What did you think of the latest fastpass? Specifically, the last scenes đŤŁ
Heh...
REALLY BIG FAST PASS SPOILERS FOR UNORDINARY EPISODE/CHAPTER 389
DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU ARE NOT A FAST PASS USER!!!!
if you don't care and want to be spoiled, you can keep reading but you have been warned....
It's time for a less serious actual "Roosh Ramble" for once lol
Sorry I'm like kinda late on answering this LOL I got busy... reading unOrdinary for the last ask I got hehe... before I give my thoughts though, I will let you know that I'm not going to go into anything too in-depth cuz I have plans for another chapter analysis that I'll be tying to my episode 375 analyses (specifically the Sera one). Stay tuned for my full analysis on the Jera scenes in 389 once that it comes out in like 2 weeks' time :3
Anyway, overall I loved ep 389 (shocker, I know đ¤Ł)! It makes full sense that Sera wouldn't be able to hear John at all, and it's nice to know that we have confirmation that there's quite literally nothing anyone who gets possessed by Orrin can do to even fight him. I also didn't think that Arlo was still able to fight LMAO... sorry Arlo... it's definitely the first time we've actually seen Arlo not immediately be put out of commission after his barrier got popped, but that's solely thanks to Amelia's help. Kass' team is definitely not in good shape since everyone's low on aura and their only supports (Arlo and Amelia) have been severely weakened as well.
I never actually considered that a healer would be enough to also repair the damage someone's barrier/shield can take, but I guess it would make sense that someone's HP would be tied to their defense-based ability. Ronan is doing a better job than Amelia, but he also has the blonde bobbed lady most likely buffing him. I do wonder what her ability does, but I'm guessing it's some kind of AOE buff?? Maybe she can choose who she decides to support too. I'm not entirely sure if she's buffing Orrin for him to be able to possess Sera, but she's definitely doing something that's making the barriers around her group a lot durable than Arlo's.
Seeing Arlo terrified of John and Sera's abilities really put into perspective how lucky he was to even know them back at Wellston. Or like... makes the old him seem even more insane that he was picking fights with Sera, who was always able to one-tap his barrier, and John, who really wasn't afraid to beat Arlo into a pulp again. Current Arlo would be horrified that Old Arlo would've dared to go against them like that LMAOOOO. Maybe he really should try to stay on their good side and not consider backstabbing them if he knows what's good for him... not that he would but I previously considered that he would backstab them in hopes of going "above and beyond" for that proving himself bs Val put in his head.
Well, good for Arlo for bringing Sera back! It removes any paranoia I had about the chances of Sera being possessed remotely again by Orrin... but I hope Sera will at least carry some stress about the situation in the future. I'm definitely evil for saying that but it's about time those consequences that she's always brushing off would rear their heads!! (more on this in a future post)
Okay let's talk about what you really wanted me to talk about lol...
I won't lie, I literally keep rereading 389 over and over again just so that I can burn the Jera scenes in my head so much. Most of this episode was John worrying nonstop about Sera and him actively holding back from actually hurting her. Honestly if it was anyone else that got possessed, I really do think that John would've gone ham with the stalling. But because it was Sera, he was doing everything in his power to not hurt her, which ended up backfiring and hurting him a lot more than he needed to be.
((I actually did write a mini Jera fic after 388 came out... but I won't be publishing that either until 388 comes out. I got the Sera guilt and the John cheesiness down at least!!))
When Orrin said he was going to kill John with "the one closest to [him]" and then make Sera kill herself right after, I was like "damn... even Orrin is aware of the Jera closeness." Like yes, Jera is so close and obvious that even the big villains can tell that they're the closest to each other and frankly, each others' biggest weaknesses. John only reacted negatively after Orrin threatened Sera's life too... which makes me think about how John doesn't give a shit about himself and still cares about Sera more than life itself!!! (more on this in my planned post on 389)
While we don't get any of Sera's thoughts in 389, you can still tell that she definitely didn't think far enough ahead to consider how badly injured John would've been doing everything to stop her. Did she know that he wouldn't have the heart to attack her? Did she know how worried sick John would've been for her safety? What'll she say to John after this is all over? Will she apologize for hurting him mentally and physically?
MORE SERA GUILT!!!!! YEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
I think Sera's faith in herself and her friends (Arlo and John) is very strong, and that's probably why she didn't consider how much damage she would've done for them to stop her... cuz she knew they would've stopped her for sure. I KNOW... SHE DID ASK "it worked?" like girl what....!!! you beat the shit out of your friends đĽ and you're conscious again!! How many more years of their lives can they lose from stress alone? A bunch, I'd bet lol....
Idek if we can consider the John vs Orrin!Sera fight as their 2nd fight since it was really mostly John stalling against her. Definitely had parallels to ep 222-223 (which was also the last time John had used Arlo's barrier btw!!), but it was definitely a more one-sided fight this time. John must've used up a bunch of aura alone from maintaining his better barrier, successfully using Liam's water form, and using Amelia's ropes to keep Orrin!Sera still enough while Arlo dispelled the possession.
I will also say that I loved the scene where Sera woke up from her possession and her first concern was John.... yes he definitely was still hugging her and he had to unwrap her and melt the ice he trapped her in, but it was so lovely!! When Sera asked if John was okay and if he could still heal while gingerly touching his bloodied half of his face.... SO TENDER!!!!!!!! I loved how he was still holding onto her even though he had no reason to do so... any excuse to be touching Sera or whatever hehe (let's be real he probably just wanted to hold onto her longer now that she was his Sera again). No one to interrupt the little world they found themselves in for like 5 panels... wonderful <3
"It's good to have you back." John always says something cheesy after crazy shit happens to him and Sera swoops in to help him. He definitely does it to downplay any seriously bodily injuries he sustained without Sera around to help him, but ohhhh my god... LOCK IN JOHN!!! It's like his weak attempt to make Sera feel better when he obviously isn't okay. I hate him (/j) but it's cute... I find it endearing that even in this situation he's still downplaying his suffering so that Sera wouldn't feel as bad, but she's still feeling bad.
I'm so sure that John and Sera would obliterate Liam, Candice, Korin, and the two other Orrin loyalists that are now trapped with them even though they're not at full strength, but we'll see in a few days xoxo.
Celebratory Orrin!Sera mspaint doodle that I'll repost on my art acc once 388 comes out... I doubt we will ever see her possessed again but I actually enjoyed seeing how crazy she looked while Orrin had her in his grasp! She looked so unlike herself it was wild, but I loved ittttt!!! I love Seraphina and I think her being possessed was genuinely so disgusting and a violation of everything she believed in, but I still liked seeing her so twisted :3c
Sera really is her mother's daughter LMAO. It's a pure coincidence that Orrin has green eyes, but Sera with the green glow makes her look exactly like Narisa....
Okay I think that's most of the thoughts I had about ep 389... everything is kind of all over the place but I hope you don't mind!!! My analysis posts take a lot longer to make since I spend time rereading to make sure I don't really miss anything, but general thoughts are just whatever the hell I think about while I reread whatever you want my opinion on.
I do appreciate that you and other people take time out of your day to want to see what I have to say about stuff!!! It's a lot more satisfying to not be constrained by Webtoon comment limits or hounded by commenters who don't bother to think a bit harder about unO...! I try to avoid fandom content for unO for my own peace of mind, but I'm always willing to talk and analyze things for funsies :D thanks again for the ask!
