This post will contain spoilers for chapter 206 onward.
I find it very interesting—and I haven't seen anyone else point it out—that whenever we see Snake nearly naked, it's in a moment where he is being exploited.
"The Snakeman's Dance" is his circus act, but this isn't his usual costume he wears around the circus. It's meant to show off his skin, especially his scales, and make him more snake-like. Snakes are often associated with sin—especially in Christianity. Given the Christian undertones of the manga, it can also represent sensuality. Making it perfect for his exploitation within his own performance.
When he's in his casual circus attire, we see his skin covered more. His sleeves are long and drape over his hands, and the collar extens pretty high as well. His tunic is long too, going past his hips. His boots even are long, extending up midway to his thigh. His chest and face are really the only visible skin, and his chest is more so open because of the way his clothes wrap on his body. I would imagine as well that this makes it easy for his snakes to wrap themselves under his clothes for warmth.
Side note: I had a friend in college with a snake and I always held her when we would chill and watch TV. She always managed to find her way under my clothes and snuggle up against my skin for warmth. Snakes can't regulate their own body temperature since they're cold blooded, so they seek out warmth. Being right against someone's skin is the perfect warmth, so I imagine Snake's snakes doing the same.
In the (dreaded) chapter 206 cover, we see him half naked with Doll in her circus costume, covering his eyes. The symbolism is clear: Doll was hiding the truth about the first string members, which Snake was blind to. Every night, he would perform, putting himself on display for the sake of the circus, wrapped in his snakes which were his truest allies. In this sense, it was his naivety that was exploited, considering his snakes told him details about Sebastian and Ciel sneaking around the tents which he relayed to Joker and the other first string members. Despite this, they still kept him in the dark about the truth.
We also see the stars in the background. Stars are a big motif throughout Black Butler, so their here representing that Doll is actually one of the bizarre dolls, again something that Snake was lied to about initially.
Of course, his backstory is filled with images of him half naked and locked in a cage, put on display as a half-snake-man like an animal in a zoo. He's made to eat raw mice for show, which he spits out when no one is looking. It's degrading. It's humiliating. He's kept in brutal conditions and considered not even human at all. This is the clearest example of his exploitation, but the saddest thing is that even after being rescued by the first string members in the circus, his exploitation didn't end.
We don't see him properly covered until he joins the Phantomhives. His footman uniform is dapper and classy, covering his body fully even down to the gloves on his hands. He's timid and shy when he's introduced to the other servants, but Sebastian reminds him that a footman needs to be confident. Footman were often for show, they had jobs to do (as we see him often helping with chores around the manor), but they were also supposed to be handsome and stand in the rooms looking pretty.
This could be taken as exploitative by contemporary society's standards, but it’s so different here from his previous exploitation. Ciel lied to him and hired him telling Sebastian that it wouldn't do to have him try another assassination attempt on him. He thinks the snakes can be useful as well, as all of his servants were hired to assist him in his dirty work. Having them play these roles as servants is really just for show, their real jobs are more aligned with Ciel's goals.
Snake doesn't shy away from any of this. He does his chores around the manor diligently, he and his snakes lend assistance to Ciel and Sebastian without question, and he even worries about his appearance affecting Ciel when they're on the Campania. His exploitation shifted drastically, as he too gets many benefits from working at the Phantomhive manor. He got an edcuation for the first time in his life and also recieved proper wages. He had a warm bed and meals that he didn’t have to fight for daily (although as a first string member he got to eat first, but I think it's safe to assume that the food at the manor is a hundred times better than at the circus, even for servants). He got to bathe regularly, in a real bathtub instead of out in the open. He even acknowledges that the manor is the only place where he actually got to live as himself and not as a spectacle. After all, the Phantomhive manor has become a twisted sanctuary for those who were starting over.
Even when we see him taking part in operations for Ciel, he's still covered in proper clothes. He works hard to complete his missions. Even as he was dying, he admits that he always knew there was something off. He knew he was being kept in the dark by the circus troupe, but he hoped deep down they would open up to him fully over time. He had a sneaking suspicion about being hired by Ciel, yet he thought if he kept going, he would eventually figure out the truth.
In the chapter where we see his cinematic record, the chapter cover is him reaching up towards a hand giving him salvation. He's in his casual circus clothes, therefore, this hand offering him "light" must be Ciel's. This is made clear when we see Ciel's hand (who reached out with his right hand) versus Doll's (who reached out with her left).
Special note from my English bestie as I'm reading this to her: the reason we shake with our right hand is because it was the sword hand. By offering the right hand, it's showing that you have no weapons and are being honest. When you genuinely want to help someone, you always reach out with your dominant hand which is—for most people—the right hand.
Snake is such a tragic character through and through. All he's ever wanted was a place to belong. He just wanted to be treated as a person, and to be himself. Yet, in the very end, one of the last moments we see in his cinematic record, is him smiling while sitting AT the table with everyone in the Phantomhives. He was clothed, warm, and fed. He was smiling with the others. Servants don't sit at the table and eat with their master, but in that moment they did. For that moment, they were equals. In that moment, he felt true happiness. Which is all he ever wanted out of life.
Some of my favourite Wanda looks and sitcom themes from past episodes! Gonna miss hearing “previously on WandaVision” but definitely not gonna miss yelling at the screen when “please stand by” pops up lol. Now EXCUSE me while I continue SOBBING about the finale
