A small follow-up to Claymore 8
13 06 2007
I think that regulars might already know what I mean with ’small’: long-winded sentences, neverending explanations, tl;dr and all that stuff. Rest assured, I haven’t written a ‘long’ entry yet. XD
Anyway, here’s my ’small’ follow-up to my previous Claymore 08 entry, where I simply conveyed my mourning feelings about the events that took place in that episode. Now with my finals being over, I somehow got other things in mind than to feel sad about Teresa. Perfect timing for the thinkbox! *flips the rusty switch*
I bet all of you have seen it. That cruel scene. That…. Ugh. I know. t wasn’t a nice sight. How could this have happened? Let’s have a quick look back.
Teresa is and will always be superior.
So, Teresa’s much more of a badass than I’d ever have thought. Even with the four most powerful Claymores releasing their Youma powers, she still can beat them without breaking a sweat - only a few scratches here and there, nothing more. In fact, she doesn’t even need to release about 10 percent of her powers to win the conflict. She totally plays in her own league.
Now, there we go, Teresa stands before beaten Priscilla, and raises her sword only to place it back in the holder on her back, while everyone expected her to cut her head off. Ah, those twists of fate, those small instants of life, the decisive seconds where you simply could have done a simple, logical thing to prevent any further misery in the world. Such events do have their own name, but I already forgot it. This kind of situation is one of the numerous “what if…” cases. As usual, we get the worst case possible (as for the good cases, I’ll leave that task to the fanfic writers XD). Even if everyone on the scene, including Teresa herself, KNEW that Priscilla would eventually become her rival in terms of strength, she spares her life for her kindheartedness. This was the wrong decision, I tell you………
Now, that’s one thing. As she went away, I thought that Priscilla would be grateful for having her life saved; on the contrary, she mutters something about her parents, totally goes nuts and chases after Teresa. For such a righteous being like Priscilla, calling Teresa a murderer after she refrained from chopping her head off sure is a very bold statement. But let’s admit that her parents have been killed by someone, presumably by Teresa, and that she wants to take it out on her now. So far so good, more information would definitely follow.
Priscilla caught up on Teresa in the mountains, and releases about half of her Youma power. Yet, she doesn’t stand a chance against Teresa, who finally sees the need to release more power than usual, such that her eyes turn golden. Hell, the magnitude of her powers is endless, I wonder what would have happened if she actually released half of it all… The world would be torn apart in front of that tremendous outburst of energy! Priscilla could have given up on numerous occasions during that fight, yet she kept unleashing her power even further, whining about her parents.
For once that she unleashed her monstrous powers…
Now here’s a slightly confusing part. It seemed to me as if Priscilla was blaming Teresa for killing her parents, and she demanded to return them to her. However, as the Youma is taking the upper hand over her emotions during the final battle, she admits that it was herself who had killed her father as he was eating the guts of the rest of the family (thanks to Za_Paper for correcting me!). So in the end, who is she blaming now? Is she blaming Teresa, for having any direct relation to that happening? Or rather, and that’s what I believe it to be, is she blaming the Youma in general for bringing such misery upon her and consequently hates Teresa for being a human that accepts the fact of keeping a Youma inside of her body, to be, if you will, ‘friends’ with the demons? So in the end, Teresa might be the scapegoat of Priscilla’s ill-being?
If that was the case, why did she become the Claymore as well,, if she didn’t like it? It might have been inevitable if the Youma was already inside of her body, but even so, did she join the organization only to take revenge on the Youma? Granted, that would be fairly understandable, because I bet that Clare joined the organization for about the same reason, but… In that case, why did she have to kill Teresa so badly, if all she did was only to contribute to fulfilling her goal? I don’t understand. Her motives are so obscure and vague, yet stong enough to overcome her righteousness.