I will return in 2-3 weeks time after 389 is released for free for a more in-depth Jera post >:3c maybe there'll be more Jera in the fast pass chapters from now but if it's anything crazy I'll just make more posts LOLLLL I have free will to do whatever the fuck I want actually <3
I don't know if I'm misremembering cuz i don't really reread the royal trio chapters all that much but from my memories, I find it quite interesting that if Remi, Isen and Blyke were the ones watching Kass and Arlo's team vs Orrin's team instead of Jera, then they would've jumped in ALOT sooner (especially Blyke) to help Arlo. But compared to John and Sera, even after people died they still refused to jump in until the healing ability showed up (cuz that's the deal John and Sera made)
It reads that John and Sera are being written in an anti hero way (especially Sera cuz we all know John was always an anti hero) while the royal trio are being written in a more typical heroes way
I don't think Jera were wrong for that however, they have no reason to help the feds out after everything they went through and are only doing it for the info on Jane (you can count Arlo too but Jane and getting Orrin's location was the first priority). I'm just glad not all the characters being written with the same "no morally questionable" writing
(no fastpass spoilers please, this is only up to chapter 386)
SPOILERS FOR UNORDINARY UP TO EPISODE/CHAPTER 386
((This is gonna be a long post so I'll just do a Keep Reading thing just in case since I forgot to do that with my other asks... lol!! Roosh back on their bullshiiiiit /j))
Heroism and Morals in unOrdinary ft. Jera and Blysenmi
I think it's actually a bit harder to tell whether or not Remi, Blyke, and Isen (I will be referring to them as Blysenmi for the remainder of the post) would've jumped in sooner to help Arlo compared to Jera.
It isn't necessarily true that John and Sera only jumped in because Theo's healing ability showed up in episode 385; they've been watching Arlo and the others struggle since the very same afternoon. Since Jera have been watching them struggle, they would've seen Amelia use her ability to heal Kass at the start of the battle back in ep 383. So they could've jumped in at just about any time starting from the beginning of the fight after Jett, Sable, and Lucan killed themselves, but they chose to wait still. John also chooses to use Amelia's ability over Theo's, so Theo is sadly irrelevant in the decision Jera took to intervene </3
Kass says so herself in 386: John and Sera only intervened to help them because they wanted to help Arlo (and not because they had any desire to help the Bureau or the local law enforcement in Blumont). Ultimately Jera prioritizes their loyalty and friendship with Arlo, all while being aware that the Bureau did something to him (they've been aware since ep 366). They just don't know what exactly that is.
Despite what John says about enjoying watching Arlo struggle, we know that the other real reason why Jera took so long to intervene was because they also needed at least either side to be exhausted before swooping in. As Sera states in ep 382:
Jera felt they had to intervene to help Arlo out because it was literally only Arlo, Kass, Amelia, and Jaxson left on the field. Marcus and his police force were down for the count, and the Bureau scouts were either incapacitated (Flint, Zeena, Magnus) or literally dead (Jett, Sable, Lucan). To prevent Arlo from taking more damage than he had to, Jera decide to make their move, and it's implied that it was Sera's idea to ally with Kass' party. John has negative faith in anyone in the Bureau, and I'm sure Sera does too, but she is the one doing the negotiation in ep 386 for a reason!
Of course, at this point, it's also safe enough for Jera to intervene because Kass and co. were weakened significantly and didn't have enough strength to even dare try to capture Jera. A party of four with the ability levels of 6.8, 6.6, 5.8, and 5.6 (Kass, Arlo, Amelia, and Jax respectively) against a 7.6 with almost all of their abilities and a 8.0 who can manipulate time... both sides are weakened but Jera are still capable of dispatching all of them without much effort. Kass is also very well aware of the fact that Jera could easily turn on them if they were to find out that Arlo's memories have been scrambled by the Bureau:
So that brings us back to Blysenmi:
Honestly, I don't believe that they would've jumped in sooner to help Arlo... if they were logically thinking things through anyway. I see where you're coming from though. You're thinking that they would've jumped in because they wouldn't want to see anyone die, and Blyke would've jumped in especially because he was the first to help Jace and Leena when they were getting their asses beaten by Charlie and his gang. In your mind, Remi would've jumped in too to prevent more unnecessary deaths and Isen would've gone along with her because they're still either morally righteous or traumatized about being too passive.
Here are the differences of this current situation and the situations Blysenmi typically face though:
The people dying are feds and cops, not innocent vigilantes
Charlie and his gang (and most amped mid tiers) are weaker than Blysenmi. Compared to Orrin's people and Kass' group, Blysenmi would have struggled more against them than those thugs
Blysenmi are also enemies of the state who don't have the backing of Spectre like Jera do (although it's not much)
I would believe that they would've jumped in to help Arlo specifically like Jera had, but it would've been a bad move on their part if they jumped in while people were still killing themselves or while Orrin was still on the field. Simply put, Blysenmi don't have the strength that Jera have to be acting rashly, even if they move as a cohesive unit. Currently, Remi is a 5.8, Isen is a 5.3, and Blyke is a 5.1. I'd imagine that if Kass' team consisting of 6.8, 6.6, 5.8, and 5.6 were struggling a few of Orrin's loyal goons then Blysenmi wouldn't have been able to put up much of a fight either. Obviously, none of them besides Blyke are aware of their ability levels because the charts at the end of certain episodes are for the reader's reference. Amelia had suggested capturing Jera, and how did that turn out?
Sorry Blysenmi... you guys wouldn't actually be able to deal with Kass' party alone, compared to Jera...
Moving on... the Bureau and the Blumont police force have no reason to be considered people worth saving to Blysenmi either. It makes sense that Jera wouldn't give two shits about the lives of Bureau members (who aren't Arlo) or the police department, but I don't see any reason for Blysenmi to care either--not enough to sacrifice their own safety for rando feds and cops who'd also want to capture them. The lives of those feds and cops aren't necessarily "innocent" ones compared to vigilantes like Grayson, Leena, and Jace. The vigilantes are mostly naive young people who want to help the world that the Bureau doesn't give a shit about, and the feds/cops help uphold the system that's ruined so much for ALL of the Wellston kids. I could only imagine that maybe Blysenmi would jump in just so that more people don't die more... and not because those people are worth saving.
Blysenmi learn time and time again that rushing in and acting rashly continues to do them more harm than good. They were very lucky to be able to infiltrate Charlie's inner circle instead of having everything go to shit instead because of Blyke's decision to save Jace and Leena. I don't have anything against Blyke, of course. He acted rashly and wasn't thinking clearly because of his traumatic experience with Keon, but I think Isen was right about the potential of things going wrong. If it weren't for Kuyo making a deal with Charlie and essentially taking over Branish, Blysenmi might've been doomed after all.
Like you said, Jera also have the extra motive of securing Orrin so that they have a chance to learn where Jane is (not that I think Orrin would willingly tell them lol). Blysenmi would only be there for Arlo since they don't have the strength to actually go up against Orrin either. If Jera did bide their time and waited more, then Orrin's group would've crushed Kass and her team for sure (or they would've just left).
While it would've been nice to have more people to help them against Orrin, Orrin wiped out all of the support on Kass' side within a few chapters. John knocked out the three cops that weren't killed and then absorbed some of Marcus' energy; I doubt Marcus or those three cops would've been much help anyway.
Do I think Sera is an antihero because she (and John) let those cops and Bureau scouts die?
Not really... I do definitely think that Uru does a pretty good job at making her characters vary in terms of moral standing and beliefs, but Seraphina and John are currently not antiheroes.
If our criteria for them being antiheroes is the level of violence they perpetuate in their pursuit of making the world a better place, then way more characters would be considered antiheroes.
John and Sera let those feds and cops die, so they're antiheroes?
But back in episode 301, Blyke and Isen stop Remi from jumping in to stop Brims/Byron from killing the rest of the criminals during the botched drug deal in Lovun.
Are Blysenmi also antiheroes because they sat there and watched Brims kill four people even though they could've intervened at any time?
Are Blysenmi (and John) also antiheroes because they condensed Unordinary and spread it, knowing that there'd be more vigilantes getting killed out there by EMBER?
John still resorts to excessive violence when fighting people and remains ruthless against his enemies. Is he an antihero?
Yet we see Remi actually torture Brims to try to get an answer out of him, and we see Blyke choose to pierce his enemies with his lasers even though he doesn't need to...
Are Remi and Blyke antiheroes because they have their moments of excessive violence like John does?
The answer to all these questions is "no."
I think it's very important to distinguish what really constitutes as a "hero" in unOrdinary, and we do have a snippets of what makes a hero in unOrdinary:
If we were being silly, then the Bureau would be the ones considering themselves heroes since they fully believe what they're doing is just and keeps everyone safe (lol... lmao, even). But we know that the vigilantes are the self-proclaimed heroes that go around helping the weak, saving lives, and spreading wealth.
