Theories on what's to come!

[KatieHal]

Episode 2 gave quite a bit more information about what's going on in the Land of the Green Isles and to the Royal Family. What do you think it means? What do you think might happen next?

[KQ5Fan]

I'm not sure if this is obvious, but it's something I came up with:

I think that we're led to believe that the guy [spoiler]Shadrack[/spoiler] who put Alexander and Rosella in the deep sleep is the [spoiler]same guy that the Ranger referred to as being the leader of the black cloaks. However, the Ranger also mentioned that the leader was just becoming able to escape the imprisonment that the silver cloaks put him in after 1000 years, and that doesn't tie in with Shadrack, seeing as the letters that Shamir mentioned that Alexander found in the Vizier's secret box would talk about how Shadrack used to play chess with Mordack - implying that he was physically present and not locked in the Zodia stone. So apparently there's someone even more evil and powerful than Shadrack that Shadrack is working for by getting whatever is so special out of Alexander and Rosella's minds to bring him back. [/spoiler]

[BjornBerendsen]

This can go anywhere. Just some quick thoughts...

[spoiler]The black cloak Society consists of some nasty familiar foes like Manannan, Mordack, Hagatha, Alhazred and Shadrack but there must be someone else we don't know yet. A more evil magician (shiver). [/spoiler]

Furthermore...
[spoiler] the silver cloack society consists of 12 noble wizards of which one is called Leo. Are we heading for all the 12 signs of the Zodiac as also referred to by Zodia stone? Seems like it...  [/spoiler]

But what...
[spoiler]is the information needed from Alexander and Rosella? The location of Pandora's box or the key to it? And what choice must Graham make? Light or dark? Rosella or Alexander? Hope not... [/spoiler]

I just can't wait 

[Damar]

Those are all some interesting thoughts.  I didn't even get the Leo reference until you mentioned it.  Now I feel like an idiot for not realizing sooner.  I also liked the thought about choosing the darkness or light.

[spoiler]I originally figured it meant exactly what it sounds like, choosing good or evil and how far this quest could take Graham, but now that you mentioned it, Rosella and Alexander have been described in terms of light and darkness and the writers have gone out of their way to show Rosella and Alexander as complete opposites.  I think you're right, he's going to have to choose between the two of them.  And with the talk of sacrifices the cloaked stranger mentioned regarding the Silver Cloaks trapping the evil leader of the Black Cloaks...Graham may have to choose a child to sacrifice to hold the evil back.  Or there's the third option of sacrificing himself.[/spoiler]

Outside of that, I'm also intrigued as to whether
[spoiler]This evil is Shadrack or not.  It seems to imply it is, but KQ6 likewise implied that Shadrack was out and about.  Maybe the bonds have been weakening for a while?[/spoiler]

Also...
[spoiler]The talk of Pandora's Box was good and I like how it's being tied in as an actual artifact with a history instead of an anachronism from the real world.  I'm hoping for a return to Tamir, at the very least in Rosella's mind.  In a perfect world, I'd like an entire episode (at least) with Graham going around Tamir and getting Pandora's Box back.  I mean, he knows right where Rosella put it!  Plus, we'd get 3D zombies and ghosts!  How wicked awesome would that be?[/spoiler]

My other major question would be...sigh...another spoiler tag...
[spoiler]Is Manannan still a cat or not?  I'd assume he is since KQ3 stated that you'd be a cat forever, and KQ5 implied it could only be undone by the one who cast the spell.  Still, the scenes with him and Alexander are interesting.  Maybe his spirit is still in this weird in-between land?  And that talk about him trying to guide Alexander and make him powerful?  That was odd.  Though personally I wouldn't put it past Manannan to have just been screwing with Alexander.  I mean, he's calling him Gwydion and "my son!"  He's definitely screwing with Alexander on some level, it's just a question of how much.[/spoiler]

Alright, enough spoiler tags!  Finish the episode, everyone, so I can stop using them and just go back to writing in full, unhidden, paragraph form!

[Fierce Deity]

This can go anywhere. Just some quick thoughts...

