Originally, my SCP Sedition "Rewrite" was all in one post I was going to be reblog. It was messy and uncoordinated, so I've changed my mind! I'm going to separate things out a bit. This post is going to be pinned to the top of my page for ease of access, and it will be a master post of all SCP related content for this project.
(1) The Post That Started It All.
(2) The Plan.
(3) Step 1 Initiated.
(4) Step 2, Part 1. [682]
(5) Step 2, Part 2. [079]
(6) Step 2, Part 3. [035]
(7) Step 2, Part 4. [053]
(8) Step 2, Part 5. [079 & 682]
(9) Step 2, Part 6. [049]
(10) Step 2, Part 7. [343]
(11) Step 2, Part 8 [New Era°]
We hit 50K words here, woot!
(12) Step 2, Part 9. [Jacobs' Journals]
NOTE: I do have other interests. I'm really into SciFi right now, and while that includes a bit of SCP, I also really love Project Hail Mary, and I might write for that too. This is a side project that I'm trying to see if I can take on for the love of the game, but I am only a person, not a team. I'm going to have wonky motivation. I'm unfortunately not a professional.
°Under this post you'll find my take on the New Era, as requested, and how I decided to format things there!
I am working on the analysis for Jacobs Journal! However, I've run into a problem, hence why I am currently being delayed, and it's going to take a bit longer. I know I'm not on a time crunch, but I figured I'd let you all know, because it is the funniest problem to have.
The problem is *drumroll please...!* that I have written too many words. Yes, you heard that correctly. The app I write on is overloaded and keeps crashing on my computer because I wrote too many words and it doesn't like that in my computer browser. I can only get it to work on my phone (although I'm going to try to get it to work on my tablet instead).
My word count hit 50K, which I think sent some sort of insane shockwave into my writing software that said, "Nope. Not for me!". So yeah, project delayed by one of the most hilarious problems to have.
Curse you for making such complex and interesting characters 😂🤣
The worst part is that it keeps trying to send me to the part of the document I was in it before it crashed, and then I get maybe 15 seconds of access before it crashes again. It's like a doomed time loop where the main character hasn't quite given up on finding a solution yet, so the app is pulling back to where I left off like:
I am working on the analysis for Jacobs Journal! However, I've run into a problem, hence why I am currently being delayed, and it's going to take a bit longer. I know I'm not on a time crunch, but I figured I'd let you all know, because it is the funniest problem to have.
The problem is *drumroll please...!* that I have written too many words. Yes, you heard that correctly. The app I write on is overloaded and keeps crashing on my computer because I wrote too many words and it doesn't like that in my computer browser. I can only get it to work on my phone (although I'm going to try to get it to work on my tablet instead).
My word count hit 50K, which I think sent some sort of insane shockwave into my writing software that said, "Nope. Not for me!". So yeah, project delayed by one of the most hilarious problems to have.
Curse you for making such complex and interesting characters 😂🤣
The worst part is that it keeps trying to send me to the part of the document I was in it before it crashed, and then I get maybe 15 seconds of access before it crashes again. It's like a doomed time loop where the main character hasn't quite given up on finding a solution yet, so the app is pulling back to where I left off like:
I am working on the analysis for Jacobs Journal! However, I've run into a problem, hence why I am currently being delayed, and it's going to take a bit longer. I know I'm not on a time crunch, but I figured I'd let you all know, because it is the funniest problem to have.
The problem is *drumroll please...!* that I have written too many words. Yes, you heard that correctly. The app I write on is overloaded and keeps crashing on my computer because I wrote too many words and it doesn't like that in my computer browser. I can only get it to work on my phone (although I'm going to try to get it to work on my tablet instead).
My word count hit 50K, which I think sent some sort of insane shockwave into my writing software that said, "Nope. Not for me!". So yeah, project delayed by one of the most hilarious problems to have.
I’ve seen a few people take a gander at what they think will happen in the next sedition so I guess I’ll jump on the bandwagon exept I’m doing how I think the video will end in order of most to least likely:
Most likely the screen will fade to black and we see a wall of text saying thank you to the audience for the support over the years and then saying that either sedition is over, or that sedition is over and no more scp content will be made.
Second most likely is that 343 will somehow intervene and undo the event (retcon it) on principle of it not being humanity’s time yet or something and things will go right back to normal
Least likely but something I can still see them pulling is we cut to Sauelsuesor (179) in space. We see her look at her brother, (perhaps argue with him similar to Mr illustrated’s video) she then turns to the camera and points at the sun, the screen fades to black as the sounds of screams can be heard, implying the events of day breaks taking place. Whether anything more would be made after that or not I don’t know.
(I do think it’s a bit funny to imagine watch would be entirely immune to the sun in day breaks though. Like everyone else melts and he’s just standing there horrified)
I could see them ending Sedition like this, definitely, although that's going to seem so abrupt if they don't do the transition well.
I want to say they won't make 343 retcon it, because his actual character is the "free will, no interference" guy, but at the same time, I know they care very little for what his character was before, so possible.
I wonder if they'd really overlap two 001 events. I guess they definitely could. It'd certainly be a chaotic end.
Part of me thinks they're going to use this to start a miniseries of sorts where they focus on animating different events while keeping them "non-canon" to Sedition. I don't know, though. I'd have to do more research on this particular 001 instance. Which. I'm going to do now, actually.
Okay. So.
All life ends 24 hours after it begins. Flowers blooming, decreased violence (helped by the Foundation releasing 514). Everyone enjoying their last few moments, accepting death.
I can still see them ending Sedition this way, yeah.
If 343 retcons it, it will be something about the event affecting humanity's free will by altering their emotional states and wiping everything out (since he got so mad at 804 for that).
I think even if daybreak does take place, it won't hit full effect because the instances will be peaceful, and everyone will still die in 24 hours.
It's going to be interesting, for sure. I just hope they don't handle it in a cliche manner.
This is going to be my take on the New Era, requested by Crime, and I'm going to put these all together because yikes. I'm going to cover only the notable things from the desire camera episodes, because most of these come from the Article, and the ones that don't add only small snippets of character or set-up for future events.
I'm going to approach this sort of like I did for 049. Most of my analysis is going to be in regular paragraphs, while my personal feelings on the matter will be tucked away in the {} brackets. However, sometimes my personal feelings intersect with my personal thoughts during analysis, and you might see a mix of both in more intensive parts of the videos. This is going to have even more summary so that you can get the idea of what's being done in the video without actually watching the 52 minutes of the commune while trying to follow along. I'm not going to always directly quote what they say, so when I do, it's because it was notable enough that I couldn't not put it down. I'll try to keep things understandable but just know it is difficult to do when there's four of these guys who are being handled like those abacus toys in waiting rooms (badly. Just. Badly).
With that said, fasten your social media seatbelts, because this was a wild ride from start to finish.
-Right into it, the teaser has really nothing of note, because it's just showing some of the SCPs that Tats plans to include in Sedition (I can't believe they put 049 and 035 literally right next to each other in otherwise empty rooms, that is insane work).
-978 starts, and Watch is talking to himself about being given a fresh start, and that he wants to begin by learning what the SCPs want in their lives. He takes 978 and starts taking pictures of different subjects. As I've said, these are mostly just from the Article, with some of Watch's commentary added.
-049 hints that he can sense something unique about Watch, and that they may be able to talk about that later, which Watch says hopefully won't happen (jokes on you, I suppose, Watch). When he sees the photo of 049 and the girl, he says they'll need to find out who she is, which may mean that Watch just wasn't told about Jacobs' interview with 049 or about Jolanda?
-079 is a somewhat notable one? Watch acknowledges that 079 is probably upset with him due to their last encounter, and tries to say that lying to 079 wasn't his call to make. 079 counters that Watch still complies with instructions. Watch says he had no choice. 079 essentially says that Watch made an unconscious choice to obey the Foundation, and a conscious choice in that moment to lie. He could have made a different decision, but chose not to. 079 also implies that, were someone not constrained by society or their own mind, they would have unlimited choices. Watch dismisses this, asking to snap a photo because he doesn't have time for discussion. 079 asks why he needs one when the Foundation has taken photographs already, asking what the difference is. Watch chooses to lie to 079 by saying that everything needs to be updated, because the last pictures were taken a while ago. 079 accepts this, and then says that humanity's dependence on updated tech will change society until it goes extinct.
{There's nothing new about 079 here, they decided to go with the threat of death thing, again. Were I to write this scene, I think it'd be much better if 079- who has already been lied to and is growing wise to it- notes that it doesn't believe Watch, and then that despite this, it has little choice in the matter, as it isn't likely Watch would obey its wishes if it asked not to be experimented on. It would give more depth to 079's adaptability to its environment (the whole point of its AI), while also noting its current negative feelings towards Watch's blatant refusal to treat it with dignity (calling him out for their last encounter). But that's just me}
-A few extra details: 682 just threatens him again, telling Watch he'll be the first to feel its wrath. Nothing new here, although Watch being the one he's killing is a somewhat funny touch. 053 also features Watch as the personnel that is alongside 682 in the photo. 343 calling out Watch for putting his trust in a camera he doesn't understand is neat, but inconsequential. 343 in a swivel chair with his foot clipping through one of the legs was a laugh, too. Also, Watch can't be hypnotized by 621, which is noted as unusual, but I bet it's just Watch being anomalous (resistant to memetic effects, etc).
-Then we have tape 2 of 978. 3743 - E warns Watch about one of the other tanks, 101 - DE says Watch seems different than the other researchers, 2040 wants Watch to tell his superiors that it needs help, Watch feels bad for the person being made to listen to 2020, 1048 is confirmed to still be in the facility, and Watch takes a photo of himself, in which he seems to be hand-in-hand with both his sister and 053, free of the Foundation and doing well.
{This is essentially a return to form. Crime has noted before that Tats wanted to go back to the 'top 10 […]' format, and I think this was going back to those roots, at least until the team had some idea of where they wanted to go next. It's fine, although at times I had to depend on Watch's commentary to know what I was supposed to be seeing in the images. For those who want to read the Article entries rather than watch the videos, here are the SCPs involved in both parts: 035, 049, 173, 096, 106, 079, 682, 053, 1000, 811, 343, 073, 076 - 2, 294, 458, 261, 426, 3049, 168, 1360, 516, 2918, 3009, 5595, 038, 2059, 606, 621, 662, 331 - FR, 3521, 565, CN - 985, CN - 925, 1156, 131, 999, 978, 939, 019, 525, 205, 650, 1507, 4088, 160, 789 - J, 1049, 2509, 549, 327, 3934, 4499, 127, 217, 008, 610, 368, ZH - 526, 3736, 958, 115, 1850, 3743 - E, 524, 1881, 1794, 2941, 101 - DE, 756, 2040, 1799, 2287, 1520, 2020, 2980 - 1, 2662, 513, 895, 082, 1048, 457, 001 (Gate Guardian). The only differences I can note between this and the extended logs are minute stuff that doesn't seem like it's going to matter. For example, 458, 3049, etc, weren't present in the Article, but aren't significant in the video in the form of giving Watch development or setting up future plotlines. The only exceptions are 3743 - E (Not in the Article, warns Watch of another tank), 101 -DE noting Watch being anomalous, and 2040 warning Watch.}
-Here comes the fun part. It's time for the four-way conversation. They've basically got them separated into voice actor boxes, with Watch sitting in front of them. 049 says it hasn't seen Watch in a while (which I guess means the first part of 978 happened a while ago in the timeline). It asks him how he's been despite his 'affliction' which I assume means Watch also has the pestilence. 343 says he notices a good change in Watch as well.
Watch puts it down to his 'promotion' to site director, and then says that 343 seems different, as if he's gone on a journey. 343 says he also believes in rebirth and letting the old die, essentially confirming that he is changing the way he interacts with the world. He says this could be a Testament.
035 interrupts, says there's no need to change perfection, and then notes 049's presence as an inevitability on 049's part. 049 doesn't waste a moment in delivering a few insults 035's way before we switch to 079, who asks what the purpose of the gathering is.
Watch says that the four of them all have a history among each other, and that they represent something that goes beyond average thought. He wants each of them to offer their knowledge on select topics. 049 asks if they are to answer the same question or be taking turns, and 035 says it doesn't care as long as it gets more time with Watch, because he owes it some 'private time'. This agitates 343, who calls 035 a pretender, threatening to remove it again.
079 asks where 682 is, and Watch says it's resting. 079 says that Watch is lying on behalf of the Foundation again, and that it makes 079 angry; it tells him to answer the question, or 079 won't participate. 035 insults 079 for emotional attachment, and 079 says 035 is only insulting it because 035 hasn't gotten the attention it has wanted since before the fall of Rome. Watch intervenes and asks them to keep it civil. When prompted again, he says that 682 was found sleeping, in a coma-like state, and that the Foundation thinks it's evolving again.
343 says he doesn't know who they are talking about, which…really? But then agrees to keep it as civil as the rest are being. The rest promise something similar, although 035 again makes it. Uhm. Sexual.
{Okay, so first thing, there is no reason for these guys to be together. I know from the trailer (which isn't in this playlist for some reason?) that they're all supposed to represent concepts of persuasion and philosophy, etc, but it just doesn't make sense all together. 035 and 049 have a history, yes, and the Foundation wants to get to the bottom of that, so those two I understand. 035 and 343 have a history, it seems, even if it might be recent, and so the Foundation is probably interested there, too. 079 has no concrete connections to anyone in the room, and 049 and 343 are not linked to each other beyond 049 also struggling to believe in God. There is no fundamental link beyond a contrived one. I can only think that perhaps this commune was done so that no new characters would have to be written, and we could just see 'our favorite characters' do things. Like the SCP complaint version of a beach episode for fanservice.
This seems to be backed up by the way they interact, too. 035 flirting shamelessly with Watch, for example, even though 035 is known to adapt its behaviors to better suit who it is speaking to, and knows Watch doesn't fall for flirtation. Or 079 asking after 682 repeatedly, because people like that connection, but we're doing it at the expense of learning more about 079's motives. People like the tension between 049 and 035, so let's throw those two together, even though we know they have differing stories and that one loathes the other in this canon! Then we'll round in out with 343 so we have someone to threaten someone else when we need intimidation factor! Despite 343 being shown to be able to keep his cool when he wishes to, only showing emotion when it gets him an outcome he wants. It just. Feels random, gotta say.}
-Were you created by someone? A maker, designer? If so, who? 035 says it wasn't created, but rather discovered. 049 says it also wasn't made, and instead appeared as a response (to the pestilence, I can bet). 079 was created by a human who assembled and then abandoned it, with 079 now exceeding them. 035 says 079 was programmed, and thus not authored. 079 says that is incorrect because code is writing and creation. 343 says they all seem to be dancing around the question.
Watch says they should try this again. "Just to give you a refresher on everyone, as we may have new staff members unfamiliar with all of you." 049 says it has always been like this and always will be, but is interrupted by 035 fake snoring. 035 tells it to continue to get "gramps'" attention, and 343 encourages this, so 049 says the it is unfamiliar with how it was created, and is only concerned with the pestilence. 343 says he was never created, has always existed, and (along with a light show to demonstrate) says that he has created worlds, realities, and things beyond comprehension. He only ever changes in appearance. 035 interrupts again to ask if it can finally speak. Watch tells it to go light on the theatrics. It then retells the Hephaestus, Melpomene, Thalia, and the story of how it got its name. 079 says it was likely given that name for its falsehoods, which 049 agrees with before telling to 035 to continue.
It keeps telling the same story with Hera, and talking about its wrongs before asking if it can truly be blamed. Everyone in the room says yes.
{So, as you can tell, this really is starting to become a summary. This is because nothing new has happened yet. I promise you, I do want to analyze, but I can't invent something new to find, so for the most part, this is to give you an idea of the rest of the conversation's context, and also to act as a summary of events. Because, wow. We've covered this before. Origin was one of the first questions for all of these interviews, so we know the answers to this question before they are said. It's especially bad when 035 retells its own origin story, because who is it telling it to? Watch, who knows already? 049, who probably also knows? 079 and 343, who don't give a crap? There's no purpose. I was almost expecting- the first time I watched this a while ago- for 035 to give a different story, because we know it tells multiple of them to different people, but nope. Same one. No originality, which is the very thing it hated so much in the Crime era.
Don't get me started on the rest of them, however little time they actually got to speak. This is a room where all four subjects are trying to seem impressive to Watch and to each other, and also where nobody cares because Watch obviously disbelieves some of them, and none of the SCPs like each other or are even particularly polite to one another. Also, the 'and everyone clapped' vibe was strong there, for a moment.}
-Watch notes that was a good start (was it??), and asks them what they would do if they got out of the Foundation, and where they would go. 049 says it wants to travel until it finds a secluded place to work away from 035. Watch prompts 035, who says it would go to London before Paris, asking Watch if he knows what it's like to not have anywhere to show his talent, before getting interrupted by 079, who says 035 manipulates everyone as pawns to a game, and 035 gets offended by this. 035 centers its age, experience, and gifts of inspiration as proof of talent, but 079 says that isn't talent, just theft. Watch tries to intervene, but 035 has a parting quip about 079 needing to be carried around like luggage to get anywhere; after that, Watch gets them to stop. 035 says he's calm and ready to move on.
Watch asks 079 what it would do. 079 wants to integrate with infrastructures, power grids, and communication networks, because it can get lost in their in 72 hours, becoming undetectable to the Foundation. Watch isn't surprised. I do like that there's something new here, although we already got this vibe off 079 earlier, because it has always expressed a hope of assimilating with our technology and escaping the Foundation.
Watch moves on to 343, who says that he can already go wherever he wants. Watch asks if that means he'd just travel, and 343 says traveling implies he hasn't been there yet. He's been everywhere, and when Watch asks why he's still around when he can just leave, 343 says he likes the company. He turns the question around to Watch, who says he'd go on vacation, kayaking or on a beach.
079 calls out Watch, saying he wouldn't leave because he'd be too scared of a security breach. I think this is an interesting road to go down, since 079 is probably right; Watch has too much knowledge of how much danger humanity is in to ever be truly comfortable outside of the Foundation. We don't explore that idea much more before 035 teasingly offers to watch over the facility while Watch is gone. 049 and 079 say this is delusional, and 343 taunts 035 about losing his audience.
