Can we stop acting like Celine is pure evil?
So I am fed up with people just assuming Celine was terrible at raising Rumi or is completely cold hearted and just wanted Rumi to suffer or be gotten rid of. As someone who is getting a psychology degree and has a degree in being damaged by a mother who wanted a certain image, I have thoughts, feelings and opinions. Do I think she is perfect? No…. Do I think she is as simple as some people are assuming? Also no. So here are a few of my thoughts on the subject. Enjoy this ramble.
Also honestly this is written about a fictional character from fictional media and was just written for fun and because it interests me.
Obviously spoilers ahead.
Before I begin I know Celine is not perfect and she did cause Rumi harm with the choices she made. But I have seen plenty about what Celine did wrong so I just want us to try and look at reasons Celine is not the terrible person I have seen the internet portray her as.
So let’s start by looking at how Celine was raised and her beliefs because they do play a factor. She believes on a base level demons are bad. Does the film teach us this is not always true? Yes. Does it teach Celine?… Kind of. But with her very small amount of screen time a lot of what I will discuss is based on assumptions from context clues.
She knows what comes with the pressure of fame, being a hunter and how demons are viewed. We have to consider that she is pushing Rumi with Rumi’s own safety in mind. She knows if the information of Rumi being half demon got out ultimately it would put her in danger. Even as an instinctual response Mira and Zoey do hold up their weapons. They weren’t going to hurt Rumi but they still pulled weapons that could have hurt her. Celine had no idea of knowing what their reactions could be even if they are Rumi’s best friends. This could be because of her own guilt from what happened with Rumi’s mother. We know she killed her but we do not know the situation. All we know is Celine knew if they found out Rumi could be in danger that, yes they could also accept her, but in Celine's mind it wasn't worth the risk of the far worse alternative.
Just looking at the way they fight demons it is so fluid and smooth we can assume hunters have some kind of instincts they follow, probably honed by the training they receive. And When Celine senses Rumi behind her towards the end she turns with a weapon drawn but drops it when she sees Rumi even with her patterns and Demon side fully on show. This would mean Celine is not insane for thinking that it is a real possibility Rumi would have been in serious danger had they found out about her patterns.
As for her just being a bad maternal figure…. the one scene we see of her with young Rumi is she is braiding her hair and singing to her. Nothing about this scene suggests she was some awful parent figure who was never soft or caring. So just looking at that one flashback we get we can assume she was good to Rumi as a child.
When Celine says in the flashback “you’re not like them Rumi” we can assume she means that Rumi at six isn't running around stealing souls. She doesn’t want Rumi to think she is bad or evil just because she has patterns. This could be seen as Celine reminding Rumi her patterns do not define her. Possibly worried that Rumi will learn about Demons and think that's all she is. That maybe we should consider it came from a place of caring.
Another Flashback we get is Rumi saying that maybe Mira and Zoey will understand. When she once again doesn’t go to the bathhouse with them Celine responds with ‘nothing can change until your patterns are gone’ Because for all Celine knows they could attack Rumi on the spot. Maybe she was trying to protect the girl she raised from a baby. Like she swore she would.
Another important point people have made is that no one knows what would have happened to Rumi if the Honmoon had turned golden. Including Celine. I have seen some people say this was a plot by Celine to just get rid of Rumi but I don't think that is true. Because if Celine wanted Rumi gone she would have had years to get rid of her and it would have been very easy when she was a baby. I know she swore to Rumi’s mother to protect her and I will discuss the weight of this later because I do not think it was the sole factor. I would guess that Celine is truly hoping it will take Rumi’s patterns so she can be safe and free.
Mira even said that demons go through eternal suffering and she says this like it is common knowledge. Celine was just hopeful that Rumi wouldn't have to suffer for eternity if they can just get rid of her patterns using the Golden Honmoon. Because as far as we can assume Celine knows when Rumi eventually passes because she is still half mortal, she would be sent to suffer for eternity because of her patterns.
