Episode 4 Story Discussion

[Chalun-k_x_light]

Basically, everyone in Mother Cluster was someone who had certain issues in life, or perspectives, that made Mother feel very comforting and... motherly... to them. I don't think she would have been an antagonist if she didn't have this obsession with the Photoners, because even when I began to doubt her love for Earth, I eventually saw it again in how she spoke with Aratron.

I don't understand how she was a defective Xion clone though, her obsession with her creators is the only thing I see being an issue, and even then, the original Xion also fell into an emotional trap, her loneliness in being a universal observer led to bad decisions, ending up at the creation of the Profound Darkness.

Well,not perfect in Photoner's term I'll say.And thanks to them,she developed little inferior complex and massive hatred for them.

[Poyonche]

Edit: Are those new set of Loser music available yet?

They're actually the same as normal Angel and Loser. Must be a placeholder.

[loafhero]

[138-D]

Spoiler!

- I get the feeling that the reason Regius was chosen over Maria to be the head of the Instruction Division was because the people in charge were aware of how brutal Maria's training regimen is and that she tends to get a little too crazy. They were probably concerned about the safety of newcomers XD

- Pretty funny to know that even at their super old age, Regius and Maria still get into sibling disputes.

- Nice to know a bit about what the General Affairs Division does. Poor, Sara. Going from rebel teen fighting to bring down a corrupt establishment to a teen doing all the boring workload of the new establishment she helped create.

- Even though EP4 has gone to a great deal to show Sara and Claris Claes III are a duo, right down to matching clothes, I personally like the team of Huey and Claris Claes III more because of how much more funny they are.

- This cutscene could be a foreshadowing of the upcoming 14* weapons if Claris Claes III's desire to push for more weapons could be considered a hint.

[138-E]

Spoiler!

- Without the translation, I actually thought Pietro finally realized that his pets are annoyed by him. Oh, well. This is still a pretty entertaining cutscene.

- I like how the Matoi denial scene is similar to the EP3 side cutscene of Matoi being teased by Sukunahime. I asked Kazanboshi about what Matoi's line is with a male Player and he/she was kind enough to respond:

Male Player version
[Matoi: Wai, wait, what do you mean by partner. . . ! I mean, sometimes I wish that were the case but! Sometimes but . . . when you just blatantly say it like that . . .].

- All in all, Player and Matoi are still just good friends but it can sort of be inferred that the reason their not a couple is due to Player being either oblivious or simply thinks of Matoi as a friend.

[139-B]

Spoiler!

- As if Ardem's obvious evil wasn't made obvious enough in this cutscene XD

[139-D]

Spoiler!

- This marks the 2nd ship teasing of PlayerxMatoi of this chapter with Claris Claes III trying to make Player jealous by claiming to be going out on a date with Matoi.

- Nice confirmation that Matoi is much stronger than Claris Claes III. Love that the second dialogue option has Player outright saying that Matoi would kill Claris Claes III if she went all out.

- I hope to see Sara and Matoi in a cutscene together soon.

That's basically what I understood from the seen, Aratron is just taking responsibility for starting it, by seeing how it ends. I mean, what can he do anyways? He can't stop Mother on his own, even if he wanted to.

He can transform into a Knight Gear-like monster capable of holding off a party that includes the feared Player for a decent amount of time and then even after beaten, had enough energy to hold off an incoming wave of Esca Darkers. Pretty sure he really could have done something to stop Mother, even if it meant his life.

[Meteor Weapon]

Was Ardem's view toward humanity being stall and devolving is recent or something he had been experience overtime? I'm not sure myself but I think Erdem was hasty about humanity stalled. IRL development wise in the 20th-21th century seems like the fastest humanity had done in terms of development, technologywise and even social. So I'm not even sure what he's talking about. Sure we still had some parts of the world still backwards and stuff, but what made him decide to rush things to the extremes?

[loafhero]

Was Ardem's view toward humanity being stall and devolving is recent or something he had been experience overtime? I'm not sure myself but I think Erdem was hasty about humanity stalled. IRL development wise in the 20th-21th century seems like the fastest humanity had done in terms of development, technologywise and even social. So I'm not even sure what he's talking about. Sure we still had some parts of the world still backwards and stuff, but what made him decide to rush things to the extremes?

Its worth noting that PSO2's Earth takes place roughly in the 2030's or 2050's as I recall and that there might be a lack of any kind of advancement from 2016 to then, at least from Ardem's view. Still, PSO2 Earth seems pretty advanced and there doesn't seem to be any hint that its in danger of regressing.

It could simply be Ardem's own bias views, hubris and a bit of power madness as a result of being fed up with all the wars and minor conflicts he's constantly having to put up with personally. Not to mention that Ardem is apparently really old, having been on Earth since ancient times and has been seen as either a god or a prophet in the eyes of those ancient civilization so he's mind is probably a little messed up from living too long. It could be that this is merely Ardem's inflated ego and him thinking lowly of Earthlings distorting his views on humanity. That humanity is considered in danger of regressing in his eyes simply because they've grown smart and independent enough to not become so reliant on a false god or prophet like Ardem telling them what to do with their lives.

[Zeroem]

Was Ardem's view toward humanity being stall and devolving is recent or something he had been experience overtime? I'm not sure myself but I think Erdem was hasty about humanity stalled. IRL development wise in the 20th-21th century seems like the fastest humanity had done in terms of development, technology-wise and even social. So I'm not even sure what he's talking about. Sure we still had some parts of the world still backwards and stuff, but what made him decide to rush things to the extremes?

Ardem is simply too old at this point. I guess it's a combination between, "The old time was great. Present time sucks"; and himself looking at the state of the world prior to Mother Cluster's emergence (as well as aether and ESC-A). Also, if we're going to mention RL into this; while it is true technology is advancing at fast rate; but honestly I see the progress on social and way of thinking is really slow. Even close to stagnant (At least in my opinion).

Its worth noting that PSO2's Earth takes place roughly in the 2030's or 2050's as I recall and that there might be a lack of any kind of advancement from 2016 to then, at least from Ardem's view. Still, PSO2 Earth seems pretty advanced and there doesn't seem to be any hint that its in danger of regressing.

it's also important to note that PSO2 Earth started to get technology breakthrough after they discovered aether (and Hagito created the QoL apps). Also, Ardem said it himself (later on on Mother's chamber) that even with the technological breakthrough Earthlings get from aether, Earthling's body and mindset are still on the same state as it was prior to aether's discovery.

[Vatallus]

You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

I believe this quote was made because people's views tend to change as they get older. You might have once though that saving and helping humans was the best, but later on might notice that it ends up being more of the "same old shit another day" story and decide that getting rid of X group of humans is the best choice.

I would touch more on the subject but I would rather not sound like a sociopath.

[loafhero]

Also, Ardem said it himself (later on on Mother's chamber) that even with the technological breakthrough Earthlings get from aether, Earthling's body and mindset are still on the same state as it was prior to aether's discovery.

Well, that's pretty much a given when you use alien help (Mother) to accelerate technological advancements to a point that Earthling body and mindset are, more or less, left in the dust in the process.

[oratank]

i feel like ardem got the same logic like senator armstrong from mgr

[loafhero]

i feel like ardem got the same logic like senator armstrong from mgr

Senator Armstrong from MGR wanted to push the reset button on the world, making it start from scratch (with him conveniently at the top). Ardem is the opposite. Ardem wants to push the fast forward button (with him conveniently at the top).