Blysenmi started off being vigilantes for their own selfish reasons (to seek out and get revenge on EMBER), but they eventually genuinely consider themselves to be hero vigilantes after seeing the disarray the Bureau leaves the low tier districts in. Blyke and Remi especially are notably more morally righteous than Isen is, but the three of them combined all save people who are unable to save themselves. Even Isen has started to save people when he really shouldn't be drawing any attention to himself, like a true hero would:
Using your ability to help the people who can't help themselves isn't exclusive to just Blysenmi either--John and Sera have also used their abilities in the service of others as well. The most recent example is how John and Sera saved Valorian and the innocent civilians from Cinder and Scorch back in Eastbrook Town:
Imo Sera is a good, kind person. Inspired by the old John who pretended to be a zero, she truly believes in Spectre's vision of a world where the weak have more power than they currently do (if that is their vision), and she's always supportive of her friends like Remi (telling Remi to take care of herself) and Blyke (telling Blyke to be honest with Remi and Isen about his mental state). She's just as much of a hero as the more "heroic" characters are because she's always willing to sacrifice herself in the service of others. For John, she nearly gave up her freedom just so that she had the opportunity to save him at the end of season 2 part 1. During Blyke's prison outbreak, Sera refused to leave Isen behind and continued to stall against the officers attacking them both until he was able to fend them off himself post-ability evolution.
I don't think that letting people who would want her dead/captured die necessarily makes her an antihero because she's still doing plenty of heroic things outside of this current arc. If anything, she kind of gives those people some grace as she acknowledges their sacrifices by insisting that Kass and co. continue on or else their lives would've been taken for nothing.
But let me bring up the other elephant in the room: John.
In a previous post, I did mention that John probably would've killed Scorch and Cinder since he was itching to hurt them for being part of the problem that ruined Jane's life. And while I do acknowledge that if he had killed the bad guys, John might've been become an antihero... the point is that he didn't kill them (to me, it's still up in the air if John was actually killing feds during the Wellston raid).
Ever since John returned from his suspension at the start of season 2 part 2, he's been better about listening to people and actually having enough restraint to stop before going way too far (and he protected the Safe House with Blyke and Isen). He could've killed Scorch and Cinder, but he didn't. That's what really matters about our current John at the end of the day.
Sera wouldn't let him kill anyone anyway honestly, but she's also been encouraging him to become a better person and come to terms with himself for the last 160 episodes or so. I'd like to think that John will continue to listen to Sera and bask in her encouragement whenever he feels insecure about himself now that he knows he shouldn't be bottling everything up and suffering on his own again.
Now, John was very much an antihero during the end of season 1 and most of season 2 part 1 while he was Joker/King. He and Remi wanted the same thing of reducing the amount of mistreatment the low tiers at Wellston endured, but the issue mostly stemmed from the faults of their society being so oppressive for both high tiers and low tiers. The two of them could only do so much on their own as people who either put too much faith in others (Remi) or someone who didn't trust anyone at all (John).
Remi started the Safe House with Blyke, but the only reason why that club was as successful as it was was because John stirred up so much violence in the school that people felt like they needed the Safe House.
John had to be an antihero because he wasn't necessarily wrong about what he believed in, but his methods of solving things were more chaotic, brutal, and threw the school into chaos. He became a necessary kind of "evil" that united all the students and made them realize that fighting each other for no reason was horrible and unfair.
And here's the thing... John isn't an antihero anymore because he's not going against any of the other kids or any other "good" force. He's perfectly aligned with Blysenmi and Sera and would do just about most things they do as heroes. He's still pretty brutal and ruthless against the people who (frankly) deserve to be beaten to a pulp, but that's just how it is in the unOrdinary world. Cinder and Scorch can't complain that John is brutalizing them when they're actively trying to kill John and Valorian lmao... an eye for an eye! The world of unOrdinary is pretty violent even outside of all the crazy shit John and the others participated in when they were still at school. It's just easier to label John as an antihero because he used to be one, but I don't think he is one anymore either (at least, not right now).
Ultimately, none of the unO kids are perfect goody two shoes. They're all capable of crazy violence and letting (bad) people die to prioritize themselves. Even if John thought that Blysenmi were 'overly morally righteous' at some point, they really aren't either lol... (see above points). The bar might be in hell in a world like unOrdinary's, but there aren't 'good' or 'bad' people but people who do good things and bad things.
All the kids do good things as heroes but they've also done bad things in the past. And everyone has moved past their mistakes and continue to be better people to make up for being ignorant, aggressive, or an asshole. It is normal for characters/people to grow as time passes and they learn from their mistakes; this is literally one of the core themes of unOrdinary.
There isn't really a "no morally questionable" character issue with unOrdinary because everyone has their own viewpoints and lengths they're willing to go to to get shit done. While we have characters who seem more heroic than others, they're not above doing morally questionable things (ex. working with actual criminals) to get things done.
I really do love unOrdinary because there's a lot to talk about when it comes to the characters and the world that they live in!!! Anon I hope you don't take this long response (if you've gotten this far) as any hate to you. I genuinely do love discussing unO critically with anyone who is willing to listen :D
If anyone else has anything they want me to talk about, feel free to ask! I'm willing to entertain these asks or further discuss things as a very devoted unO fan :3 thanks again to anyone who is willing to read these long ass posts!!!
Would've been so funny if Arlo fell... he ran to Kass and Amelia so excited(!!!) that he managed to do the one thing they told him to do and almost ate shit for it cuz he severely underestimated how much undoing Orrin's mental links would affect him. He should be grateful that Amelia was around to catch him smh....
I do find it interesting that Arlo bleeds from the nose instead of his mouth when countering Orrin's ability. We can assume that he bleeds from the mouth cuz of the damage he sustains to his heart/chest when his barrier is damaged, but I wonder where the recoil damage from countering Orrin is directed to.... surely not the brain... right? LOL
What did you think about chapter 380? I'm really surprised that I'm not seeing people freaking out over it.
Hi again! It's been about two months since ep 380 came out on shartpass, but I still believe that episode is still really important when it comes to Arlo's characterization in the current point in the story. You could ask me about any episode of unOrdinary and I can go on and on about anything that happens in each episode hehe... it's very fun.
Fun fact: you can check the comments under each episode for my first impressions since I've been superliking every episode LOL (starting like ep 359); I did leave a few comments since season 3 came back but they'd probably be harder to find since I wasn't superliking them. My nickname on Webtoon is Rooshbun, and you can't really miss the superliked comments if you sort by likes... hopefully. You don't need to look though since I wouldn't recommend reading the comments under every episode since I find that the ability to critical think is lacking there (to say the very least), but the option is there if you're curious!
I'll refer to the comments I left under ep 380 to base some of my thoughts on, but since I'm not constrained by Webtoon's crappy character limit here on Tumblr, I'll be able to add more and also add pictures! :3 Anyway,
Roosh's Thoughts on S3 Arlo and unOrdinary Episode 380 (SPOILERS!!!)
((Don't worry there aren't any fast pass spoilers despite the fact that I am caught up))
The very first thing that I noticed when I read the episode was that Arlo was doomed LMAO.
BUT before I talk about anxious Arlo, let's look at how he used to act before ep 363 happened, where he was told that he was a traitor to the Bureau (but post-memory loss):
Arlo doesn't know it yet, but this is how he is without the influence of Rei, Jera, and Blysenmi. He's no longer sleep deprived from all the stress of worrying about keeping his friends safe, he's confident, and he's parroting the same thing every Bureau officer says about Vaughn (Kass also used to think the same before she learned about EMBER's secrets). This is the closest we will ever get to early Arlo, who's been conditioned to believe everything the Bureau says and doesn't think twice about other potential contributing factors to a problem at hand. Ex. early Arlo assuming that Unordinary is why Sera chose to befriend John because any other reason (her desire to be free) is unfathomable to him:
There's always something or someone to blame instead of trying to find the underlying issue that's causing all these children and young adults to act up, after all.
