Procrastination induced A/Z re-watch, and code geass re-watch for genre study purposes (I need to put Slaine and Suzaku in a room and see who kills the other first), lead me back here with more questions than before; I swear when I think that I have this show figured out there some new detail that jumps and hits me in the face; this time is no really relevant at the end of the story and can be easily ignored, but for those who are cosmic horror lovers and wished Aldnoah had been a more prominent driver in the story instead of a rather fickle plot devise whose mechanics depended on the needs of the plot, I guess this is a pretty food for thought.
What is even Slaine’s Father deal?
Okay, first thing first, I didn’t read the manga and I don’t plan to, because If the writers wanted me to know it they should have put it in the show and also because I won’t be able to find it.
With that out of the way Slaine past on Mars is rather confusing if we go by the wiki, according to the wiki the scene we saw in the anime when Slaine was saved by Aseylum was when he and his father arrived on Mars, however the angle is off, and the airship used was, for lack of batter term, not appropriate for a Mars-Earth voyage, so I always interpreted it as the last resort of a caring father to save his son from certain violent death, so as a consequence Dr.Troyard death was violent in nature and also expected;
furthermore the wiki doesn’t specify how his father died and we were never told that he was sick or how he become sick, we just know that he died somewhere after Slaine and Seylum first meeting, and than Slaine was given to count Cruhteo at Saazbaum request (which again I have my own Hdc why, but was never explained why Saazy didn’t take Slaine in himself), why didn’t they sant him back to earth is still a mystery too.
So yeah pretty confusing, and tbh isn’t as I said that important for the plot, but I’m a sucker for cause and effect and backstories (they are the best fuels for fanfics), so it kinda bothered me and had me spin it in my head like a rotisserie chicken; so here is what I think happened.
The writers wanted to make Aldnoah a more predominant force, a bit like the geass and the codes in code geass, but for some reason (probably budget) they cross out the idea half way through the first season, and here come my hdc for what could have happened
Dr.Troyard come to mars when Saazbaum did, and was allowed to research the Aldnoah drive, both because of Saazbaum and because the emperor too wanted to know more, but due to his son death he had to go back to rule so he didn’t have much time or free hands and resources to do that, so Dr.T was kinda free labor easy to dispose off; sure if we want to humanize the man a little more he probably saw himself in Dr.T as he too was once a curious scientist, more curious about the whys than the how this force could be used to kill people; either way Dr.T and Slaine were allowed to stay on Mars, while Sazzy returned to his castle orbiting earth.
Than probably Dr.T dig a little to deep, found out something that could revolution the way Aldnoah was used, and maybe even save the whole of mars from it cartian death without earth resources, but this something would have come at a high cost.
From here the things can go in three ways
1. The cost was of the imperial family and was their monopoly over the Aldnoah and its secrets, or this discovery in the hands of the general populace might lead them to end up just like the first civilization of mars
2. The nobles of Mars and the counts need the war, they aces to Aldnoah is directly connected to the war, and the war is connected to the resources on earth, if mars could develop its own resources thanks to Aldnoah than they lose all their links to power
3. Both of option 1 and 2
Regardless of the reason Dr. Is not stupid and knows they will come for him, so he compiles his research and hides the key in the pendant he leaves to Slaine (which allows me to give more importance to that pendent than it already had, I love that pendant, I love how it symbolizes hope for Seylum and Inaho, while it’s literally a chain tight around Slaine neck that he can never break free from) and than helps Slaine escape through the ship, that however malfunctions and ends up in seylum baths and we know how this story goes from here, but both the emperor and the counts now have a reason to keep Slaine around, the emperor knows the boy must be the key to Dr. Research or backup, and the counts think he knows to much to be let back to earth, and before they can get rid of him Cruhteo takes over as guardian so all are “Well, that solves it, the kid will die sooner or later”.
Season 1 will kinda remain unchanged but if S 2 where up to me here Dr.Troyard would come up and it come be anything from the power of god to horror and this is why all the imperial family is bloody damn bonkers, the aldnoah is getting to their heads like a parasite that is draining them of their life force until it will kill them and turn into a zombie, so now comes int question if using aldnoah his or not ethical or is it a sacrifice a rule should be ready to make for the wellbeing of their people, will Seylum be ready to be turned into a cosmic horror for the sake of mars? Maybe if pushed enough; would Lamarina? Unlikely
Either way I think there could have been so much more done with Dr.T plot and Aldnoah
(my dream where because of Aldnoah drive Slaine becomes a comic horror set on conquering earth for the preservation of Mars is still one of my fav outcomes) and also it makes more sense considering the ending when Dr.T research come back just as a weird throw back and dig at Slaine, probably that was always the ending, earth and mars making peace and Dr.T finding was what sealed the deal for the HEA, but without proper development of that subplot it kinda meh.
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
What is your favorite Aldnoah side effect hdc?