on Sephiroth's manipulation of Cloud (an analysis)
â Rebirth + OG FF7 spoilers
how Rebirth tackled puppet Cloud is so unique and so so good, and I just needed to talk about it. first things first, letâs talk about what Sephiroth means by âpuppet.â
throughout the OG FF7 and Rebirth, Sephiroth refers to Cloud as a âpuppet.â it may seem strange at first glance, because it seems to imply that Sephiroth is manually taking control of Cloud, puppeteering him or that Cloud is inherently empty.
it also doesnât fit with his encouragement of Cloudâs rage. if Cloud is a puppet, why doesnât Sephiroth just give him rage?
because thatâs not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloudâs mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppetâs identity is dependent on its master.
because thatâs not what he means. when Sephiroth calls Cloud a puppet, he means that Cloudâs mind can easily be shaped, similar to how a puppetâs identity is dependent on its master. he says that what Cloud feels is fake because Cloudâs mind is a collage of identities, his own and Zackâs, all with Jenovaâs and Sephirothâs influence. Cloudâs feelings are just his masterâs feelings.
Cloudâs mind is malleable. he is his own person, the real Cloud Strife is there, but due to the self-esteem issues heâs harbored since childhood and the trauma heâs endured for the past five years, the presenting Cloud Strife can greatly differ. Sephiroth is intensely aware of this, and takes advantage of it.
the persona we see of Cloud is his SOLDIER persona, the tough badass he always wanted to be, a mixture of his interpretation of Zack and his interpretation of being a hero. but the facade cracks quickly and frequently, in either direction. mostly, it cracks to let us see the real Cloud. thereâs no one single moment where he shines through: Cloud taking on odd jobs with no real gain other than him helping someone, Cloud doing something stupid and silly, Cloud getting flustered. all the moments of him being kind and dorky is the real Cloud shining through. itâs impossible for Cloud to bury all of himself beneath his persona, so these cracks are only natural. however, the other cracks in his persona are due to Sephirothâs manipulation.
in Rebirth, Cloud kills multiple people on multiple occasionsâone can argue because they were Shinra, they deserved it, but that doesnât change the fact that Cloud isnât a killer. even his SOLDIER persona accommodates his desire to help people; so how does he kill people so easily? if you answered Sephiroth, you get a prize!
Sephiroth manipulates his SOLDIER persona in two ways: feeding into ideals and planting ideas. for the first, he (off-screen) encourages violent and/or anti-social behavior in Cloud. while we, the player, and everyone around him views this as strange, in Cloudâs mind, it all fits into what heâs supposed to be. heâs supposed to be a badass, and badasses kill people and dismiss their friendsâ feelings, right?
when Cloud is in this mental state, itâs very hard to reason with him. in Chapter 13 (one of the greatest pieces of puppet Cloud literature), Cloudâs entire goal is to reach the center of the Temple in order to acquire the Black Materia. he doesnât listen to any warnings that the Cetra give or his teammates, becoming wholly focused on retrieving it. but even then, even if Cloudâs behavior doesnât seem strange to him, why does he want the Black Materia?
thatâs due to Sephirothâs other form of manipulation: planting ideas. itâs easy to force Cloud to become violent because it fits the narrative of badass SOLDIER, but lots of other ideas need time to nourish. case-in-point: Tifa isnât the real one.
we are introduced to this idea at the very beginning of the game, Cloud walking through the inn at Kalm when he sees Sephiroth who tells him that this Tifa isnât the real one. the conflict seems to become resolved when Cloud repeats the idea to Tifa who completely dismisses it, but theyâre nowhere out of the woods.
next, Sephiroth in Chapter 5 instills the idea that Jenova is capable of impersonation. this doesnât seem to go anywhere until Chapter 9.
first, Cloud enters that intensified SOLDIER state-of-mind, killing all the Shinra troopers around him. with his mind already fragile, Sephiroth repeating the idea to him now becomes fact: Tifa isnât real. she is an imposter from Jenova. both the ideas Cloudâs been fed are twisted and he pushes Tifa off the edge.