If it's one thing Val and Farrah are right about Arlo post-memory loss, it's that he's very trusting of the authorities and believes that everything they do is just. So when episode 363 comes around, Farrah and Val decide to tell Arlo that they erased his memories of "the Wellston criminals" because they know for a fact that he will choose the Bureau since his faith in the Bureau has never wavered before he started going to Wellston. It seems like Farrah decided to do this because Arlo poked around too much on his own (with the help of his friends) and his inquisitive nature led him astray. If they tell Arlo that they did that to him instead of him finding out on his own, Arlo will believe that the Bureau greatly values, trusts, and wouldn't throw him to the dogs unless HE does something and fucks up big time again. It's Arlo's decision to stay in line, and they're pretending like he has any semblance of agency in this situation.
As the readers, we know that Arlo isn't making a fully informed decision because his memories would easily reveal that they're treating him like another tool and a potential asset to EMBER, which goes against everything Arlo truly believes in: a fair world where people don't have to be killed for selflessly helping others. But to Arlo, he's under the delusion that the Bureau has graciously granted him another chance to redeem himself despite how he's turned their backs on them for a reason he can't even figure out himself. Farrah and Val being open about his memory loss brings about a false sense of trust that they have in Arlo. They "trust" him to make the right decision even though he basically has no other choice or else he would've been killed or imprisoned like Blyke had been. The result?
The beginning of Arlo's new mental decline into sleep deprivation and copious amounts of stress, of course!!! Arlo now knows that he's a criminal but the Bureau has kept him around anyway, and he knows that Farrah and Val are fully expecting him to do everything in his power to pay the Bureau back for giving him back "a future." He's determined to keep his crimes a secret from everyone, including Kass, because he thinks he's going to be torn apart by his peers for being a treasonous snake. So not only does he want to overwork himself to prove himself, but he's going to bottle up all of his insecurities until they eventually explode in his face.
Episode 380 shows us that Arlo really hasn't been any better since ep 363. On top of all the stress he's feeling about potentially facing Orrin and making up for what he's done, seeing Tarik permanently partially disabled dumps another burden onto his guilty conscience that's been weighing on him since ep 363. Even though he had no control over what Kuyo, Blysenmi, and Jera did to Tarik (as we see Keon imply in 363 [that it wasn't Keon's fault for Blyke getting broken out]), Arlo fully blames himself for Tarik's injury and is visibly shaking with regret.
If there's another thing we know about Arlo, it's that he cares a lot about other people, even if the way he shows his concern isn't as normal as you'd see from people like Kass (always looking out for Arlo) or Isen (trying his best to look out for Blyke and Remi as best a coward could). He doesn't even know Tarik, but he feels responsible for ruining his potential as a high-tier. He's stuck thinking about the "what if's" instead of what he can do moving forward to make up for it, which is exactly what Val expects of him. She wants him to be less sympathetic towards others (how else is he going to kill people as an EMBER agent?) and more focused on getting shit done in the most efficient way possible:
Sympathy is not something you'd expect from someone as powerful as Arlo, and sympathy isn't what allowed Val to climb the ranks so high in the Bureau. Val will never truly understand her nephew because he simply isn't emotionally built for the path she (and his parents) laid out for him. She can only tell him to focus, prove himself, and not to pull any punches because that's probably all she ever knew her whole life. And now there's even more meaning behind this mentality for Arlo, who has to work hard to prove himself after his "blunder" assisting terrorists and outlaws.
So why do I think Arlo is doomed?? Case in point: Early Sera.
Arlo's always been under intense pressure and the need to succeed as he grew up, but there is always a limit to how much one can handle before the pressure becomes too much and he shatters under it all. Pre-John Sera did everything to please everyone and she got nothing in return except for a bunch of repressed rage at herself and the world. High tiers are always saddled with a bunch of responsibilities growing up as Kings/Queens that the stronger they are, the less freedom they have due to the copious responsibilities society has placed on them as natural leaders.
The difference between Arlo and Sera is that Arlo felt a stronger sense of duty to the hierarchy and the Bureau, while Sera had no loyalty to the Bureau and only catered to the whims of her abusive parents and her sneering peers. Sera was the first to break because there was no "greater good" she was doing anything for. Arlo was able to hang on longer because he genuinely thought he was helping the world by forcing everyone into the hierarchy, but even he was growing bitter about how he had to do all of it alone. His resentment ended up festering to the point where he went after both Sera and John to teach them both a lesson about disobeying the hierarchy, and we all know what ended up happening instead lmao... much needed character development for Arlo to bring him back down to Earth and mellow him out more.
I believe that our current Arlo is being set up to boil over... albeit from a wave of overwhelming guilt. He's genuinely so anxious about this upcoming Spectre raid that he's staying in the office late pouring over intel in an attempt to make sure things are going to go well because he remembers how afraid he was the last time he and Kass scouted out one of Spectre's bases.
If Arlo actually knew better, he would've been home resting since they have to fly out so early in the morning the following day, but he's not able to think rationally cuz he's paranoid about what could go wrong. He knows that he's being brought along to counter Orrin despite his lack of field experience, so he's worried about things like not being able to move around or concentrate if Orrin tries to command anyone on Arlo's side. He finds comfort in Kass' reassurance because he always tends to trust authority figures, especially Kass since she's so reliable and a positive influence to be around (like his big sister... ueuueeee).
While Kass does notice that Arlo's been working so much, she can't even figure out why he's trying so hard. She obviously knows that his memories have been compromised since he returned back in episodes 351-352 (he tells her he took time off work to figure out his schooling, but she remembers the real reason was because he had lost faith in the authorities). At the end of episode 368, Elaine assumed that Arlo was being blackmailed even though she had no idea what was going on with him either (no idea of his memory loss at all). Arlo's acting up in ways that are definitely unlike him, and the people who do know him have already caught on that he's not... okay!!!
What I predict will happen is that Arlo will be so obsessed with proving himself and making amends that he's going to fuck up eventually. Whether it be from not focusing on the right mission or from an oversight that costs him, Arlo is bound to fuck up from all this pressure weighing on him. The confident Arlo we saw at the start of unOrdinary is never coming back because he's too guilt-ridden to have any confidence in himself or his abilities anymore. If anything, the current Arlo most resembles the Arlo we saw toward the end of season 1 and the start of season 2: someone who feels bad for getting everyone into a mess he started and is wracking his brain to try to figure out how he can fix everything all by himself.
In the replies under my superlike comment in 380, I predicted that Arlo would be torn between his desire to make amends and exceed the expectations everyone's placed on him. If he saw Jera, would he naturally want to go after them? Could he have John, Sera, and Orrin captured to make up for what he "did" to Tarik and go beyond what Val expected of him? What if the nausea and headaches Val keeps asking Arlo about hit him all at once when he sees Jera and it costs the Bureau the whole mission? Jera showing up could potentially push for Arlo's doom even harder, but I doubt Sera or John would let him get captured or even killed if they had the opportunity to intervene. Arlo has a bad habit of doing what he thinks is the right choice in any given situation, so who knows what he's going to do once shit hits the fan? We shall see in these next few weeks lol.
I guess it's also time to address the other elephant in the room though: we now have confirmation that Arlo doesn't remember Rei at all.
Arlo doesn't even know he's trying so hard for a government that betrayed him first by killing Rei, and now they've even killed the version of his mentor/older brother that Arlo had kept close in his heart.
Frankly, I wasn't surprised at all when Arlo said 'erm... who's Rei?' because Rei is unfortunately labeled as a "criminal" by the Bureau, so he is part of the group of people erased from Arlo's mind. Arlo's inquisitive nature aside, Rei's death is single-handedly what drives Arlo forward in his attempt to seek the truth alongside Remi and friends. Even though it took Arlo two whole seasons to finally accept that his aunt was a murderer and EMBER was the Bureau this whole time, Rei undoubtedly had blessed Arlo with the sympathy he needed to finally take a stance and accept the consequences of fighting for his friends.