Yes, for someone who didn’t like backstabbing Teresa at the beginning, for someone who wanted to beat her fair and square, Priscilla sure used a sly and dastardly tactic worth of a first-rate coward. She first made sure to use enough Youma power to cross her limit, then feigned defeat. Of course, Teresa immediately promised to kill Priscilla as long as she’d still remain human. And then happens what I so totally did NOT expect to happen at all, Teresa let her guard down and… Yeah. I don’t want to say it. I don’t even dare to rewatch that scene, for it is simply too… painful. Not only because Teresa died, but because the whole thing is sooooooooooooooooooo fucking annoying. So unfair. The fact that Priscilla abused of Teresa’s kindness only is enough to drive me crazy. Feigning defeat, then literally backstabbing her opponent is a method I do not approve AT ALL in any ways or circumstances possible, especially in real life. Very honestly speaking, such cowardice makes me puke. Yeah, you slaughtered Teresa, so what?? DOES THAT MAKE YOU PROUD, YOU SPINELESS B****???
A challenger appears.
Umm. Excuse me, I lost my temper a bit there. Exactly like Clare, all I could do was watch the horror as it unfolded, and contemplate the sheer absurdity of the situation. I wonder. Priscilla turned into an ‘awakened Youma’, probably the strongest form of Youma that exists, and killed the three other Claymore with ease in the blink of an eye (no pun intended…). She wanted guts, she was hungry, whatever. Yet… she walks PAST Clare. Past a potential fresh meal. What is the meaning of this?
Granted, there might be criteria as to which targets Youma choose to attack, let’s say, their age - if they’re too young, they’re not good. This might be true, as Clare had been kept alive by a Youma herself before Teresa arrived. However, as far as I know, there hasn’t specifically been another case where children did survive the invasion of the Youma, so I’d label this theory unlikely. What else could it be? I would suggest that Priscilla wanted to keep Clare alive not to leave her a chance to escape (I won’t attribute her any positive human feelings anymore), but rather to let her live in grief, sorrow and fear for the rest of her miserable life, after having witnessed the death of the dearest person to her…
Or, maybe she knew that Clare would eventually become a Claymore, only to kill Youma-Priscilla. Perhaps she wanted to let someone be able to defeat her in combat some day… Yeah, now I Clare’s motives. And more than ever, I want her to fk’n beat the crap out of Priscilla!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GO CLAREEEEE!!! CLAREMOAR!
This episode put quite an emotional end to the Teresa arc. I really appreciate the way the story has been told until now, and I really wonder how it’s going to develop from here on. Now that I am done with Episode 8 (although I haven’t said even half of the things I have in mind), I can FINALLY proceed to the next episodes. Some say it’s made of Win and Gold, well I’d like to believe then and watch them right away!
Don’t cry, Clare… For you will eventually kick Priscilla’s a**!!
I just saw Ep 11 RAW up somewhere, so I have to hurry! Otanoshimi ni~~
Actually Priscilla’s dad was taken over by a Yoma (like Raki’s brother was) and he killed and ate the rest Priscilla’s family. Priscilla then managed to kill her yoma-possessed father by sneaking up behind him, while he was eating her brother, and decapitating him.
See how much my memory has faded. T_T I knew I was a bit too hasty.
Oh well, thanks for the heads-up ^^ I should correct it later on, I don’t feel like it now ._.
EDIT: I did it right away, lol. Less trouble later on.
To be honest, Priscilla was not in control when she killed Teresa, the anime did a poor job in portraying just how huge of a personality switch it is when someone goes from a human heart to a Yoma one. Earlier in the series when Clare almost awakened, in the manga she nearly killed Raki in that scene due to her Yoma half striking out. Priscilla most likely did want Teresa to kill her, but her Yoma half had other ideas. Just to make things clear, Awakaned Priscilla would have beaten Teresa, alot of people seem to misunderstand that at this point in the story, Teresa was not lying when she said Priscilla would eventually become stronger then her, and when Priscilla awakened, her movements became so fast even Teresa could not respond in time.
And as for Clare killing Priscilla…Well your going to have to watch the next few episodes to see how (un)likely that possibility is :D
Even thought the human side of Priscilla wanted to die as a human, but the youma side of Priscilla had other plans, that don’t change the fact she used a very dirty trick to win against Teresa, backstabbing her. Very typical of Youmas.