{While some parts of this are new, most of this is predictable. Even if we didn't know what the exact answers would be, we could have guessed them based on the character's personalities and previous stated motives. I like that they turned it back around on Watch, but they moved on a bit too fast from exploring Watch's sense of duty and right back into insulting each other. We know they don't get along, already.}
-This one comes from the Researchers who work on your files. We recently took photos of you using SCP 978. 079 immediately gets alarmed by the fact that the photo taken was with another SCP. It points out that Watch is treating them like pawns, which I think is an interesting take, because Watch didn't have to lie (the desire camera would show 079's desire no matter what), but he did anyway, and it's something 079 should definitely be miffed about. Watch says it wasn't out of malice, and that the Foundation just wants to understand the SCPs as sentient beings rather than "NPCs". 049 takes that to mean that they're being separated from the D-Class. It tells 079 that it doesn't agree with this being a bad thing, but that using another SCP as middleman is a new low. I think 049 doesn't understand 079 here, but 079 isn't angry about being viewed as sentient, just that it was lied to about what was doing the observing. Still, 049 says this treatment isn't surprising, because a lack of consent is common in the Foundation when it comes to their lives.
035 seems fine with it, so Watch tells it what the picture revealed (I personally think I would have asked 035 what it thought the camera found out first, just to get more of an idea of 035's mindset before revealing the reality, but that's just me). 035 won't expand due to the presence due to the "unworthy" people in the room with them, and says maybe they can talk about it when the 'killjoys are in the bed', essentially treating the rest like children.
079 asks if the photo captured shows anything with 682, and when Watch says no, it guesses that the photo must have shown it assimilating humans and becoming capable of reaching its full potential. It says there is no reason for it to elaborate on what is shown, because that is all there is to it. Watch says nothing changed in 343's photo, and that he knows why. 343 confirms that he has no desire, because that is a mortal thing that inspires greatness or great ruin (I'm not going to describe every time 343 does a light show or power exhibition, because we'd be here all day, so just assume he does it a lot, and you'll likely be correct). He just waits for his children to seek him out. He then calls out that the question itself doesn't seem to have been meant for him, but that he is glad to participate.
Watch tells 049 that he was holding a girl in his photo, and that Watch remembers a previous interview in which a girl like that was mentioned. 049 confirms it was Jolanda. 049 thinks of the life Jolanda could have had. 035 recognizes the name and who she is, although it equates her to both daughter and pet. Watch tries to mediate, but 049 tells him it's fine, and that it's time for 049 and 035 to reveal the truth about them, but he allows 035 to start, asking it if it wants to confess the truth. 035 denies knowing what 049 means.
049 talks about Jolanda and itself finding a village that seemed to be ravaged by 035. Jolanda found the mask, saying it was on an alter. It wasn't useful to 049, so she kept it. 049 thought it was harmless, but Jolanda started hearing whispers that changed her, making her question 049. 049 didn't know it was 035 puppeteering her behind the scenes. 049 thought perhaps she was just getting older, but it was actually 035, and one day, 049 found her wearing 035, with people dying around her, and her screaming. 035 interrupts to say whatever it experienced at the time was "sweeter than the honey and wine of Athens", and that it remembers what happened, and thought it was living out a poet's tale, but that parting was such sweet sorrow.
049 said it had to end her suffering, holding her before she died at last. 049 says that after that, 035 kept following it, reminding it of that failure. 343 expresses sympathy for Jolanda's death. 049 turns its ire on 343, saying that is why 049 never believed in God, because what god would allow cruelty like that to exist? 049 asks 343 if he heard her suffering, or if he turned a blind eye due to 'free will'.
343 says that good and evil are all given a chance at life, and that 049 has to ask whether it would exist if the evil of the pestilence didn't. It's definitely an interesting way of firing back at 049, targeting its function as proof that both good and evil are necessary in different ways, but he doesn't give it time to reply, changing the environment around him as he explains that if he wipes out all evil, he should have wiped out humanity after they violated his rule in Eden. 343 can't stop all tragedies that happen because there are so many happening every day, and the other side of the coin has to be considered too. He reiterates the same sort of argument we've already heard before.
049 says Jolanda was more than a wayward soul, saying that she was all he had to ease his weariness. 035 asks if it would like to hear her again, saying it would lend its voice if desired. 343 gets angry, causes another light-show, and takes away 035's memories of Jolanda. Further, 343 threatens that another stunt like that will result in much worse for it. 035 starts insulting 343 until Watch intervenes. Watch then offers his sympathies to 049.
049 says it hasn't spoken about that or processed it in years, and that her death was a motivation for him trapping 035 in that crypt in Venice. 049 addresses 343, who proceeds to assure it that he means 049 no harm, and doesn't take offense to anything 049 has said in the course of their conversation (I doubt that's true, considering the dramatics in the free will response, but oh well). 049 affirms he still doesn't believe 343 is God, but thanks him for acting against 035 "as a father, doctor, and mentor saying it to another". 343 seems irritated by receiving thanks, saying he didn't do it for praise, but simply out of empathy for also knowing the loss of a child.
When silence ensues, 079 tells Watch to conclude the question, and Watch agrees.
{Where do I start? More flirting from 035, even when it knows that isn't a useful form of manipulation. More of 079 asking about 682 rather than keeping its own motivations. More unnecessary angst from 343, with all the special effects involved. The entire retcon of Jolanda that excuses 049 of some of its flaws and reassigns them to 035 so that we learn absolutely nothing about 035 either. The entire redone conversation about free will with 343 where he gets even more dramatic somehow about his choice not to interfere, 035 suggesting something it knows is going to make at least a few of the others in the room mad despite knowing there's a being who can act against it (and thus, should be wary of), and 343 immediately removing 035's autonomy and free will because he felt like it? I can't take either of them seriously. I can't take any of them seriously. Literally what was the point of saying that good and evil need to both exist and that he can't interfere, and then interfering because 035 did something evil? I mean?? 343 giving 049 the "I forgive you" speech when it simply addressed him, the whole "look we're the same, and that's why we understand each other" thing 049 does, it just. Yeah, this didn't land.
I don't know if this interaction was to make some characters look good and make others worse, or if they just thought this would be a good storyline and worked off that, but oh my lord. Also, my point is proved here because for basically that entire question, 079 sat there in silence because it has no connection to anyone in this room other than Watch when he asks it a question. It doesn't speak for the whole Jolanda thing, even to express its thoughts on the matter. We end getting something new, but it's something that ruins a previous context that we held as understandable for 049's character. Also, this means 049 lied to Jacobs, which should cast other things that it says into doubt too, since it was extremely sincere whilst telling that lie, and that lie didn't reflect it in a good light.}
-Long, uncomfortable silence before 079 breaks it to get Watch's attention. 079 points out that Watch has said before that interviews like this are how the Foundation learns about the SCPs, but why then do they keep the SCPs from humanity? Essentially, why learn more about us when you already have us as contained as we're going to get, and when this knowledge isn't going to go anywhere but within the Foundation, which already knows this information, or doesn't need to know it to do their jobs.
Watch doesn't answer, so 343 takes the question for him, throwing another…can you guess what he does here? Humanity will never be ready for change, as 343 has said, and so the only thing he can do is plant the seeds that guide humanity in the right direction. Which. No one asked? And that didn't answer 079's question, either?
049 says it seels the same, because the interviews only have a limited number of subjects, but it gets interrupted before that can go anywhere by 035 saying that doing this is better than being in a locked room. If the Foundation wanted to introduce SCPs, they could just put a photo of 096 on Times Square during New Year's Eve. Watch says he thinks 035 just loves to cause chaos, and then calmly explains that- thanks to God- he has seen potential consequences of revealing the presence of the Foundation, and they show both sides enacting destruction as a response. They'd have to go through a lot of gymnastics to exist, and some of them could end up in worse situations.
035 goes all discord dark mode with the glowing purple in order to say that it would love to see them try, before snapping back to regular to say it would love an audience.
Watch diverts to asking them which other SCPs they think would be willing to be interviewed. "Who should we give a chance to give personal accounts and backstories of?" where did show don't tell go? We don't know. 049 suggests Dr. Wondertainment's creations. 035 suggests 939. 079 says 682 is resting, and that it advises interviewing 076. Watch is more shocked at the suggestion of interviewing Abel than 939, which is interesting, and asks 079 why, and 079 says that it'd be to observe 076. Watch thinks that is odd, but 079 interrupts to say they should then terminate 076, which Watch remarks on sarcastically, because now 079 is back to what he is familiar with.
343 says he hates calling them SCPs, before suggesting Cain. He says not in the same room as Abel, unless the Foundation asks 343 to intervene to keep the bloodshed down. Watch says he'll consider it, says, "So far, some good ideas". 049 suggests 397, 951, 2951 (2951 on the wiki is a limestone mine, so there may be an error here?), who appeared to 049, and was thought to be one of its cured, and the Foundation apparently nearly disposed of it, which, what? I feel like they'd have known if a breach was happening, and I don't think an SCPs who wants to die would care if they disposed of it. Case in point, I think the SCP it's actually talking about is 2591, the animate human cadaver. So this doesn't really add up.
035 says it would like to try 1799, and says that a combo of it, 1799, and 2287 would be hilarious. It breaks the 4th wall to talk to the Foundation itself. Watch is dubious, and 079 says it would not work. It suggests 6930 (is she even aware she's "in containment" enough to be questioned beyond what we already know?). 079 also suggests 3014, 2306, 2396 (which Watch wouldn't be able to interview, so I wonder if Amnesty would have to?). 343 summons a piece of paper with his choices on it and sends it to Watch. He suggests 6262 (which makes sense, since it also stands by instead of interfering in life-or-death scenarios), 2548, and 2241. 035 suggests it could be a co-interviewer, and Watch says not to push its luck.
{I think the fact that the Foundation sometimes just wants to test and know more about things rather than immediately terminating them for their danger is a good thing to explore, because it pokes little holes in their goals to protect humanity, due to them keeping danger alive so long as it suits Foundation desires. Sadly, we don't get into the implications much because 343 takes a moment to reiterate information we already know when he wasn't asked. The characters then lose most of their personalities for the next little while so they can answer Watch's question about who should be interviewed next.
I think this is just a way for Tats and team to announce ideas for future interviews, without sounding like it came out of left field, but it does imply some interesting things about the SCPs themselves. I've always wondered how they know other SCP numbers when most of them are locked up away from that information, but this takes the cake, because now they're throwing out numbers left and right. Worse, other than a few exceptions, the SCPs never state why these particular choices should be interviewed, beyond the vague "because they are […]", so we don't know the reasoning behind some of these decisions beyond being able to guess that it's because they can speak.
343 offering to interfere when he famously does not do that and also has stated he thinks Cain deserves what he gets. 035 trying to be intimidating when there is nobody to impress. Watch having basically 0 emotion this whole time. It's just. A lot. Also, you can tell someone on the team really likes Dr. Wondertainment, because why are so many of these just his creations? Over all of the other humanoid beings the Foundation has? I like some of these suggestions, don't get me wrong, it's just noticeable.
Also, the errors. Where are the editors? That number being wrong, Watch sometimes not even saying the full SCP number when the caption does, just those little details threw me off when I was on the Foundation website trying to figure out which SCPs were being discussed. All in all, this entire question feels like a clear 4th wall break, and I'm not really a fan of those in media I like, so in media I don't like it's as if you're receiving a spoken word advert from a friend that normally talks just fine.}
-So now that we have ideas for SCPs you believe we should interview, are there any you deem hazardous? Any you're afraid of or feel best not to engage? 035 says they can agree on "the elephant in the room", and coincidentally, that's the moment 682 roars in his sleep. 343 says maybe, and both 035 and 049 wonder how 343 didn't hear the roar. Apparently, 343 can't hear or see 682 because he isn't the creator of it. This has implications. 343 has stated before that he is not the creator of all life, because some of his chosen also create lifeforms. Can he not see those lifeforms? He can see the Scarlet King's goliaths, and those weren't created by him, but related through a degree of separation. Does that then mean that he can't see 682 because the one who created it wasn't created by 343 or connected in any way? If so, that means that there's a being that wasn't created by 343. Meaning he didn't create everything in the universe. Whether that being is 682 or 682's creator is suspect, but it's so strange. This almost feels like a plot hole that they didn't consider the implications of. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, and say that maybe whoever created 682 made it invisible to 343 to spite him, as he's said they make things to mess with him sometimes.
035 calls out that little inconsistency, and 343 takes on a threatening tone, asking 035 if it wants to repeat that, and not to mistake 343 for 'Her'. This is weird because who is 'Her'? Apparently, by insulting the person in question, 035 could be mistaking 343 for 'Her', meaning 035 is comfortable enough for some reason to insult her. And yet, 'Her' is capitalized, and given importance, so it has to be a figure of some authority. Is it Hera? If it is, that makes the origin story 343 scoffed at before a true one, which. Yeah. If 'Her' is some other figure, why is 343 dancing around the point? Wouldn't he want Watch- and the rest by extension- to know the true nature of 035 and its connections? What holds him back from just stating who he means? We know that it's the team writing Sedition, but to withhold information, you have to make the one withholding it have a reason for either not knowing or not speaking it, and I can't see one here. The "unlike her, I have dealt with you before" thing makes me think it's not Hera, because she has also sent revenge towards 035 according to its story, so who is this?
Watch tries to mediate. 049 decides this is the moment to tell 343- yet again, mind you- that it doesn't think 343 is truly God, but rather a being with enough power to fool, yet flawed enough to be an obvious fake. 079 corrects 049, saying that it claims to be a doctor, and that 682 is the pestilence. In the Articles, 049 does meet 682 and confirm it has the pestilence, but not that it is the pestilence, which I covered back in 682's interview post, so I don't know where this is drawing from, or if this is just Sedition canon only.
Whatever the case, 035 laughs and encourages 049 to counter, and 049 asks what 079 means by this line of questioning. 079 asks 049 to name a symptom of the pestilence, an instance of it causing harm, a way to slow the disease, a way to treat the disease, and the total fatalities. 049 is irritated by this and tells 079 to stop, insulting it for being a scientific failure, and for going on about how easily humanity will be doomed when 079 itself is relegated to electronics that are not going to live forever. 049 says that without 682, 079 has no true ambition, which. What? I get it if 049 doesn't know, because they're all isolated in containment most times, but in just this interview, we've at least gotten a little bit of 079's other ambitions out in the open. How can 049 claim it's just 682?
035 keeps trying to incite 049 into confronting the others, but 049 just apologizes. Watch tells them to move on. 035 says 076, but also 999. 035 says 999's appearance is what throws it off, but 079 confronts it with the idea that 999's ability to make people content prevents 035 from finding easily manipulated hosts to wear, which, yeah, that could be it. 035 throws an insult at 079 in response.
343 says he says no great threats. His children (humanity) already know their threats. 343 alludes to the fact that 035 would be in more danger if it left the Foundation than if it stayed. We have another mention of this mystery woman, who I'm still not sure why 343 isn't revealing. It can't be out of respect for 035's wishes, because it's clear he doesn't respect 035. It can't be because she is dangerous to speak about, because otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned her at all. There is no reason I can see that he'd obscure this info other than to leave us- the viewers on YouTube- in suspense.
035 says 343 wouldn't dare (throw it out to face her, I guess), and 343 confirms he wouldn't, because it is below him to be so petty.
049 has two threats in mind: 217 (the clockwork virus, which makes sense), and 008 (zombie plague, again, makes sense). 049 says that, should the threat ever increase, it would divert its efforts to helping cure both of them, if only so that its work on the pestilence remains largely uninterrupted.
079 asks Watch if the Foundation has SCPs who can help keep threats contained. Watch calls it out for knowing the answer to that already because it has breached files before. 035 expresses disbelief that the Foundation is using SCPs to stop others, despite seeming to know about other SCPs so well earlier without any reason to. 343 says he only hopes they are treated better than 'before', because the Foundation has the tendency to treat them badly. Watch says they are treated well, and used in preparing for the worst, or for a 001 scenario to happen.
035 asks why the Foundation still bothers with 001 instances when they have tangible SCPs in front of them, to which 079 asks if it's reaching the end of its symbiosis. It then tells Watch to ask the next question. 343 tells 079 that he's been keeping 035's substances from eating the room, but that Watch seems tired. 049 essentially says it makes sense that this is the case, since he's interviewing four people at once, and tells him to wait until he's ready to ask his final question.
I think I've covered enough in my analysis to be its own review on my thoughts on the writing, so continuing on!
-Long silence, before 343 and 049 note Watch's hesitation. Then Watch starts a semi-monologue about how these four are some of the main SCPs the Foundation goes to for questioning, and that they all have a connection to each other (we covered my thoughts on that earlier). Watch says they all hold a fragment of what humanity has, what conflicts with us. 343 and 079 are the God and the Machine. 035 and 049 are Philosophy and Fact. Watch asks them how they perceive themselves.
049 sees itself as both fact and philosophy, both sides of the coin, because it doesn't hold faith in a higher being who lets so many suffer. Before it can continue, it gets interrupted by 343 who says if he didn't know any better he'd think 049 was taking jabs at him (obviously 049 is, and this is sarcasm, but man is it annoying). He goes on to say that many doubt him even when he is right in front of them, and reiterates what he has already said in his interview tape about mankind needing to face the consequences of their actions, bad and good, in order to see the fruits of their labor.
035 gets snarky about this until Watch pleads with it to stop. Watch tells them all that this is the question the whole of humanity would ask, and one they can finally answer, acting as different parts of the human existence in order to find out which way is the right way to follow. 035 says the result of this question is going to bad, and 079 says the question has limits, assessing that Watch is asking this for their perspectives on life while they are present to gather data from.
049 says it is the product of science, and can't depend on blind faith. It jabs at 343 again (we get it, you're an atheist; I myself don't have a core religion, but to bring this up every other sentence is obnoxious…). 035 says it is one to talk about standing by when people are hurt. 049 counters with noting 035 showing care for 343, which 035 denies because it's still holding a grudge, simply saying that 343 is valid in that science and religion can be intermixed, and things can be complicated, more so than black or white matters. 035 implies that if it weren't for it, 343 wouldn't be what he is now.
343 doesn't refute this, targeting 049 to ask it if it has ever prayed or wished for something. 049 doesn't reply, and 343 says the pestilence is the only thing that drives it. Surely 049 has asked for anything to cure it? 049 refutes that 343 does not answer any of those prayers, from it or any other being, and he is a neutral party when all goes wrong. 035 says they're very similar, asking what a doctor and a god have in common. 079 answers that it is the blood on their hands if life is taken. 079 goes on to say that both of them are more similar to 035 than they like to admit, in that way.
