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atamascolily · 6 months

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One thing that I love about Rebellion as a movie is that its plot is a direct result of two decisions made by the characters in the original series:

1) Homura's decision to tell Kyubey about the possibility of witches -- something which made me beat my fists and shout "NO, YOU FOOL, DON'T DO IT!" on my first viewing -- results in him kidnapping and experimenting on her in order to turn her into a witch. Oops? 2) Madoka's decision to give her hair ribbons to Homura, thus ensuring Homura retained her memories of her (the soundtrack for this scene is titled "ribbons of memory" to further emphasize the point), which results in Homura ripping Madoka from the Law of Cycles and becoming the Devil. Also oops but it's complicated.

Thus, I think the seeds for Walpurgis no Kaiten were already sown in Rebellion: Homura's decision to become the Devil will have unintended consequences that will drive the plot going forward. Based on what we know so far, those consequences likely include

1) the appearance of a second, duplicate/doppelganger Homura (the one with the insouciant smirk and the black and white striped headband). 2) the return(?)/creation of Walpurgisnacht - her name is in the title, after all.

If I had to pick a scene from Rebellion that I think will Hit Differently in Hindsight, it would be this conversation between Homura and Sayaka:

Sayaka: Do you intend to destroy the universe? Homura: *hairflip* After all the wraiths have been destroyed, perhaps I will. When that time comes, I suppose I can be your enemy. But do you think you'll be able to stand against me?

Can we unpack this for a moment? Homura's remark about destroying the wraiths (and the universe) is so jarring to me--is she serious about this? Why would she do this? The wraiths are what happens when you don't have witches--once they're gone, what will arise to take their place? Does Homura have a substitute in mind (the Incubators?) or a vision of what this world might look like? Is she really going to remake the world again to match those visions?

(ngl, having magical girls target an endless stream of Incubators would be very satisfying on an emotional level, but somehow I don't think this is where this is going)

Or is Homura just messing with Sayaka here? Is she reminding her here that wraiths, not the Devil, are the true enemies of magical girls, and that's what Sayaka should be focusing on instead? Is she saying, "Yeah, ring me up and fight me when the wraiths are gone" because she knows it's fundamentally impossible, that there will never, ever be an end to the wraiths as long as the status quo continues?

But look at what she says again:

When that time comes, I suppose I can be your enemy. But do you think you'll be able to stand against me?

Be careful what you wish for, Homura. You might will get it. Especially if you've become a being whose words and emotions shape reality... and might have other effects you're not aware of.

It's funny because up until now the obvious interpretation was that the next film was going to be Homura vs. everybody else... and while that still might technically be true, it's probably not going to be the "Homura" we were originally envisioning.

I think Homura's question has more teeth than she realizes, and will come back to bite her before the end. Can she stand against an enemy with her name and her face and her powers? Can she stand against herself?

On a thematic level, I think it's inevitable that Homura will (directly or indirectly) create her own enemies in an ironically self-fulfilling prophecy. And the wording in her speech suggests that this will happen in conjunction with something going haywire with the wraiths, i.e., the current system starting to break down, which in turn implies the likely return of witches (or something to replace them). What she promises Sayaka here will likely come to pass--just not in a way Homura ever wanted or expected (or can control).

This scene ends with another choice that I think will be important in Walpurgis no Kaiten: Homura erasing Sayaka's memories while Nagisa laughes and dances joyfully (spinning in circles!!) in the background. The context implies that Nagisa retains her memories of all that has happened, but unlike Sayaka, she has no interest in antagonizing Homura, and is perfectly happy with her new situation. For all that Homura wages an all-out brawl with Mami over custody of Bebe, Homura barely interacts with Bebe, let along Nagisa--she certainly doesn't have the same antagonism/history with her as she does with Sayaka, and thus no reason to go after her.

I think it would be fitting if Nagisa's knowledge proved pivotal in the end, and if she's forced to choose between living the kind of life that her existence in the Law of Cycles denied her and her loyalty to Mami. It would also be an ironic echo of Nagisa's role in Rebellion, where she is the one to tell Mami the truth of what's going on in Homura's labyrinth, which causes their previously idyllic life together to come to an end.

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm analysis #walpurgis no kaiten #walpurgisnacht rising #madoka rebellion

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