Maybe Awaked-Priscilla is stronger and faster than Teresa, but still at 85% or so she was losing to Teresa-10%. She would not have the time to complete the transformation before Teresa kill her for good.Even if that’s not the case, Teresa was still the biggest menace to her. All the others Claymores were too weak against her. She couldn’t allow Teresa to try to use 30% or more of her power against her, otherwise she could be the one beheaded. So she used a dirty trick to make Teresa low her power level to something she could handle. Just imaginate the scene: If she finished the transformation and Teresa was still alive, the others could decide to team WITH Teresa to kill HER! After all, a Awaked One is a lot worse than a Traitor.
Anyway, this episode was a really big shocker to me. I just loved Teresa’s character. See her dying like that hurted a lot. I pity specially younger-Clare, because, in a way, she was the reason because Teresa lost. She teached Teresa human compassion.
If was Teresa’s old self, she had slauthered Priscilla long before that happens. :(
Zeru: As Gilberto says, their own percentage charts about how much Youma power had been released proves that otherwise. Fine, Priscilla was about to awaken, but does that mean that Teresa wouldn’t have unleashed even more of her own powers to finish her off? In the worst of cases, Priscilla would have awakened while Teresa was alive, and then Teresa’s surge of power would have been inevitable. And then, why not, Teresa would have awakened, and then? Even though I know that she would never do that, I think it still would have been entirely feasible with the powers she had. Also I took the “eventually” as “a few years later”, and not “immediately”. I do firmly believe that, and if it’s wrong, well blame the anime for that, for they have inserted the percentages.
Gilberto: Yes, you’re right, Clare taught Teresa compassion, which eventually triggered her demise, but I don’t consider Clare as the main cause of her death. I am positive that the time Teresa spent with Clare was the happiest of her entire life, and that this was by far the most beneficial choice to her. Not even the fact that she would have survived if she hadn’t been so ’soft’, to use her own terms, would have changed her mind. She was a revolted being, and she found her happiness by going against the grain. It’s only normal, it’s ‘human’ to rebel against strict rules and to break out of your confinement. However, it’s true that there are always people who recklessly abuse of your kindness, and stab you in the back…
I don’t think Teresa would ‘awake’ that easily if she had fought the Awaked-Priscilla. She has too much self-control for that. Even if she were close to ‘awake’, probably loli-Clare would save her, in the same way Raki saved adult-Clare in Episode 4.
Thinking well, i believe the thing Claymores need the most for not ‘awake’ is a strong mind and/or something to hold her humanity. Elene (ep2) was Awaking because she herself said she had a weak mind; Priscilla Awaked because she was too imature and blind of rage for her sad past.Clare too, almost awaked in ep.4 because her human body - and by consequence her human mind - was too weak for being hurted so much.
About Clare’s feelings, i don’t blame her for what happened. How could she possibly know the Organization don’t like their “tools” having humans feelings? I don’t blame Teresa either. How could she be blamed for not being coward enough to kill an already defeated enemy crying and begging for clemency? Even Priscilla was not to be fully blamed here, because she was not ready yet for such big task.The only here to be fully blamed is the Organization, after all they gave an almost uncontrolable demoniac power to a child with really big emotional problems and sent her to fight an incrediblely powerful and vastly more experienced warrior with no big preparation at all! By all the effects, she was 10 years too early for such mission.
Still, maybe Clare is blaming herself for what happened…
Just to finish up this talk here, (did not notice I got a response down here), Teresa was only defeating Priscilla at 10%vs70% because of 2 reasons, Teresa had a much larger amount of experience and Priscilla was berserk, despite what some anime teacher us being berzerk is a huge disadvantage against a skilled opponent. When Irene sensed two massive Yoki Auras, make no mistake Priscilla’s was the larger one, which is why Irene was amazed that Teresa could deflect her with so little power. Once Priscilla awakened the power advantage she had became overwhelming, and she was no longer berzerk. Teresa could have finished her off at any point before she awakened yes, but once she did it was hopeless. Teresa could have awakaned herself, but still would have lost to Awakaned Priscilla. As stated in episde 9 (by Rubel) all of Prisclla’s latent power came to light when she Awakened.
Clare also did play a very large part in Teresa’s downfall, but I do not think anyone could fautl her for that.
Exactly my point. :D
Wow this is the most intelligent discussion of the episode I’ve seen on any blogs so far - nice work! :D Despite justifying the logical components of Teresa’s downfall, I think it was one of the most depressing moments when Teresa had that surprised look when Priscilla cut her head off. I think it reflects how much power Priscilla has, as others were in pain and had no control during Awakening, but she still maintained enough control over her movements to kill Teresa.