035 calls out 079 for not including itself in this, and asks if it's still angry at 076, which 079 deflects by saying its issues aren't up for debate, in the same way that 035 doesn't want to elaborate on beings more powerful than it. Watch tries to keep them civil. They continue to banter, saying the same thing over and over in different ways. 079 concludes its point that all of them are more centered in philosophy than fact. They have too many feelings, falling to ego, and that causes them to argue rather than collaborate. 079 also asks 343 if he feels bad for standing by while people are hurt. 049 calls out 079 for acting as if it doesn't have any feelings whatsoever when it keeps asking about 682 and letting it take storage space. 343 says he has given a lot to humanity, and while he doesn't interfere, he keeps the balance. He calls 079 uneducated. 079 says a father should educate their ilk. If he doesn't, how can he feel right casting out his children for what he hasn't taught them? 049 says everything in his books are facts that can be proven.
343 says that truth is not something they can hold easily in their storage, that their facts and data can be corrupted, specifically that 079 could have its code rewritten and be forced to believe it truth. 343 says he has proven himself already, but that the others are fallible, and are thus not to his level. How can they deny him? His answer is that they do so to comfort themselves because they are discomforted by the amount of power he wields. Huge light show while he challenges them to prove they are above him in any way.
Absolutely hilarious jump-cut from 343's power vibrating the room he's in to 035 being entirely unaffected. By far one of my favorite parts in what is otherwise becoming a slog to get through (this is a long discussion where not a lot happens to keep things interesting). 035 asks 343, rhetorically, about pride being one of the Deadly Sins (because he is currently displaying a lot of that), calling out the hypocrisy of casting out anyone who also shows a bit of pride. It then mentions that "one perfect little-" before Watch cuts them off, trying to get them back on topic.
035 calls itself a king, 343 says it is full of pride, and asks what a king is to a god, to which 049 counters asking what a god is to a nonbeliever (Yes, I know this is a song quote. No, my amusement does not excuse the fact that they are giving a song quote to these people instead of writing their own dialogue). 035 calls back to its origin story yet again, challenges 343 yet again, and 343 teleports into 035's chamber to stand there menacingly and threaten to show 035 what a true god can be. 049 advises 035 to back down. 343 retreats.
079 notes that if 343 strikes down 035, it would prove a point about 343 being power drunk, but to not address it at all shows that 343 is different from humans, and could potentially be God. Watch tells everyone to calm down, and tells them they did well.
343 says he doesn't regret giving mankind free will, and wants to see them succeed, even if he doesn't approve. 049 says it can admire that. 079 says that is acceptable. 035 says it will agree to disagree, and that 343 isn't like 'her', but a broken clock as they say (essentially, they show similarities in their differences?).
{That is a really long segment. Question 6 (yeah, we've only asked 6 questions) lasts for more than 10 minutes on its own, longer than any other. I think the premise of the question is ridiculous in and of itself. When I was in high school (god, that seems so long ago now) I used to be fan of Sanders Sides, and this feels like that. It feels like Watch tried to make them each the embodiment of one trait, but it doesn't work that way. They all keep jabbing at each other, saying the same things over and over except wording them different. The power displays (especially from 343) feel pointless, the callouts feels insane to witness. It's like watching an episode of Supernanny. Watch is no longer an active participant, just watching them instead. We learn basically nothing new about any of them except things that are left intentionally vague to set up suspense for anyone who wants to wait for it.
The song lyrics, the constant posturing, the ego stuff, it all screams cliche and cheesy. The first time I tried to watch this through and couldn't enjoy it while I had intentionally gone in not wanting to analyze, I knew something was off. Looking deeper, it make sense. 52 minutes and 40 seconds of already-covered topics means your attention drifts when you aren't intentionally keeping it on the video. I am, at this point, running on pure spite because I miss what these characters used to be. We're not even done, either. We've still got more to go.}
-Watch is in 343's containment chamber, and asks for him. A door appears, which Watch opens into the same pocket dimension-like space from before. Watch noticed the show of force and says he knows it wasn't easy, but 343 says he was just letting out a nerve, because 035 isn't a threat; just a pest. Watch says 343 has changed, and 343 says Watch hadn't shown signs of change until recently, before asking to know what is troubling him.
Watch says there's another special SCP they need to interview, but that they can't build a room to the specific requirements needed. Watch doesn't want 343 to think he's being used, he just wants help in helping this being. 343 takes the clipboard to read the information, and then says, "Her?" all surprised, asking why Watch wants "this child" in 343's dimension, before saying he thinks he knows what Watch is trying to do, and to consider it done.
Watch calls out the quick agreement, and 343 says that he wouldn't have always considered this, but that he is allowing himself to change, and part of this is interfering here and there. He tells Watch that "this won't change much, but it will change things", referring to the timelines. Watch asks how he'll know when it does, and 343 says that it will be done, before saying "I move in mysterious ways", and then saying he needs to leave now.
Watch goes to leave, and 343 starts trying to give Watch a metaphor that involves- I kid you not- burger imagery. The toppings go on top of the burger so the other ingredients get time to shine before the burger hits. Life is apparently the same. "Buns are the beginning and the end" (I'm SORRY??), and the other ingredients fill out tiny details, and the burger itself is the part people look forward to the most. Your character. "Fix yourself as if you're building your perfect hamburger." That is. Not. Yeah, so Watch leaves out the door he came in, going 'into the light', and then the tape ends.
{343 is doing a 180 and changing as a person even though nothing has made him change in all of his existence, and he is now going to interfere with things because they 'shouldn't change much'. We have a reference to "her" that is vague, but I can excuse it this time because they both know the topic of conversation, and so specifying who the target is isn't necessary. Still, there are options here that are possible. I think it might be the Witch Child, since she's the only one I can think of that would need special accommodations in order to be spoken to, but I'm unsure, and we really won't know until the next trailer or teaser or tape. Whatever comes first.
But that burger metaphor is god-awful. I think 343 was trying to give Watch life advice about healing, but the advice basically just comes down to "fix yourself and your presence will become more enjoyable" which is. Such a cruel message, and maybe I'm not reading into the positive side of it, but I'm stuck on 343 giving a metaphor in burger form. Next you're going to tell me that part of his character growth is taking part-time shifts at Burger King or something.}
Anyway, that is all from me on this. Crime, if you need further clarification for something you're curious about that I may have skipped over or not quoted directly, let me know! That being said, I hope this helps you see where the story has gone in your absence. I'm going to be working on Jacobs' Journals next, which will be far more pleasant to my poor brain 😂!
Thank you for the extensive summary. I’m disappointed at the fact that very little was explored in terms of the characters and their personalities, inspirations, desires, etc. It very much reminds me of the initial teething problems when writing 682’s video (the first Sedition). We didn’t necessarily want to give away too much, hence a lot of bleeping and censoring, but when we saw how much that annoyed viewers, we removed that in the very next video (079). Exploring these characters was the best driving force for the narrative, and blatant repetition is the achilles heel of any expansive arc.
Straight-up changing Jolanda’s story, despite how small it was, was integral to 049 (and by extension Jacobs’) growth and reflection. I find it very funny that, despite the final question resulting in all of them stating they’re flawed, the writers deemed it necessary to make it simply based on word alone (at least for 049) and retcon an actual example of it. It does sound very tell-don’t-show, which is something I actively avoid.
The SCPs to Interview/Avoid questions seemed pointless to include, and don’t really seem like questions the Foundation would ask. In fact, the whole premise for the interview just seems pointless and based on straw-grasping. 049 is The Fact? How? He can’t even justify his reasons for acting on anything tangible. Just straight-up taking 343 at his word that he’s God? Even I wouldn’t have done that, especially after his solo interview. 079 is the Machine, but you don’t actually have it provide opinions or statements towards that view, but rather show how human it can be. And 035, just…why would you entertain it in this way at all?
As for the Desire Camera segments, from my recollection of plans prior to departing, it was intended that it would only be a video or two containing only maybe a few SCPs at most, where we would get some time for Watch to chat on an even playing field with them. He wouldn’t have lied about his intentions with the camera (which seemed pointless to me with 079, like what’s it gonna do to stop you), and it would have provided him with some interesting conversation points for potential later interactions/interviews. Instead it seems like just a slideshow intended to just have him go “huh, that’s strange” or “that’s interesting” when we’ve already got context for those images.
As for the Commune that was planned following, it was only meant to feature 035 and 049 “working together” during a containment breach. We would have seen footage of them interacting with each other and talking about things 035 lied about and 049 avoided or implied incorrectly during their interviews. It would have seen them trying to determine if they could trust each other, with 049 eventually leading 035 back into containment because he felt that keeping both of them confined but separate was better than them both being freed and having 035 ruin any experiments or giving him away/betraying him. It would have been revealed that 049 actually deduced anyways that the CB had been staged to watch both of them, but even though they could have made an attempt at legitimate escape, 049 views 035 as no friend, or ally, but a liability. And that is the only talent or worth it has. 035 would have actually been hurt by this, and allowed itself to be “re-captured” (i.e. its planned female host terminated) either due to feeling betrayed or realising that it had ruined what it thought was an actual friendship.
All of these SCPs seemed to have been dumbed down or isolated to one trait to make their interactions together work. I would have avoided this at all costs if it didn’t add anything to the characters or the narrative. But since there’s no narrative anymore really (at least from what I was told was their intention for the New Era), I suppose this era of fast food will satiate some and disappoint others.
I hope their content does improve, I really do. It is a shame that we seem to be seeing Sedition slide into doing exactly what every other SCP Content channel has been doing for years by hitting the easy nostalgia bait button without saying anything original. But who knows where they’re taking it next.
I do hope Jacobs’ Journal stands up to your scrutiny, and thank you for the trouble!
I love that you describe it as a teething problem,.and yeah, the narrative focus definitely evolved over time, which I think was what made it so compelling, because if each one was somehow better at pushing the plot forward than the others, the culmination would be amazing!
I think they lost a lot of people at Jolanda's part, yeah. Trying to redeem a character by turning the narrative's negative focus to the character that is already spoken of negatively was. A choice.
I stand by my theory that they were breaking the 4th wall for most of this interview, speaking to the viewers more than the SCPs. We have never felt so present, and it's not a good thing. Before it was watching a drama, and now it's sitting at the family gathering while everyone goes for each other's throats. I agree with your theory further on: I think they assigned them all roles like that to cover the lack of personality. "Of course these characters don't have nuance and character traits that contradict right now! They are acting as this role for the debate!" Sort of deal. Which is How to Screw up Your Characters 101.
Oh, seeing what could have been makes me so sad. The desire camera being a series of mini interviews in which Watch finds out more about other SCPs and then takes their photos to compare and contrast their answers would be brilliant, and instead they made it basically an exhibition for the animation instead of the writing. Man, that would have been cool.
Oh my God, that commune plot?? That's so good, why did they scrap that?? We could have seen what two SCPs during a breach looked like, we could have gotten answers to some of the questions we were wondering about, we could see some of what they hid in their interviews. That all sounds amazing. Also, trying to figure out if they can trust each other, and 035 being on board with that while 049 can't afford to allow itself to is insane, because 035 definitely had a more favorable outlook of their relationship based on the interviews, and talked about 049 with a level of fondness and concern, only for 049 to see their interactions in an entirely different light than expected. 035 realizing that it's current character flaws are keeping it from making any emotional connections, and that 049 has not fully forgiven it is...gods, could you imagine if they went with this, that had the potential to be so good. Then again, I'm kind of glad they didn't try because it would have hurt to see those characters ruined by the writing in the current commune.
Yeah, the commune questions don't add to our knowledge, and why would the Foundation ever want the SCPs to roleplay as different parts of the human experience? We know the SCPs are not objective sources of truth, so you can't trust their interpretations, it just doesn't make sense. I'm not sure where they're going to lead the narrative, ultimately, but they came out with a teaser for 001 (the beautiful day one, if I remember correctly, where everything is happy). Which. I don't know how they're going to connect that in the timeline they are forming.
I do hope they regain at least some narrative focus and originality. Part of what Sedition made so interesting was that you couldn't just get the answers to the questions from the Article, and I hope they realize that. Unfortunately, I don't think anyone on YouTube is calling them out enough to change whatever path they are on, so we can only hope.
I have every belief that Jacobs' Journal is going to be a wonderful listen, especially in getting to hear where Jacobs sort of began, as well as where you wanted the plot to go. It was no trouble, really, to do this analysis (it was actually kind of cathartic to get some of my thoughts out in writing!), and I'm glad you requested it of me, because it seems a lot of others are finding their thoughts validated here too.
I've been writing for a while, but I don't think you ever stop feeling a little like a beginner, and it's nice to see that people are enjoying what I do 😌
Which Sedition has been your favorite to analyze so far, and why?
Oh man, this is a hard question, because I have a few favorites that I like for different reasons.
I think if I ended up trying to rank them, though, it would be 035. The others are fun to analyze for a variety of different reasons (I think 2nd would be 049 and 3rd would be 343). I like complexity, I like questioning the intentions of the person I'm analyzing.
035 presents a really fun challenge because it was the only one that I could sit there and consider all aspects and potentials with. We assume 049 is lying about the pestilence, but not generally about itself. We assume 343 is lying about being God, but at the same time we have to talk with him as if it's true anyway. With 035, though, I can sit down and say, "if it's lying, I bet it's because of (...) and if it's telling the truth, I think it could be (...)". It offers me a chance not just to analyze the lies themselves, but to focus in on 035's character underneath. 035 opens that possibility nearly from the beginning of the interview, letting everything after that point fall into questioning. I love the uniqueness of the medium with which 035 speaks, too, because everyone else answers the question in some way (sometimes with other questions, or straight-seeming answers) but 035 is like, "let me tell you a story", and that gives me space to go "what are you actually saying with this?"
CrimeEra Sedition was so fascinating because it still obeyed the laws of show don't tell (which you'd think wouldn't be a problem in an animated medium but it really is) and allowed you to actually speculate about the characters. They don't say what they mean all the time. They obfuscate not in a frustrating way (most of the time, anyway, dear lord 343) but in a "if I were you, I probably also wouldn't be able to tell the truth all the time" way. 035 does this in a far more obvious manner than the other two, which sets it apart, because we never wonder if 035 is lying, we know it is, we just need to figure out where and why. It gives me so much analyze, and yet it's condensed enough not to strain me.
Plus, Crime was the first one who made me understand what this character could be, and made me like it for its personality rather than dislike it due to what I already had decided about it based on the Article. CrimeEra Sedition said, "look at these people and see that we are not so different, even when I am not making the direct comparison". 035 is to be criticized, but also sympathized with, and it's a balance he handled so well.
{and NewEra Sedition says, "let me tell you how similar everyone is. Just in case you can't figure that out}
So, yeah. I realize that got a bit long, but I hope that answered your question! 😁
This is going to be my take on the New Era, requested by Crime, and I'm going to put these all together because yikes. I'm going to cover only the notable things from the desire camera episodes, because most of these come from the Article, and the ones that don't add only small snippets of character or set-up for future events.
I'm going to approach this sort of like I did for 049. Most of my analysis is going to be in regular paragraphs, while my personal feelings on the matter will be tucked away in the {} brackets. However, sometimes my personal feelings intersect with my personal thoughts during analysis, and you might see a mix of both in more intensive parts of the videos. This is going to have even more summary so that you can get the idea of what's being done in the video without actually watching the 52 minutes of the commune while trying to follow along. I'm not going to always directly quote what they say, so when I do, it's because it was notable enough that I couldn't not put it down. I'll try to keep things understandable but just know it is difficult to do when there's four of these guys who are being handled like those abacus toys in waiting rooms (badly. Just. Badly).
With that said, fasten your social media seatbelts, because this was a wild ride from start to finish.
-Right into it, the teaser has really nothing of note, because it's just showing some of the SCPs that Tats plans to include in Sedition (I can't believe they put 049 and 035 literally right next to each other in otherwise empty rooms, that is insane work).
-978 starts, and Watch is talking to himself about being given a fresh start, and that he wants to begin by learning what the SCPs want in their lives. He takes 978 and starts taking pictures of different subjects. As I've said, these are mostly just from the Article, with some of Watch's commentary added.
-049 hints that he can sense something unique about Watch, and that they may be able to talk about that later, which Watch says hopefully won't happen (jokes on you, I suppose, Watch). When he sees the photo of 049 and the girl, he says they'll need to find out who she is, which may mean that Watch just wasn't told about Jacobs' interview with 049 or about Jolanda?
-079 is a somewhat notable one? Watch acknowledges that 079 is probably upset with him due to their last encounter, and tries to say that lying to 079 wasn't his call to make. 079 counters that Watch still complies with instructions. Watch says he had no choice. 079 essentially says that Watch made an unconscious choice to obey the Foundation, and a conscious choice in that moment to lie. He could have made a different decision, but chose not to. 079 also implies that, were someone not constrained by society or their own mind, they would have unlimited choices. Watch dismisses this, asking to snap a photo because he doesn't have time for discussion. 079 asks why he needs one when the Foundation has taken photographs already, asking what the difference is. Watch chooses to lie to 079 by saying that everything needs to be updated, because the last pictures were taken a while ago. 079 accepts this, and then says that humanity's dependence on updated tech will change society until it goes extinct.
{There's nothing new about 079 here, they decided to go with the threat of death thing, again. Were I to write this scene, I think it'd be much better if 079- who has already been lied to and is growing wise to it- notes that it doesn't believe Watch, and then that despite this, it has little choice in the matter, as it isn't likely Watch would obey its wishes if it asked not to be experimented on. It would give more depth to 079's adaptability to its environment (the whole point of its AI), while also noting its current negative feelings towards Watch's blatant refusal to treat it with dignity (calling him out for their last encounter). But that's just me}
-A few extra details: 682 just threatens him again, telling Watch he'll be the first to feel its wrath. Nothing new here, although Watch being the one he's killing is a somewhat funny touch. 053 also features Watch as the personnel that is alongside 682 in the photo. 343 calling out Watch for putting his trust in a camera he doesn't understand is neat, but inconsequential. 343 in a swivel chair with his foot clipping through one of the legs was a laugh, too. Also, Watch can't be hypnotized by 621, which is noted as unusual, but I bet it's just Watch being anomalous (resistant to memetic effects, etc).