[spoiler]The black cloak Society consists of some nasty familiar foes like Manannan, Mordack, Hagatha, Alhazred and Shadrack but there must be someone else we don't know yet. A more evil magician (shiver). [/spoiler]

Furthermore...
[spoiler] the silver cloack society consists of 12 noble wizards of which one is called Leo. Are we heading for all the 12 signs of the Zodiac as also referred to by Zodia stone? Seems like it...  [/spoiler]

But what...
[spoiler]is the information needed from Alexander and Rosella? The location of Pandora's box or the key to it? And what choice must Graham make? Light or dark? Rosella or Alexander? Hope not... [/spoiler]

I just can't wait 

Those are some interesting ideas to think about.

[spoiler]I think that the head-honcho of the Black Cloaks is still Shadrack. Unless, he's a second-in-command to someone more powerful. It's hard to tell. Shadrack hasn't been "in the flesh" yet, and he did attack Alexander from a foreign location, unlike the guy who attacked Rosella.

The Zodiac signs is something that I didn't even think about. When The Ranger said that there were 12 Silver Cloaks left and they started to die off, I immediately thought of the 12 disciples and how each of them were martyrs as well. The Zodia stone would suggest a Zodiac relation, if anything.

I thought for awhile (ever since the last cutscene in Episode 1) that Alexander represented darkness and Rosella represented the light. I'm afraid that my first hunch about Alexander being brainwashed by Manannan might come true. The conversations about Alexander in Episode 2 got me thinking. Ali talked about how intrigued Alex was with magic. Manannan called Alexander, "a son". I have a feeling Manannan might try to turn Alexander into a dark wizard, if not a Black Cloak. Rosella might have to fight Alexander, and that would be bad considering the conversation Graham had with Edgar. They talked about how happy the twins were to be reunited again. Episode 3 will definitely be interesting. [/spoiler]

[tessspoon]

[spoiler]I thought for awhile (ever since the last cutscene in Episode 1) that Alexander represented darkness and Rosella represented the light. I'm afraid that my first hunch about Alexander being brainwashed by Manannan might come true. The conversations about Alexander in Episode 2 got me thinking. Ali talked about how intrigued Alex was with magic. Manannan called Alexander, "a son". I have a feeling Manannan might try to turn Alexander into a dark wizard, if not a Black Cloak. Rosella might have to fight Alexander, and that would be bad considering the conversation Graham had with Edgar. They talked about how happy the twins were to be reunited again. Episode 3 will definitely be interesting. [/spoiler]

Bit of a warning: Lots of really old revealed stuff in the next tag.

[spoiler]Yea, I definitely think something like that's up. Went back through one of the docs I have of released stuff, and some of it sorta points that way:

"Alexander, for example, will be sort of an anti-hero."
"the most complicated character of the game"
"he'll have to choose between his family... or loneliness."
"His flaw is a bit of a combination of those two things - the loneliness that's always been there, and the desire for stability, something more foreign to him, at the same time"
"many times his actions will imply something different or deeper than what we "thought"",
"You guys are so gonna hate me for the Alexander of this game"
", it's a wonder Alexander turned out to be so good. Well, during KQ9, these demons come to haunt him back, in a mix of the personality that Roberta created for him for both KQ3 and KQ6, and my own personal view of what he should have grown up to be, which makes him the most complex character in the game."
"A young king tempted by darkness."

Also, here's an interesting bit of dialog I've never been sure of whose talking and who they're talking to, but it seems to be someone trying to convert someone else, and the "eternal loneliness" reminds of Alexander...

"You can't even defend yourself. How did you think you could defend your family? In the end... you are all alone! Is it worth it? Should you keep lying to yourself or should you realize you are really in search of power. A power so great that it would consume you, heal you... What is the only real solution to the eternal loneliness you feel inside? That one thing that destroys you, and that slowly turns your heart into stone? Can you see? Can you see it at all? There's no such thing as boundaries... There's not such a thing as truth. Trust? Protection? Such things do not exist. I can smell your fear, and your deception. Nothing of what you believe is worthy, and none of you are worthy as long as you believe in it! Would you rather fight for what is not true, or would you rather stop all the lies and live life for what it is... and how it should be... Destroy all traces of the lie called love! Look at your so called family, and you'll see how right I am!"