For his whole life, Arlo was groomed into thinking that power (and the Bureau) was everything that life had to offer, but Rei showed him that you could be strong AND kind to everyone. Even though Arlo never liked the way Rei ruled and had to clean up Wellston all on his own after Rei graduated, Arlo NEVER tolerated any slander against Rei and never resented Rei for being full of love and always butting into other people's business.
(In ep 109, Arlo said he "let" Cecile speaking ill of Rei and Remi "slide" back in ep 65 but Arlo literally insulted and threatened Cecile immediately after she insulted Rei lol.... he didn't let that slide at all)
Arlo undoubtedly platonically loved Rei so much and unconsciously picked up traits Rei probably had too: the urge to protect other people (especially those weaker than him) and the nosiness of finding things out on his own. It's a lot harder to tell with Arlo since he does start the series off as an asshole, but a lot of the things he did back at the start of unOrdinary was fueled by his misguided way of "trying to help" by controlling people into living peacefully. A very Bureau-esque way, yes, but if he didn't care about anyone then he would've just did whatever he wanted just as Sera did when she discarded all her responsibilities or John when he beat up anyone who even looked at him funny.
Besides the fact that Remi is Rei's sister, Arlo tries his hardest to get Remi, Blyke, and Isen away from danger because he cares about them. They're "his people" so he feels responsible to protect them, and he was willing to tolerate the distance Remi put between them after he started working for the Bureau if it would keep her and her best friends safe. Arlo is literally warned by Kass to keep the info he sees at work to himself or else it would ruin people's hard work, and he immediately does just that to make sure all of his friends will be safe from the Bureau. Even before fully betraying the Bureau, Arlo was already committing crimes by leaking top secret info to his friends without any regard for his own future, as we see when he warns Sera to leave Wellston so she doesn't end up dead like Terrence (refer to ep 297).
All of this wouldn't have been possible without Rei's positive influence in Arlo's life. Maybe Arlo was always naturally a person who cared so much about other people, but it would've been stomped out by Val and the Bureau if no one intervened as Arlo grew up. Rei being who he was managed to change Arlo's perception of what a "good person" was. To Arlo, someone as loving and charismatic as Rei didn't deserve to die because he was only doing what he had always been doing: helping the less fortunate. To the Bureau though, Rei was someone who had to die to send a message to other vigilantes that out-of-control high tiers like him didn't belong in their society.
Rei had to be cut out of Arlo's mind because the Bureau wants more pawns to use to enforce their hierarchical society where only a select few get to rule everyone. No one, not even the strongest high tiers, can truly be free in this world because everyone is placed under the Bureau's control as their permanent servants. Rei's influence on Arlo was too much of a detriment to what Val and Farrah have in store for Arlo: killing people as a part of EMBER and being a loyal dog to the authorities. Arlo's betrayal to the Bureau was rooted in his deep respect for Rei, and he never would've wanted to keep working for the people who removed his mentor from his life and his mind.
So... what's even left of Arlo?
A shitload of guilt, the desire to impress the people around him, and an idea that what he thinks is the right decision would be the best for the others around him (without their consideration of course).
A lot of people in the Webtoon comments (yeah, shocker) complained that Arlo regressed as a character after he lost his memories, but I argue that his character is going down a different path that is just as interesting. While he isn't the same Arlo most of us have grown to love, he's still Arlo at the end of the day. How he acts is still in character!!! He's still trying to act rationally as best as he can but the stress is genuinely getting to him, and we all remember how poorly Arlo reacts to continuous stress <3 (refer to the episodes leading up to the joker arc).
Ultimately, Arlo is only a child with barely any field experience, and he spent most of his high school life at the top without being challenged for his title until John came along, who he doesn't even remember as an ally now. Now, he's working himself to the bone and doesn't know when to stop because he's going to be stuck thinking that nothing he does will ever be enough to atone for his mistakes. And if he ever gets his memories back, I doubt he would ever even want to be near the Bureau ever again for stripping away his autonomy and turning him against his loved ones.
Poor Arlo is going to be in the trenches for a long time, and I can't wait to see how Uru will continue to handle his character from here. I like Arlo a lot, and my best friend loves him even more than I do. We will delightfully keep watching him suffer in the meantime <3
This is how I feel every time any of the Wellston children are explicitly stated to be a "kid" LMAO. They are children too, and here they are trying to change the world as best as they can.... But I'll always dote on them for being 17/18 yr olds like a grandparent would... cuz they're baby!
Hi, do you think that in 378, Sera intervened on purpose at that specific time so that John wouldn't end up killing someone and that causing him to spiral?
Hi! Short answer: yes.
Very long answer: Yeah, but also I also think that if Sera knew that John was going to be heavily injured, she would've rushed to help him sooner. But considering that she came to help not too long after Valorian was taken hostage, there is a good chance that she was watching them fight and waited until she had an opportunity to act. I do also think that Sera must've taken the time to head back to the motel to grab two of the disablers to use on Scorch and Cinder, but it probably only delayed her slightly in coming to assist John.
In episode 377, she didn't really seem all too worried about how John was faring on his own because she knew he wouldn't be struggling with using his ability. She assumed John would've been fine against those EMBER agents, so she wasn't rushing to go help him. On the other hand, you can see how worried she is for him in ep 379 as she tears down the road to get him healed as soon as possible.
She definitely didn't foresee John taking so much damage against Scorch and Cinder because if she had, she would've intervened much sooner and taken them out before they would've had the chance to hurt John even more. Neither of them are in a position to be letting the other act recklessly, especially now that they're in the real world away from Wellston, the protection of their friends, and support from Darren (which John points out in episode 380).
While John has definitely grown as a person since the start of the series, you can still see that some bad habits of his persist even up to this point in the series. In this case, John is still looking for excuses to hurt other people, but he is able to better justify his ruthlessness against EMBER and the authorities. All because they're horrible people upholding a corrupt system that only benefits a select group of the power-hungry.
Unlike his senseless violence streak pre-season 2 part 2, John actually has a valid reason to go after the authorities and EMBER: they ruined the lives of everyone he knows, especially his family's, Sera's, and his own. Sera's absence in that turbulent part of John's life lead him to almost throw his life away in an attempt to take down as many feds as he could (though it's unknown if he actually managed to kill anyone... I'm sure Uru would've mentioned it in the story by now if John actually killed a bunch of people). She wasn't there to actually stop him from losing himself, and John had made a deliberate choice to not "bother" her with more "unneeded" stress.
Old habits really do die hard... The most unfortunate part of that arc is that Sera definitely would've risked getting caught if it meant she could support John when he really needed her the most. But John chose not to seek Sera for reassurance and it led him spiraling once more (though he does notably treat his friends a lot better since the last time his mental health took a nosedive).
Obviously in episode 346, we see that hearing about John's self-destructive behavior ended up adding to Sera's stress greatly, and I doubt she is going to be willing to peel away from him any time soon, knowing full well that she remains his tether to sanity while he still grieves William's death. So now that John is within her reach once again, Sera is back to watching over John and upholding that promise she made to him way back in episode 230:
((Side note: Uru-chan makes it very clear that the main characters of unOrdinary are deliberately choosing a less violent way of solving their societal issues, in which I mean that the children are NOT killing anyone in their quest to make their world a better place. Kuyo and Blysenmi nearly kill Byron (Kuyo cuts down Arnold and that lady in ep. 333), Arlo and Blysenmi almost kill Farrah, and John and friends blow up a bunch of feds many times. Yet no one in the main cast has killed anyone as of the time I am currently writing this post (June 1, 2026). I'm glad that no one has actually killed anyone so far considering that our protagonists are 17-18 year old children who really shouldn't be desensitized to murder in a world already filled with so much violence. I enjoy that the children have more empathy to spare than the adults running around killing people without giving a fuck.))
