A sequence analysis (or close analysis) in a film is basically
where you take a particular scene or sequence and then analyze the details,
blowing up the actual scene in question to enormous proportions, probably more
so than it actually deserves. These are fun to do, even if you’re fucking
around (purposefully picking a bad movie scene or intentionally overanalyzing
and faux-masturbating over a bad movie scene), but they’re especially fun to do
when you have something to say. This week’s topic is going to be based around
one of the penultimate scenes of Skies of Arcadia.
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
If you don’t care, or have already played the game, then you
can freely proceed. But don’t say I didn’t warn your ass!
If you don’t know what Skies of Arcadia’s overarching plot
is all about, then Google it. I'll try my best to explain it, but people that actually know what's going on will get it more.
It basically involves the standard “young,
diverse group of heroes go on an adventure to save the world from destruction
using magical artifacts”, only to wind up playing with that genre in
interesting ways. It’s not so different that it’s a deconstruction, but it’s
different enough to warrant attention. The things that are different are
striking in their broadest strokes: the Prince of the Evil Empire is actually a
very noble-hearted guy and probably one of the most complex characters in the
whole game, the resident Magical Artifacts are actually weapons of destruction
that caused the apocalypse years ago (I warned you there’d be spoilers), the
destruction of the Evil Empire’s capital is one of the most tragic scenes in
the whole, otherwise-lighthearted game. And when I say lighthearted, I mean it.
Even when the story gets dark (and it can get dark), it never stops being hopeful and optimistic.
But since this is art, and art is suffering, I’m going to be
doing a sequence analysis of one of the more tragic scenes in the whole game,
and it’s also an example of absolutely brilliant directing (there are other
scenes in the game, but this one has probably the most going on).
So, some exposition. The grand villain of the story – which is
actually not the Empress of the Evil Empire, but Galcian, the Commander in
Chief of the Empire’s Imperial Army – has all but won. Galcian has used all
sorts of deceit, sabotage, and destruction to get his gloved paws on the Moon
Crystals (the Magical Artifacts I mentioned earlier). He has used the incredibly
destructive Moon Crystals to rain down destruction (literally; the Moon
Crystals summon the power of the moon to start raining down debris that totals
almost everything in its narrow path, and it’s called the Rains of Destruction)
upon Valua, for a wide multitude of reasons – to show off his power, to get
revenge on the Empress, to settle some grudges, list goes on. He also managed
to steal some of the best weaponry in the whole game right under the deceased
Empress’ nose. Our protagonist, Vyse, along with his motley crew of pirates, declare
war on Galcian in order to stop him from basically conquering the planet, or
destroying it, because Galcian still has the Rains of Destruction under his
sleeve.
Well, actually, had. By the time the picture above comes up,
Galcian has actually been killed, not by our heroes, but by one of his
subordinates, Belleza, who’d showed signs of being in love with him beforehand
until he destroyed Valua. Deciding to atone for both of their sins at once, she
rams her ship into Galcian’s escape pod, killing them both, leaving Vyse and
co. shocked (there’s a whole wide list of reasons why Belleza committed this
murder-suicide, and it’s definitely one of the most interesting sequences in
the whole game from a psychological perspective, but let’s not get too carried
away) but still prepared to fight.
Who are they fighting, though, if Galcian is dead? Simple –
Galcian’s fanatically devoted Vice Captain, Ramirez, who is all sorts of
fucked-in-the-head. Ramirez, broken by Galcian’s death, has decided to summon
the Rains of Destruction once again.
And that’s what that “something bad” is.
The blue-grey futuristic ship is the Delphinus, the Valuan
Army’s most powerful flagship (currently under the ownership of Vyse and Valuan
Prince Enrique). It is a ship that dwarves all others aside from Galcian’s
flying fortress. However, even the mighty Delphinus is small fry in comparison
to the hulking, barrier-protected mass in the background. That’s Soltis, which
is basically Atlantis in the Skies of Arcadia world. Soltis is important for a
wide variety of reasons, key among being the fact that it’s the vessel that summons
the Rains of Destruction. Compare that shot to this one:
The Delphinus is puny in comparison. These shots emphasize
just how imposing and foreboding a place like Soltis really is.
The crystal spheres that encircle Soltis Tower begin to
charge up power to call down the Rains of Destruction.
One of the few scenes where our hero, Vyse, doesn’t have a
grin glued to his face. It’s hard to notice, but note how tightly he’s gripping
the wheel. He normally doesn’t do that unless he’s stressed out as all hell.
And right now he has to live with the fact that there’s nothing he can do to
stop Ramirez from summoning the Rains of Destruction once again. Up until this
point, Vyse has had more successes than failures (a good share of failures,
mind you, he’s far from perfect, but still) – he’s circumnavigated the entire
world, became a seasoned fighter, team player, and a fairly sharp strategist
given his age, and he’s outwitted the Valuan Empire more times than once.
