What is your theory on the ending and how part 3 ends?? Subscribe for more! Follow my Twitch here: www.twitch.tv/philiphartshorn My Discord here: discord.gg/J85mKhG Watch my film work here: ua-cam.com/video/FQg5b6bagGs/v-deo.html Watch my couple channel here: www.youtube.com/@PhilipandAliya Follow my Twitter: twitter.com/philipharts
So, I think when the masamune was forged, jenova cells were used at some point in its construction. Making the sword itself a part of Jenova. So when Sephiroth does eventually gets the blade, it will literally become a part of him as he is jenova's son. This is why Sephiroth can seemingly summon the sword from nothing, because the masamune is literally an extension of himself.
Spot on! Also, it would explain why Sephiroth says he needs to get the sword "back". His cells are talking through him, and Jenova cells always need to reunite... The Reunion.
Thanks for the video, I've been enjoying them! So I've been seeing a lot of theories about Jenova being this master manipulator behind everything lately but I think it undermines Nojima's layered story telling and his love for psychology. I think we're missing something way more interesting here, the human story. I don't think the dreams are some alien messing with his head. They're literally just about having dinner with his mom and going on trips together. This kid is dreaming about pumpkin soup.😢Not world domination, not cosmic power, just having a mom who cooks for him and gives him good luck charms. That hit me right in the feels. They put Angeal's story right next to Sephiroth's and it's brutal. Angeal: Has parents who stayed up late making him a uniform, a whole village cheering him on. Sephiroth: Carries around a photo of his mom and can't even handle basic teamwork because he's never learned how. You know how Sephiroth suddenly starts acting different around Alissa? Everyone's like "ooh, suspicious!" but it's actually super sad, she looks like the mom in his photo that he carries around and he's basically like a kid who spotted someone who looks like his long-lost parent. He's not being controlled, he's just desperate for any kind of connection to the family he never had. He likely idealized this “mother” figure in his dream based on that photo, who knows how long he's had it and wondered what she might be like, what he hoped she'd be like. Speaking of connection, you know how obsessed he gets with Masamune's sword? Again, not mind control. In his dreams, his "mom" gives him a good luck charm for his sword, saying it'll help her always be with him. So when he sees this legendary blade, it's not just about power, it's about finally having something special that proves he's more than just Shinra's "weapon." The wild thing is, while everyone's looking for supernatural explanations and shadowy anthropomorphized alien manipulation, the story's showing us something way more relatable, a guy who's so isolated and starved for family connection that he's literally dreaming about having normal family moments. Meanwhile his buddy Angeal's right there trying to be his friend and he can't even accept it because he's convinced he's just a "machine." Basically, before we jump to "alien manipulation" theories, maybe we should look at the very human story being told here. Sometimes the scariest monsters aren't the supernatural ones, but the damage that isolation and lack of love can do to a person. What's fascinating about Jenova though is it's mimetic ability and how it's been transformed from a purely predatory trait into something more complex in its hosts. Like how a peacock's feathers evolved from flight mechanisms to courtship displays, Jenova's biological camouflage ability has been repurposed by human psychology to serve emotional rather than hunting needs. For Sephiroth, who was born with this ability, mimic appears to function almost like an unconscious defense mechanism. His dreams of "mother" aren't external manipulation but his own cells responding to his deep psychological needs. The perfect mother figure in his dreams adapts to whatever he most needs in the moment: when he needs nurturing, she makes pumpkin soup. when he needs validation, she praises his heroism. when he needs security, she promises to always be there. In nature, Jenova's mimetic ability was about survival through deception, a predatory camouflage. In Sephiroth, it's become about emotional survival through self-comfort. The cells are still serving a survival function, just not in the way they originally evolved to do. For Sephiroth: The mimetic ability amplifies his isolation by providing a perfect but false solution to his emotional needs. For Cloud: His later exposure to the cells creates a different dynamic, where the mimetic ability interacts with trauma and his ego's bid for narrative control rather than developmental needs. "Oh what fun you had, but tell me... Was it worth it?" Crazy what an insecure mentally 16 year old with a magical cope ability can do. The real tragedy is that this biological comfort mechanism might actually be preventing Sephiroth from forming real connections. Why struggle with actual human relationships when you have a perfect, adapting mother figure in your dreams? The very thing helping him cope might be deepening his isolation, and ultimately contributing to his delusion. This is why Sephiroth is an unreliable narrator when it comes to "Jenova," and why many fans are tricked into thinking it's an active entity pulling the strings from the shadows.