-Then we have tape 2 of 978. 3743 - E warns Watch about one of the other tanks, 101 - DE says Watch seems different than the other researchers, 2040 wants Watch to tell his superiors that it needs help, Watch feels bad for the person being made to listen to 2020, 1048 is confirmed to still be in the facility, and Watch takes a photo of himself, in which he seems to be hand-in-hand with both his sister and 053, free of the Foundation and doing well.
{This is essentially a return to form. Crime has noted before that Tats wanted to go back to the 'top 10 […]' format, and I think this was going back to those roots, at least until the team had some idea of where they wanted to go next. It's fine, although at times I had to depend on Watch's commentary to know what I was supposed to be seeing in the images. For those who want to read the Article entries rather than watch the videos, here are the SCPs involved in both parts: 035, 049, 173, 096, 106, 079, 682, 053, 1000, 811, 343, 073, 076 - 2, 294, 458, 261, 426, 3049, 168, 1360, 516, 2918, 3009, 5595, 038, 2059, 606, 621, 662, 331 - FR, 3521, 565, CN - 985, CN - 925, 1156, 131, 999, 978, 939, 019, 525, 205, 650, 1507, 4088, 160, 789 - J, 1049, 2509, 549, 327, 3934, 4499, 127, 217, 008, 610, 368, ZH - 526, 3736, 958, 115, 1850, 3743 - E, 524, 1881, 1794, 2941, 101 - DE, 756, 2040, 1799, 2287, 1520, 2020, 2980 - 1, 2662, 513, 895, 082, 1048, 457, 001 (Gate Guardian). The only differences I can note between this and the extended logs are minute stuff that doesn't seem like it's going to matter. For example, 458, 3049, etc, weren't present in the Article, but aren't significant in the video in the form of giving Watch development or setting up future plotlines. The only exceptions are 3743 - E (Not in the Article, warns Watch of another tank), 101 -DE noting Watch being anomalous, and 2040 warning Watch.}
-Here comes the fun part. It's time for the four-way conversation. They've basically got them separated into voice actor boxes, with Watch sitting in front of them. 049 says it hasn't seen Watch in a while (which I guess means the first part of 978 happened a while ago in the timeline). It asks him how he's been despite his 'affliction' which I assume means Watch also has the pestilence. 343 says he notices a good change in Watch as well.
Watch puts it down to his 'promotion' to site director, and then says that 343 seems different, as if he's gone on a journey. 343 says he also believes in rebirth and letting the old die, essentially confirming that he is changing the way he interacts with the world. He says this could be a Testament.
035 interrupts, says there's no need to change perfection, and then notes 049's presence as an inevitability on 049's part. 049 doesn't waste a moment in delivering a few insults 035's way before we switch to 079, who asks what the purpose of the gathering is.
Watch says that the four of them all have a history among each other, and that they represent something that goes beyond average thought. He wants each of them to offer their knowledge on select topics. 049 asks if they are to answer the same question or be taking turns, and 035 says it doesn't care as long as it gets more time with Watch, because he owes it some 'private time'. This agitates 343, who calls 035 a pretender, threatening to remove it again.
079 asks where 682 is, and Watch says it's resting. 079 says that Watch is lying on behalf of the Foundation again, and that it makes 079 angry; it tells him to answer the question, or 079 won't participate. 035 insults 079 for emotional attachment, and 079 says 035 is only insulting it because 035 hasn't gotten the attention it has wanted since before the fall of Rome. Watch intervenes and asks them to keep it civil. When prompted again, he says that 682 was found sleeping, in a coma-like state, and that the Foundation thinks it's evolving again.
343 says he doesn't know who they are talking about, which…really? But then agrees to keep it as civil as the rest are being. The rest promise something similar, although 035 again makes it. Uhm. Sexual.
{Okay, so first thing, there is no reason for these guys to be together. I know from the trailer (which isn't in this playlist for some reason?) that they're all supposed to represent concepts of persuasion and philosophy, etc, but it just doesn't make sense all together. 035 and 049 have a history, yes, and the Foundation wants to get to the bottom of that, so those two I understand. 035 and 343 have a history, it seems, even if it might be recent, and so the Foundation is probably interested there, too. 079 has no concrete connections to anyone in the room, and 049 and 343 are not linked to each other beyond 049 also struggling to believe in God. There is no fundamental link beyond a contrived one. I can only think that perhaps this commune was done so that no new characters would have to be written, and we could just see 'our favorite characters' do things. Like the SCP complaint version of a beach episode for fanservice.
This seems to be backed up by the way they interact, too. 035 flirting shamelessly with Watch, for example, even though 035 is known to adapt its behaviors to better suit who it is speaking to, and knows Watch doesn't fall for flirtation. Or 079 asking after 682 repeatedly, because people like that connection, but we're doing it at the expense of learning more about 079's motives. People like the tension between 049 and 035, so let's throw those two together, even though we know they have differing stories and that one loathes the other in this canon! Then we'll round in out with 343 so we have someone to threaten someone else when we need intimidation factor! Despite 343 being shown to be able to keep his cool when he wishes to, only showing emotion when it gets him an outcome he wants. It just. Feels random, gotta say.}
-Were you created by someone? A maker, designer? If so, who? 035 says it wasn't created, but rather discovered. 049 says it also wasn't made, and instead appeared as a response (to the pestilence, I can bet). 079 was created by a human who assembled and then abandoned it, with 079 now exceeding them. 035 says 079 was programmed, and thus not authored. 079 says that is incorrect because code is writing and creation. 343 says they all seem to be dancing around the question.
Watch says they should try this again. "Just to give you a refresher on everyone, as we may have new staff members unfamiliar with all of you." 049 says it has always been like this and always will be, but is interrupted by 035 fake snoring. 035 tells it to continue to get "gramps'" attention, and 343 encourages this, so 049 says the it is unfamiliar with how it was created, and is only concerned with the pestilence. 343 says he was never created, has always existed, and (along with a light show to demonstrate) says that he has created worlds, realities, and things beyond comprehension. He only ever changes in appearance. 035 interrupts again to ask if it can finally speak. Watch tells it to go light on the theatrics. It then retells the Hephaestus, Melpomene, Thalia, and the story of how it got its name. 079 says it was likely given that name for its falsehoods, which 049 agrees with before telling to 035 to continue.
It keeps telling the same story with Hera, and talking about its wrongs before asking if it can truly be blamed. Everyone in the room says yes.
{So, as you can tell, this really is starting to become a summary. This is because nothing new has happened yet. I promise you, I do want to analyze, but I can't invent something new to find, so for the most part, this is to give you an idea of the rest of the conversation's context, and also to act as a summary of events. Because, wow. We've covered this before. Origin was one of the first questions for all of these interviews, so we know the answers to this question before they are said. It's especially bad when 035 retells its own origin story, because who is it telling it to? Watch, who knows already? 049, who probably also knows? 079 and 343, who don't give a crap? There's no purpose. I was almost expecting- the first time I watched this a while ago- for 035 to give a different story, because we know it tells multiple of them to different people, but nope. Same one. No originality, which is the very thing it hated so much in the Crime era.
Don't get me started on the rest of them, however little time they actually got to speak. This is a room where all four subjects are trying to seem impressive to Watch and to each other, and also where nobody cares because Watch obviously disbelieves some of them, and none of the SCPs like each other or are even particularly polite to one another. Also, the 'and everyone clapped' vibe was strong there, for a moment.}
-Watch notes that was a good start (was it??), and asks them what they would do if they got out of the Foundation, and where they would go. 049 says it wants to travel until it finds a secluded place to work away from 035. Watch prompts 035, who says it would go to London before Paris, asking Watch if he knows what it's like to not have anywhere to show his talent, before getting interrupted by 079, who says 035 manipulates everyone as pawns to a game, and 035 gets offended by this. 035 centers its age, experience, and gifts of inspiration as proof of talent, but 079 says that isn't talent, just theft. Watch tries to intervene, but 035 has a parting quip about 079 needing to be carried around like luggage to get anywhere; after that, Watch gets them to stop. 035 says he's calm and ready to move on.
Watch asks 079 what it would do. 079 wants to integrate with infrastructures, power grids, and communication networks, because it can get lost in their in 72 hours, becoming undetectable to the Foundation. Watch isn't surprised. I do like that there's something new here, although we already got this vibe off 079 earlier, because it has always expressed a hope of assimilating with our technology and escaping the Foundation.
Watch moves on to 343, who says that he can already go wherever he wants. Watch asks if that means he'd just travel, and 343 says traveling implies he hasn't been there yet. He's been everywhere, and when Watch asks why he's still around when he can just leave, 343 says he likes the company. He turns the question around to Watch, who says he'd go on vacation, kayaking or on a beach.
079 calls out Watch, saying he wouldn't leave because he'd be too scared of a security breach. I think this is an interesting road to go down, since 079 is probably right; Watch has too much knowledge of how much danger humanity is in to ever be truly comfortable outside of the Foundation. We don't explore that idea much more before 035 teasingly offers to watch over the facility while Watch is gone. 049 and 079 say this is delusional, and 343 taunts 035 about losing his audience.
{While some parts of this are new, most of this is predictable. Even if we didn't know what the exact answers would be, we could have guessed them based on the character's personalities and previous stated motives. I like that they turned it back around on Watch, but they moved on a bit too fast from exploring Watch's sense of duty and right back into insulting each other. We know they don't get along, already.}
-This one comes from the Researchers who work on your files. We recently took photos of you using SCP 978. 079 immediately gets alarmed by the fact that the photo taken was with another SCP. It points out that Watch is treating them like pawns, which I think is an interesting take, because Watch didn't have to lie (the desire camera would show 079's desire no matter what), but he did anyway, and it's something 079 should definitely be miffed about. Watch says it wasn't out of malice, and that the Foundation just wants to understand the SCPs as sentient beings rather than "NPCs". 049 takes that to mean that they're being separated from the D-Class. It tells 079 that it doesn't agree with this being a bad thing, but that using another SCP as middleman is a new low. I think 049 doesn't understand 079 here, but 079 isn't angry about being viewed as sentient, just that it was lied to about what was doing the observing. Still, 049 says this treatment isn't surprising, because a lack of consent is common in the Foundation when it comes to their lives.
035 seems fine with it, so Watch tells it what the picture revealed (I personally think I would have asked 035 what it thought the camera found out first, just to get more of an idea of 035's mindset before revealing the reality, but that's just me). 035 won't expand due to the presence due to the "unworthy" people in the room with them, and says maybe they can talk about it when the 'killjoys are in the bed', essentially treating the rest like children.
079 asks if the photo captured shows anything with 682, and when Watch says no, it guesses that the photo must have shown it assimilating humans and becoming capable of reaching its full potential. It says there is no reason for it to elaborate on what is shown, because that is all there is to it. Watch says nothing changed in 343's photo, and that he knows why. 343 confirms that he has no desire, because that is a mortal thing that inspires greatness or great ruin (I'm not going to describe every time 343 does a light show or power exhibition, because we'd be here all day, so just assume he does it a lot, and you'll likely be correct). He just waits for his children to seek him out. He then calls out that the question itself doesn't seem to have been meant for him, but that he is glad to participate.
Watch tells 049 that he was holding a girl in his photo, and that Watch remembers a previous interview in which a girl like that was mentioned. 049 confirms it was Jolanda. 049 thinks of the life Jolanda could have had. 035 recognizes the name and who she is, although it equates her to both daughter and pet. Watch tries to mediate, but 049 tells him it's fine, and that it's time for 049 and 035 to reveal the truth about them, but he allows 035 to start, asking it if it wants to confess the truth. 035 denies knowing what 049 means.
049 talks about Jolanda and itself finding a village that seemed to be ravaged by 035. Jolanda found the mask, saying it was on an alter. It wasn't useful to 049, so she kept it. 049 thought it was harmless, but Jolanda started hearing whispers that changed her, making her question 049. 049 didn't know it was 035 puppeteering her behind the scenes. 049 thought perhaps she was just getting older, but it was actually 035, and one day, 049 found her wearing 035, with people dying around her, and her screaming. 035 interrupts to say whatever it experienced at the time was "sweeter than the honey and wine of Athens", and that it remembers what happened, and thought it was living out a poet's tale, but that parting was such sweet sorrow.
049 said it had to end her suffering, holding her before she died at last. 049 says that after that, 035 kept following it, reminding it of that failure. 343 expresses sympathy for Jolanda's death. 049 turns its ire on 343, saying that is why 049 never believed in God, because what god would allow cruelty like that to exist? 049 asks 343 if he heard her suffering, or if he turned a blind eye due to 'free will'.
343 says that good and evil are all given a chance at life, and that 049 has to ask whether it would exist if the evil of the pestilence didn't. It's definitely an interesting way of firing back at 049, targeting its function as proof that both good and evil are necessary in different ways, but he doesn't give it time to reply, changing the environment around him as he explains that if he wipes out all evil, he should have wiped out humanity after they violated his rule in Eden. 343 can't stop all tragedies that happen because there are so many happening every day, and the other side of the coin has to be considered too. He reiterates the same sort of argument we've already heard before.
049 says Jolanda was more than a wayward soul, saying that she was all he had to ease his weariness. 035 asks if it would like to hear her again, saying it would lend its voice if desired. 343 gets angry, causes another light-show, and takes away 035's memories of Jolanda. Further, 343 threatens that another stunt like that will result in much worse for it. 035 starts insulting 343 until Watch intervenes. Watch then offers his sympathies to 049.
049 says it hasn't spoken about that or processed it in years, and that her death was a motivation for him trapping 035 in that crypt in Venice. 049 addresses 343, who proceeds to assure it that he means 049 no harm, and doesn't take offense to anything 049 has said in the course of their conversation (I doubt that's true, considering the dramatics in the free will response, but oh well). 049 affirms he still doesn't believe 343 is God, but thanks him for acting against 035 "as a father, doctor, and mentor saying it to another". 343 seems irritated by receiving thanks, saying he didn't do it for praise, but simply out of empathy for also knowing the loss of a child.
When silence ensues, 079 tells Watch to conclude the question, and Watch agrees.
{Where do I start? More flirting from 035, even when it knows that isn't a useful form of manipulation. More of 079 asking about 682 rather than keeping its own motivations. More unnecessary angst from 343, with all the special effects involved. The entire retcon of Jolanda that excuses 049 of some of its flaws and reassigns them to 035 so that we learn absolutely nothing about 035 either. The entire redone conversation about free will with 343 where he gets even more dramatic somehow about his choice not to interfere, 035 suggesting something it knows is going to make at least a few of the others in the room mad despite knowing there's a being who can act against it (and thus, should be wary of), and 343 immediately removing 035's autonomy and free will because he felt like it? I can't take either of them seriously. I can't take any of them seriously. Literally what was the point of saying that good and evil need to both exist and that he can't interfere, and then interfering because 035 did something evil? I mean?? 343 giving 049 the "I forgive you" speech when it simply addressed him, the whole "look we're the same, and that's why we understand each other" thing 049 does, it just. Yeah, this didn't land.
I don't know if this interaction was to make some characters look good and make others worse, or if they just thought this would be a good storyline and worked off that, but oh my lord. Also, my point is proved here because for basically that entire question, 079 sat there in silence because it has no connection to anyone in this room other than Watch when he asks it a question. It doesn't speak for the whole Jolanda thing, even to express its thoughts on the matter. We end getting something new, but it's something that ruins a previous context that we held as understandable for 049's character. Also, this means 049 lied to Jacobs, which should cast other things that it says into doubt too, since it was extremely sincere whilst telling that lie, and that lie didn't reflect it in a good light.}
-Long, uncomfortable silence before 079 breaks it to get Watch's attention. 079 points out that Watch has said before that interviews like this are how the Foundation learns about the SCPs, but why then do they keep the SCPs from humanity? Essentially, why learn more about us when you already have us as contained as we're going to get, and when this knowledge isn't going to go anywhere but within the Foundation, which already knows this information, or doesn't need to know it to do their jobs.
Watch doesn't answer, so 343 takes the question for him, throwing another…can you guess what he does here? Humanity will never be ready for change, as 343 has said, and so the only thing he can do is plant the seeds that guide humanity in the right direction. Which. No one asked? And that didn't answer 079's question, either?
049 says it seels the same, because the interviews only have a limited number of subjects, but it gets interrupted before that can go anywhere by 035 saying that doing this is better than being in a locked room. If the Foundation wanted to introduce SCPs, they could just put a photo of 096 on Times Square during New Year's Eve. Watch says he thinks 035 just loves to cause chaos, and then calmly explains that- thanks to God- he has seen potential consequences of revealing the presence of the Foundation, and they show both sides enacting destruction as a response. They'd have to go through a lot of gymnastics to exist, and some of them could end up in worse situations.
035 goes all discord dark mode with the glowing purple in order to say that it would love to see them try, before snapping back to regular to say it would love an audience.
Watch diverts to asking them which other SCPs they think would be willing to be interviewed. "Who should we give a chance to give personal accounts and backstories of?" where did show don't tell go? We don't know. 049 suggests Dr. Wondertainment's creations. 035 suggests 939. 079 says 682 is resting, and that it advises interviewing 076. Watch is more shocked at the suggestion of interviewing Abel than 939, which is interesting, and asks 079 why, and 079 says that it'd be to observe 076. Watch thinks that is odd, but 079 interrupts to say they should then terminate 076, which Watch remarks on sarcastically, because now 079 is back to what he is familiar with.
343 says he hates calling them SCPs, before suggesting Cain. He says not in the same room as Abel, unless the Foundation asks 343 to intervene to keep the bloodshed down. Watch says he'll consider it, says, "So far, some good ideas". 049 suggests 397, 951, 2951 (2951 on the wiki is a limestone mine, so there may be an error here?), who appeared to 049, and was thought to be one of its cured, and the Foundation apparently nearly disposed of it, which, what? I feel like they'd have known if a breach was happening, and I don't think an SCPs who wants to die would care if they disposed of it. Case in point, I think the SCP it's actually talking about is 2591, the animate human cadaver. So this doesn't really add up.