Course, all of this is before the game got cut, so some of it might no longer be applicable...
[/spoiler]

[kindofdoon]

This is really good info, Tess; thanks for passing it along to us newbs.

And that last paragraph...makes me want to cry because it's so depressing.

[tessspoon]

And that last paragraph...makes me want to cry because it's so depressing.

I know!

This is really good info, Tess; thanks for passing it along to us newbs.

Want the whole file? Only on Alexander stuff though.

[kindofdoon]

I want everything TSL-related you can possibly give me! My archive is 264MB in size, and I am always looking to expand that. You have my email address, right?

[tessspoon]

Sent.

[kindofdoon]

  Got it, thank you so much!

[tessspoon]

NP. Think I mixed up you and Fierce Diety in that last email though

[kindofdoon]

Haha, I noticed that. Great intel though.

[daventry]

I have a feeling that Alexander has been turned into a Cat, then he Fisicly Wakes Up with Cassima Screaming and Fainting, then Alex is the New Companion to Graham. 

[theroachyjay]

I have a feeling that Alexander has been turned into a Cat, then he Fisicly Wakes Up with Cassima Screaming and Fainting, then Alex is the New Companion to Graham. 

A POIsonous cat?

[Jethro McCrazy]

I still think Alexander was mind controlled and brought upstairs to undo the spell on Manannan.

[Damar]

I mentioned some of this in Doon's thread but I figured I'd bring it up here.  I noticed in episode one that the narrator discussed Graham's fighting evil and the fact that he never succeeded in wiping evil out entirely.  And in Episode 2 Graham has said things to that effect as well.  And with the talk in Episode 2 about Graham making an ultimate choice between good and evil, that all seems to indicate to me that Graham will be sacrificing himself to end the profound evil of the Black Cloaks.  I think his ultimate choice will be whether he sacrifices himself and ends evil or whether he does nothing, which allows him to live out his life with his family but also allows evil to continue.  As I said in Doon's thread, I think Graham's ultimate sacrifice will be to seal his soul in the Zodia stone like the Silver Cloaks did and keep the evil bound for another thousand years.  So Graham will sacrifice himself to finally banish evil and also become an eternal guardian for all that is good and righteous.

Now, on to other things as well (so it doesn't look like I'm just reposting a theory so that people will pat me on the head and give me a cookie) I am interested in seeing what is happening with time going backwards.  That is odd.  I'm also wondering if that's what happened to the note on the pawn shop, though that whole note vanished, not just the printing.  Likewise, why does the fact that this evil has been released have the effect of running time backwards?  I'd imagine more of a nature withering and dying effect, like when Malicia did her thing in KQ7.  Time running backwards must have a separate purpose, but why, and who is doing it?  And I don't think it's to make Mannanan a human again.  I think him showing up as human in Alexander's nether world is simply his projection of himself, not actually Mannanan.

I've also been wondering if it's possible that some of the Silver Cloaks have been reincarnated into new bodies, namely Alexander and Rosella.  This would explain why the Silver Cloak souls no longer bind the evil in the Zodia stone and also explain why the royal twins are so powerful.

[kindofdoon]

You just blew my mind. As I may have said earlier, your theory of Graham resealing the Zodia Stone and becoming a guardian would complete the series very nicely, in my opinion.

As for time running backwards explaining the disappearing items, that makes sense as well, though I think I recall a team member saying that the time running backwards aspect was cut from Episodes 1-5. Can anyone clarify?

[KatieHal]

Well, if it were cut, then it's REALLY weird that things are disappearing, etc. 

It's there still. How & why have changed in revisions of the script though. You'll learn more later. 

[kindofdoon]

*yearns for Episodes 3-5 but appreciates that Katie actually said something substantial instead of making a joke*