Hahah, asked for this on your video yesterday. Excited to see! Not played it, but always wanting to hear your thoughts! Hope you both have a great Christmas Philip!
It's crazy that they made Sephiroth's acquisition of the Masamune another part of the Reunion... and all the Cetra/Wutai/Jenova connections. Wow! Didn't see any of that coming. This game man. 🤌
A couple of things: I do find Alissa’s call out to Angeals affinity to fiends very interesting stating somthing about their hunger .. considering his ability to copy himself onto fiends in crisis core; but how was Alissa able to call this out? Also we see projections of the past with wutai seemingly produced by these purple orbs; these purple orbs; are they produced by the masamune? And if so, this looks to be similar to how sephiroth was able to create the same projections at the northern crater to deceive cloud. I wonder if this is an ability or am i reading too much into it?
I wonder if this is a prelude for how Jenova-Aerith will be used in P3. Now that Aerith is gone, Jenova is free to create a hallucination to sway Cloud the same way she swayed Sephiroth.
All this purple everywhere hey? It doesn't give clear Jenova vibes not every time but I feel it's there to be talked about as much as the rainbows are in Rebirth. EDIT: on second thought I am more aligned like you are. Jenova can take the form of anyone you fear and love and create hallucinations too but we also got that sort of stuff in the temple however the purple stuff and Lucrecia vibes now ring a bell. I was thinking it's more of a Sephiroth sister or similar pairing to the Angeal or Genesis births though I am leaning slightly towards more of Jenova itself.
Alissa gives me a ton of ... TIFA vibes. Look at 3:18 and you'll see that that's the same pose Tifa does multiple times in the OG. The character designs are also similar.
What is your theory on the ending and how part 3 ends?? Subscribe for more!
Follow my Twitch here: www.twitch.tv/philiphartshorn My Discord here: discord.gg/J85mKhG
Watch my film work here: ua-cam.com/video/FQg5b6bagGs/v-deo.html
Watch my couple channel here: www.youtube.com/@PhilipandAliya
Follow my Twitter: twitter.com/philipharts
So, I think when the masamune was forged, jenova cells were used at some point in its construction. Making the sword itself a part of Jenova.
So when Sephiroth does eventually gets the blade, it will literally become a part of him as he is jenova's son.
This is why Sephiroth can seemingly summon the sword from nothing, because the masamune is literally an extension of himself.
Spot on! Also, it would explain why Sephiroth says he needs to get the sword "back". His cells are talking through him, and Jenova cells always need to reunite... The Reunion.
So much purple whenever Jenova is messing with everyone!
Makes me wonder if Jenova controlled Prince
NOJIMA IS COOKING!!! This deserves a full console game so much. Great video!!
He doesn’t miss, all the new stuff has been so fantastic!
This chapter was so damn good!
Thanks for the video, I've been enjoying them! So I've been seeing a lot of theories about Jenova being this master manipulator behind everything lately but I think it undermines Nojima's layered story telling and his love for psychology. I think we're missing something way more interesting here, the human story. I don't think the dreams are some alien messing with his head. They're literally just about having dinner with his mom and going on trips together. This kid is dreaming about pumpkin soup.😢Not world domination, not cosmic power, just having a mom who cooks for him and gives him good luck charms. That hit me right in the feels. They put Angeal's story right next to Sephiroth's and it's brutal. Angeal: Has parents who stayed up late making him a uniform, a whole village cheering him on. Sephiroth: Carries around a photo of his mom and can't even handle basic teamwork because he's never learned how.
You know how Sephiroth suddenly starts acting different around Alissa? Everyone's like "ooh, suspicious!" but it's actually super sad, she looks like the mom in his photo that he carries around and he's basically like a kid who spotted someone who looks like his long-lost parent. He's not being controlled, he's just desperate for any kind of connection to the family he never had. He likely idealized this “mother” figure in his dream based on that photo, who knows how long he's had it and wondered what she might be like, what he hoped she'd be like. Speaking of connection, you know how obsessed he gets with Masamune's sword? Again, not mind control. In his dreams, his "mom" gives him a good luck charm for his sword, saying it'll help her always be with him. So when he sees this legendary blade, it's not just about power, it's about finally having something special that proves he's more than just Shinra's "weapon."