Okay, back to John vs Scorch + Cinder fight:
With Sera's constant consideration of John and his needs in mind, I do think that she chose to give John an "out" when it came to dealing with Scorch and Cinder. John has every reason to be enraged at EMBER and the authorities, and Sera knows this as well. He brutalizes Cinder the most because she was within reach, and I know he would've done the same to Scorch if he was the one to get baited instead during the fight in episode 377. I really do think John meant what he said when he stated that he didn't care if Valorian got killed or not because it would've given him an excuse to kill both Scorch and Cinder. Considering he already broke Cinder's arms and shattered a bunch of her ribs (and did considerable damage to Scorch before Cinder got involved), I'd say this John is fully capable of killing people.
Sera intervening and giving John a disabler to use lets him remain "innocent" in the way that he wouldn't be haunted by the fact that he had taken lives during one of the worst periods of his life. The fact that John is an 18 year old teenager means that anything rash he does now would definitely end up weighing on him when he hopefully mellows out and his brain finishes developing. Sera is now around to pull John out of making extremely violent and rash decisions, so that's exactly what she does. Sera would never kill anyone, so she obviously wouldn't want John killing anyone either, no matter how angry and vindicated he'd feel after the fact. Wanting the best for someone is natural when you love them after all.
While I don't think Scorch and Cinder necessarily "got off easy" since they're now disabled and in Spectre's hands, they deserve every horrible thing that's bound to happen to them. After all, they did endanger a bunch of innocent civilian lives for the sole purpose of luring out and killing Valorian, who is also probably also a child or a young adult at most. If they can stomach killing children and innocent people, then they can stomach being lab rats or repenting for their actions that led them up to this point of their lives.
Judging from Leilah's reaction, you can tell that Sera and John both probably didn't think about the aftermath of protecting Eastbrook Town. Sera could only come up with the most convenient solution that would both spare John from becoming a murderer and ensure the two of them wouldn't be in danger after capturing Cinder and Scorch. It's an imperfect plan since Sera does dump the responsibility of dealing with Cinder and Scorch onto Leilah, but in Sera's defense, she is also a kid who sometimes will act rashly if it's in her current best interest (which is prioritizing John's wishes and well-being).
John does calm down very quickly after he disables Cinder, which does show that the development John's been having since season 2 part 1 ended continues to show the fruits of his and Sera's labor. The old John probably would've tried to kill Scorch and Cinder even if Sera tried to stop him, but our current John does a better job at listening to Sera and remaining rational despite the circumstances. I am proud of him!
Will Sera continue to try her best to be John's moral compass while keeping them both safe? I'd hope so! Even now she's still worrying about him because she feels responsible to keep steering him in the right direction, which includes telling him that he needs to ask Cameron for advice since he's vulnerable against EMBER agents and can't copy Time Manipulation.
It's not like John is incapable of thinking for himself either, but his grief will keep looming over him and temporarily blinding him from being rational when his emotions get the best of him. He still very much relies on Sera to keep him from losing himself, and it's nice to see that he does value her support--even if it's not explicitly shown in the story! Let's just hope Jera can make it out of this current arc in one piece ;w;
Shoutout to seraphina and her phd in "I can fic him"
Sera definitely saved John from going further off the deep end, but a good chunk of John's development post-king arc was a cumulative effort from everyone he knew. He got the closure he needed from Claire, support from Adrion, and encouragement from Sera and William. Ultimately it was up to John to act on changing to become a better person by listening to other people and ignoring his paranoia when not presented with the whole situation.
This isn't to downplay Sera's involvement in John's betterment because she did what Claire sadly couldn't: overpower John and force him to listen to her. She had to win the fight against John or else it would've just reinforced his belief that he was an irredeemable monster incapable of change. Sera really did sacrifice almost everything to try to save John because she knew that the version of him she got to know wasn't a fake. She knew that John was capable of changing and being better even though he relapsed at Wellston.
If Sera knew that John wasn't capable of changing, she wouldn't have even bothered to fight or believe in him. The emotional labor of facing yourself and moving forward past your mistakes is something only John could have achieved on his own. Becoming a better person is tough since you have to be self-aware and stop yourself from relapsing as best as you can manage, and no one is perfect in that regard either.
John finding the strength to change and move forward is what sets him apart from characters like Zeke, who keeps getting humbled but refuses to be any nicer to anyone. There's no such thing as a good or bad person, we're all just people who can do either good or bad things. John had to come to terms with that idea to separate himself from his past, since he truly no longer was the "monster" he thought himself as for years.
Anywho, Sera was the biggest anchor and support in turning John around to start accepting himself. She took the time to understand why he was acting so viciously and never held anything he did or said against her because she knew he wasn't in the right state of mind (not that anything he said/did was ok btw). And she stomped out the biggest concerns John had about losing control if it ever happened again:
"Every time you mess up... I'll be here to stop you. So you don't need to hide from yourself anymore."
John can't trust himself even now, BUT he knows he can trust Sera. So with her vow, he finds solace that there is a way out if he ever mentally declines again. And she's just as serious about it since she's still watching over him and doing anything in her power to allow John to keep working on himself (ex. trying to get his ability back, encouraging him when she can, making sure he doesn't go overboard). She's more keen on being proactive about making John open up when she notices that something's wrong, and he is also more receptive in actually telling her what's on his mind instead of bottling it all up like he used to.
While it is definitely not a good thing that John is STILL mostly relying on Sera to keep him sane and happy, it's definitely a step in the right direction for John. Having a support system and actually using it to your advantage for once is what sets post-season 2 part 1 John apart from his old self. He chose to listen to his loved ones and give himself some grace, and it all wouldn't have been possible without Sera's help.
While Sera isn't the only person to contribute to the "fixing" John efforts, her involvement and important to John's character development are undeniable. Without her, John would never have found the strength to move forward with himself and go as far as declare that he wanted his ability back or that he would become someone to be proud of. John and Sera both wouldn't be the same without each other, so acknowledging both of their efforts in each others' character development is essential to understand their characters !
((One of these days I'll make a post about how crazy codependent John and Sera are for one another, but that's for another time lol))
feeling extra productive today so here's another set of silly unO-themed text posts and whatever !!
unOrdinary returns on the 27th.... 9 days from now... yippeeee!!!! It's also turning 10 on the 24th! I'm so excited to see what horrible terrible things await my beloved children :3
the 2026 limbus comp*ny april fools event gave me some kind of weird baby fever so i ended up baby-fying the unO kids (I guess they'd be around like 5-6 years old idk)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLYKE!!!! more unOposting from me on this very special occasion !
I find it funny that Blyke's default expression is something like >:\ even though he's quite normal if you actually talk to him. He's silly when he can't lie to save his life, and he's the most bully-able out of his friend group (has the best reactions to the silly antics Remi and Isen subject him to).
His friendship with Remi and Isen mean the world to me so I pray their friendship will last through season 3 and beyond the end of the series...! The trio that they are <3
Ah yes, the best part about having physical releases of unO is seeing the extra content at the end and seeing if Uru updated any of the art in the chapters adapted.
Vol 4 covers episodes 103-124 so sadly Seraphina is still kidnapped in the book canon and she won't be rescued until Vol 5 comes out and everything gets worse. Hang in there, book Sera!!!
Spoilers for the physical copy of unOrdinary volume 4 side/bonus/extra story... with pictures! (under the cut)
It's always so fun to have more side story content in unO outside of season-end special episodes. I predicted that we'd get another Blysenmi one since so far we've gotten:
Vol 1: Blysenmi + Sera
Vol 2: Reiyo + Remi + Arlo
Vol 3: Jera
Right now I predict that Vol 5 will give us either an Arlo or another Jera one (specifically to make things hurt more for us). Can't wait lol.
Other fun things from the vol 4 bonus ep ("Yearbook Special" is what I'm calling it):
^ Blyke and Isen continuing to fail at being photogenic while Remi outshines them both every time
^ Blysenmi group huddles xoxo
^ A very smug Remi and loser Isen (very surprised he thought her idea wouldn't work when it's no surprise that the security on a bunch of big institutions is pretty shit)
^ I can't tell whose files these are but I'll assume they're Isen's since he's the most tech savvy out of the three of them and was the one moving things around while Remi watched. Considering the "Costume plan," I wonder if they had to put on a play in English class or something. I see Lady Capulet... from 'Julio and Romiette' I'd bet (sorry I haven't read Romeo and Juliette yet). Ody I have no idea what that could be tbh, maybe something to do with the Odyssey?
