Complete Advanced FF7 Rebirth Theory

[@alexghast2672]

Never wanted a theory to be true so bad. Appreciate the work, we need more creators like you.

[@VicM88]

TY!

[@DarkEyedHersh]

This is really well done. Thanks for taking the time to compile all this and share your theory - must have taken a long time.

[@VicM88]

TY! Np, yeah took a while, but ties into other things I do too.

[@SurAuvers]

I've been thinking alot about this and wanted to add: Aerith isn't being hypocritical at all. On the beach she and at the nibelheim water tower she makes it out how bad she feels about the negative thoughts she's having. Which means she isn't saying any of this from a place of nievety, she wrestlers with these thoughts of anger, regret, and sadness too. But just because you're aware of them and know what you're supposed to do, doesn't make it easy to do. Changing is difficult and takes active work which is what she's clearly trying to do for herself even if she hasn't fully succeeded. But it's clearly not in her overall nature and beliefs to hate people. It's also not being intolerant to fear and be upset with someone who is currently causing mass malicious acts beyond the scope of the universe lol. Whether she's forgiven Sephiroth or not isn't what's being said. She may feel pity for him, she even asks him in the final fight of Rebirth if this is truly what he wants and tries to wrap her head around why he wants this and he refuses to answer his question. That doesn't sound like being intolerant. Also "everyone lies" 1. Theres no such thing as forvever We dont know exactly what that means but we do know that when she says that Aerith isnt fully herself. She speaks in two voices and a green aura is around her. Its likley her future self talking. You cant say shes lying when her past self is talking about her current beliefs about time. And honestly, the past is more or less forever. The past events only seem to be able to be changed to the extent Sephiroth can control Cloud which is only a few weeks before the games story begins. The stuff thats happened in their lives prior? Unchanged. Remake seems to have new events happen to the characters but the core events are the same. So this can't be a lie. 2. Tifa & Aeriths girltalk and post girltalk Tifa is dealing with someone with a clearly delicate psyche. She knows something is wrong and doesnt know what it is. If youve ever been around someone in such a delicate sitiation, you DO need to be careful of what you say and do around them. All Aerith did was try to check up on Cloud necause she knows he and Tifa are in a bad place. Thats omission, sure but its being done in empathy and the fact that Tifa told Aerith this stuff in confidence. Lumping this into "everyone sucks" because theyre looking out for a mentally ill friend is kind of.... nuts.

[@VicM88]

It may be that Aerith is struggling with her own beliefs, but it seems like her clear decision to defy destiny and the Arbiter of Fate in order to remove Sephiroth for good, makes it look like she is not just struggling, but has a clear plan to make the world the way she thinks it's "supposed to be." 1. I'm not saying Aerith is lying there, I'm just saying she's being inconsistent. She seems to have a pattern of just saying whatever she feels is advantageous to her at the moment. Another example is the first time Cloud meets Aerith. She says, "No one is going to attack you. I promise." And almost immediately after, Cloud gets attacked by 5 Shinra militia. She has an inclination to portray a peaceful positive world where you don't have to worry, but the reality is different. 2. This is a big part of the crux of it. Cloud is not really "mentally ill." He has a space alien in his body that is feeding him fake memories, which he does have an inclination to want to believe. And no, Tifa and Aerith lying to Cloud does not seem to be because they are looking out for him. Why would Tifa lie to Cloud about telling Aerith he remembered Zack? That would have been the perfect opportunity to press him further on it. He clearly knew by then that his memory was screwed up, he admitted it to Tifa after Gongaga. It's not like he would have been resistant to questioning his mentality further. He himself was amazed he could just forget his friend Zack like he never existed. When Aerith is confused when Tifa tells her, it's a really strong indication Aerith is holding Tifa back from talking with Cloud more about it. Why? I think because it's part of Aerith's plan to use Cloud as her own puppet. By the end of Rebirth, Cloud has clearly gotten more resistant to Sephiroth/Jenova's control, shown when the Whispers had to physically force his sword up in preparation to strike Aerith, because he was not being mind-controlled like originally.

