Alight, so I went over the different routes and their events in a different post, but naturally I have to talk about the other important aspect of Cage of Yesteryear I, and that is reliving the events of the manor tragedy.
This will include spoilers so avoid if you haven't done the story yet and want to be surprised.
This was huge! We already suspected that the next part of the main story would be involving Alice’s past to a degree but a lot of us thought it was going to be centered on the organization of Vilhelm Lamb and his Faro Ladies (which still may happen next part, we’ll see). Instead, we got the manor tragedy which is just as good, if not better, but…it was a double edged sword in learning what happened/confirming what we knew or guess, and in killing our emotions.
Alright, hands up. How many of you guys were jumpscared by this son of a biscuit?
So, Alice getting tucked away in her past memory of the manor tragedy was brought about her being found by the mysterious being in the secret room. Whether this person drugged her again is unclear, but it sure seems like it by the fact that Alice’s trauma resurfaces and what happens right after she leaves the room (or really when she thinks she leaves the room only to be confronted with “Queen Bee,” “Nightmare,” or “Fool’s Gold” depending on who you explored with…if you went solo you automatically get Melly btw).
The scene that kicks off this tragic memory, is Alice in that same secret room being found by her father. It is here we learn crucial information. Alice admits to her dad that she lost “Hermes’ staff” aka the flute when she went out to the woods alone. All this time, it was thought that Orpheus had lost the flute which led to the bandits raiding the manor but instead it was Alice.
Alice admitting she lost the flute that would allow the bandits to raid the manor.
This adds another layer to the tragedy as we know we can guess how much guilt Alice may hold over losing the flute. Unfortunately, it seems as if Orpheus to this day believes he was the one who lost the flute as Alice never got the chance to tell him the truth. It’s…pretty saddening when you think about it.
Still, another important piece of information we learn in this scene is that Alice’s dad had a connection to Lord Melbourne aka Villiam Lamb, the medical researcher and leader of the organization, You Know Who, who will eventually adopt Alice years letter. Her dad is writing up a letter that will be delivered to Mr. Lamb, but what it said and what their exact connection to each other is unknown as of right now.
Mr. DeRoss...you have some explaining to do.
Regardless, Alice ends up in a white maze room where tables and chairs and other such things are floating along with her newly gifted necklace from her father. Sort of reminds me of Alice’s fall into Wonderland, if I’m being honest. Here, she interacts with the painting, “The Souls of Acheron” where Hermes guides the departed souls to be taken away by Charon to the afterlife and boy, oh boy…
This was also rather not okay...
The amount of speculation I’ve seen surrounding this painting along with those who are lamenting and crying over seeing their faves in this is well warranted. Because what to do you mean I have to sit here and one by one send the hunters and the survivors to their final destination? Some of them look absolutely pitiful…
Like Sangria and Ganji especially (considering what happens to them...). Lily also looks like she just accepted her fate in despair...
They were kind of sick for making us do that.
Anyways, while some who were in the painting have been confirmed to be dead, there are those whose fate is still up in the air. However, most, if not all visitors to the manor end up dead in one way or another. Though some do survive their initial game, it doesn't mean they live long after that (ex: Luchino (human) is there). Still, it's not like they could fit everyone in the painting.
After the painting scene, we enter the beginning of the end as Alice joins her mother, Orpheus, and his mother in a grand hall that is in the middle of being decorated for Alice’s birthday.
First time we see the mothers and little Orphy in action in the story.
The warm scene is cut short when a crow slams into the window (seriously, what’s up with birds diving headfirst into windows in this place?) and ruins the mood as the lights go out. As the mothers go take a look at what caused the sudden power outage, Orpheus and Alice stay behind and it is here that little Orphy presents his gift to Alice:
Bro was so awkward and sweet to her (lol)...and now he's drugging her like there's no tomorrow. My goodness...
Afterwards, this is where Alice wanted to give Orpheus the flute and tell him the truth but a noise interrupts them which causes Orpheus to tell Alice to stay in the hall as he checks it out.
Of course, she doesn’t and ventures out in search of him…or anyone really. This leads us to the white room of floating objects again and the painting of “Die Toteninsel” which is German for “Isle of the Dead”…how quaint of a title that is…
The painting is also different from the original as it shows the former home of Alice and Orpheus. Orpheus is the rower here as Alice dressed in white as usual (but in the context of the original painting, the one dressed in white was the soul departing to the underworld).