Usually with help from other people, but still. Right now, though, all he can
do is sit back and watch. Vyse has always been given at least a fighting chance
to stand up against his enemy before, but he’s not in a position to do anything
right now. Prince Enrique barely
survived the first Rains on Valua. The atmosphere is tense as all hell.
And, in spite of everything, Fina still prays for Ramirez to
stop, hoping that she can through to him.
First, a few aesthetic notes. Notice the regal, Valuan
purple decoration in the upper left, and the pirate flag right next to it? That
actually symbolizes the Delphinus Crew. Vyse’s crew is a wide mix of people
from all over the world, a variety of influences, tastes, and demeanors, but
they’re still all working in tandem in spite of their aesthetic, societal, and
cultural differences, all underneath the Delphinus’ armor-plated roof.
Second, Fina is a Silvite, and Ramirez is also a Silvite. They
aren’t related, though. The Silvites were an ancient culture located primarily
on Soltis, the aforementioned lost continent. You see, the Rains of Destruction
are older than you think – it’s what caused the original apocalypse in the
Arcadian world so, so many years ago. The Silvites were the ones that summoned
the Rains of Destruction, and unlike Galcian, they weren’t biding their time or
strength. They destroyed the world because it didn’t meet their elitist
expectations, escaping into outer space and waiting for their opportunity to
return to Earth so they could refine it into their own twisted image,
preserving their existence for thousands of years via life-support machines. When
they finally decided it was time, they first sent down Ramirez to collect the
Moon Crystals so they could summon the Rains of Destruction for the last time,
but then Ramirez joined Galcian’s crowd, and things escalated from thence. Fina
was sent in as Ramirez’s replacement – however, she is completely unaware that
her civilization did all this… until Ramirez tells her just so, and it breaks
her heart.
To put things into perspective, Fina and Ramirez’s
relationship is… troubled, to say the least. They were very good friends when
they were younger, with Ramirez acting as sort of an older brother to her –
until he was sent on his mission, that is. Here’s the thing – Fina was supposed
to either find Ramirez and help him in his goal or follow in his footsteps if
he turned out to be dead or corrupted. The reason she didn’t find Ramirez was
one of circumstance. He wound up joining Valua, and Fina wound up in the
company of Vyse’s Blue Rogues, pirates that oppose Valua. Because the Blue
Rogues are good guys, Fina is pretty much as incorruptible and pure as she
started out, albeit a little more jaded and cynical thanks to the reveal that
her superiors are total twats. Ramirez, however, is long gone, and he treats
Fina accordingly. It’s obvious there’s still a little bit of friendship lurking
underneath the surface, but it’s all bitter and twisted in Ramirez’s eyes – he tries
to kill her, as point of fact. But Fina still sees Ramirez as the good-natured
older brother that looked after her while the Silvite Elders were off being
elitist assholes.
Hence, this moments. Even after everything, even after all
the bitterness and pain that outlines Fina’s relationship with Ramirez, she
still prays to the Moons above, believing that Ramirez can be redeemed yet. She,
in fact, tries to reach out to him later and convince to surrender, something
that even the eternally optimistic Vyse doesn’t do.
“Elders?! Oh no…”
And then the realization that something is going to happen.
Something big.
What appears to be a comet hurtling towards the sky…
…is actually a strikingly familiar shape. The perilously
austere, hexagonal Great Silver Shrine, the last bastion of the dying Silvite
Civilization. For Fina, there are a lot of good memories of this place mixed in
with a lot of bad ones. So, seeing this is an understandable shock.
The Silvite Elders, preserved in their cyan life support
machines. All of them are here, save for one, the recently-deceased Elder Prime,
once the most corrupt of them all. Look carefully, and you’ll notice little
white dots that look like snow in the room. Those are actually particles coming
off the wall because the Silver Shrine is falling to pieces.
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal
wreck, boundless and bare, the lone and level sands stretch far away.
Elder Orbis, the only Elder that spoke out against the Rains
of Destruction (“If he [Ramirez] has turned, and he has all six Crystals, he
may release the seal on Zelos. That would be tragic…”) during the big
confrontation scene at the climax – where Fina learned about the history behind
her people – begins his speech, somberly. He is smiling, albeit sadly – he,
along with the other remaining Elders, knows what has to be done. Fina’s broken
heart, Ramirez’s betrayal, and Elder Prime’s death has shaken them all, forcing
them to reconsider the very principles for which they stood for thousands of
years ago.
He’s actually paraphrasing Vyse here.
A realization that came too late – only when everything went
wrong did they realize the breadth of their mistakes.
A quick cut to Ramirez’s room. The particles falling from
the walls turn into snow as they hit the ground and bed. A metaphor, obviously.
Snow is usually indicative of change, of the turning of the seasons. The fact
that snow is falling in Ramirez’s room signifies two things: A.) How much Ramirez
has changed for the worse after everything, and B.) How much the Silvite Elders
are changing for the better in part because of Ramirez’s disillusioned actions,
further accentuating just how deeply the events of the storyline have struck
them. Collateral damage hits hard.
Now Fina’s room. Two snowflakes land atop the doll and the
plant on the left.