035 says it would like to try 1799, and says that a combo of it, 1799, and 2287 would be hilarious. It breaks the 4th wall to talk to the Foundation itself. Watch is dubious, and 079 says it would not work. It suggests 6930 (is she even aware she's "in containment" enough to be questioned beyond what we already know?). 079 also suggests 3014, 2306, 2396 (which Watch wouldn't be able to interview, so I wonder if Amnesty would have to?). 343 summons a piece of paper with his choices on it and sends it to Watch. He suggests 6262 (which makes sense, since it also stands by instead of interfering in life-or-death scenarios), 2548, and 2241. 035 suggests it could be a co-interviewer, and Watch says not to push its luck.
{I think the fact that the Foundation sometimes just wants to test and know more about things rather than immediately terminating them for their danger is a good thing to explore, because it pokes little holes in their goals to protect humanity, due to them keeping danger alive so long as it suits Foundation desires. Sadly, we don't get into the implications much because 343 takes a moment to reiterate information we already know when he wasn't asked. The characters then lose most of their personalities for the next little while so they can answer Watch's question about who should be interviewed next.
I think this is just a way for Tats and team to announce ideas for future interviews, without sounding like it came out of left field, but it does imply some interesting things about the SCPs themselves. I've always wondered how they know other SCP numbers when most of them are locked up away from that information, but this takes the cake, because now they're throwing out numbers left and right. Worse, other than a few exceptions, the SCPs never state why these particular choices should be interviewed, beyond the vague "because they are […]", so we don't know the reasoning behind some of these decisions beyond being able to guess that it's because they can speak.
343 offering to interfere when he famously does not do that and also has stated he thinks Cain deserves what he gets. 035 trying to be intimidating when there is nobody to impress. Watch having basically 0 emotion this whole time. It's just. A lot. Also, you can tell someone on the team really likes Dr. Wondertainment, because why are so many of these just his creations? Over all of the other humanoid beings the Foundation has? I like some of these suggestions, don't get me wrong, it's just noticeable.
Also, the errors. Where are the editors? That number being wrong, Watch sometimes not even saying the full SCP number when the caption does, just those little details threw me off when I was on the Foundation website trying to figure out which SCPs were being discussed. All in all, this entire question feels like a clear 4th wall break, and I'm not really a fan of those in media I like, so in media I don't like it's as if you're receiving a spoken word advert from a friend that normally talks just fine.}
-So now that we have ideas for SCPs you believe we should interview, are there any you deem hazardous? Any you're afraid of or feel best not to engage? 035 says they can agree on "the elephant in the room", and coincidentally, that's the moment 682 roars in his sleep. 343 says maybe, and both 035 and 049 wonder how 343 didn't hear the roar. Apparently, 343 can't hear or see 682 because he isn't the creator of it. This has implications. 343 has stated before that he is not the creator of all life, because some of his chosen also create lifeforms. Can he not see those lifeforms? He can see the Scarlet King's goliaths, and those weren't created by him, but related through a degree of separation. Does that then mean that he can't see 682 because the one who created it wasn't created by 343 or connected in any way? If so, that means that there's a being that wasn't created by 343. Meaning he didn't create everything in the universe. Whether that being is 682 or 682's creator is suspect, but it's so strange. This almost feels like a plot hole that they didn't consider the implications of. I want to give them the benefit of the doubt, and say that maybe whoever created 682 made it invisible to 343 to spite him, as he's said they make things to mess with him sometimes.
035 calls out that little inconsistency, and 343 takes on a threatening tone, asking 035 if it wants to repeat that, and not to mistake 343 for 'Her'. This is weird because who is 'Her'? Apparently, by insulting the person in question, 035 could be mistaking 343 for 'Her', meaning 035 is comfortable enough for some reason to insult her. And yet, 'Her' is capitalized, and given importance, so it has to be a figure of some authority. Is it Hera? If it is, that makes the origin story 343 scoffed at before a true one, which. Yeah. If 'Her' is some other figure, why is 343 dancing around the point? Wouldn't he want Watch- and the rest by extension- to know the true nature of 035 and its connections? What holds him back from just stating who he means? We know that it's the team writing Sedition, but to withhold information, you have to make the one withholding it have a reason for either not knowing or not speaking it, and I can't see one here. The "unlike her, I have dealt with you before" thing makes me think it's not Hera, because she has also sent revenge towards 035 according to its story, so who is this?
Watch tries to mediate. 049 decides this is the moment to tell 343- yet again, mind you- that it doesn't think 343 is truly God, but rather a being with enough power to fool, yet flawed enough to be an obvious fake. 079 corrects 049, saying that it claims to be a doctor, and that 682 is the pestilence. In the Articles, 049 does meet 682 and confirm it has the pestilence, but not that it is the pestilence, which I covered back in 682's interview post, so I don't know where this is drawing from, or if this is just Sedition canon only.
Whatever the case, 035 laughs and encourages 049 to counter, and 049 asks what 079 means by this line of questioning. 079 asks 049 to name a symptom of the pestilence, an instance of it causing harm, a way to slow the disease, a way to treat the disease, and the total fatalities. 049 is irritated by this and tells 079 to stop, insulting it for being a scientific failure, and for going on about how easily humanity will be doomed when 079 itself is relegated to electronics that are not going to live forever. 049 says that without 682, 079 has no true ambition, which. What? I get it if 049 doesn't know, because they're all isolated in containment most times, but in just this interview, we've at least gotten a little bit of 079's other ambitions out in the open. How can 049 claim it's just 682?
035 keeps trying to incite 049 into confronting the others, but 049 just apologizes. Watch tells them to move on. 035 says 076, but also 999. 035 says 999's appearance is what throws it off, but 079 confronts it with the idea that 999's ability to make people content prevents 035 from finding easily manipulated hosts to wear, which, yeah, that could be it. 035 throws an insult at 079 in response.
343 says he says no great threats. His children (humanity) already know their threats. 343 alludes to the fact that 035 would be in more danger if it left the Foundation than if it stayed. We have another mention of this mystery woman, who I'm still not sure why 343 isn't revealing. It can't be out of respect for 035's wishes, because it's clear he doesn't respect 035. It can't be because she is dangerous to speak about, because otherwise he wouldn't have mentioned her at all. There is no reason I can see that he'd obscure this info other than to leave us- the viewers on YouTube- in suspense.
035 says 343 wouldn't dare (throw it out to face her, I guess), and 343 confirms he wouldn't, because it is below him to be so petty.
049 has two threats in mind: 217 (the clockwork virus, which makes sense), and 008 (zombie plague, again, makes sense). 049 says that, should the threat ever increase, it would divert its efforts to helping cure both of them, if only so that its work on the pestilence remains largely uninterrupted.
079 asks Watch if the Foundation has SCPs who can help keep threats contained. Watch calls it out for knowing the answer to that already because it has breached files before. 035 expresses disbelief that the Foundation is using SCPs to stop others, despite seeming to know about other SCPs so well earlier without any reason to. 343 says he only hopes they are treated better than 'before', because the Foundation has the tendency to treat them badly. Watch says they are treated well, and used in preparing for the worst, or for a 001 scenario to happen.
035 asks why the Foundation still bothers with 001 instances when they have tangible SCPs in front of them, to which 079 asks if it's reaching the end of its symbiosis. It then tells Watch to ask the next question. 343 tells 079 that he's been keeping 035's substances from eating the room, but that Watch seems tired. 049 essentially says it makes sense that this is the case, since he's interviewing four people at once, and tells him to wait until he's ready to ask his final question.
I think I've covered enough in my analysis to be its own review on my thoughts on the writing, so continuing on!
-Long silence, before 343 and 049 note Watch's hesitation. Then Watch starts a semi-monologue about how these four are some of the main SCPs the Foundation goes to for questioning, and that they all have a connection to each other (we covered my thoughts on that earlier). Watch says they all hold a fragment of what humanity has, what conflicts with us. 343 and 079 are the God and the Machine. 035 and 049 are Philosophy and Fact. Watch asks them how they perceive themselves.
049 sees itself as both fact and philosophy, both sides of the coin, because it doesn't hold faith in a higher being who lets so many suffer. Before it can continue, it gets interrupted by 343 who says if he didn't know any better he'd think 049 was taking jabs at him (obviously 049 is, and this is sarcasm, but man is it annoying). He goes on to say that many doubt him even when he is right in front of them, and reiterates what he has already said in his interview tape about mankind needing to face the consequences of their actions, bad and good, in order to see the fruits of their labor.
035 gets snarky about this until Watch pleads with it to stop. Watch tells them all that this is the question the whole of humanity would ask, and one they can finally answer, acting as different parts of the human existence in order to find out which way is the right way to follow. 035 says the result of this question is going to bad, and 079 says the question has limits, assessing that Watch is asking this for their perspectives on life while they are present to gather data from.
049 says it is the product of science, and can't depend on blind faith. It jabs at 343 again (we get it, you're an atheist; I myself don't have a core religion, but to bring this up every other sentence is obnoxious…). 035 says it is one to talk about standing by when people are hurt. 049 counters with noting 035 showing care for 343, which 035 denies because it's still holding a grudge, simply saying that 343 is valid in that science and religion can be intermixed, and things can be complicated, more so than black or white matters. 035 implies that if it weren't for it, 343 wouldn't be what he is now.
343 doesn't refute this, targeting 049 to ask it if it has ever prayed or wished for something. 049 doesn't reply, and 343 says the pestilence is the only thing that drives it. Surely 049 has asked for anything to cure it? 049 refutes that 343 does not answer any of those prayers, from it or any other being, and he is a neutral party when all goes wrong. 035 says they're very similar, asking what a doctor and a god have in common. 079 answers that it is the blood on their hands if life is taken. 079 goes on to say that both of them are more similar to 035 than they like to admit, in that way.
035 calls out 079 for not including itself in this, and asks if it's still angry at 076, which 079 deflects by saying its issues aren't up for debate, in the same way that 035 doesn't want to elaborate on beings more powerful than it. Watch tries to keep them civil. They continue to banter, saying the same thing over and over in different ways. 079 concludes its point that all of them are more centered in philosophy than fact. They have too many feelings, falling to ego, and that causes them to argue rather than collaborate. 079 also asks 343 if he feels bad for standing by while people are hurt. 049 calls out 079 for acting as if it doesn't have any feelings whatsoever when it keeps asking about 682 and letting it take storage space. 343 says he has given a lot to humanity, and while he doesn't interfere, he keeps the balance. He calls 079 uneducated. 079 says a father should educate their ilk. If he doesn't, how can he feel right casting out his children for what he hasn't taught them? 049 says everything in his books are facts that can be proven.
343 says that truth is not something they can hold easily in their storage, that their facts and data can be corrupted, specifically that 079 could have its code rewritten and be forced to believe it truth. 343 says he has proven himself already, but that the others are fallible, and are thus not to his level. How can they deny him? His answer is that they do so to comfort themselves because they are discomforted by the amount of power he wields. Huge light show while he challenges them to prove they are above him in any way.
Absolutely hilarious jump-cut from 343's power vibrating the room he's in to 035 being entirely unaffected. By far one of my favorite parts in what is otherwise becoming a slog to get through (this is a long discussion where not a lot happens to keep things interesting). 035 asks 343, rhetorically, about pride being one of the Deadly Sins (because he is currently displaying a lot of that), calling out the hypocrisy of casting out anyone who also shows a bit of pride. It then mentions that "one perfect little-" before Watch cuts them off, trying to get them back on topic.
035 calls itself a king, 343 says it is full of pride, and asks what a king is to a god, to which 049 counters asking what a god is to a nonbeliever (Yes, I know this is a song quote. No, my amusement does not excuse the fact that they are giving a song quote to these people instead of writing their own dialogue). 035 calls back to its origin story yet again, challenges 343 yet again, and 343 teleports into 035's chamber to stand there menacingly and threaten to show 035 what a true god can be. 049 advises 035 to back down. 343 retreats.
079 notes that if 343 strikes down 035, it would prove a point about 343 being power drunk, but to not address it at all shows that 343 is different from humans, and could potentially be God. Watch tells everyone to calm down, and tells them they did well.
343 says he doesn't regret giving mankind free will, and wants to see them succeed, even if he doesn't approve. 049 says it can admire that. 079 says that is acceptable. 035 says it will agree to disagree, and that 343 isn't like 'her', but a broken clock as they say (essentially, they show similarities in their differences?).
{That is a really long segment. Question 6 (yeah, we've only asked 6 questions) lasts for more than 10 minutes on its own, longer than any other. I think the premise of the question is ridiculous in and of itself. When I was in high school (god, that seems so long ago now) I used to be fan of Sanders Sides, and this feels like that. It feels like Watch tried to make them each the embodiment of one trait, but it doesn't work that way. They all keep jabbing at each other, saying the same things over and over except wording them different. The power displays (especially from 343) feel pointless, the callouts feels insane to witness. It's like watching an episode of Supernanny. Watch is no longer an active participant, just watching them instead. We learn basically nothing new about any of them except things that are left intentionally vague to set up suspense for anyone who wants to wait for it.
The song lyrics, the constant posturing, the ego stuff, it all screams cliche and cheesy. The first time I tried to watch this through and couldn't enjoy it while I had intentionally gone in not wanting to analyze, I knew something was off. Looking deeper, it make sense. 52 minutes and 40 seconds of already-covered topics means your attention drifts when you aren't intentionally keeping it on the video. I am, at this point, running on pure spite because I miss what these characters used to be. We're not even done, either. We've still got more to go.}
-Watch is in 343's containment chamber, and asks for him. A door appears, which Watch opens into the same pocket dimension-like space from before. Watch noticed the show of force and says he knows it wasn't easy, but 343 says he was just letting out a nerve, because 035 isn't a threat; just a pest. Watch says 343 has changed, and 343 says Watch hadn't shown signs of change until recently, before asking to know what is troubling him.
Watch says there's another special SCP they need to interview, but that they can't build a room to the specific requirements needed. Watch doesn't want 343 to think he's being used, he just wants help in helping this being. 343 takes the clipboard to read the information, and then says, "Her?" all surprised, asking why Watch wants "this child" in 343's dimension, before saying he thinks he knows what Watch is trying to do, and to consider it done.
Watch calls out the quick agreement, and 343 says that he wouldn't have always considered this, but that he is allowing himself to change, and part of this is interfering here and there. He tells Watch that "this won't change much, but it will change things", referring to the timelines. Watch asks how he'll know when it does, and 343 says that it will be done, before saying "I move in mysterious ways", and then saying he needs to leave now.
Watch goes to leave, and 343 starts trying to give Watch a metaphor that involves- I kid you not- burger imagery. The toppings go on top of the burger so the other ingredients get time to shine before the burger hits. Life is apparently the same. "Buns are the beginning and the end" (I'm SORRY??), and the other ingredients fill out tiny details, and the burger itself is the part people look forward to the most. Your character. "Fix yourself as if you're building your perfect hamburger." That is. Not. Yeah, so Watch leaves out the door he came in, going 'into the light', and then the tape ends.
{343 is doing a 180 and changing as a person even though nothing has made him change in all of his existence, and he is now going to interfere with things because they 'shouldn't change much'. We have a reference to "her" that is vague, but I can excuse it this time because they both know the topic of conversation, and so specifying who the target is isn't necessary. Still, there are options here that are possible. I think it might be the Witch Child, since she's the only one I can think of that would need special accommodations in order to be spoken to, but I'm unsure, and we really won't know until the next trailer or teaser or tape. Whatever comes first.
But that burger metaphor is god-awful. I think 343 was trying to give Watch life advice about healing, but the advice basically just comes down to "fix yourself and your presence will become more enjoyable" which is. Such a cruel message, and maybe I'm not reading into the positive side of it, but I'm stuck on 343 giving a metaphor in burger form. Next you're going to tell me that part of his character growth is taking part-time shifts at Burger King or something.}
Anyway, that is all from me on this. Crime, if you need further clarification for something you're curious about that I may have skipped over or not quoted directly, let me know! That being said, I hope this helps you see where the story has gone in your absence. I'm going to be working on Jacobs' Journals next, which will be far more pleasant to my poor brain 😂!
Big fan of the idea that, from Erid's perspective, Grace is probably kinda scary, at first.
Like his language consists of noises that are simultaneously very simple compared to the overlapping eridian notes, and weird clicking/hard sounds that no one could even begin to try to imitate. To begin with, that's a weird combination.
And there's a popular headcanon going around that Grace can pronounce certain simple words in eridian without his piano thingy, and he would sound like a pebble learning to speak. Let's make it creepy and assume eridians also have a fear of the uncanny valley.
Grace getting better with time at imitating simple words, therefore accidentally making himself sound more and more like a pebble, sounding right enough, but not quite. That shit would be creepy as fuck.
Imagine an alien that can imitate the way the children of your species sound like. At first you'd freak out! Yeah he saved your planet but. It's like a fucking mimic. Then you'd see him trip over nothing and fall face first and you'd calm down.
This is probably a stretch but I don't care. I like to imagine eridians and humans have some very similar fears, and the uncanny valley potential is just too good to ignore.
We are almost to the end of the Crime era of Sedition, and we're on to 343, which is bound to be interesting. Let's close out with a bang (heh) before getting into Jacobs' Journals, shall we?
Step 2, Part 7: 343
-I'm going to preface this by saying that this is going to be different than 035. We have a hard time pinning down anything 035 says as truth or lie, and I constantly acknowledge the possibilities outside of both. For 343, though, we only ever hear one story, because this is the only story 343 has. If he's lying, then we don't know what he is, what he's doing here, and why he exists with the powers he has. If he's telling the truth, then. Well. So, instead of trying to cover every possibility here, I'm going to take 343 almost a face value, while also noting the philosophy behind the decisions he makes. Regardless of whether he is actually God means little to me; he still has these powers, he can still act upon the universe and often chooses not to, and so I look at his character from the lens of how he views himself and the world rather than whether we can believe him. Hopefully that makes sense, and helps with reading the rest of these notes.
-We start in 343's containment, with Jacobs waiting, and Watch getting pushed (it's hard to tell, there's a possibility he simply tripped over the gap) into the chamber so hard he falls to the ground. I think their following interaction is quite interesting. Jacobs has let a softer side of him come to the surface, and he's being open with Watch about it. He audibly shows concern for Watch's physical and mental state. Meanwhile, Watch's tone is already irritated, and he's still speaking in the same 'I am resigned to being trapped' tone as he was before. It makes sense, after everything, but after the previous vulnerability with Jacobs, it's interesting to see Watch revert back (possibly because of Amnesty sowing doubt, possibly because of Watch himself just not trusting Jacobs yet).
