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「隠されたもの」 (Kakusa Reta Mono)
“What Was Hidden”
And so, the expected twist comes to fruition as the Noah rescue Allen from the clenches of the Cardinal, who reveals himself to be an Independent-Type Innocence named Apocryphos. As it turns out, its mission to protect the Heart means that it doesn’t distinguish between sides or affiliations when fulfilling its purpose, and its absolute power over anything Innocence related ends up making it not only the ultimate weapon against the Noah, but also anyone on the side of the Black Order. Given the events of this week and the revelation that Apocryphos was the one behind Cross’ death, it suddenly makes you wonder just what else is lurking underneath the foundations of the Black Order, and it’s becoming a daily show of “what sinister thing will the Black Order reveal today?”.
All things considered, the fact that Link is also (seemingly) killed in cold blood for standing in Apocryphos way and the Third Exorcists seem alive and better than ever before in the service of the Noah makes you wonder if we haven’t been rooting for the wrong side all along, and even if we weren’t—it’s certainly up for grabs whether or not Innocence is the key to humanity’s survival or merely something leading humanity to a slow end of a different kind. In this sense it’s not too far-fetched to reconsider if the destruction of all Innocence is the end of humanity as we assume it to be, and the series continues to add to the questions we have despite revealing quite a bit over the past few weeks.
Either way, the general result is as we feared, and Allen takes the short end of the stick as the one who no longer has a place to truly call home. Granted, the place he called home turned out to be anything but after Apocryphos’ warm welcome, but he could rest well knowing his friends and fellow Exorcists were there—something that’ll no longer be the case now that he’s officially on the run from the Order. Even if he escapes successfully, joins the Noah, and is welcomed by Road and the Earl as one would expect him to be—it’s a far cry from the place he likely feels like he belongs, especially if some members of the Noah family continue to harbor reservations about him and the Fourteenth residing within him. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place.
Looking forward, it’s becomes apparent that Allen doesn’t have much of a short-term choice in regards to potential paths, and as dark as his future seems to be, it is fitting to see him put on an uncertain path given his tendency to go on the road less traveled throughout the series. What this’ll make for is the sweetest of successes if he finds his way back out, assuming he makes it out with his personality intact. Cross’ words about meeting him the first time and him not introducing himself as Allen makes you wonder just what other secrets are being hidden in the background, and count me as someone who wouldn’t be surprised if they suddenly go “oh yeah, by the way, Allen never really existed!” and/or “the person you consider Allen was a fake created by the Fourteenth.”
Shudders* Gosh darn, this series sure makes you think of the worst potential scenarios, doesn’t it? These are going to be some terribly stressful final two weeks.
Author’s Note: As usual, please keep spoiler tags for future chapters in a spoiler tag!
Preview
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It was from the lightnovel, which was adapted a little bit in episode 1:
Show Spoiler ▼
“the Third Exorcists seem alive and better than ever before in the service of the Noah makes you wonder if we haven’t been rooting for the wrong side all along”
Yeah, better than ever… if we ignore the fact that they lost their free will to Alma Karma’s grudge and are now slaves of Millennium Earl.
And I continue to be downright disturbed by people ignoring the fact that Noahs commit atrocities and slaughter of innocent lives on a daily basis. There is nothing kind on creating Akuma, and even less in torture they go as they evolve and their souls become more wounded (at least Innocence saves the souls rather than destroys them or whatever). No matter how much the Black Order gets vilified (though Apochryphos doesn’t seem to be one of them, as otherwise the Order would have given him Allen on a silver plater), they will never be as bad as the Noah.
I think the interesting part (and the reason why I mentioned it) is that they’re not expressly shown as having lost their free will this time around. There was no actual command shown, nor were the Third Exorcist noticeably out of it either. In terms of the overall narrative, it’d wouldn’t be beyond possibility if they were shown or told something that ultimately turned them over to the other side. Probably not the case, but interesting to ponder given all that’s happened.
As for the latter (at least for me personally) I think it’s important to note that not mentioning doesn’t equate to ignoring. There just hasn’t been much of a reason to talk much about what they’ve done/are still doing because it hasn’t changed.
And sure, the Order won’t ever be as bad as the Noah (especially from humanity’s standpoint), but it’s important to at least talk about and consider at what point the line gets crossed and whether or not there’ll even be a point to survival if everyone sacrifices their humanity to get there. That and even if they defeat the Noah, the fact they’ve done the things they’ve done make you wonder if they’re fit/can to lead humanity afterwards. Thus, at least for me, when I talk about them vs. the Noah, it’s not so much a comparison to the Noah as it is trying to grasp a solid foundation of what the Order actually is.
As for Apocryphos, the fact that he’s masquerading as a member of the Order and his ability to control the Innocence and manipulate memories makes him an ever present threat within the organization. He may not directly represent their interests or goals, but he is still someone that needs to be associated with any discussion regarding the Order because of his presence in the shadows and his direct affiliation with Innocence, which is why I ultimately mention him in the way I do.
I’ve always liked this series but have to admit this season is just too depressing. The villians are just too OP and they just keep killing the good guys and winning and winning.
I’m pretty sure the disaster 7000 years ago happened because Noah and Innocent users both. Both are bad. Order and Noah.
I thought innocence can’t hurt or even kill humans? or was that implied only for Allen’s innocence which was proved incorrect a few episodes back? So did the Order take Cross’ body away then? He’d R.I.P. What about Kanda and Lavi? Is two episodes really enough? The manga is still ongoing; I sure hope there’s no anime-original ending for this.
Only Allen’s Sword of Exorcistm can’t harm human (his Crown Clown Claw still harms). Allen is a Noah so it works on him.
It’s also important to consider how Apocryphos’s ability to seemingly control/manipulate Innocence at will could’ve caused pain by directly by affecting Allen’s Innocence or his compatibility with it. As we saw with Kanda, the latter doesn’t yield good results. That and Allen’s Innocence is also a parasite-type, which potentially makes him more susceptible to things that alter or affect his Innocence.
And yeah, it’s probably a good assumption that Central took Cross’ body away.
Kanda’s likely on the other side of the planet so he probably won’t be back for a little, and I reckon we’ll get a Lavi/Bookman cameo sometime next week or something.
As for the ending, I don’t think they’ll go anime-original because they still have material to adapt. They’re probably going to just get as far as they can and ideally end things here at a good stopping point. Either way, we’ll have unanswered questions and probably some kind of cliffhanger just because of where the story is now.
Since there is two more episodes I think I know where the next one ends (again I’m prepared for waterworks….. T-T). I expect that where 12 is looking to end on would been the ending for Hollow, but since that looks like it’s not the case, we are most likely going to get an answer to Kanda on 13th and wrap up/teaser to the current arc.
Show Spoiler ▼
Is you have read the manga this next episode image is all the teaser you need to know where 12 ends. T-T
https://randomc.net/image/D.Gray-man/D.Gray-man%20HALLOW%20-%2011%20-%20Large%20Preview%2001.jpg
This ^ is definitly my line of thought regarding this conflict that really just seems to be boiling down to choosing the lesser of two evils. There’s been so much greying on both sides that I wouldn’t be surprised to see another side to the Noah’s plan that makes them seem less antagonistic to the human race like maybe Were only really killing all human
Whoops definitely didnt mean to do that. Finish here —-> Show Spoiler ▼
Also https://randomc.net/image/D.Gray-man/D.Gray-man%20HALLOW%20-%2011%20-%2008.jpg is the reason I get up in the morning.
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up, lotta things popped up this week so I haven’t been able to get to this post just yet. It’ll be included with next week’s finale and final impressions instead.
Apologies for the delay.