The doll falls over but the plant remains standing. This is
symbolic of two things. One, it symbolizes how Fina is crumbling under the
weight of realizing that she is a member of the civilization that caused the
apocalypse so many years ago (which draws a thematic link between her and
Enrique, who has a huge guilt complex because of Valua’s increasingly morally
bankrupt actions, god the writing is so fucking good). However, the fact that
the plant (greenery is often indicative of life in fiction) remains standing is
symbolic of Fina’s increased self-esteem and determination. Even after
everything, she’s still working with Vyse and his comrades to save the world,
still carrying on. She still has hope to be happy.
None of the other elders are speaking. The reason Elder
Orbis might be so blasé about his impending demise is because… well, he’s old.
They’re old. They’ve lived for a very long time under the mad direction of
Elder Prime. With him dead, and their plans essentially ruined, what else can
they do except the right thing?
By this point, there is no music playing – all you hear is a
repetitive, brief, atonal ringing sound.
We all know what is going to happen, but it doesn’t make
this shot of Soltis powering up a charge any less powerful or tense.
All sound has stopped. There is only silence.
Even as the Great Silver Shrine collides with the Soltis
ray, preventing the Rains of Destruction from being summoned for the time
being, not a sound is heard. The power of silence makes the seen all the more
impactful.
The way the Shrine collides with the ray makes the picture
look like a magic staff – specifically, a Red Magic staff. In the world of
Skies of Arcadia, Red Magic is indicative of power and courage. The Silvites
are assuredly powerful, but up until this point, they have been cowardly as
hell, sticking to the shadows and using ancient relics to solve their problems.
Now, however, they’re willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause. Power and
courage ties into the story’s themes about power and how people rightfully use
it (Vyse, Enrique, Fina) and how people wrongfully use it (Galcian, Silvites,
Ramirez) – it’s why Vyse starts the game out with a Red Magic sword.
The ray transfers an outrageous amount of heat and energy
into the Silver Shrine. Still no sound. In these series of frames, the Silver
Shrine begins to look like a supernova – “a star that suddenly increases
greatly in brightness because of a catastrophic explosion that ejects most of
its mass.” Once again, this represents change and death, as personified
beforehand by snow.
Notice the numerical consistency. The Silver Shrine is
hexagonal, and there are six stray rays of energy beneath it.
A silent collision; the Great Silver Shrine slams into the Soltis barrier.
A single noise, cutting the silence. It’s actually the atonal ringing from
beforehand raised in pitch, used to signify the Elders dying. Fina’s tears are
falling much like the snow in her room is (it looks better in motion).
Which logically leads to this hazy shot of her room, with
the plant and the doll. The doll is still knocked over, but even after the
tremendous impact, the plant is still standing strong, which actually
foreshadows the happy ending (spoilers: everyone wins) this time. Even if the
circumstances look hopeless or tragic or hazy
(yes, this picture is a visual representation of the current mood of the
situation), a glimmer of hope still exists.
A silent explosion, one that looks like a rising sun. A new
day is dawning – the Silvites’ sacrifice has paid off, and Vyse and his crew
can finally save the day like they were meant to.
A little girl happily giggling is the only sound you hear as
the Silver Shrine explodes. We can assume the little girl’s voice was that of
young Fina’s. The giggle neatly juxtaposes Fina’s tears.
And finally, after minutes of virtual silence, noise
returns, the shock radius of the explosion shooting in all directions.
The individual electromagnetic pieces of the Soltis barrier
begin to break apart into hexagons. The Great Silver Shrine was in the shape of
a hexagon. This breaking apart of the barrier thematically and narratively symbolizes
the Silvite Civilization’s demise. Fina and Ramirez are the only Silvites left
in the world…
And then fade away into the wind (into obscurity), never to
be seen again (never to be remembered again) except in the fleeting memories of
those who participated in the fight against Galcian (except in the heavy heart
of Fina, the only Silvite with goodwill and kindness left).
Soltis begins glowing blue. Blue Magic represents agility,
motion, and fluidity, primarily focusing on air and water. Water is often used
as a metaphor to “wash away” sins or crimes or past actions, which is exactly
what the Silvites were trying to do here, which also draws yet another link to
one of the themes in Skies of Arcadia, which is trying to amend or patch up mistakes
(mostly personified through Enrique, but also shown in Gilder, Fina, Belleza).
And even after everything, the Delphinus is still there,
standing tall like the plant in Fina’s room. Even after all the damage, even
after all the shock and awe, it’s still there, and the crew piloting it is
alive and well, if a little bit shaken.
This incredibly well-directed sequence uses imagery, color,
and the power of silence (or unexpected sounds, like the giggle instead of an
explosion, or the uses of chimes and lush-sounding instruments to present the Soltis
barrier pieces flying away) to get the full impact across, and it works
brilliantly. There are many other scenes and places in this game worth looking
into and worth talking about, but this sequence meshes tone, atmosphere, theme,
and sound together perfectly.
If you haven’t played this game, do so. Watching it isn’t
the same as actually experiencing the damn thing.
