"The key lies in the reflection"
This is a phrase that we knew would be important in the comic, especially due to our Dreams by Night (S1EP39) knowledge. The more the story progresses, the more we see reflections and mirrors to be brought up, whether this is about Nox's backstory, Violet's connection to them, or the Old Man's reveal.
I wanted to speak on this in great length, but I came across amazing posts made by amazing people analysing it all wonderfully already. Enjoyed everything I've seen so far and honestly I don't like repeating stuff that people have perfectly put into words already.
So I'd like to take this opportunity to focus on another aspect of this phrase. Not just the words, but who said them and who were they directed towards.
This is a phrase that belongs to Silver and is told to Chase. And if we think of it this way, there's a whole entire different message being implied here. So I decided to go back for a bit, to the first (and honestly most fun imo) mirrors/reflections we've ever seen in the comic, that also happen to be specifically focusing on Chase.
THE HEROINE STORYBOOK VISION!!
Because let's remember, this was Chase's clue card. The key lies in HIS reflection. And this might mean his storybook one.
We know the finale is near and it seems impossible for our characters escape the cult's clutches. So I think it's time for them to go back as well, to everything they've read and everything they've learnt from stories this whole summer. Now I don't know how much it could help, but they did say they were gonna do this with the power of friendship. Maybe it was a joke, but Punko is the kind of person to hide truth between laughs and giggles.
Now recently I reread some old discord conversations with a couple of moots of mine and the theory that Nox might be a fictional character was brought up. Obviously that was before we found out he's a key, so the theory doesn't stand anymore, but it was based mainly on something very specific Punko mentioned once. Another work of hers, The Elephant Book, takes place in the same universe Cinderella Boy is. This is an odd thing to specify for no reason. So yeah, here we are talking about it again.
Personally I haven't read it, but based on what I know from conversations alone, the story is about a couple of kids investigating an Order that was trying to bring fictional characters to the human world. And at some point it's mentioned that Alice from Alice in Wonderland attempted to enter the human world THROUGH A MIRROR.
So now I'm proposing these:
1) What if our characters escape the cult by somehow being absorbed into a fictional storybook realm through Wave's mirror, rather than entering in it through a storybook? Because the mirror isn't just a mirror or some sort of cage, but a portal to other dimensions, fictional or not? What if it's the same Portal Alice attempted to enter through??
I mean, this could explain why the fast pass ep is called "Story arc". It could literally take place in a story but not in the traditional way we're used to. It wouldn't even need the keys for it to happen!!
And 2) What if someone escapes through the mirror into the human world? Someone like the heroines Chase has acted like/helped before? We know Alice in "The Elephant Book" tried to pass through it, but I'm not sure if she succeeded. What if all the fictional characters whose reflections we've seen so far when Chase stares in the mirror manage to do that?
This is where the theory about the consciousness of the fictional characters comes in, too. They've shown the ability to feel things that are apparently "between the lines" when in reality they're not stated, nor implied at all. They've made facial expressions that betray that they know what's gonna happen to them before it even does. In Cinderfella we saw that Chase, despite HATING books, went out of his way to save the step sisters from the danger they KNEW was coming and they bowed in gratitude afterwards. Cinderella didn't do that. This is Chase's doing. This is Chase going against storybook rules and his bet with Buddy because he doesn't wanna hurt anyone and decides to see the good in people. And the fictional characters know that.
And this is just one example. Same thing has happened with almost every villainous role in the story. Chase doubted cousin Eva (Beach Boys) was a Villainess, just because she made a bad thought. He saw potential in Dracifer (ROBAM) and helped him be a better man. He tried to save the fictional animals in Still Waters, even at the expense of his own life. Because they might not be real in his world, but they're real IN THIS ONE. Deacon has empathised and related with the queen in "Mr Mischief". Prunella befriended Drucinda in "A Murder, Unfortunately."
Chase (and later the rest of the key holder squad) has been humanising the characters the whole time. Spending time with them, wanting to understand them, SAVING THEM. That's what makes them meaningful and real. People looking at books as something more than mere words on paper is what makes them real. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch for the characters they've helped to return the favour when they needed them.
Also I'd just really like to see the animals from Cinderfella attacking the Old Man, i don't even know.