TBHX: episode 22 analysis/theory
I didn't have much time lately so I'll share my thoughts now!
This episode kind of confirmed something I suspected... But ofc, I need it to be shown more explicitly before being 100% sure. I'm referring to the fact that when citizens claim to have seen X, they see something different than what's actually happening. In other words, his fights really can't be seen unless he allows people to see it.
In episode 22, when X snaps his fingers, first we see this:
It's curious that Nice has his eyes shut, while still being pulled in to the illusion X created. I can't really understand why, but maybe because the other people's minds can't understand the shifting process so their brains go "dormant" for milliseconds until they're "fully in". It's just very interesting because in the ED, we clearly see Lin Ling also in this state right after X snaps his fingers:
The others have their eyes open, though, so is it exclusively a Nice/Lin Ling reaction? I won't be diving into it too much now.
What I find pretty interesting is that, although very subtle, the reason why I believe X puts "a veil" over "reality", i.e, creates an illusion to separate reality from whatever it is he is doing, is that in this moment here:
If you zoom in, they look "digital". It's like this is a holographic version of them.
You see these stripes? This is what I'm talking about.
Also, people scream they finally saw X, but it's obvious that the fight was omitted to them. And not only that, look how the sequence happens:
X switches to 2D, but this time, we don't see people cheering in the back(pay attention to the bridge), but they are still there, as we see them cheering and talking about seeing X.
Before:
Not only the people aren't there, but the cracks on the floor are a bit different too and we can't really see traces of the fear / Smile's body parts.
The bridge itself looks a bit different, although the angle is the same... This could mean the reality we're seeing is a mirrored version of the original! The show often plays with the idea of mirroring, so it's a possibility. But it might as well just mean that the layer created isn't an exact copy of the original.
The lighting change between those scenes makes it look like the second one happened in a different time of the day entirely(maybe not even the same day), as the light over the bridge looks more like sunlight in the distance than the previous scene, where it clearly comes from only the light posts. It looks a bit warmer... but it could be just a stylistic choice, since the buildings do not seem to reflect that yellow light.
Although I wouldn't be surprised at all if the reality he creates does take place in different times, since in every trailer we see X, he has a close relation with time and there always seems to be a time shift from day to night... (fitting his anti overworking personality really well tbh), a time related ability.
Then, right before X making a paper ball out of DB, he snaps his fingers and we're back to 3D:
Now look how interesting...
They're literally under a spotlight! So, that would make the holographic version make sense. We've seen him under the spotlight many times before in the trailers:
Here you can see it again...
When he throws DB in the water still in 3D with light from above, and after he switches back to 2D, there's no more light.
In this moment, the people watching say:
HERE we have them appear in the background at the same time X is on screen:
This 2D scene is not like the first 2D scene when X switches. This one is the "real" one. Mhm.
Of course, it's no surprise that X would be able to create parallel moments in order to keep some things hidden, but I always wondered if that's really what was going on, and now it's basically confirmed that yes! He "layers" realities, or even creates a "digital" illusion, if I may add.
But if the first 2D version already excluded the people from the bridge, why did he turn to 3D to make DB into a paper ball? He didn't really have to switch styles there, right? (that's something worth thinking about)
Before ep 22 came out, I believed this theory to be true because of 2 scenes.
X at the office. Notice X standing right in front of two coworkers:
And then, when the camera switch angles:
Where are they? Clearly not there, but X is still listening to their conversation.
If you watch the sequence, you’ll notice that no one was on the streets and the cars weren’t moving. So when his coworker says, “I saw him destroy Black Soul with my own eyes,” it probably means she witnessed X snapping his fingers, and then Black Soul was gone. Just like the people on the bridge in episode 22 probably saw X snap his fingers, and the next thing they knew, DB had ‘teleported’ into the water.
This is all very, VERY interesting.
Before I used the word "digital" to describe the veil/layer he creates over reality, and that is not only because it looks digital, but because it's suggested that he could even "walk through the billboards".. Or at least that's what the team wanted us to think.
Also because his powers always cause glitching in digital devices or is represented as a glitch.
If you think about it... Isn't it kind of interesting that in episode 1, right before Nice shows up to kill himself, the screen glitches?
Only for us to see X on the billboard directly turned to them in the moment he jumps... Especially considering what we now know: that Nice and X have met before, and they also share something in common that means a lot to both which is, Smile.
So now, it's not crazy at all to think that the Nice we saw jumping off the building, might not be the real Nice, and that the real one is probably still alive and working with X. This is just a theory ofc.
We always kind of knew X was present at all times, but now it finally feels more obvious we were right all along!
Could it all be a coincidence? Of course. Could it be something else entirely? Yes!
This is just me trying to connect everything we've seen so far.
