What it means that the series keeps comparing Ernstmann to Abraham
Prefacing this post that this has spoilers about the most recent episode. So, if you haven’t watched it yet you might want to scroll.
The most recent episode brought us some flashbacks from before the timeskip and I am really curious about where this will be going, because we got another episode where the series directly compares Ernstmann to Abraham. More exactly, to when Abraham was fully ready to follow God’s command and sacrifice his son Isaac. I talked in an earlier post about these parallels, and with this new episode we’ve gotten interesting lore details that once again reference this motif the series keeps brining up.
Previous episodes already established that Ernstmann feels guilty for using Uriel for the sake of getting back the attention of the scientific world. And the most recent episode confirms that Ernstmann’s desperation of failing to repeat his scientific success was the hook the deceiver used to pull Ernstmann into his plans. More, it got confirmed what I was suspecting since a long time: It was not Ernstmann’s idea to kiII Uriel. It was a course of action the deceiver suggested to him: Save the world that has been thrown into disarray (and get back fame through this). Do it by sacrificing the angel that came to earth to answer prayers that were asking for God's help. Chose the comfort you can find in this world over God.
Since he had build the angel engine the press had titled Ernstmann “the father of the Angel”, and he gladly took that title and the prestige that came with it. And his conscience is making him feel guilty to this day that he never much acted like a father but used and took advantage of the Angel that helped him to win back scientific fame.
Come, watch Angel Engine. It’s the uplifting story of a single father doing his best to bring out the full potential of his two sons.
May I direct your attention to the deceiver ominously lurking behind Uriel.
Judging from this episode the new string of flashbacks hopefully will clarify some more of the circumstances that took place before the timeskip. We now know that it was the deceiver’s idea to kiII Uriel. The only reason Uriel is still alive is because Barachiel refused to kiII the Angel that from a biological point of view is standing somewhere between being his brother and his father.
Time to talk about a theory I’ve started to have since some time. Motif recap: The most recent episode goes out of its way to call Ernstmann Abraham. Remember how when God commanded for Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac this only was the first part of what happened there? Before Abraham could go through with the sacrifice, God intervened and send him an angel, commanding him to stop. The thing was that God never had intended for Isaac to die. Instead a ram was sacrificed that Abraham spotted in that moment. How does that connect to the situation at hand? Just like Isaac Uriel survived his ordeal. Ernstmann tortured Uriel, but he did not go through with the ultimate sacrifice of kiIIing him. He was stopped from doing it. There was an Angel who intervened: Barachiel. He refused to kiII his brother.
It never surprised me that Barachiel refused to kiII Uriel, because being a cold blooded kiIIer is simply not who Barachiel is. He is not cruel, he is not malicious. On the contrary, he yearns for human connection and friends. But what always impressed me was that he stayed firm with his refusal, even when Ernstmann, Ecklebloom and later Babel-1 tried to use emotional pressure to guilt trip him into doing it. The series made it clear that Barachiel would do everything for Ernstmann. He loves him and sees him as his father, and knowing he disappointed him is not something he will take lightly. Yet Barachiel stayed firm with his refusal.
Was this a strength and willpower Barachiel managed to find on his own? Or did he have emotional and spiritual support in this difficult moment that put him under great pressure? I think it’s the latter. I think the series might have given us some visual hints that God intervened and protected Uriel when Barachiel refused to kiII him. Barachiel literally was the Angel sent by God.
What are the clues hinting to this? You see, during the course of the series Barachiel usually wears white, or seldom very bright pastels. It is the color of his clothes since the moment Ernstmann presented “his blessing to this world”, it is the color Barachiel wears after the timeskip. But there is one noteworthy exception. In the scene Barachiel refuses Ernstmann’s command to kiII Uriel, Barachiel wears red and blue. He also wears these colors when resisting the attempts of Babel-1 respectively of Babylon the Great to guilt trip him to go through with the deceiver’s plan. Blue and Red robes? There is one other character in the series we see wearing these colors. And just like Barachiel this character has dark hair. Just like Barachiel he stands in contrast to the other people in the series because compared to them he looks unhealthily pale: The character Barachiel visually resembles in that moment is Christ.
Look at the colors, the draping of the robes: The two are basically mirroring each other. I doubt that it is a coincidence the series makes such a strong visual parallel between Barachiel and Christ in this moment.
More, when he withstands Babel-1s attempts at manipulation, Barachiel wears a rosary around his neck. Reminder that a rosary holds images of Christ on the cross and of the Virgin Mary. You know, the previous episode was the first time the character of Christ – or as the series is now calling him, Yeshua – has been given a voice instead of only being given subtitles to show what he is saying. It’s an interesting development and from a storytelling perspective it would be the perfect point to reveal in what ways he would have been involved in events that took place before the timeskip.
If this theory is correct and Christ intervened through Barachiel to protect Uriel, this brings several questions. Was Barachiel aware that God was speaking to him? We have seen a moment in the series where he was asking himself “how can I find God?”, so there clearly is something in him that yearns for the divine. But would he have been aware it was God who was telling him to spare Uriel’s life? Was it a command Barachiel picked up on a subconscious level, without being fully aware of what was happening? A lot of questions for a speculation that is as of yet unconfirmed but appears plausible. I hope incoming episodes will reveal more facts of what happened before the time skip. The answers should turn out to be interesting.
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