Cloud snaps out of this state of mind right after, but it doesnât change the fact that it happened. as long as Sephiroth plays his cards right, he can manipulate Cloud into doing nearly everything for him. hence, the âpuppetâ label.
(thatâs also why Cloud wants the Black Materia. Sephiroth tells Cloud to bring him the Black Materiaâand even if Cloud doesnât want to, the thought is engraved in his head that he should retrieve it for Sephiroth.)
but hereâs whatâs really special. as weâve noted, the intensified SOLDIER persona is violent, anti-social, just an all around dick. he doesnât care about his friends, doesnât care about anything except getting what he wants (see: what Sephiroth wants.)
but we see something very different at the end of Chapter 13. Cloud isnât rude and dismissive. he pushes Tifa, but he doesn't do it with the same malice as in Chapter 9. he does it in an attempt just to get her away, just to chase after the Black Materia.
in his pursuit of Aerith, the things he says are the farthest thing from rude. heâs not threatening or demanding her to stop. heâs asking her to talk, appealing to her desire to trust him and save the planet, even starts calling her name in a teasing way like heâs playing a game.
Aerith!
Let's talk.
I need it...
Aerith...
Give it to me.
Please?
You can trust me.
Let's save the planet together.
(playfully) Aerith.
when Aerith finally gives him the Black Materia, what does Cloud do? he could just walk away. he could just run straight to Sephiroth. but, noâhe makes sure to say âthank youâ first.
itâs pathetic (I type this in the most endearing way) the way Cloud acts. why is that? what is the difference between these types of manipulation? the answer is who Sephiroth manipulates. for the most part, Sephiroth manipulates SOLDIER Cloud. but here, Sephiroth breaks through Cloudâs SOLDIER persona to manipulate the real Cloud.
we know when we see the real Cloud: if you need a refresher, anytime Cloud is kind or acts like a dork is usually a tell-tale sign. here, Cloud is kind, saying please and thank you. and itâs almost cute, the way he playfully calls out to Aerith. this is the real Cloud, buried under piles of piles of trauma, self-hatred, and alternative personas.
and what is the real Cloudâs utmost desire? to love and be loved. he wants to be a hero, to be worthy of the ones he holds dear; no, to be worthy of anyone. this is a big factor into Cloudâs construction of his SOLDIER persona, he creates himself that hero mask that he thinks will lead to the love he craves.
Sephiroth knows this, and twists his desire to be a hero to a desire to please Sephiroth at all costs. Cloud is still himself, but he wants to make Sephiroth happy no matter what. Sephiroth wants the Black Materia? then Sephiroth will get the Black Materia.
thatâs whatâs so heartbreaking (and deliciously good) about Rebirthâs depiction of puppet Cloud. heâs not hollow and empty. heâs desperate. this is the most of the real Cloud we get to see. we see fragments of him, but here is the longest consecutive period. this is the realest he acts in the game, kind and silly and so fucking desperate for love, for Sephirothâs approval.
in short, Sephiroth knows exactly how and when to break Cloud. he knows how and when to manipulate SOLDIER Cloud and he knows how and when to manipulate the real Cloud. this is why Sephiroth calls him a puppet: as long as he plays to Cloudâs desire for approval and love, he can puppeteer him in every direction.
thank you for reading! I hope you learned something new or just understand Cloud better. Cloud is such a fascinating character and Sephiroth really brings out the most pathetic parts of him â€ïž here's to hoping Cloud gets all the love he wants
Tifa wearing SeeD uniform, are you in love with her? I bet now you are âșïžâ€ïž This was a commissioned work along with Squall, the complete artwork is available at my instagram. Profile HERE
(Same handle @)
Letâs work together to color your ideas! Commissions are currently open.
amandla
titsay
snowghoul
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
stormborns
gamechangershow
2087