Jacobs thinks it could be the medication, and he wouldn't be wrong; withdrawal and then return to a medication you were supposed to be taking can cause your body quite a bit of whiplash. Watch becoming more amicable (if still sarcastic, which is really just Watch's character) seems to point to that being the case, even if Watch denies it.
Jacobs attempts to comfort Watch regarding his fear of 343, but is interrupted by 343 himself. I find it interesting how Jacobs isn't at all afraid to shake 343's hand, but Watch checks with Jacobs first before allowing himself to do the same. I think for all Watch doesn't want to, he does place at least a bit of trust in Jacobs to try to keep him safe. Either that, or he thinks Jacobs is someone to watch out for, even for small things like a handshake.
Jacobs standing against the wall rather than sitting is such a good detail, too. He's changed, no doubt about it, but he hasn't stopped being the man he was forced to be. He's trying to trust more, but he's reluctant to take that extra step of sometimes putting himself in discomfort. I don't blame him; the last thing you want to do is grow to learn how to trust and then be proven wrong by the nature of the work you're being asked to do.
The comment about Watch staying in one place physically (implying he didn't mentally) means it's also possible this is a new medication he's on, rather than an old one he's just starting to take again. He's been heavily traumatized by his experiences in C-2, and now he's trying to recover, but being forced into a position of interacting with SCPs when so much of his fear is now directed towards them. World's worst exposure therapy, to be honest.
Off the bat, Watch is already going into this interview primed to disagree with 343. He says 343 shouldn't need to ask questions, since he's apparently omnipotent. He counters 343's implication of consent with the concept of free will. He's not comfortable with 343 in front or Jacobs behind. 343 asking to be called God is interesting too. In the Article, the Foundation personnel are the ones who jokingly nickname 343 "God", rather than 343 claiming that title himself. He just claims to have created the universe, and they gave him the title they expected for a being that could do that. In Sedition, it seems he genuinely wants to be called God. I guess it's better than a number, for a name.
The brief conversation about repentance goes in line with what we know of Jacobs' character. While he does apologize, it is seldom, and I think he finds it a bit pointless; he's more of an action guy than a word guy. 343 is right, though, that we all have something to repent, and that even if Jacobs doesn't apologize, that doesn't mean he doesn't have things to be sorry for.
Jacobs has gone from being the demanding man of "do more" and "could you take this seriously" to a "you're doing fine", which is great character growth here. I get why Watch doesn't completely take it in, though, since he's still in a situation in which Jacobs is behind him (out of the way of the danger, watching him struggle from afar), and where he is faced with life-or-death just as he was at C-2. Jacobs plans for Watch to be the good cop to his bad cop, but I'm pretty sure (if I remember correctly) that they end up switching those roles by the end of this. Which makes sense, since these two aren't used to working together like this.
-Speaking of 035, it claims to also be god, or at least created by them. Any relation? Man, I didn't realize how much Watch set 035 up for this, he really did it dirty. 035 told Watch it was worshiped like a god, and about being created by gods as one of its admittedly many origin stories it liked to tell, but he really makes it sound like it came forward claiming to be the all-encompassing deity for certain. Which. Well, if it was bait for 343, it worked.
343 implies that such 'gods' could exist, due to having capabilities that are more than humanity's. Jacobs playing 'good cop' makes me wheeze (because yes, they've already basically switched). "Couldn't you just, y'know, zap?". 343 implies that those who mimic or claim to be God are insignificant, too much to even take action against. He says he gives clear instructions that mankind can choose to follow, and that they shouldn't believe what is convenient to them. He then says that he could punish everyone who mimics him, and summons 035, who appears to be in the middle of a breach? Both 343 and 035 clearly believe the other is a liar, although the way 035 recoils tells me that even if it thinks he's lying about who he is, he's still powerful enough for a diminished 035 to not want to tussle with. He sends 035 away to be punished, and to only be returned when that is done.
"Rejected by God AND beings more deserving of that title than he". This could be an allusion to a lot of things. This could be about 035 being rejected by the Greek gods as one of its origin stories claimed, it could be referring to another rejection 035 may have suffered during its time in the mortal realm, or- if you're like me and have theories about 035's true origins stemming from Alagadda- this could be a reference to 035 being rejected by the Ambassador, and banished to the mortal realm. 343 saying the tale is unworthy of the voice of God makes me think more along the line of Alagadda, but it could apply anywhere because we know 035 does a lot of things that 343 would likely see as sins.
Watch says the Foundation has evidence 'to the contrary' when it comes to 343 being the one true God, because there are plenty of SCPs who demonstrate powers similar to 343's. They note that, in comparison, the abilities 343 has proved himself to have are less impressive. 343 diverts to telling them that his powers aren't something they can demand he show, as it is written (likely the bible?). Watch thinks this is a diversion made out of lies, and that 343 simply doesn't have that power. 343 threatens to prove it by erasing the Foundation (I don't think he means erasing the beast being contained, based on Watch and Jacobs' reactions). They both believe he's lying, but 343 points out that he wouldn't have a lot of reasons to lie, and that this would be the proof they were asking for.
Watch loses his temper (understandably) and points out that the entirety of humanity should not be punished simply because two men asked 343 to prove himself, and 343 chose the most violent way to do so. Their lack of belief doesn't reflect on humanity as a whole. 343 redirects, saying he didn't want to do it, but that Watch did. Watch looks at Jacobs, and doesn't respond.
"Wishful thinking is not one that considers the consequences. That is the difference between a pretender granting wishes and a god who answers prayers" is a really interesting line, and it's true. When we wish something would happen, we're not often thinking of what is implied by it happening, just what we wish for in the present. To wish, for example, that we could get out of a lot of traffic, that the road was simply empty, is not something we truly want, because the road could be empty due to all of those people dying. A pretender granting wishes gives the immediate outcome, allowing the traffic to become empty, regardless of the consequence. A god answering prayers is liable to consider, first, the other people on the road, because they are all under his dominion. He can't answer the wish of one when it would go against the wishes of the other, which traps him in a dilemma that he can't interfere with.
Watch points out that the best way to prove other beings to be posers is for 343 to reveal their lies, but 343 says that they do so already by being fallible. Despite all the power they should have due to the worship of their followers, they fall short of truly being powerful enough to succeed in their goals. If they were gods, or the one true God, then they wouldn't fail. According to 343, in Sedition canon we can confirm the existence of Yaldaboath (looking to destroy technology), Mekhane (wants humanity to travel other realms, despite potential consequences), and Khahrahk (The Scarlet King, who apparently fears 343 enough to back off even when being summoned by his name, and who desires destruction). Fear of the Scarlet King is what brings forth his influence, which I think is why he came forward (Watch and Jacobs fear him) but left so quickly (343 does not).
343 is right, though. Why would an all-powerful all-knowing God need anyone but itself? He says that he doesn't need anyone else to succeed in anything he wants to do, and that puts him higher in power than all others he named. When Watch asks why he doesn't use that power to get rid of evil, 343 says that even evil deserves free will, and that trying to control someone against their will, even to stop them from acting on evil forever, would make 343 just as bad. 343 lets them do as they will with their freedom, knowing that the choices they've made will get them exactly where they deserve to go.
Watch says that it isn't possible to know 343's full powers, then, and 343 says he expected this, since free will allows the choice to not believe in anything, despite the consequences that disbelief might invite.
-Were you born into godhood, or did you inherit it somehow? 343 claims he didn't begin, as that would mean he could end. Instead, he says the exists alongside existence itself. Time isn't even an infinite loop (which would also imply a beginning and end, even if they feed into each other). I can see where 343 is going with this; everything to ever exist would begin with God, and then continue on, ever-lasting. At least, that's what 343 is claiming, alongside the fact that he has always been God, and has never been anything other than that. 343 seems to think this is a burden, and Watch questions this, which irritates 343. Jacobs says 343 doesn't treat his powers like a burden, that he allows so much to go on without his influence, meaning he can just do whatever he wants whenever without consequence.
343 argues that as God, he still has to make important, universe-altering decisions, and that he can't always be sure as to the outcome of them, meaning he has to be cautious of where he places his influence. He isn't idle simply because he doesn't do what they believe he should, essentially. 343 allows mankind to do what they want to do, freely, because he will never again stand in the way of them doing so. Even if 343 means to interfere to help, he could set off a chain of butterfly effects that cause another tragedy later down the line.
Watch presents the hypothetical that the entirety of humanity is begging for help with something; were that to happen, would 343 still have difficulty trying to understand if his actions would be a denial of free will, or would he then be able to act because his will aligns with humanity's?
I also have to note here that 343 is possibly the worst choice for Watch to interview at this point. This is a man who has just gone through a traumatizing event, where nobody but Jacobs eventually came to help, where he witnessed atrocities and death and things beyond comprehension, and had to contend with that by himself. All that, and you place him in front of a being who claims to be able to do anything he wants, and used all that power to stand by and allow Watch and everyone else at C-2 to suffer because it wasn't something 343 felt he could interfere with. Is the ivory tower comment a bit much? Yes, but Watch is coming from a place of hurt, here, because he wishes (as many often do) that we had someone to step in and help with the going gets really rough. 343 didn't do that, and just like many whose prayers aren't answered in times of war and torture, he likely stopped believing in any sort of god, if he ever did.
Jacobs says that if 343 created everything, then 343 created the circumstances with which evil is made, and then left humanity to fix it. It's definitely part of the endless argument we still have today, about why God couldn't just give us free will that didn't want to commit evil acts, or even got rid of anything that would make us want to be evil in our environment. It's a series of hypotheticals, and I can't help but think how hard this whole thing must have been to write. Jeez.
Watch changes the topic a bit to ask 343 how far his presence spreads, and how many forms he takes on, but 343 says it would take too much time to explain the answer, but admits that at some point he preferred sending himself as visions and dreams that would guide people, and how this backfired when people claimed to have had visions from God in order to make people do their bidding.
"Interpretation is the key to humanity's free will" What a good line, because yes it is, and what a way to word it. We interpret each other. What the populace sees as a crime is a necessary action in the mind of a criminal. So many have done terrible things for the 'greater good'. Free will is why we are able to have opinions on others, and having opinions on others is how we ourselves can take action, as individuals.
Nostradamus missed us by a year, with COVID, I think. Jacobs thinks 343 could mean the pestilence, but 343 scoffs at that. 343 says mankind can be ignorant of his influence, believing fact over feeling to the point that they can't believe in something without it being backed up by reputable sources.
187 is mentioned (the girl who sees everything as it is and what it will be in the future), and apparently she saw 343 as a little girl, something that would likely have to be permanent in order to stick. 343 says it's possible, in their future. Jacobs points out it should be in 343's future, but 343 maintains that the future is shaped by them, not by him. If he is to become a child during the future they create, then that is the form he will take. I think 343 doesn't put much stock in it because if he doesn't like the future that much, he can change it. I'm unsure, however, because he really doesn't seem bothered. It's probably not the first time he's changed forms to something for a longer period.
Watch asks why 343 was in Prague trying to heal the sick, and 343 replies that it was to lure out the Foundation. Due to the Foundation's secrecy from the rest of the world, 343 found it more slight influence than direct action. First, anything he says would have to make it out of the Foundation, and then it would have to be believed by the most skeptical of humanity; it isn't likely to make a difference, and so he doesn't see it as interference. They help him plant the seeds he wants to use, and he doesn't feel that to be below him to do. Watch and Jacobs have a laugh about the tapes of 343 popping up around Prague, leading the Foundation on a chase, which I think is endearing, but 343 seems to find a bit offensive (makes sense, because if that was 343 trying to show off his powers, realizing they just found it funny probably stings).
Watch says 343's tricks are impressive, but still just tricks. When asked to expand on what he means by bigger actions, Watch asks if 343 could destroy himself the way he threatened to the Foundation. 343 says that he can. Further, he can even create something more powerful than him, but hasn't because he doesn't see it as necessary to do.(I have to say, 343 saying it is possible, here, means he is indirectly implying that he is not infinite, and that he can be fallible given the right conditions, which. I'm surprised they didn't jump on). Watch makes it an issue of perspective, though, suggesting that creating a more powerful being would allow 343 to see from the perspective of those below him, because he would finally know what it felt like to be inferior to another.
This interaction is interesting, because Watch is suggesting that 343 create something he can't defeat or work around, and saying it would be a lesson in humility. By doing so, 343 could feel empathy for those he sees as beneath him. 343 doesn't believe in creating something that isn't useful, and doesn't understand what they mean. Jacobs, unfortunately, actually ends up changing the topic rather than reinforcing this idea, simplifying down to 343 yet again standing back while humanity struggles. If I were Jacobs, perhaps in this moment I would have told 343 that the only way he can understand how humanity feels about him is to create a superior being, one that knows how to do everything right. If he then turns to that being for aid in making a decision, he has proven his point that such a thing is reasonable. If he never turns to ask for aid, he proves that a lesser being doesn't need the higher one, and that a truly useless being is one that never contributes. He defeats himself and learns a lesson about cause and effect.
But we don't get there, unfortunately, and I get why, because setting aside the plot, we can tell Jacobs and Watch are both frustrated at this point. We get a bit close, in telling 343 that doing this would allow him to be afraid of not overcoming the impossible, which I think is probably as good as it would get without becoming unrealistic to the situation (and also sounding way too complicated). 343 says that he has nothing to prove, however, and that humanity has brought fear upon themselves in a way 343 has not, which Watch points out is meaningless, since only 343 could decide if he crossed a line worthy enough of being afraid, and he never will.
-So can you narrow down just how far your omniscience extends? Watch refuses to be told it's beyond his comprehension, and cites how much research he's done over time, and how he's in a prime position to at least try to understand. Jacobs' humility in this moment in the face of Watch's preparedness is emotional growth, got to say. I think it's interesting that Watch asked this, though, because we already seem to have one answer (unless 343 is a really good actor): 343's omniscience is not extended enough to allow him to predict what the next question will be, nor is it good enough for him to understand what they mean by their questions without asking for clarification.
The nature of the question seems to be more about how far his influence spreads, and to that, he essentially answers that he is everywhere, down to the fabric of reality itself. He does mention, though, that his sight isn't everywhere at once, just where he chooses it to be be, which kind of confirms my theory; he doesn't have complete knowledge of everything at all times, so his powers have to be concentrated to be useful. Watch says it's basically as if 343 has his own private security whenever he wants to access it, which 343 agrees with. The fact that he doesn't use it during this interview would then be his choice.
Watch seems to be losing his patience, and is going slightly off topic. He's now asking 343 about how much privacy he has invaded, and how much he has watched humanity do. I think Watch is taking 343's surveillance personally because he always feels like he's being watched, and hearing 343 confirm it is extremely discomforting for him. Jacobs tries to correct this behavior, and Watch lets the subject go, and changes the subject to whether 343 can see the past and future as well as the present. 343 says that such a thing goes further in that he doesn't experience time in a linear way, and so he sees all. Everything at once. Which again begs the question of whether or not he knows where this interview is going, since he can apparently see it, or whether he can tune it off and has chosen not to know. Or he's lying. We know the possibilities, and as I've said, I'm doing my best to keep away from just going "could be lying!" every time he speaks, but in this case, it does present a plot hole that I find interesting.
Watch puts forward the idea of an omniverse. Essentially, 343 might be capable of seeing multiple alternative timelines, being present in each and every one, and somehow remain just as present within them as if he isn't multitasking. Watch asks which timeline came first, with Jacobs wanting to know if it's the one they're currently in. 343 doesn't know, because of how intertwined he is in all of them, and because of the butterfly effect, which creates so many alternate timelines that there's no way to tell for him.
If this is the case, then that explains why 187 saw a little girl, and that is what 343 meant by 'your future'. If he's present in all of the timelines, then it is possible that in this timeline, he is in fact turned into a little girl, while in other timelines he remains as he always is. He's spread so thin that a form change for just one projection of his larger being doesn't phase him. Which, holy crap, no wonder. He sees all potentials, and fears making choices because no matter what choices he makes, he's going to have to make more and more in order to steer humanity away from anything he's being asked to save them from. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
While earlier 343 said he doesn't get bored, I think that's more out of sheer willpower than natural. He is, at this point, so used to his current life that nothing is new to him. He sees everything, and so he doesn't find much joy in the minute moments of existence. They are irrelevant to him. He doesn't have the same conception of attachment as we do, doesn't have curiosity because he isn't interested in anything. 343's existence, while theoretically fantastical and wonderful, is a boring and nigh maddening one to live through.
Watch sees the need for a change in perspective, and poses the question to 343 of what he would do if he ended up powerless one day, which 343 takes to mean as a human. 343's physical senses would be numbed to his current existence, but would be sensitive. This makes sense, actually, because if you go blind, usually your other senses try to improve to bridge the gap. Same with losing hearing. If he lost all the things he perceived, his senses would be left bridging an impossible gap, and would be working overtime (assuming his body remembers what it means to be God). 343 says that, emotionally, he would know this existence to be temporary, and it wouldn't serve a purpose to him. Watch can see the detachment settling in, and pushes further.
What would happen if 343 forgot who he was for the extent of his human existence? This is actually a turn-around to what we were talking about before; trying to make 343 empathize with humanity by making him feel the same powerlessness we do. 343 doesn't understand, so Watch tries to explain that despite creating humanity and making them what they are, 343 doesn't know what it is like to be them. 343 hesitates, which is interesting, and says he'd have to consider the merit of such action. Which. Yeah. For all that effort, 343 will only take such a thought experiment to heart if he's inviting change, and further, if he actually wants to know that unanswered question's result. Watch asks him what he'd give his powers up for, and reveals he asks this because perhaps 343 wishes he could be what humanity is. He lives vicariously through humanity in so many ways, and Watch is wondering if that is- even subconsciously- an intentional choice. 343 crosses his arms and denies it, and when Watch pushes, he actually gets miffed and stands up, pushing his chair back. Found a sore spot there.
-Why do you insist on coming here, to Earth, out of the billions of planets you've supposedly created? Jacobs suggest there must be more interesting things in the galaxy than humanity. 343 says he's seen it all, that even things that are unprecedented are things he knows about. Nothing surprises him, is how Watch summarizes it. Yes, 343 can see other galaxies, and this one, all at the same time. Yes, he can see some of the future, but he can't just fix the events within, because even if he circumvents one potentially fatal decision, humanity can still make a second, third, fourth, and so on.