Interestingly, this painting has also been interpreted as showing Charon guiding souls to the underworld upon the River Styx or River Acheron. So again, a lot of “Let’s take a lovely boat ride down to the underworld, y’all! It’s gonna be a splendid time and you have no choice in the matter~”
After you arrive, we are now back in the white room except now it resembles more of a maze. Here, you’ll go through three sections where you’ll meet Bonbon, Burke, and “On the Way” Alice, who all ask you to partake in some mini games to help them and in return they’ll gift you drawings done by little Alice herself that’ll lead you out of there and back to the memory of the manor tragedy.
The drawings of Alice depicting those who she shared a life with at the manor from Orpheus to Bonbon to Bane and more. Some figures are still being debated on who they are exactly in the community.
Another interesting image that can emerge once you finish older Alice's puzzle. It shows Alice in four stages of her life: Childhood, Australia/Experimentation, Faro Lady (speculation at the moment), Journalist. Hoping that we will explore the middle stages of her life soon.
I usually love adding pictures to my posts but from here on out, I’ll not be adding many from the manor tragedy at least because not only do I feel it’ll make some uncomfortable but it’s just sad honestly.
This next part I believe is the part that really tore into people’s souls and made them probably have to put down the game for a bit. Why? Because we see how Alice’s parents are killed. The bandits really made themselves targets of every players hit list.
Notably, this is the scene where we see Alice’s pure white shoes turn red due to the blood. Did you notice that? Memory has always been depicted having red shoes and it turns out that’s probably because in Orpheus’ mind he is stuck remembering Alice’s bloodstained white shoes as red when indeed they were white.
The morbid truth comes to light.
And try as he might to keep Alice safe and under his protection, after the two witness her mother’s death (with Alice giving them away because that poor girl just HAD to see that happen right before her eyes…these bloody bandits), but try as Orpheus might, in the end he has to leave her.
Earlier back in the hall, you can tell he genuinely cared for her. Is there any of that genuine care now however?
Those words have become rather famous for applying to Alice. You guys wonder if Alice's foolhardy bravery in her adult life was partially influenced by these words? If so, we can blame Orpheus for Alice getting in way over her head at times.
Take note that this is the master bedroom where years later Alice will ironically investigate with Orpheus and the other two participants of the games. We do see that there is a trap door underneath the bed so it defintely leads to somewhere but since we don’t see Alice use it, we have no idea where it leads to.
Alice's father points it out as he lays dying. He probably wanted her to take it. If she did, we don't see her taking it in this part of the story.
Still, this is important because it’s a clue to what Melly, Orpheus, and Norton claim in their routes: that the washroom had a secret passage that led to the Greenhouse (Orpheus and Norton) or the Woods (Melly).
Yet, none of them mention that the bed had a possible secret passage, meaning it’s wholly possible that one or more of them used that passage instead. The fact that there is green spots underneath the bed points to either Melly or Norton as they were the only two to have this faint glowing green stains on them.
Melly was closer to her shoes while Norton was closer to his gloves. Why different places?
Anyways, after horribly witnessing the bandits ransack the room before killing her father, Alice is at risk of being found until Orpheus valiantly runs out of the room to lead them away. Presumably, this may be the last time Alice and Orpheus see each other until years later when they meet again at the manor under different identities.
Still…what we just witnessed was not necessarily good for the heart. I personally nearly cried after seeing Alice’s father die because seeing her curl up into a ball clutching her little Orphy nearly broke me.
I do believe the writers really outdid themselves with Cage of Yesteryear and this is only the first part! I fear they’ll make us wait for another 2 years but I’m hopeful that will not be the case as I assume AoM 1 and 2 were only months apart…(I may be wrong about that as I wasn’t playing around that time).
You guys want another heart wrenching fact? Someone pointed out her parents statues on the homescreen are the positions they were in when they died. Yeah, sweet dreams with that information...
Another person guessed that the reason Alice has gloves is due to her previous habit of biting her fingers to the point of bleeding them when under stress or anxiety...
Though in the trailer from last night, it seems as if Alice goes to bite her finger or she just could be covering her mouth in disbelief or it could just be a gesture they made her do in order to make the scene transition smoother. You be the judge.
With that, I won’t wast time and bid you all adieu. Here’s to hoping the next main story part will come sooner rather than later.
I also wanted to point at that her parents are still very much a part of her from how she uses a blue bow to tie up her hair, similar to her mother along with keeping the necklace her father gave her on her birthday. Not to mention of course the Orphy doll that she brought to the manor.
Personally, I think that's quite nice. Having physical remainders of perhaps the two people in your life that loved and cherished you the most and even in their dying moments were concerned for your safety is something not everyone gets in life. It also probably gives Alice the constant strength and determination to keep going.
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