A Sou sprite was leaked. So. I have some thoughts about this.
YTTD Spoilers, of course. Read on for not only long walls of text, but as mentioned, SPOILERS.
Firstly, here’s the sprite:
The three intriguing things about this image:
• He isn’t wearing his scarf.
• He’s avoiding eye contact.
• His fists are clenched.
This pose looks like guilt, or pensiveness. Wanting to admit something, maybe apologise.
If there’s one thing that I want to cross off: I don’t think this is a flashback, despite how it looks to be.
I think most would assume this is a flashback based on the lack of the scarf, yet I disagree.
In fact, I believe it’s much more likely that this is a sprite for 3-2, where Sou undergoes character development. It’s understandable that his arc continues after the standstill in 3-1 (presumably due to Midori, Kanna’s passing, Midori’s passing AGAIN, etc…) in a way that balances the gray area of ‘logic vs emotion’ with his character - which as we know, the main theme of YTTD.
I think the best way to explain this is the theme of ‘truth vs lies’. Within all lies, there is a truth. Within all truth, there is a lie. A lie may eventually become a truth. A truth may eventually become a lie. The truth is seen as the truth if it’s fully believed to be the truth. A lie is seen as a lie if it’s fully believed to be a lie.
We can switch this to the terms of logic vs emotion. Within all emotion, there is logic. Something seen as logic may eventually become emotion. Something seen as emotion may eventually become logic. Logic is seen as logic if it’s believed to be logic, & vice versa.
We know Sou is a more emotional person by the second main game, but was originally seen as somebody villainous, calculating his every move to betray others; eg, the laptop scene. ‘Something seen as logic may become emotion’ is pretty much Shin in a nutshell.
“Now, how does this relate to the sprite?” The themes of the game. Logic vs emotion.
I’m going to refer specifically to the scene when the cast go to the fourth floor, when Sou tries to rebuild his image as a logical person before Keiji fucking punches him down metaphorically.
I think 3-1 was more highlighting Shin’s logical side again - rebuilding his persona after being idle. Him being idle was probably a mix of processing Midori’s presence, grieving over Kanna’s death, & not going into a mental breakdown & snapping at everybody. He recovered from the 3rd one, so he spoke up about ‘tag’ & whatnot.
So, in 3-2, it makes sense for Shin to show his emotional side again.
Or, to get to the point once & for all, apologise for his misdeeds.
& if not apologise, at least admit his wrongs.
I think the most likely situation for this sprite is for 1: Keiji puts him on the spot, or 2: he apologises by himself. Let me give an example for this -
Keiji: Sou… We can work together, but we need to get over our differences. You may see yourself in the right & is wrong, but you’ve done things as well.
Sou: *That one sprite that shows up in the gun scene* …
Keiji: …
Sou: *This sprite* …
Sara: (The atmosphere is tense..)
Then Sou can go either route. I want to see him admitting it, being emotive, though I can see him masking again.
But that doesn’t particularly explain the missing scarf, does it?
I’d like to assume there was a scene where he threw away his scarf.
Sou: I’m done… I’m done with being related to him. Relying on him……
Sou: I can survive by myself.
Sou: I have to.
Sou: For… For Kanna.
Or something of the sort.
Or maybe once he apologised, he threw it off. Then there was the tense silence. We’re only left to wonder.
So. TLDR: Sou goes through character development, admits he was wrong, joins with the other cast members & kicks ass.