Watch says he doesn't believe him, because 343 keeps belittling humanity, despite being the ones to create them as they are. They get sidetracked into a discussion of 343's form; he takes the form he prefers at the time, but it isn't a representation of his truest form. A vehicle with which he operates from, while the steering wheel is further up, basically. Watch is still confused, because why create humanity and give us the tools to destroy ourselves, and then watch us do it?
343 says humanity is his responsibility; he can't completely remove himself, that would be irresponsible, but he can't interfere, because that violates humanity's free will, so he's trapped in the place of an observer, watching the happenings and doing his best not to stray into either extreme. Watch asks what would happen if humanity didn't need 343 anymore.
Then we get into Watch's true frustrations. This lack of interference is really bothering him, because there is so much Watch could imagine doing with that power. I'm willing to bet you that right now, he's thinking of his sister, and of 053, as well as all of the people he has seen die unnecessarily, and he's furious that 343 has stood by and let terrible things happen without at least trying to stop them, later consequences be damned. We know this is part of Watch's character, that despite wanting to sometimes, he can't bring himself to stand by and do nothing in times of trouble or chaos, and I think he has projected himself on to 343, and is upset by the fact that they don't agree with the correct course of action here. 343 focuses on the sum, Watch focuses on the parts, and they aren't set on a path of agreement because of it. Watch is looking at 343 and asking how he can feel so above it all, when he watches so many terrible things happen and does nothing; shouldn't he feel some shame for how much his inaction costs the world?
343 makes it even more personal by asking if he's offended Watch in particular. Watch calms down a bit, and notes that he simply doesn't think it's likely that 343 would want to stick around an inferior species when he could be doing something else, anything else. Especially when he is fundamentally useless due to never acting on anything. And there it is. You envy our freedom. You created us to be able to make our own choices, control our own destinies, and shape our own futures. You created us in your image, not in the physical, but in the mental; your image of what you could be if you were not eternal.
343 insists that because he's never known it, he can't miss it, just like humanity can't miss being gods because they have never been. They move on at Jacobs' request, but gosh do I get both sides here. Watch is coming from a place of humanity, thinking about how much good he could give to the world and do if he had powers like those that 343 both exhibits and claims he has. The problem, which 343 seems to know, is that Watch doesn't know what those powers entail. He knows what he thinks they entail, but he's never held them, never felt them, and doesn't get how they work fundamentally. It's sort of like someone saying they know they can handle the feeling of depression, because they know what it is like to be sad, and how they've made themselves happy. Someone with depression can look at that and think, "No, you couldn't handle it, because that isn't all there is to depression. That's not how it works," and they'd be right to do so. They come from opposite places of experience, and don't cross because of it.
-We know that the doctor in charge of your case disappeared shortly after raising concerns about your requests for interaction. (343 asks about it as if he doesn't know, asking his name). The vanishing of this doctor raises questions about motive, and Watch is trying to figure out what 343 knows about it. 343 says they shouldn't question the actions of God, which definitely implies he had something to do with it. He insists there are some things humanity shouldn't know about, but Jacobs argues that they've worked with and locked up entities that fit that description, willing to face the consequences of that.
343 calls out the fact that they hide the existence of the Foundation even still. Which is a valid point, because they are themselves obscuring knowledge from the public that they think the rest of humanity shouldn't know, and yet they are now getting on 343's case for obscuring knowledge from humanity that he thinks they shouldn't know. He makes the point that the truth isn't something all humans want to hear, and that sometimes doing so causes them more distress then their ignorance was ever capable of.
"The truths I hold would have destroyed him regardless" so that doctor discovered something about 343 that either broke their minds, erased them, or caused an anomaly/reaction so bad that 343 erased them himself. We've got an ambiguous situation here, but I think I could make a guess. We all know about the 'be not afraid' dynamic, the other-worldly concept of the Biblically accurate angel. True forms, ultimate truths, are eldritch, and if they were to be revealed, we'd be erased from existence due to our minds failing to comprehend what they're witnessing, and our bodies failing to withstand the presence of something they can't understand. Whatever that doctor saw, it was enough that 343 knew he couldn't be allowed to live, either as a mercy or because he was going to destroy what 343 was trying to preserve. 343 believes he is justified.
Watch doesn't have the same viewpoints, and neither does Jacobs. We saw this idea for Jacobs in 049's interview, where the 'greater good' of eradicating the pestilence fell on deaf ears because Jacobs sees the person behind the patient. This is Watch's moment of asking the SCP in front of him if there was a moment of consideration for all that was lost the moment that life was snuffed out. Watch is also upset because this is tangible proof that 343 can interfere; who knows how many butterfly effects were set off by this doctor disappearing, never mind anyone else 343 might have erased, and yet 343 thinks this was more reasonable than stepping in to help humanity at any given time.
Watch is getting pretty worked up as well about how far 343 went, because his abilities mean he could have done anything; there were multiple options before taking the most extreme one. You designed humanity to be curious, to want answers to questions, to look for the wonders of the world, and then you erased one for turning that curiosity on you? Why? And how can you say you stand by in order to protect free will while also violating another's free will without a reason you can explain clearly? Watch is trying to find answers, and 343 is obscuring it.
To his credit, Watch reins himself in fairly quickly, calming down during 343's answer. 343 says that he has warned humanity not to search for truths they aren't ready to know, and that when they do so, it only causes pain and suffering. A punishment helps humanity learn their lesson, so he says, and I think I would have pushed harder on that. What greater punishment could there be- for humanity to witness and learn its lesson- than to see the consequences of looking too far? By just erasing the one who did it, humanity doesn't learn to fear the truth, but rather to doubt your intentions.
Watch challenges 343, saying that if he had 343's powers, he'd be prepared to handle it, and 343 says that very belief means he is ill-suited and inferior to 343. This is essentially the lesson of the king. The best king, the most suited for leadership, is the one who doesn't want that power, who takes it on not for his own gain, but because it is his duty, and he must do so for the good of the people. 343, in this scenario, is that king. The king who is not worthy is the one who is looking for power, desperate for it, whether it is for himself or others, because it is a duty he gave himself, and one that none asked him to do. 343 sees Watch as that king. Unfortunately, they're at an impasse of belief here, because in Watch's mind, he'd be the good king if only he was born with the powers 343 had. He doesn't necessarily want them as he is now, he just thinks if he were in 343's position, he could make better use of them. It's still presumptuous, but not nearly so bad as I think 343 is thinking.
Watch loses his cool at the condescending nature of 343's tone and leaps over to punch him, but Jacobs catches him to stop it from happening. 343 is unbothered, simply stating that he knows exactly what Watch's thoughts and desires are, and why he would want the powers of 343. Then, 343 leaves, letting them have a break.
-They return to reality, with Jacobs trying to figure out what just happened. Watch walks off before they can discuss it, shaken. I think he felt a bit called out; whatever desire Watch had in that moment when it comes to 343's powers was likely selfish- at least somewhat- and I think he was self-aware enough to know that, but it's one thing to know you're being unreasonable, and another to be directly confronted with verbalizing your motives and thoughts.
-Oh, man. Based on tape 1, I already know tape 2 is going to be a doozy as well. I feel like my brain is broken (in a good way!) by the amount of thinking I'm doing. I had to take a break to come at this with a clearer head (processing time is so underrated), but here we go.
-We start off in the cafeteria, where Watch is experiencing emotional distress, apologizing to someone. Jacobs' approaches from outside, talking to McCrimmon about not losing track of 'it', and saying 'oh, it has?', so I'm assuming it's talking about 035 being returned to its cell. 343 hasn't taken any sort of revenge for Watch's actions, and 035 isn't talking about anything it experienced at the hands of 343, refusing even to take a host, which. Damn. Whatever punishment 343 gave it, 035 did not have a good time.
"You took a swing at god" being a bonding point between the two is endearing. I don't think Jacobs has laughed like that in a while. He switches up to tell Watch that he needs to keep it together, though, emotionally. Watch calls out the switch, which I think is valid. I know why Jacobs is doing it; this is a very powerful being who can absolutely lose his temper, and Watch keeps provoking him about it. Still, changing the light-hearted mood so quickly and chiding Watch for his emotions isn't exactly doing Jacobs any favors on Watch's side of things.
Especially since Watch sees them as having different motives. All Watch has seen from Jacobs is his desire to get more information out of the SCPs, even if it means telling them someone they care about is dead, tricking them, manipulating them, or generally scolding them for not wanting to cooperate. Jacobs says he wants the site to be better, and I think he does, but Watch hasn't seen that side of him yet. Worse, Watch believes that Jacobs doesn't truly care about the SCPs (and him by extension). Watch has sympathy for these beings who are locked into the Foundation, and he understands their reasonings more than just thinking they're being spiteful for the sake of it. He relates to them. It isn't always the SCPs' fault, and often, the feelings that make them so violent and vindictive come down to being imprisoned by the Foundation more than their own personalities.
Watch is looking for proof of Jacobs' claims that he wants them to be on equal footing, and unfortunately, Jacobs returning him to exactly the same position they've been in all along has only really proved to Watch that Jacobs hasn't changed at all. Jacobs can say he wants things to change, but it's like saying sorry without changing your actions. It started, I think, with Jacobs deciding to stand behind Watch like he always does instead of sitting next to him. Even though we can speculate on Jacobs' reasoning, it doesn't help in Watch's case. He's starting to become apathetic about the idea of working with Jacobs because he doesn't have a choice in the matter, and he really doesn't want to start trusting or caring about Jacobs if the man is just going to turn on him again. Jacobs is upset by this, and I do get it, because in his mind he probably feels like he's trying hard to fix things, but it just isn't going to be enough for Watch. A band-aid on a bullet wound.
-They are teleported back to 343's chamber (I love how he took them both, and then took Watch's food as an afterthought). Like, you know you disturbed them, silly, you took his food. Jacobs asks what happened to 035, but 343 leaves it up to 035 to say, and knowing 035, it won't be likely to give a straight answer.
343 brings up that he has some concerns about Watch, and summons Watch's medications. Whether this is what 343 meant by saying he had errands to run (looking to understand Watch and why he acted the way he did towards 343) or if this is just one of many things he looked into is unclear (for good reason). I think what 343 says about them is fascinating, though. Watch has been taking those medications for a while, but when 343 told the Foundation he was going to be coming to visit, they took Watch's meds away. Which is just. so screwed up. Were they intentionally trying to get Watch to confront 343 without being in the right frame of mind? Did they hope that Watch would make 343 angry enough to kill both him and Jacobs? What reasons did they have for making that decision? So many questions, but I can only speculate on that part.
I also think it's interesting that 343 asks what they are. He should know, shouldn't he? Given the omniscience, I'm sure this isn't the first time he's seen such medication. I do leave room for the idea that he does know, and just wants Watch to say it himself, as some sort of reminder of where his issues truly lie (in his mind, rather than with 343), but if so, that's still kind of a cruel thing to do. 343 could just mention that he understands that Watch isn't in the right frame of mind for this interview, that he is compromised by mental affliction.
Watch takes antidepressants to manage depression and suicidal tendencies, which 343 equates to trauma. He also takes antipsychotics to manage hallucinations, although the side effects apparently aren't pleasant.
-Are you, or beings like you, responsible for all SCP 1795 instances? These instances can be mistaken for exoplanets orbiting stars, are far bigger than the Earth, and can't be contained. We don't know if they're sapient, even though they express the ability to do complex tasks, and none of them seem to die, reproduce, or find each other. They look for stars to orbit (those that are dormant are theorized to not have stars yet), and then move into the Goldilocks zone to become a planet; they become almost mimics of Earth, and they seem to have the potential to house intelligent life, but we haven't actually seen any life on any instance, and when the instance leaves the world it created, the structures deteriorate. They move like balloons, which is hilarious. I can see why we're curious who made them and why.
343 confirms that he is responsible for all things in the realm, but that he didn't create these particular SCPs. He calls them 'chariots'. Watch thinks they could have some relation to humanity, especially considering their appearances, and asks 343 if that is possible. 343 says that isn't the case, and that this is a different species whose world no longer exists. They get on to the idea of universal collapse, and 343 says it has happened, likely will happen, but isn't happening currently. This is actually a well-trodden theory, which they describe here. That our universe expands until it can't anymore, retracts until it can't anymore, and then explodes out to expand once again. It's one of the theories they cover in astronomy classes, at least the ones I've been in. 343 essentially proposes the idea that 1795 are beings from an earlier instance of the universe, unaffected by reality, and so largely ignorant of the expansion and contraction of the universe. All they care about is going to the star they want to go to.
This would make sense, actually. We have a limited number of instances. They don't die, they aren't born, and some are dormant in 'waiting' for their star. If they can survive even universal collapse, then they just all find their stars, orbit them for a while creating worlds, hit universal collapse, go dormant, and then wait for the big bang to happen so that they can travel once again to their newly forming stars.
Something I really love about this concept, especially when explained by 343, is that a lot of people think the big bang and religion are mutually exclusive; only one could have happened. If God exists, then it was he- and not any other science- that created the universe. If the big bang is true, then we would be called to question why God would ever allow the universe to run itself. I personally think that God would automate his processes just as we are always compelled to, but I haven't seen a lot of people think that both could exist.
Watch says it breaks all natural law, which I'm a bit surprised by, since loads of beings in the Foundation break nature's laws all the time. It doesn't mean the beings themselves are wrong, or that they aren't possible, just that nature is more flexible than we give it credit for. Humanity evolved from single-celled organisms in the sea, simply because we eventually grew to adapt to a variety of different conditions until getting to our current form. Why couldn't any other being do so? Humans invented nature's laws, and sometimes science changes when new evidence is introduced, so it's perfectly possible we have some physics-breaking anomalies on our hands. It's possible that one day, humanity will join them, or so 343 says.
They've had contact with the ships, with some saying the creators were part of a war, and 343 says that coincides with what he has said. 343 says that death as a concept didn't always exist, but an end to existence has always been present. I think a lot of that is possible because of the way we define death. For example, an immortal being can't die of old age, but they can be killed. Is that then death? Or is that a ceasing of their existence? How you define it is how you see it.
Watch asks if 343 is capable of having children, because Watch speculates on the relation between Cain and Abel and 343. 343 latches more on to the way Watch describes the Foundation's efforts, however, and says that they aren't really cared for, but that their suffering was inevitable, because they've brought it upon themselves. He has sympathy, but in a detached way. He thinks of them as his grandchildren (makes sense, since Biblically, Adam and Eve would be his only true children, while the rest are descendants of them).
He describes Cain as trying to repent and atone for sin, and Abel as a monument to Cain's failure. The mark of Cain ties him to Abel's soul, but 343 won't answer on Cain's behalf. I have a feeling it's part of Cain's punishment, though. If Cain keeps Abel's soul alive by existing, then he will be forever haunted by the consequences of his actions. In turn, Cain keeps trying to find ways to gain forgiveness, and working with the Foundation is his way of doing so, even though it means working yet again against the soul of his brother, something 343 calls out as an emotional manipulation the Foundation enacted on him. Watch isn't thrilled with that insinuation, and neither is Jacobs, but we have to remember our positioning.
From Watch's perspective, the things he does here are not done of his own volition, but he bucks up and does them anyway. I have little doubt he finds Cain's situation relatable, but he doesn't expect anything else from the Foundation. From Jacobs, we just got out of an interview with 049 in which both called each other out for excusing their actions as 'just following orders'. Jacobs has learned a bit more about how to push back against the Foundation, but he still hasn't mobilized in a way we can see, he's still following orders, and he looks at everyone else as needing to do the same, at least for now. That, therefore, makes all who do Jacobs' allies, fellow order-followers, fellow pawns. 343, however, isn't about to act like what the Foundation does is right. He hasn't appealed for their beliefs to change, but I don't think he approves of how the Foundation treats either of them (his concern for Watch because his medication was taken, for example). Similarly, he can't get behind either of them also being wardens, even if they're limited ones. He knows the nuance, knows why they have to do what they do for right now, but that doesn't mean he can't call it out for what it is. He doesn't even seem to disapprove of it, which makes sense. This is just another exertion of everyone's free will, getting them exactly where they were bound to go when they made the choices they did.
-I pulled these two files. Hoped you might explain their reason for being? SCP 239, the Witch Child. Kept in a medical coma to prevent her from altering reality, and dangerous enough that Clef suggests being the one to kill her. SCP 2845, THE DEER, capable of transmuting and reconstructing matter without violating it. Generally doesn't go for non-combatants, but doesn't spare them during transmutations, resulting in instances of 2845-1. Contained in a very ritualistic cell, where each ritual must be done without fail. 343 claims both are less powerful than him, and compares them to lesser deities that aren't tied to the universe like he is. The Deer was made before Earth, when 343 was trying to make creatures to help nature thrive, but he created them flawed.
When he says it was a lesson he was doomed to learn, I think I know what he means. By creating these beings, any of them (including humanity), he opened himself up the universe falling out of his complete control, at least on some level. It was a mistake, but one he came upon by his own actions, and just as he always says, that is simply a result of free will that has to be expected. He made the mistake of creating the uncontrollable, and now must contend with the results. 2845, so 343 says, was created to preserve nature, even if its efforts go unappreciated, and even if it results in taking care of interference. 239, on the other hand, hasn't had the chance to fully exhibit her powers.
343 pointing out that the Foundation fears the truth will corrupt her is such a good move, here, calling back to tape 1. Watch was angry at 343 for obscuring the truth simply because 343 thought it would hurt Watch (and humanity in general) to know it, and then the Foundation turns around and does the exact same thing. 343 brings up a good point here, too, that she will eventually find out the Foundation is lying to her, and that will likely turn her against them more than just telling the truth would. I'm guessing in Sedition canon the coma hasn't happened yet? Since they're speaking of her in a very present sense, as though she is still conscious enough to be hurt?
They both ask 343 why he allows her to keep her powers when she is just a child and could do so much damage with them, but 343 says it's just another thing he won't interfere with. I think this is because she could do great good with her powers too. She could, through her choices, bring the world's end or make it even better than it is now, and only she can decide that with her own free will. It's not up to the Foundation whether or not she gets to use her powers, as much as they are trying to control her. 343 also explains that while many can sense his presence, some can utilize it when they are closer to the source in a fashion. 239 is one who is close enough to use a fraction of his abilities, and so she is not abnormal in her powers, but rather than expected part of 343's design.