The wild thing is, while everyone's looking for supernatural explanations and shadowy anthropomorphized alien manipulation, the story's showing us something way more relatable, a guy who's so isolated and starved for family connection that he's literally dreaming about having normal family moments. Meanwhile his buddy Angeal's right there trying to be his friend and he can't even accept it because he's convinced he's just a "machine."
Basically, before we jump to "alien manipulation" theories, maybe we should look at the very human story being told here. Sometimes the scariest monsters aren't the supernatural ones, but the damage that isolation and lack of love can do to a person. What's fascinating about Jenova though is it's mimetic ability and how it's been transformed from a purely predatory trait into something more complex in its hosts. Like how a peacock's feathers evolved from flight mechanisms to courtship displays, Jenova's biological camouflage ability has been repurposed by human psychology to serve emotional rather than hunting needs.
For Sephiroth, who was born with this ability, mimic appears to function almost like an unconscious defense mechanism. His dreams of "mother" aren't external manipulation but his own cells responding to his deep psychological needs. The perfect mother figure in his dreams adapts to whatever he most needs in the moment: when he needs nurturing, she makes pumpkin soup. when he needs validation, she praises his heroism. when he needs security, she promises to always be there. In nature, Jenova's mimetic ability was about survival through deception, a predatory camouflage. In Sephiroth, it's become about emotional survival through self-comfort. The cells are still serving a survival function, just not in the way they originally evolved to do.
For Sephiroth: The mimetic ability amplifies his isolation by providing a perfect but false solution to his emotional needs.
For Cloud: His later exposure to the cells creates a different dynamic, where the mimetic ability interacts with trauma and his ego's bid for narrative control rather than developmental needs. "Oh what fun you had, but tell me... Was it worth it?" Crazy what an insecure mentally 16 year old with a magical cope ability can do.
The real tragedy is that this biological comfort mechanism might actually be preventing Sephiroth from forming real connections. Why struggle with actual human relationships when you have a perfect, adapting mother figure in your dreams? The very thing helping him cope might be deepening his isolation, and ultimately contributing to his delusion. This is why Sephiroth is an unreliable narrator when it comes to "Jenova," and why many fans are tricked into thinking it's an active entity pulling the strings from the shadows.
Hahah, asked for this on your video yesterday. Excited to see! Not played it, but always wanting to hear your thoughts!
Hope you both have a great Christmas Philip!
Thank you!! Merry Christmas! 🎄
It's crazy that they made Sephiroth's acquisition of the Masamune another part of the Reunion... and all the Cetra/Wutai/Jenova connections. Wow! Didn't see any of that coming. This game man. 🤌
Yes I actually really like this! Great addition to the lore!
AMAZING chapter
Your Sam Elliott impression on Bachman is hilarious! 😂
Additionally, are these visions reminding you of what happened in the Temple of the Ancients?!
Phil I feel like this doesn’t match your theory too much anymore and I definitely preferred your idea for the sword 😅
A couple of things:
I do find Alissa’s call out to Angeals affinity to fiends very interesting stating somthing about their hunger .. considering his ability to copy himself onto fiends in crisis core; but how was Alissa able to call this out?
Also we see projections of the past with wutai seemingly produced by these purple orbs; these purple orbs; are they produced by the masamune? And if so, this looks to be similar to how sephiroth was able to create the same projections at the northern crater to deceive cloud. I wonder if this is an ability or am i reading too much into it?
Geeeez man. I really hope this comes to console one day! Not all of Ever Crisis necessarily, just First Soldier
I wonder if this is a prelude for how Jenova-Aerith will be used in P3. Now that Aerith is gone, Jenova is free to create a hallucination to sway Cloud the same way she swayed Sephiroth.
Absolutely that is a possibility!
All this purple everywhere hey? It doesn't give clear Jenova vibes not every time but I feel it's there to be talked about as much as the rainbows are in Rebirth. EDIT: on second thought I am more aligned like you are. Jenova can take the form of anyone you fear and love and create hallucinations too but we also got that sort of stuff in the temple however the purple stuff and Lucrecia vibes now ring a bell. I was thinking it's more of a Sephiroth sister or similar pairing to the Angeal or Genesis births though I am leaning slightly towards more of Jenova itself.
Sephiroth is Jenova
Alissa gives me a ton of ... TIFA vibes. Look at 3:18 and you'll see that that's the same pose Tifa does multiple times in the OG. The character designs are also similar.
Tifa + Lucrecia.... But why was she spared? Was there a grand plan all along?