Hey again! Thanks for the great analyses as always!
There’s been a lot of talk about Loid becoming more distant with his family after the War arc and how he’s been acting more Twilight during the Eden bus hijacking arc. I’m interested to hear your thoughts on this.
To be fair, Twilight has always been a lot more hot and cold in the manga than in the anime. And I think the anime conditioned a lot of us - myself included! - for a warmer and softer Twilight than he already is in the manga.
My take is … yes, he has been a bit more distant. But also no. Let’s go over the timeline!
Around the Cruise Adventure Arc, it is becoming increasingly clear to him - and really, the whole of WISE - that he’s attached to the Forgers. When Twilight goes to ask for time off, both himself and Sylvia understand that it’s a family holiday. Neither of them say it out loud, but they don’t have to. Both know he just wants to spend time with his little girl. Same when Handler asks her protégé when he returns to work whether he enjoyed his holiday with Anya - neither even pretend it’s a mission, because they know it’s not. Twilight just doesn’t want to admit his feelings yet.
And Twilight also clearly misses his wife during the cruise - Anya even calls him out on it. And the man just kept staring and staring at Yor while they are on the resort island with Twilight Eyes (TM). Except they aren’t really Twilight Eyes (TM). It’s softer, more wistful, even as it’s obvious he’s not shaken off his Spy identity here.
And of course, there’s the brief moment when he is finally honest to himself. Twilight slips and calls Anya his family. But given all those other times he has to leave his family behind for Spy Duties (see Doggy Crisis) he also clearly means Yor here too. He stops himself. Because this is just a mission and attachments are unbecoming of a spy.
Except he can’t really completely walk away from those feelings of wanting to belong with the Forgers. In the chapters following the Cruise Adventure Arc, we see Twilight talking to Bond, telling the best doggo that he can’t be reckless, because that would make him sad, but also because Anya would be heartbroken. As I’ve pointed out before, Twilight is talking to Bond, but really, verbalising his own feelings. He can’t be reckless anymore. Because he’s got a daughter who loves him for whom he must return home in one piece. Because he loves her too.
Then we have the War Arc, where he remembers himself that Loid Forger is just a persona he’s playing. But why? I think it’s because those chapters remind Twilight of his past and the mission he’s tasked himself with. He is not proud of what he had done during the war - does a man who had helped to pile up dead bodies really deserve to be loved? Does a man who had been powerless to stop the pain and suffering of his loved ones really deserve family and friends? And if he wants to build a world where children won’t have to cry… can he really afford to become attached and stray from his goal?
And that’s why he forces himself to be detached right after. He forces himself to be professional and that the Forger family is just part of a mission. Which is one way to interpret this scene. He is very Twilight here, because he doesn’t want a repeat of the kids that never happened, or … whatever he did during the Very Disastrous Date. This is him going ‘think unsexy unromantic thoughts, think unsexy unromantic thoughts’. Well, something like that anyway.
And also the Red Circus Arc. Although I’d argue Twilight would never have joined in on the tearful reunion with Anya anyway. He doesn’t seem the type, not to mention a WISE colleague is there. But Endo also conspicuously never showed us what happened when Twilight returned home, or when he found out about the Stella. All we know is the man quickly went out and bought a car to drive his daughter to school. I think that in itself tell us a lot about Twilight’s feelings…
So, that’s my two cents. He is trying to be more distant from Anya and Yor, but he is not having much success. And let’s be honest, this will be the one thing the best spy of Westalis will always fail at. And we love him for it.
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