©Yana Toboso/SQUARE ENIX, Project Black Butler
It only just occurred to me this week that Wolfram isn’t wearing 15th-century clothing. That could be a little bit of nothing; what he’s wearing is infinitely easier to draw than what he might have worn in the 1400s. It may be just to drive home the fact that he plays a similar role for Sieglinde as the one Sebastian plays for Ciel. But it also could be a statement about how he’s less trapped in the hidden village than any of the women – Sieglinde weeps that she wants to see the outside world “too,” which implies that someone from the town is regularly getting out. Wolfram is the most likely choice, and his outfit could reflect that. If he is the only person venturing back to the 19th century, does it have something to do with him being the only man in the village?
Thinking about that in conjunction with whatever Queen Victoria wrote to Ciel leads to more questions than answers. From what Sebastian sent back to the queen (leaves, plants, and Sieglinde’s potion), there’s almost certainly a chemical answer to what the “werewolf miasma” is. The sores and measles-like bumps could be allergic reactions or plain old reactions to a caustic substance; that would explain Sieglinde needing Ciel and Sebastian to submerge themselves in the cleaning agent (potion). And maybe that same plant life is a hallucinogen rather than a curse. Some of what’s going on sounds a lot like ergot poisoning, which can cause hallucinations, convulsions, gangrene, skin eruptions, and other charming symptoms. Before ergot was identified, people blamed the supernatural for outbreaks of seemingly inexplicable bouts of mania and disease; one theory even holds that the Salem Witch Trials were a case of ergot poisoning. (That theory is debated, but it wasn’t uncommon for ergot poisoning to be blamed on witchcraft in other places.)
The next question we have to ponder is whether only males are affected by the poison, with Wolfram being somehow immune. All the victims we’ve seen so far are men; in the Phantomhive household, only Sebastian and Ciel, who ventured out into the forest for a second time, are infected, suggesting a cumulative effect. Of course, women in the 19th century lived much more constrained lives, so not having seen an affected woman could just come down to that, especially if the amulets the ladies wear are factored in. Perhaps the cumulative effect progresses from ergotism-like symptoms to full wolfing out. Maybe there are two routes the infected can take – ergotism or wolfism. Whatever the answer, Victoria seems to think that Sieglinde can be safely brought out of the forest to England, so it’s likely some combination of factors.
That’s the answer for whatever is going on with Ciel, too. Sebastian is 90% certain that he can’t be saved from his present state, and while I’m not sure we can take him at his word – his actions could be read as a last-ditch effort to save his master or preparing his own meal – his demonic powers reach Ciel’s deep subconscious. These people ask him why he made the choices he did, most of them assuming that it was for vengeance or out of familial love and duty. Ciel breaks free of his cage by admitting that he did it all for himself, but that doesn’t mean that his parents, other self, or anyone else was wrong. Following their deaths, Ciel was left alone. He was traumatized and grieving. By making a contract with Sebastian, he ensured his survival, and maybe a piece of him is aware that the best way he can honor his dead and get revenge on their murderers is by living on. Or maybe that’s assuming he’s playing chess when he’s engaged in checkers or still figuring out what game he’s playing. I’m not sure. But the scene where he comes back to himself, bursting out of the cage and running past the dissolving ghosts of his past until he’s his present self again, is very well done. And if it shows how he’s used all of them to shape himself into “Ciel Phantomhive?” That’s just a bonus that he may not be ready to acknowledge.
More importantly, if Ciel could break out of his invisible prison, maybe that could be true for Sieglinde as well. Werewolves, witches, or other supernatural spirits shouldn’t have any more hold over her life than Ciel’s ghosts have on his. The poor girl deserves to step out into the light.
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Black Butler: Emerald Witch Arc is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Saturdays.