Anyway, the French language in unO has been real since the LA ME shirt thing back in episode 8:
But can any of the children speak the secondary language they were forced to take in high school? Good question! Who knows... I know I sure can't <3
^ This teacher has thought bubbles that aren't the typical kind we see in unO either (the one with a bunch of lines or whatever, you'd know when you see it). Very inch resting... I don't think we've ever seen anyone think like this in the entirety of unO so far.
^ And Blyke being the worst liar ever as usual <3 because only he could blow a hole in the wall as a distraction and blame it on a bug. Not even a specific kind of bug... just a random bug... the wind... who knows...!
I'd say this Yearbook Special takes place after the events of Triple Threat (end of season 2 Blysenmi special episodes) + the vol 1 bonus episode (could've been any time during their 9th grade year), since I think yearbooks are typically done at the end of the school year? Not sure though, my high school only had a yearbook for a year when I was there.
Baby Blysenmi soooo silly it makes you forget all the shit they're going through in the current story (latest episode at the time of Vol 4 release is ep 381 on shart pass). I've missed their silly antics so much....
Well the yearbook switching did remind me of the Blyke prison break arc since it's Remi and Isen scheming and making moves while Blyke is relegated to be their outside support. Who knows, maybe a book-only reader will eventually read the Blyke Prison Break arc and go "wow that totally reminded me of the volume 4 Extra!"
Can't wait for volume 5 to hopefully come out next year!!! Will definitely be getting it ASAP to do this again lol. Maybe I'll do some overdue posts for the Vol 1-3 side stories but who knows...!
Further Thoughts on Seraphina [and John] during unOrdinary 375 and more (Spoilers still!!!)
Part Sera (2/2)
[Previous post focusing on John]
While John has always been my favorite character, I've actually come to realize that Sera has always shared #1 position with him in my heart. For the last 10 years, I've loved watching her grow through her hardships and realize that she couldn't live ignorantly anymore in a world where the powerful hold all the influence. I especially loved episode 375 because it showed us that despite everything, Sera still remains herself while managing to find the silver lining of the batshit crazy situations she keeps finding herself in.
I am quite happy for her to be able to talk to John about how light she feels being on the run and doing everything she wants to do with John at her side. But as I reread a good chunk of unOrdinary (like I usually do), I couldn't help but worry for her anyway. Is Sera really free or is that just another lie she tells herself to cope with how stressful the last half year of her life has been since the story started? Is she okay??
[Note: half of this post is summary but I am aware that not a lot of people have read unO as much as I have so please be patient...!]
Since the start, one of Sera's core character motivation has always been the desire to be free from the oppressive role society set for her. As she mentions in 375, she's been chained down her whole life by the expectations set by her parents, school, and society; we see as much throughout the entire story of unOrdinary. Back in ep 19 she admits that she stopped living for herself because of how much other people needed her to be perfect. It's why John is able to cut straight through her misery with his own ideals during the flashback of ep 37:
John tells Sera exactly what she's wanted to hear for her whole life: that she can decide to live the way she wants because if John with "no ability" can do it, why can't she? Inspired by John's words and his support, Sera abandons almost all of her responsibilities as the strongest student in Wellston, causing Arlo to resent her for not upholding the hierarchy. She's selfish and doesn't care about what anyone thinks because she's "free," but that was only one hurdle she had to get through.
When she's suspended for a month, her mother, Narisa, takes everything away from Sera and forces her to do pointless work and study. Weaponizing her disappointment, her mother constantly compares Sera to Leilah, who had also run away from her responsibilities and had left Sera alone to be mistreated and abused even harder in her absence. Driven by fear, Sera begrudgingly listens to her mother, but she eventually has enough of the suffocating environment of her home. She thinks about John for inspiration and decides to rebel against her mother to free herself once again. She's only able to succeed because she is able to best Narisa in the very same world where power rules over everything.
By this point, Sera's freed herself from most of her responsibilities and from her parents' clutches, but she becomes entangled in a worse web once she loses her ability and the world she once ignored turns around and bites her. Becoming a zero is a big turning point for her character because the violence she experiences opens her eyes to most injustices in the world--everything was way worse than what she would see when it was only John breaking his bones and getting hurt nearly every single day. She used to laugh whenever John would get injured because he wasn't miserable as long as she was with him to lessen the pain through her presence alone, but there was only so much she could tolerate herself when she wasn't able to protect herself anymore:
The hierarchy she temporarily escaped from made her the prime target of resentful students who projected their misery onto her. She's pulled back into the mess but thrown to the bottom with the only saving grace that her previous authority provided her being the connections she had only forged out of convenience. If she had been a true zero or even a low tier, no one would've come save her from being kidnapped and tortured by a group of students. That's just how their society is: even the weaker students perpetuate the cycle of violence that the hierarchy system produced.
Again, Sera is only really able to hang on because of John's presence (do you see an ongoing trend here?), and that's why her finding out that he's Joker is so world-shattering for her. Sera admits that John was such an inspiration to her that him being powerless with her was enough to keep her going despite how hopeless everything felt:
While she does eventually realize that John meant everything he had told her initially, Sera remains trapped by her powerlessness, watches John fall deeper into despair, and loathes the fact that she can't do a thing to save him... until she decided to sacrifice her own freedom for the opportunity to do so. With what little freedom she has left after losing her ability alongside any authority she used to have, she unknowingly casts it all aside because she wants to change the world and her first step is to save John. After all, what good is a world that isn't ruled through violence and power if the one person who helped her realize that everything needed to change isn't with her?
Thankfully Sera saves John and he's able to start improving as a person, but the cost is heavy. In the month that John is gone for, Sera has to work for Spectre (specifically for Orrin) and realizes that she's trapped and suffocating once again with Terrence constantly monitoring her every move. More stress is added when she discovers that Spectre is after Blyke and Remi, and she isn't able to get the Rowden trip rescheduled for their safety. Not only is she not in control of the situation, but she's also having to hide everything from John because she'd rather him be ignorant and safe than struggling and stressed like she and Arlo are.
Of course, her efforts to keep John away from Spectre are for naught because John stubbornly refuses to leave her side. Ultimately, he ends up losing his ability to fulfill the promise he made her to protect the Safe House (which probably also made her feel guiltier about his ability loss). But John's involvement and their near-assassination only continue to fuel Sera's desire to destroy the part of Spectre that's done nothing but ruin both her and John's lives. And it's only after John destroying Orrin's ability recovery machines and Sera sending Arlo/the Bureau after Orrin that she's able to regain some more freedom. The very last thing that stands in her way of being free once again is the Bureau, who is quite unhappy that Sera had stolen their ability converter research to provide to Spectre.
John, Sera, and Arlo are all hopeful that being pardoned by the Bureau will let Sera go back to living a relatively normal life, but the Bureau has no use for high tiers that can't be tied down to them. High tiers that don't obey the Bureau either are killed (Rei), are tortured into submission (John), or are blackmailed into working for them (Jane). There is no true freedom with the Bureau because it wishes to uphold the violent status quo that continues to oppress the weak and snare the strong.
And with one final act of rebellion, Sera destroys a whole cafe full of Bureau members and discards the opportunity for false freedom Valerie offered her. Unfortunately, Sera ends up fleeing Wellston and leaving John behind once again without a support system, which does feed into his suicidal rampage at the end of season 2. When she does see him again, Sera is visibly exhausted since she hasn't taken the news of John's rampage well at all, but she still doesn't stop in her tracks because Arlo and Blyke need to be saved. And Sera is unwilling to leave anyone else behind. Not if she has anything to say about it.
So where does that ALL that leave us for what Sera says in ep 375?
She broke free from her parents' clutches in ep 51; she broke free from Wellston after being exiled in 298; and now that she's a terrorist outlaw that the Bureau wants dead, she can do whatever she wants. She isn't wrong of course--that's why John asks her why she doesn't just get up and leave now that her ability is no longer compromised. But to Sera, being able to do what she wants to do is what it really means to be free. She doesn't have to worry about what people think of her or how she's going to survive with the whole world out for her. Just like when she was powerless, having John at her side is comforting enough to help her push through all the stressful situations they now find themselves in:
'I feel like I can do just about anything if you're with me.'
