The “Burning” of Scylla Ramshorn
We all know Scylla is Spree and can literally burn her face off to disguise herself. Because of this, her line in the graveyard “I’ve been burned before” has been made into an ironic joke. Besides the irony, perhaps some have assumed this was a manipulative tactic to get Raelle to sympathize for her, letting her guard down in the process. Scylla could then capitalize on this sympathy to continue gas-lighting Raelle when she probes into her past.
But something has always made me wonder if she was in part telling the truth here. She is a dodger, after all, and therefore keeps herself guarded to prevent making attachments. So, if there was some semblance of truth behind this statement, what is Scylla referring to?
When Scylla runs into Porter after the game in A Biddy’s Life, we get confirmation that Scylla’s parents are in fact dead. But what we also get is Porter wishes he had the opportunity to tell Scylla how sorry he is about “that.” He doesn’t offer condolences or say he’s sorry about what the Army did. He seems to be referring to the entire operation that resulted in Scylla’s parents dying, which to me implies he may have had a hand in turning them into the Army. That he is sorry for his own actions in addition to the consequences.
There is a literal look of hatred coming from Scylla during this scene (and perhaps a bit of fear about being recognized and called out). But maybe she blames Porter for her parents’ death. Perhaps it was Porter who “burned” her in the past, having someone she trusted lead to her family being destroyed. Maybe her parents were literally burned when the arrest went south.
A possible Easter egg that could support this is when Porter shows up in Memorial Hall. He is standing next to a fireplace and we get this beautiful shot of Porter and the fire in focus as Scylla looks at him. Could this suggest Porter was a source of the fire that burned Scylla?
The actor who plays Porter is only credited in two episodes on IMDb, so it is unlikely we will see any new content containing him as we delve into Scylla’s past. But Scylla’s history is going to be revealed somewhat in Mother Mycelium. It would be interesting to see if we learn more about her parents and how they died and if there was any semblance of truth behind her statement in the graveyard.
Of course, this could also be foreshadowing that she is going to “burn” Porter at the end of the episode.