I’ve recently been seeing a lot of discourse about WHA ch87 and Tartah’s actions. I am not here to talk about anything in relation to that discussion on here, mostly because I feel I have nothing to add to it that hasn’t already been stated by others, so I’d instead like to talk about my own interpretation of that scene, along with a general discussion about the events of the Silver Eve arc and how I think several aspects of that arc are going to affect Coco’s character and the story as a whole moving forwards.
As many people within the fandom have pointed out, the story of Witch Hat Atelier is very strongly moving in a direction that will force Coco to choose between the Brimmed Caps point of view or the Pointed Caps’, and she will chose neither in favor of finding a 3rd option that does not fully align with either of the current main factions of witches. This foreshadowing is probably its clearest during chapters 37 & 38, where Coco is presented with the options of returning to the Great Hall or moving forwards towards the Tower of Tomes, to which she chooses to instead fly straight forwards so she could save Qifrey instead. But, to know to pick neither option of the Witch society, Coco first needs to see the harm caused by both sides.
We see the harm caused by the Brimmed Caps very explicitly throughout the beginning of the story. In fact, the harm caused by the Brimcaps and forbidden magic is something Coco faces firsthand all the way back in chapter 1 when she accidentally draws the petrification spell and loses her mother. She’s later again faced directly with the effects of forbidden magic when she sees what the Brimcaps have done to Euini during the Second Pentagram Test Arc. By the time we start the Silver Eve arc, Coco is intimately familiar with the negative effects of forbidden magic and has developed a rightful distrust towards the Brimmed Caps as a whole.
On the other hand, Coco’s knowledge of the harm caused by the Pointed Caps is much more abstract. Leading up to Silver Eve, it’s Tartah who’s engaging with a more critical view of Witch society and sharing his perspective with Coco. Because unlike Coco, Tartah has an intimate knowledge of the negative effects Witch society has and an abstract knowledge of the harm caused by the Brimmed Caps. Through him, we the readers begin to get a clearer view of how the Pointed Caps can cause just as much harm as their brimmed counterparts. They restrict knowledge, they do not properly accommodate others, and they have a strong black and white view on Forbidden magic with no account for situational nuances. Unfortunately, due to her prior personal experiences with Forbidden magic, Coco continues to cling to the Pointed Cap system because she does not see another option. Her empathy towards Tartah and her acknowledgement of his views can only go so far because, from her perspective, the Pointed Caps are still a better option than the Brimmed Caps.
When talking to my IRL friend about it, they brought up a great parallel between Coco’s situation and Olruggio’s harmless fire from chapter 43. While Coco has heard about and seen how the rules put in place by the Pointed Caps have harmed people like Tartah and Euini, empathy can only go so far in understanding. Just like how no matter how much you tell kids that real fire is dangerous, if they’ve only ever known the safe fire they won’t understand the danger until they’re burned. If Coco only ever hears about how the Pointed Caps harm others, she won’t be able to understand until it affects her directly. By the time we get to the Silver Eve arc, Coco has not been personally affected by the Pointed Cap system, at least not to the extent that Tartah has. Likewise, Tartah has not been personally victimized by Forbidden magic the way Coco has.
Over the course of Silver Eve, Coco finally gets to see a real firsthand perspective of the other side. She sees the direct effects of gatekeeping magic from Custas, and she watches multiple members of the Knight’s Moralis ignore the situational nuances in favor of maintaining the status quo, from Galga attacking Dagda without question on the basis of having Forbidden magic written on his body (ch55) to Easthies attacking any witch in his path to prevent to use of the counter clock seal’s use, despite the lives it saved (ch79).
But for Tartah, these scenes act more to reassure his own views against Pointed Cap society. He was right not to trust them, because now from his point of view, all the Pointed Caps have ever done is restrict him, harm his relationship with Custas, and attack innocent people indiscriminately. Where Coco’s doubts towards the Pointed Caps has worsened, Tartah’s distrust of them has been validated, and these two perspectives finally come to a head during chapter 87.
To be able to fully understand the harm that is caused by the Pointed Caps the same way she understands the harm caused by the Brimmed Caps, Coco needs to feel the personal effects of perpetuating the cycle of abuse the system causes. That is not to say she deserves to have her autonomy violated by Tartah and the truth seal, nor is it to blame her for the abuse inflicted upon her. Both Coco and Tartah are victims in this situation, and both perpetuating the cycle of abuse onto each other. By hiding the truth of Custas’ condition from Tartah, Coco unintentionally harms him the same way the Pointed Caps did, and by forcing Forbidden magic onto Coco, Tartah unintentionally harms her the same way the Brimmed Caps did. Neither of them has any malicious intent towards the other, but because they both continue to go along with the systems that have harmed them both they end up harming each other in the same way.
Neither Coco, nor Tartah will ever be happy if they continue to perpetuate these cycles. They’ve both seen firsthand how either side can cause harm, they’ve both felt the effects of harm from their respective sides, and they have both acted as those systems to cause harm upon each other. Coco cannot fully side with the Pointed Caps the same way she cannot side with the Brimmed Caps, because she now knows the direct harm that both sides can cause. From this point forwards, Coco cannot simply choose one side as “correct” and live in ignorance, she HAS to find a middle ground between these two extremes, because she understands how it feels to harm someone and have harm inflicted upon herself.
If you’d like to further discuss these ideas and topic, I kindly direct you over to my asks! If not, any form of interaction with my post is greatly appreciated!