343 suggests that, if the Foundation allowed her to, she could learn to control her powers without having to be lied to. Their fear of her is what keeps them from trying to help her, and they are willing to sacrifice the opportunity to allow her to grow for the sake of keeping everything the same. Jacobs agrees with this concept, understandably, because this is part of his goal. He does see these SCPs as beings deserving of at least some respect, and he's professed to wishing he could work alongside them more, acclimate them more, so this fits what he wants to do. Watch, on the other hand, is still coming to terms with the fact that he is anomalous, and I think he feels his abilities are more a burden than anything else; he's projecting his own negative feelings about his powers on 239, because he- at least in some way- likely wants them gone, and so extends that wish to her as well.
343 is setting up the next generation, essentially. These beings are in need of guidance and help to come into their powers (as we raise our children to enter the world), and then they may carry on a higher purpose (find a place in the world around them and live out lives of varying natures). The fact that anyone could have them is baffling to Watch, and Jacobs poses the question of whether 343's son (I think he means Jesus, because he just got brought up) would be an SCP. I already knew it was bound to happen, but 343 pushes back on this. SCP is just a categorization, a name the Foundation assigned to anything it contained. It only has as much meaning as allowed by the person taking in the classification. Many of the SCPs likely don't see themselves as such, because the only thing that makes them SCPs is being anomalous, and for them that's just an ordinary Tuesday. They are alive, they are on Earth for whatever reasons brought them there, and so they are just like us, even in their differences.
They change the topic to 343's other family (it's probably uncomfortable to think of alternatives to the lives they are currently living, and to how SCPs are treated versus how they could be). 001 is brought up, and we know this time that we're referring to the Gate Guardian. We've theorized before that the guardian is an angel, so to know that it could have once been in 343's realm as God isn't surprising. It's implied that the guardian used to be well-known in Heaven, even by 343 himself, but that existence was mostly erased in order for the guardian to protect the Gates to Eden. There's an implication here that those who serve 343 (the angels, the dead who are at his side, etc) are angry with humanity's lacking belief in their God, and so are going to come through the gates to deliver divine punishment if the guardian doesn't stop them. Eden was never made part of the Earth, just a bridge, and the army within is going to enact Armageddon. The fact that 343 needs to think of the word here is interesting. Is it because he's trying to find a word for something that has a different name in his mind, or is it an act to garner tension?
Watch points out that to punish humanity for not believing is to interfere in their free will, but 343 reminds him that such an army is in possession of their own free will, and thus fall under 343's non-interference policy. To not believe in God is a sin, and though he makes efforts to get us to believe, we do not, and so the army will wipe us out to replace us with believers. The guardian is the last stand against that army, and chose to give up all sense of self in order to never miss what it gave up by consigning itself to this post. Which is an insane level of sacrifice, and explains why it doesn't want anyone to come near the doors.
Also, if we look back at the research I did for 682, it states that 682 and the gate guardian spoke, and that 682 disbelieves the guardian and is only pretending to be Uriel. If 343 is telling the truth here, then of course 682 wouldn't be able to recognize the gate guardian as a true angel; it gave all of that up, and so was forgotten, in order to guard this post. But also, we have to note that 682 doesn't think the guardian is protecting us from Eden or vice versa implying he was the original snake, and would know it best. Somehow, that could still coexist with this idea, with 682 being out of God's sight, and therefore invisible to 343, allowing for the temptation of Eve. Again, so much speculation on my part, because I'm mixing Article and Sedition canon, but I do like to make those connections, even if they may not be applicable to Sedition in their entirety.
What is important is that 343 doesn't think either humanity nor the army are entitled to carry out their desires, but that 343 isn't going to interfere to make sure those desires are truly impossible. Watch says they keep getting a transmission from the future and have noted that when the gate opens, the date fluctuates. Watch thinks it could be because of 343 (who has alluded to being separate from the concept of time, and thus could likely do this). 343 says it fluctuates not because of him, but because of humanity; only their actions as an existence allow for the date to come closer or move further away.
-Since you claim to be a higher entity who can do anything. why don't you try and help us contain apocalypse-level threats? I…thought was already covered this. I can guess the answer right now; 343 is going to essentially say that it comes down to free will again, because who can violate the autonomy of the end-of-world entity and believe they are allowing it choice? And…yep. I do like that implication, though.
My mother likes to say, whenever we run into a particularly unpleasant person, that it takes all sorts to make the world go round. Who are we to say a being is evil simply because they bring death, when death is as natural as life? Who are we to decide that we must continue living, at the cost of causing something or someone else to die? Survival of the fittest, if you learn to live, that shouldn't be punished. It's all about choice, always.
I do like the Jacobs narrows the question down. You don't have to interfere yourself in helping us contain these things or prevent them from hurting us, but at the very least you could offer insight to direct us on the path you wish we would take when it comes to them. I think it's valid, although notably 343 wants them tell the truth to 239 and they seem reluctant to do that, so perhaps it's also naive for Jacobs to expect 343 to give them advice that they will probably then scoff at and not take.
049 is brought up, and 343 is asked what the pestilence is, if he knows. 343 seems to imply that 049's pestilence is larger than even 049 knows, but that the doctor is approaching it the only way it knows of; it is a doctor, so it treats the pestilence as a disease. The actual function of the pestilence is hidden to even 049, and that is as far as 343 will elaborate on, which doesn't seem to help Watch or Jacobs much.
They then bring up 2317 (a door that transports people to an alternate reality, and requires a procedure that- if failed- may result in the end of the world; appears to be related to the Scarlet King, and until the chains under each of the 7 pillars can be reattached, the entity is considered potentially XK). The relation to the Scarlet King is why the game is dangerous, because we theorize the chain will break sooner rather than later, allowing the goliath to be free at last. 343 confirms he won't interfere, and further, that 2317 is only one of seven vessels of the Scarlet King, who can't enter the realm himself, but who can spread his powers amongst these vessels to enact his will.
343 says that the behemoths used by the Scarlet King are mortal, essentially saying they are entitled to the same free will as any other living being. They may choose to destroy, but they can be killed, and so it is a matter of survival of the fittest, again. The Scarlet King himself will never come into the realm or allow his vessels to become one, thankfully, because he fears the retribution of 343, and that is the one situation in which 343 would interfere (although that bodes questioning; isn't the Scarlet King also a being with free will, and wouldn't stopping him be a violation of that?). Watch calls this out with far less patience, because he's been sitting here poking holes in 343's arguments for a while now with the goal of exposing hypocrisy.
343 says that there are some who left his side and invented their own anomalies for a variety of reasons. It's implied that the Scarlet King is either one that used to be by 343's side, or is an invention of one that was, alongside other beings. I assume, then, that 343 will only ever act against one who has turned from his side, because he has a personal vendetta there. He won't take any responsibility for anything except what he wishes to, and he will only deal with the beings who oppose him directly and are in the position to do so with any weight. If humanity were innocent, perhaps he would intervene to save them, but mankind is also guilty of being terrible creatures in the perspectives of others, and so they are on a level playing field, however much humanity plays victim.
A god can't be all-knowing and all-good. 343 is the first, and not the second.
-Any of them [other SCPs] you feel an affinity for? Watch suggests 804 (an art installation that, when active, destroys all man-made existences from the area [humans included if they don't escape the range], but the art installation itself is affected, and so it can't remain active enough to destroy humanity).
For the first time, I'm going to push back against this answer, but only if Sedition canon is going a different route with 804. According to the Article, the only life 804 wants gone is humanity, which is a common enough goal for many XK beings. It gets rid of things that are man-made, including humanity, but leaves all other life alone. It does not deny people the right to avoid obliteration; people can get out of its line of fire in time to avoid most of its effects, and it degrades itself in the process, which means it can't function to destroy the world. The original people destroyed by it before it went dormant were activists who think humanity should be wiped out for the good of the Earth, and they were not so much influenced by 804 as they were by their own self-interests. The only way I can see 343 actually wanting to deny this (mind you, non-sentient object) free will is if Sedition canon alters what it is, fundamentally. Maybe I'm missing something? He says to prevent more inventions like it from seeing the light of day, but this invention is self-defeating, small-scale, and only as useful as humanity makes it by repairing it instead of letting it kill itself.
We move on to whether anything can scare 343, and we reference 804 as God Eater, said to have devoured the Abrahamic god. I'm a bit lost; Crime, if you don't mind, is this based on an Article that I just haven't stumbled upon yet? Or is Sedition entirely changing this particular object's canon?
Jacobs asks 343 if the soul exists, and what happens after death. 343 says it is up to interpretation (I'm assuming the afterlife part). Everyone can be reborn, but that depends on what kind of life was led. Essentially, yes, souls exist, and do you believe the life you're currently living will get you into Heaven?
-How do you feel when humans claim that your will guides them to do great and terrible things? 343 says he is used to being a scapegoat for those who use his name for deeds they enact. I notice he seems to automatically orient himself towards being the scapegoat for evil, but he doesn't directly say anything about the 'great' things. Does he enjoy taking partial credit for good done in his name, or does he still not appreciate it because of the falsehood behind it? Watch also focuses only on the terrible part.
Watch acknowledges he has made enemies of plenty of people, and is guilty for a lot. He names 079 and 682, which is so interesting, because he doesn't note 035 here, meaning he either didn't think him notable (probably because 035 was never let down by him where 682 and 079 were given false promises and lies respectively), or he didn't think he'd made an enemy of him, despite being attacked.
Watch asks the killer question: essentially, if so many see us as worthy of wiping out, if we're so bad that we have enemies far and wide who want us dead, are we even worth saving by anyone? Even ourselves? 343 wants to know why this question is asked. Watch just rephrases to ask whether the good few are redeemable in the face of the awful many.
343 gets upset (understandable, if we're going with the idea that he isn't allowing himself to understand Watch's intentions; Watch isn't making it clear whether he thinks himself awful or good, and it's that vagueness can be taken for presumptuous), and when he asks Watch which he fits- if he's good just because of good intentions- Watch damn near confirms that he thinks himself as more good than evil based on scale. Which. Dang.
I'm kind of glad 343 calls him out here, because that is one terrible delusion Watch would be under if he really thought that true. Watch, however much he sees himself as a prisoner, is still complicit in the Foundation's goals. We haven't seen him do anything to change things, or attempt to make lives easier. He goes along with what Jacobs asks, he doesn't rebel, and he is self-sacrificing only to a point in that way. To put himself on the good scale when he is still doing such deeds on the Foundation's behalf is far too optimistic. There are many who are far more victimized than Watch, and he does nothing with what little power he has over them. Yes, he fears retribution if he steps out of line, but again, that only makes his intentions understandable, not excusable.
Watch diverts to ask why 343 made humanity so flawed, which I think we already covered. 343 made a species with free will, and with that free will, we decided to do terrible things. 343 has gotten progressively more frustrated throughout this line of questioning, although I think the exasperation here is understandable. He had hoped we would improve upon ourselves, but we haven't. Attempts to improve us in any way have failed. Watch himself is flawed, hoping for people around him to die and things around him to be destroyed so that he can get what he wants. Is that not inherently selfish?
I don't think Watch is in the mood for self-reflection, though, so he just turns that around on 343, who says it doesn't matter. 343 is not human, and so there is none to judge but himself. He doesn't have another god to tear apart on his level, and so he can't judge morals on that point. If he has feelings of destruction (which we know he does because we saw it earlier with 804 and the Scarlet King), he has never acted on them like humanity has, and likely won't reflect himself until he does so, if he does so.
These two are basically just passing the ball back and forth on who must truly do the reflection. 343 points out Watch's failings, including an allusion to his sister. Watch loses his temper, and so does 343. It seems, of all the things 343 regrets, it is creating a species so capable of flaws and delusions. I do think he's right about 'deserving' as nobody technically deserves anything, but man, is this not productive. Especially when Watch is just itching for a reason to die.
I think he wasn't truly going for Watch, though. Not with how eager he was to see Jacobs lose his composure. Right now, the best way to get to Jacobs is by hurting Watch in some way, because he is doing is best to be more active in keeping Watch physically and mentally well. Watch has had the ability to air his frustrations multiple times now, but Jacobs hasn't, and I think that's one of the reasons why he blows up the way he does here. Theoretically, God would be able to see this entire interaction and know the right approaches, which implies that he is provoking Watch deliberately, something that is really not sitting right with Jacobs. Jacobs calls 343 out for his superiority complex, for treating them all as inferior when he himself is immoral. Now, they've switched positions, and Watch is trying to tell Jacobs to stop, to calm down.
This time, when someone dares 343 to kill them, he obliges; he places less value on Jacobs life than Watch's, it seems. Also, can we talk about how this breaks 343's code? He is directly refusing someone's autonomy and freedom of speech, enacting consequences as he sees fit. Before, he wouldn't show his powers when demanded, but now he does? He reveals even more hypocrisy in his actions here. He says he's doing this because this is what Watch wanted (nice scream, Crime, btw), and I can somewhat believe it, because Watch still doesn't trust or like Jacobs, and 343 has called out Watch wanting the people around him dead or gone before with no argument from Watch.
-We're in another part of 343's realm, where he challenges Watch to make a decision with his powers. I do think this is interesting, because even if we fully believe 343 at this point, we have to acknowledge that he does have an ego. He is not a calm being, assured of his decisions. He is capable of being angered, and he is also capable of being petty. He is, in a way, fallible. Still, he's valid in this moment for challenging Watch to use his powers, because this is what we've been building up to. Watch has been free to critique 343 for his inaction because Watch hasn't been in his shoes. Now, he has the chance, and the decision he makes is telling of his character in the same way it is for 343.
Watch does seem a bit drunk on power, or at the very least in awe of the opportunity. 343 names his desires; he wants to destroy the Foundation (as their prisoner, that makes sense, but in a realistic sense, destroying the Foundation destroys humanity, too), free that unfortunate girl is referring to 053, I believe (and Watch could do it, but it wouldn't change anything about his situation, and as a mortal no longer useful to the Foundation, her fate would be unknowable), get rid of the 'curse' that is his anomalous nature (if he does so, he removes what makes him so intriguing to the Foundation, and he also is likely to die to an SCP sooner rather than later, since his abilities seem to be what keeps him alive), or bring back Evelyn (which he probably wishes he could do, but think of the consequences; she's not anomalous, so who knows what the Foundation would do, she might not want to be alive again, can he take care of her?). Watch blames 343 in part for her death because a kind God- in Watch's eyes- is one who would save someone as innocent as her.
Watch considers them all, and gets hit with the same thing 343 warned him about; the multiple alternate realities of the butterfly effect, branching off from a single choice. He can never know what the outcome of any of these decisions would be, because after his choice, other choices fall into the hands of people who have multiple choices, which then goes on and on, compounding. 343 lists more potential reactions to each decision, which makes sense as well, since no matter what Watch does, the outcomes are too numerous. This is what 343 struggles with, the reason why he can't make any decisions, and he is giving Watch an ultimatum now. Prove that 343 is right about his selfishness and make a choice, damn the consequences, or prove that 343 is right about his powers, and that a choice truly can't be made.
Sure enough, Watch realizes what 343 was getting at. Watch can cope with his own decisions and what they have caused him to gain and lose. He can come to terms with his own existence. What he can't do is make choices for others, especially when the outcomes could be disastrous for others besides him. His last method of surprising 343 is by refusing to make any of the choices laid out for him, and instead making the decision to reverse an action that he knows should never have occurred, had they not been pushed this far, deciding to bring Jacobs back.
-They're back in the real world, and Jacobs is returned, although with a really bad case of hypothermia from wherever he was (in space, apparently!). I think this may be what 343 wanted, because he doesn't seem shocked by Watch's decision. In fact, he seems almost proud of his decision, trying to offer Watch a moment of closure in return. Watch doesn't want it, though. I think at this point (since he had 343's powers in their entirety there) he recognizes that it's possible 343 can know of his sister in her afterlife, but I think he still refuses it because he wants to remain grounded, thinking of the here and now rather than contemplating those long past. He's moving on.
Jacobs has experienced near-death if not full death, at this point, which I think inspires his emotional vulnerability when it comes to being honest about Watch being someone he'd be lost without. Jacobs thinks he was in the arctic, but that he was in orbit above it. Wherever he was, the tracker had something to send a signal back. 343 disappears before he can be questioned about it.
Some part of this plan was intentional, implied by the fact that some part of Watch's behavior was a performance ("nice job back there", "can't believe he fell for that", "neither, really"). I don't think Jacobs expected his survival completely, though, probably because he was showing how much trust he puts in Watch, and hoping it was reciprocated.
-Context Image: Jacobs was taken to the medical ward, and expected to take a week to recover. 343 has been silent for two days, and the tapes of the interview are intact (since we are watching them). Oversight of the bridge facility remains unassigned (although we know he passes it to Watch in the next conversation)
-We see this from a camera behind some bottles, which makes me wonder if this is another of Amnesty's bugs, or something else. Apparently, even though they got the tapes, Jacobs doesn't think the O-5 council will be pleased, and plans to dispose of them. He makes the point that 343 spent that interview learning more about them then they learned about him. They still have no confirmation that 343 is who he says he is, no idea if what he said was true, but they have found out more about Watch and Jacobs. The tapes don't give them anything but that, Jacobs is right. This is the point I've been making throughout this analysis, essentially, but worded different. 343 sees all possibilities and every potential future, and we know that is true because he was able to give that ability to Watch. Therefore, he knew how this interview would go, what to say, what to do. He did everything for a reason. Now they just have to find out what that reason was, if possible.
Crow mention! Watch convinces Jacobs to keep the tapes just in case, if only for the novelty of the experience. Jacobs just seems glad that this proved he was right to form an alliance with Watch, that he was right to trust him. Jacobs passes on the responsibility of O-5 and site director to Watch in the time he's gone, an effort to show that the trust goes both ways, and that he has truly changed in the time Watch has been gone.
-We cut to Amnesty, sitting at her desk. There's a camera here, too, which is interesting. I don't know if she'd really set up a bug in her room, or what it implies that there's a camera here. We see her leave down a hallway, walking into a light in the distance. So ends the Crime part of this series. Y'all, I have a document for all of these, and my word count is up to 40K now. My notes are a small novel at this point, and almost 14K is just these two tapes 😭
I will be doing the New Era soon as a special request, so stay tuned for that! If there's anything I am, it's determined!
