirm a few things, like how old Henry and Martha were during some past events, and in the present, as well as Loid's age when he joined the army. I also find it interesting that Anya is included even though this timeline is about the wars...was the facility she was at involved with the war somehow? ๐ Were the experiments on her related? But it also includes Franky's breakups, so who knows, lol.
Next, a bonus illustration of Damian picking his outfit for the gala, just like Jeeves mentioned in the latest chapter. Ewen is telling him to pick black since it looks more more cool and mature. But Endo says that the overlapping patterns make it hard to see, so he should pick white. Obviously being the creator, whatever Endo says goes ๐
Stella progress illustration. Anya is the only one with tonitrus...
And lastly, the main cover and inner cover featuring young and old Henderson (maybe Martha for volume 15?)
Going by the official preview, I knew we were going to get a short mission involving Anya and Becky at the movies, but I was pleasantly surprised that Yor ended up joining them ๐ (along with Martha)
I had a feeling it would be the same movie Franky saw in the previous chapter! There certainly was a lot of kissing ๐
I like the little detail that Martha wears glasses when watching movies.
When Anya thinks of what movie they're going to see, in the Japanese version she mistakenly says ใใใใ ("Gyojira") instead of ใดใธใฉ ("Godzilla.") One of the readings for ใใ("Gyo") is ้ญ (fish). So that's why it's a fish monster ๐
This scene was just so Anya. Never change, girl.
Another fun tidbit I just now noticed is that Becky calls Yor ๅธซๅ ("shisho") which means "master/teacher" in a trainer to trainee relationship.
Poor Becky being surround by only abnormal women and unable to have the typical girlie talk she craves, lol.
But that's also what I like about Becky - she's still a good friend to Anya despite their differences in taste on...everything, lol. And even though Yor and Martha aren't like the women she idolizes in the movies and shows she enjoys, she can see their good qualities and still respects them.
I also love how both Martha and Yor are clueless about romance, for different reasons.
Yor is extremely inexperienced and flustered when it comes to romance, while Martha did try to pursue it, only for it to end in tragedy. My little headcanon is that, towards the end of the series, where Yor is struggling to decide whether to stay with the Forgers or not (either due to an identity reveal or some other reason), Martha is able to give her a "pep-talk"...convince her to follow her true feelings and find the romantic happiness that Martha herself wasn't able to attain in her generation โค๏ธ
Henry's first recorded "๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ช๐ท๐ฝ."
Local six year old unlocks character growth after trauma inducing story