John has always been Sera's main pillar of support, and he's probably the first real friend she's ever made. Now that he's back in her life and they're free to do whatever they want, her mental health has improved significantly. She doesn't have to worry about him being on his own, and he's close enough that she can protect and reassure him if need be. The fact that she admits that being with him is enough to keep her going despite everything shows that she still heavily values John, and she makes it known that she really wouldn't be here without him.
The midnight convo Jera have in ep 375 is quite a romantic scene that further strengthens their unbreakable bond. It's them against the world and as long as Sera focuses on her goals/John/whatever else is in front of her, she can do anything she puts her mind to. No one's forcing her to do anything and she's delighted to be spending every waking moment with John again, just like they used to. Sera's free enough to do anything now, so what's really stopping her at this point?
But if Sera's free to do whatever she wants, why am I worried?
To be clear, I am not worried that Seraphina or John will die by the end of the series because I don't believe either of their deaths will serve a narrative purpose or contribute to the overarching themes of the story. The thing is that Sera has always been focused on what's in front of her, which can be an active detriment to her when she neglects herself in favor of her goals. That's right...!! The very thing that's been driving her forward could very well be her biggest weakness (besides John).
Throughout the course of the story, Sera has struggled immensely to survive being a zero, help John break free from his past, and deal with every danger that poses a threat to her or her friends. While she does end up being miserable and doesn't bottle up her feelings like John does, Sera always steels her resolve to push forward no matter what. If she can focus on what's in front of her, she can take anything that's flung her way because that's all she can do. She takes things one step at a time, but she doesn't stop for anything.
Seraphina, an embodiment of her time manipulation ability, reflects the concept that time continues to march forward no matter what. She can't rewind all of her mistakes and doesn't dwell on the what-if scenarios that could pose a threat to her. Instead, she faces everything head-on and if things don't go her way, she simply forges a different path forward. But this unstoppable force of hers isn't without consequence:
Just like most high-tiers saddled with a bunch of responsibilities (much like Arlo early on), Sera would rather sacrifice herself to shoulder every single burden so that the people she cares about won't be affected. She's always been following her desires to only focus on what's in front of her with not a lot of regard to her own well-being.
In the season 2 part 1 recap, she literally admitted that she didn't care about overexerting herself if it meant that she'd be able to get through to John. Sera pushed herself to the limit to save John and ended up unconscious for a while as a consequence; she couldn't even say goodbye to him before he left for New Bostin. You know it's bad when Arlo of all people (King of being burdened by too many responsibilities) had to keep telling Sera to calm down and give herself more grace (before John got embroiled in the Spectre shit and lessened her burdens for her) :\...
And unlike John, who isn't afraid to admit that he doesn't care about himself and would always prioritize Sera anyway, Sera's self-sacrificing attitude speaks more through her actions and her unwillingness to rest. She always places an emphasis on "not having enough time" because she's only using her time to get things done--not "waste" it on herself sulking/grieving or properly taking care of herself. She forgets herself in the midst of her ambitions, and that's how she's always been even since before the start of the story.
Regardless of the consequences, Sera strides forward.
Let's see... since unOrdinary started, Seraphina has experienced suffocating responsibilities, ability loss, severe bullying, world-shattering revelations, loss of agency, assassination attempts, being branded a terrorist, leaving her life behind, and nearly losing her best friend multiple times. We've seen her at her worst during the two months she didn't have her ability for, and we've seen at least one nightmare she's had (refer to ep 245 - it's the nightmare where John loses his ability). So it's not like Sera doesn't grieve when she's given the opportunity to, but I fear she isn't giving herself enough time to process most of the traumatic events she's experiencing as a 17-year-old girl who should've been normally hanging out with her best friend. Instead she's on the run as an outlaw alongside her best friend with grand, ambitious plans to change the world and restructure society.
A good chunk of Sera's mental health undoubtedly revolves around John. If he's safe, then she's fine, but if he isn't, then she's not fine. After all, she loves him immensely and would do anything for him, especially because he's changed her life so much for the better. She's quick to pick up when John's not feeling too well, and he's also quite attentive to her when she's not feeling great either:
During the season 2 finale (ep 346), John notices the bags under Sera's eyes and wonders if she's been taking care of herself.
Of course Sera hasn't been taking care of herself!!!! How could she take care of herself knowing that he nearly died in her absence and without her knowledge until after the fact??
(So far) We don't get to see how Sera reacted to the news of John's suicidal rampage, William's death, or the fact that Arlo and Blyke were captured trying to save John. But she took the news pretty poorly because we haven't actually seen Sera with bags under her eyes since she was feeling lost and hopeless post-John-is-Joker revelation (and Uru loves to signify a character's declining mental health via eye bags/dark circles). Sera probably cried a lot and blamed herself for not being around when John needed her the most, and she must've been anxiously waiting for him to wake up after Cameron saved his life. She cries when he wakes up and rushes towards her for a hug, and she tears up again when she tells him to never throw his life away again. Sera always falls apart when John isn't with her and isn't okay.
What we do see is how Sera reacted when she thought she lost John forever. She immediately loses her composure and snaps at both Kayden and Leilah with a ferocity we frankly haven't seen since ep 20 (when John outsmarted her over a slice of Triple Choco Cake and she beat him up):
"IF [JOHN] ISN'T HERE, THEN WHAT WAS THE POINT IN ANY OF THIS?!"
When John loses William and Sera thanks the Bureau at the end of season 2, he goes on a suicidal rampage trying to take revenge on the Bureau. What do you suppose would've happened if Sera had actually lost John in either situation?
[This is why I don't believe John or Sera will die before the series ends. John, under the full belief that he'd never see her again, tried to end it all while he was blinded by grief. John would rather be dead than live in a world without Sera; Sera probably would lose most of her ambitious momentum if John died. They're incomplete without each other, so I feel like it would be too cruel to subject either of them with an insurmountable amount of sorrow no therapy could ever fix.]
Remember: Sera's scheme to steal Orrin's recovery machines was motivated by her desire to give John back his ability, not her own. Again, what's the use of being in a world without the person who showed her what it meant to truly be free? John is essential for Sera's happiness, and nearly losing him THREE separate times during season 2 part 2 must weigh on her tremendously, even if she doesn't outwardly show it. She's usually so calm and collected, but who knows, maybe she subconsciously doesn't want to be apart from John anymore because she can't stand the idea of harm befalling him if she can't get to him in time.
For now, she's grateful that John is still with her and is willing to reassure him however many times she has to. While John will always tell her how much she means to him, Sera will always show him how much he means to her. Whether it be through another sacrifice or more words of reassurance, Sera will always prioritize John over herself no matter what. She's free to do whatever she wants (for) now, so who is going to stop her from loving John in the only way she knows how to?
"As crazy as it sounds... I don't mind the way things turned out."
After everything is said and done, will Sera be okay mentally? Her calm and collected personality is backed by John's presence giving her strength (yep, even after all this time), but there has to be a limit to how much she can handle, even with John around. Her brain isn't even fully developed but she's still taking risks and calling the shots... I can't help but worry for her.
Sure, when the series ends, she will probably be truly free in a society that isn't ruled by power and senseless violence (praying really hard for a happy ending). But the mental trauma that's been accumulating since the very start of the series will surely take its toll on her the moment she has a chance to relax and her body shuts down from not being in a constant high-stress situation anymore.
I doubt we would ever get some kind of epilogue that will show how our protagonists cope with insane amounts of trauma no 17-18 year olds should be going through (idk we'll see lol), so Sera is likely safe from being trapped once more in her own mind. But it is something to think about since the burdens of restructuring society and facing off against long-standing organizations are certainly not light ones a few people can carry alone.
I suppose we'll see what else the final season has in store for her, but until then, I will pray for both her and John's happiness... together!!!
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