Also, I will say that later episodes will point out the significant difference between Awakened Priscilla and Clare… unfortunately.
“When Irene sensed two massive Yoki Auras, make no mistake Priscilla’s was the larger one, which is why Irene was amazed that Teresa could deflect her with so little power.”
Why did you say “make no mistake?” What makes you so sure that Priscilla’s was the larger one? The way Irene said it, that she wasn’t sure which was which, made it clear that the intended effect was to leave it ambiguous. Irene was amazed that Teresa could fight evenly with Priscilla because of the percentage issue, where Teresa was fighting at 10% whereas Priscilla was fighting near her limit. There was a lot of talk about Priscilla’s “latent potential,” but I would agree with nekosasu that the “eventually” stated in the anime referred to a later time (perhaps during Clare’s generation). In the end, however, it would be pretentious to claim that either Teresa or Priscilla would have won the battle if they had both awakened or if the grossly underhanded tactics were not used. The anime evidently wanted to leave it ambiguous, maybe for the aesthetic effect, or perhaps they will shed some light later on.
Either way, inserting my own bias now, Teresa was the reason I became interested with the anime so I admit it was rather disheartening to see her die. Of course, that’s what makes the scene in episode 10 such an unforgettable moment, and as the producers may have intended, it made Claymore memorable as well. There wouldn’t be so much discussion about Claymore if Teresa had not died and the fans were not outraged.
One more bit to add, I think Teresa, as a character, serves to develop both Clare and Priscilla as the main protagonist and antagonist in the show. Teresa’s death gives Clare a righteous cause and gives reason behind the plot of Claymore. What’s most interesting is that the writers/producers must have intentionally made Teresa such an admirable character, which makes her death all the more tragic and outrageous. This sets up Priscilla as the “prime evil” in the anime and her act of ultimate villainy (along with the underhanded tactics) have certainly left many viewers wishing for her demise.
Let us just say that the world of Claymore is not as black and white as it may seem.
Priscilla was indeed set up to be hated for the death of Teresa, but do not be so quick to think that Claymore Priscilla willingly did what she did at that time,
Awakened Beings act very differently from their normal mindset, Awakening is basically losing to your Yoma-half’s willpower, it is quite possible Human Priscilla had completely vanished at this point, or simply been suppressed to the point where she could not control herself anymore..
I think that Theresa was stronger than the awakened Priscilla. When using 10% of her yoki, she was able to defeat Priscilla who had released more than 70% of her yoki. Do not forget guys, that Theresa could sense yoma energy like no other Claymore; She could sense the power lying deep within Priscilla and more than likely she had a good, but not exact, mental estimate of what Priscilla’s power would be at 100%. If I had to estimate, I think that Theresa would have been able to defeat the awakened Priscilla with no more that 50%, if that much, of her yoki.
Theresa let her guard down because the thought that Priscilla was vulnerable and she fell for Priscilla’s dirty tactic. The reason why Teresa was killed was because she had dropped her defenses and not braced herself in time for the attack. If Theresa had not lowered her guard, she would have quickly raised her yoki to suppliment her speed and blocked Priscilla’s attack. If she had not let her guard down, there is no way that Priscilla would have been able to defeat her, awakened or not. Remember when Ilene said that she sensed two enormous yoki, but one was greater than the other, it may have been either Priscilla or Theresa’s yoki. Theresa had proven Ilene’s statement false about her speed, strength and agility being less than Ilene, Sophia and Noelle’s respectively. This was proven when Ilene realized that she had ‘underestimated Theresa once again’. Also, Theresa defeated the awakened former number one, Rosemary, by releasing only 10% of her yoki.
I am not comparing Priscilla’s power to the Abyssal ones, because as Riful said (when referring to Priscilla and speaking to Duff) ‘that woman is far stronger than us’. Priscilla was in a category by herself and so was Theresa, but I think that Theresa’s experience, maturity and ultimately her power, put her in a class above Priscilla. As I said before and will say once again, Priscilla would not have been able to defeat Theresa whether she had awakened or not.