[@Pilch7777]

Great job man. What a video. I really look forward to more content from you🤟

[@Hushoo]

Going through this video is such good brain food omg. Like the Sephiroth's intentions for Cloud part: if we're to assume that the characters have a collective unconsciousness spanning from events yet to happen, Cloud's whole "I cherish everything" persona is effectively being eroded. This in turn works really well with the whole Cloud is a puppet moniker from the OG.

[@abcdefghihdhshs]

one million kudos for this omg.. i came from the summary and i’m starting to watch this and wow!! i read from your other comments that u haven’t played the remakes, but the level of detail you go into is so amazing! i have 99h on rebirth and i feel like i played with my eyes closed and ears plugged😭😭 i’m very excited to watch this video to its full length, though! aerith’s character in rebirth is so interesting and i’m so ready for it to be expanded on it P3. also can’t wait to see the direction the writers will take for sephiroth and cloud-though cloud especially.. the way they drive home cloud as a puppet or easily manipulated etc is probably my favorite part even if i love him it’s too interesting!! i don’t understand how so many people say the remakes were ruined by ‘bad writing’ if anything it’s just a poor outlook on media from the players who say that. it’s important to look deeper into a story’s meaning and characters before making such a definitive statement of something. either look further, or don’t look at all, really! many many props to you for this interesting theory and analyzation of the art, settings, characters, and smaller details!!!!

[@VicM88]

Thanks! Yeah I think this is being written very meticulously, like Breaking Bad was. I saw an interview where BB actors were asked if they ever went off script and did something spontaneous for any of the scenes. They were all bemused, because none of them did, because it was such a carefully crafted story. This Re-trilogy looks the same. Once you assume that nothing is bad writing and that at least almost all of it is very intentional, it actually makes a lot of sense to me. I did play Remake, btw, just not Rebirth yet.

[@Oilllllllllllllllllll123]

I just finished the entire thing and i gotta say this is such a brilliant analysis !! Props to you for not pulling out the “bad writing” card because it really is the enemy of enjoying media and it pulls you out of the game experience , leading you to think about the logistics of greedily marketing three+ games into a nostalgia baiting narrative…ect As true as it all may be, it’s not fun at the end of the day. I ESPECIALLY enjoyed your fresh perspective on Aerith. If the implications of your theory lead up to more concrete evidence in the upcoming game showcasing her powers and motivations, then we’re probably up for one of the most complex female characters in video game imo. The whole cognitive dissonance which makes up Aerith’s character regarding whats wrong and right fits so nicely with her mystical and religious imagery. It /she thematically clashes with the sci fi and often straight up realistic elements of the game. She’s an idealist believer and is in desperate need of a devil (sephiroth) even if tho it clouds her judgement. I personally dont think her morally grey behaviour in rebirth comes from an insincere apathy on omni-aerith’s part. Knowing her character i think she’s still emotionally processing her rage towards sephiroth, her odd unclear yearning for cloud and genuine fear of what lies ahead the steel sky. A lot of remake felt riddled with the strongest sense of grief which draped her with a remarkable (maybe accidental on the writer’s part) quality that made up for such a crazy subversion. A manic pixie transcending her reductive role of mere character development tool into becoming a lucid witty player at a chessboard Cloud is a pawn in. Accidental feminist huuuge W !!

[@VicM88]

Yeah I could tell the writers knew what they were doing. Once you look at it from a perspective that it is at least almost all intentional and not bad writing, I think it can make a lot of sense. I'm glad you like Aerith's portrayal. I think it's really cool making Cloud her puppet.

