I absolutely love this arc, it does a fantastic job of reminding the audience the central premise of this story. That war is bad and if you believe any propaganda enough then you might cause one.
We all can understand as outsiders that little [Redacted] thinking all Ostonians are evil is bad and that his father is right to be angry with him (not to say the slap was appropriate). We Know that when he almost kills Frankie saying the same things it's Wrong. (You're monsters, you started this war. Yeah, that's what my side says about you too) We can objectively see that no matter what the SSS did to that man on the bus or his daughter that making hostages of kids is won't make it right. We might feel for them but we care more about the victims. They're 6 year olds who we love.
But these are just little guys! Just folks who want to fix the show! The audience agrees it was shit! The cast does! Everyone is united! Haven't you ever loved a story only to be betrayed at the end? The audience has! YOU probably have been! What if you Could fix it! Let's fix everything!
It's fairly easy to think that in 130. Everyone starts buying into it! The audience, the actors, even Yor and Yuri get wrapped up in the excitement of it!
Yor gets pumped up by the idea of practicing play a role! She'll prove that she IS cut out for this! Yuri was worried at first but he's the assistant director now! They're having a good time. You should be too!
Twilight, our only pov who was In the war - who saw and felt that propaganda first hand- who killed people, a lot of people in the name of a story he was sold, is the only one who keeps trying to remind us.
Aren't we trying to end this quickly? Isn't the priority to just get this done? Sure he's hamming up the 'my wife' angle for Yuri but his 'phew' the his safety is more certain now that he's not on camera and his logic are sound. Just get this over with and done so we all go home safely.
But forget that! It's so cute when he defends Yor here! Don't threaten her- stop it! Look Yor's not afraid and she can sense danger. If they were Really a threat she'd be concerned, right?
But he is. They are. These are people who have prioritized the Story in their heads over the lives of other people. No matter how warm there smile is when they greet you.
And at this moment we are all reminded what the last chapter wanted us to forget. What everyone forgot when they were having such a good time. That they are in danger. These people do not care about them or value their lives. Their lives are worth less than the story to these people.
These people are just as dangerous as the bus hijackers, who by their need to hurt the SSS and get their people back (all dead we are told) and by the loss of their loved ones- decide to hold two busses full of children hostage. They are the same as Spoofy when he (almost) kills Frankie. When he kills everyone Spoofy Didn't 'let' escape. They are people who have bought into the story of their victimization and pain that they will do anything to set the scales right just like the dog bombers. Like Edgar in chapter one, who is so plainly evil its hard even to understand him.
The people in this arc are not hard to understand. They love their show. Their story. So much that they would do anything to fix it.
Read this as Loid loving Yor if you want. Read this as Twilight protecting a civilian if you want. Read this as Twilight reacting first because he has been in this situation before. Read this as Yuri having to pause to remember they were a threat when Twilight, who even when he pretended to be a sweet man eager to help with the set, did not forget. He is the only one we see who did not. (Did you? I wouldn't be surprised if you did too. You were meant to.) Because [Redacted] knows what he did for the sake of a story once. Over and over again.
Because this is the thinking that starts wars. He knows this first hand.
My pain, my story, my victim is worth more than everyone else. I don't care how I get from point A to point B. Any route will do. Were you caught up in their story? As [Redacted] was as a child? As the bus hijackers were? Did you think 'Yeah I'd have loved to do that for my favorite show that was destroyed at the last minute too?'
It's hard to understand the nationalism that drives people to these actions from the outside, especially for a fake country. The pain of losing your whole family and needing to balance the scales. To do it over a goddamn wig like Edgar did.
But this? This is easy to understand. 'You loved something that was ruined. What if you had the power to fix it?'
'What if you stopped caring about what you had to do to fix it?'
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