Towards the end of the film we have the scene where Rumi goes to Celine and asks her to ‘do what you should have done a long time ago.’ I have seen people say that Celine didn't move because she wanted to kill Rumi and was considering it. And that the fact she didn't instantly dive forward means she didn't care. If you look at her face in the scene, and nothing in animation is a mistake, she looks shocked. Because she might not be seeing the Adult Rumi kneeling in front of her but the little girl she raised. She is probably stunned into silence for a second as she never imagined Rumi would ask this of her. I would argue that if Celine had really wanted Rumi gone she could have done that a very very long time ago and no one would have known.
Rumi is asking because she says she is scared she will destroy the thing she swore to protect. This confirms Celine's fears of Rumi thinking she is nothing but a demon because of her patterns. So how does Celine react? She tells Rumi to cover up. Forget that she is a demon until they fix it. Possibly desperate to remind the girl she raised like a daughter that there is more to her than these marks and she doesn’t have to become one of them. It comes from a place of fear, but not fear for herself. Fear for what could happen to Rumi if she lets her fear win.
Then we get to the line ‘I didn’t know that would be a child.. Like you.’ This could be interpreted in so many different ways. Yes it could mean ‘ a demon baby’ but it could also mean a child she grew to love and care about. Because if we are to assume Celine knew Rumi was half demon when Rumi’s mother passed she still took her in anyway. And if she didn't and she learned this later somehow she still chose to continue to care for the young Rumi.
She even says ‘everything I was taught told me you were wrong but I made a promise’ She still made a choice to raise and protect and train Rumi. She could have kept her locked up away from the world and still been ‘keeping her promise’ so I think the choices she made with Rumi have to be about more than just that promise.
A lot of people also like to point out how she couldn’t touch the patterns on Rumi’s face. She just stated everything she was ever taught told her to fear what Rumi is. And even if she doesn’t touch the patterns she is still trying to tell Rumi everything will be okay because she won’t sacrifice her. Which she could have easily done at this moment so all the ‘she just wants Rumi gone.’ arguments really seem to fall flat here. She probably wants to save Rumi possibly from the previously mentioned eternal suffering.
Then we have the fact that Celine can’t look at her in this scene. I don't think it is because she doesn’t love Rumi or think she is a monster but because it reminds Celine she has failed. She has failed and Rumi is probably condemned to eternal suffering anyway.
Celine also states she does love Rumi. When Rumi then gets angry about the ‘all of me’ it ripples through the Honmoon and Celine goes back into ‘saving the world mode’ with her line of ‘this is why we have to hide it.’ We don't know her story but she seems adamant that faults and fears must never be seen, maybe because it's what she was taught but maybe she has experienced something that led her to this belief. Something that could have broken the Honmoon and ended the world before, we just don't know but what Celine sees right now is that she is right. Rumi is possibly going to suffer for eternity and the more she is embracing her demon side the worse the situation is getting for the world. A world and a child Celine spent years protecting. It is showing her how she has failed. Failed the world. Failed Rumi and failed Rumi’s mother.
Celine doesn’t know what Rumi means when she says she is glad to see it destroyed and we don't know what came of this as Rumi then leaves.
It is important to remember no matter what happened the promise Celine made to Rumi’s mother is an important factor in her choices but I don't think it ended up being the only reason she kept Rumi. And does Celine have her faults? Yes. Like I said, she isn’t perfect. She is a character with a lot of depth for such little screen time.
It is important to remember the focus of the film, it is about accepting who you are even if the world thinks it is wrong. But do I think Celine spent years being awful to Rumi… No. Do I think she was some stone cold woman who didn't even care for the child she raised? No. It takes a very certain type of person to know someone for that long, to watch them grow and not even care about them. And Celine does not seem like that type of person.
I know there are a lot of points, including all the things that Rumi being half demon could be a metaphor for, they are not lost on me and if it had been a film about those and not a world ending force my evaluation of Celine would have looked very different.
I have not covered a lot of things but this is already long enough. I just can’t stand any characters with depth being made out to be villains or bad people just because they have a past that affects how they see things, because that's how people work. I hope in the follow ups we have been promised we get to see more about Celine and explanations for so many things we didn't get answers to. And hopefully Celine learns that now it is safe for Rumi she can finally relax a bit.
Like I said this does not cover everything and Celine is not perfect and definitely made mistakes and hurt people. I am not saying it is okay I am just saying it is not completely black and white as to if she is a good or a bad person.