[@erodriguezs5534]

I am totally clear that Aerith and Sephirtoh are directly manipulating cloud to fulfill their true reason for reality, each one has the justification for taking those actions, (and also lying to themselves) about the will of Gaia, it is an honor to know your video, and congratulations for your great thread of theories with a great base of support. 🌎☁️

[@ertorian3187]

Hey first of all, congratulations for finishing this monster of a video. I really like how you edited it. I have been musing something. Keeping in mind that some of the themes of FFVII OG was accepting the finality of death and the reality of the self, I found interesting that in your Aerith's strategy segment you talked about how she is self deluding herself. I have the feeling that she is mirroring what Sephiroth went through during the events of OG + Advent Children. Sephiroth became disillusioned with all he discovered and "chose" to se the reality of himself and, if we assume that Re-trilogy Sephiroth is the same Sephiroth that went through all the events of the OG + AC story, now he is using this knowledge to effect change. Aerith instead is trying to prevent the change from happening but I think she is not emotionally ready to let go like she did in the OG. If this new chain of events it's indeed being brought for by Septhiroth trying to change his fate, it might mean that she is reacting. She never chose to do this and when she sees Cloud again with all her memories of the future she is very conflicted. The flower talking scene is an example of that. She hints at a choice step she will have to take but she clearly doesn't want to. I think re-living the events is eroding her resolve to let go, to accept her role. In the OG she dies and she becomes a spiritual being, above mortal concerns and feelings, she does guide Cloud and Tifa in the lifestream, she appears to Cloud in AC but her role is to be a guide, she has let go of her mortal emotions. It's not clear to me how Sephirot has restarted the events. Has he sent his post AC consciousness back to when Cloud arrives in Midgard in FFVII Remake? (the music does kinda implies that he is present at the very start of the game). I honestly have no idea but in my opinion Aerith post OG + AC events gets forcibly incarnated by the Whispers at the start of FFVII Remake when she meets Cloud. They do it because the planet needs an agent that is aware of what should happen. But what if the possibility to change fate sways her? She knows she needs to die and she is aware of what she will lose. She is mortal again and I think her arc has to do with her accepting her role, so it does make sense to me that she is self deluding herself, she is not ready because in the OG she was killed, meaning she never fully accepted her role, it was forced on her by her circumstances. What if her feelings get overpowering once she get embodied again? She is fighting a reaction battle, strategically speaking. Sephiroth is changing stuff and she is trying to make it work while fighting with her mortal desires.

[@VicM88]

Whether it was Sephiroth or Aerith who initiated the Remake of events, I think Sephiroth started to tease changes with his minor appearances, but Aerith was the one who convinced the rest to step through the portal and defeat the arbiter of fate. It doesn't seem like Sephiroth could have done that on his own, because his real body was still in stasis at the Northern Crater. It seems like Aerith has a plan of her own instead of just reacting to what Sephiroth is doing.

[@ssbenj3523]

41:40 the “run cloud, run away, you have to leave, you have to live” is Sephiroth directly quoting (as a taunt) Claudia’s final words (as I suspected when playing remake) and as confirmed when you hear her actually say them in the nibelheim flashback at the start of Rebirth.

[@CodenBahn]

I thought I was a fan of FF7. But God Damn this video blew my mind. Watched every moment of it

[@giovanniprovost]

Thank you for your deep dive, this amount of effort I hope will be verified by the third part!

[@SamuelSabharwal]

Hey man I just wanted to say your theory is quite different to many others I’ve seen but also much more satisfying. Hopefully you get a chance to discuss this with other ff7 creators

[@VicM88]

Thanks! I reached out to a few but not Max or Schrodinger or Sleepezi or any of the biggest ones. I was waiting for Sleepezi to come out with his own video. My theory will probably clash with most others'. Didn't want to influence him before he finished his thoughts. I haven't heard any response. If people want to refer it to others, go ahead. I'm just waiting. These videos only started to get some traction about a week ago.

[@Halfwarlock69]

This makes a hell of a lot of sense,and honestly I figured a case of the classic switcheroo happened with aerith or some genjustu level stuff to confuse everyone seph dawg included

[@sammie16508]

This is probably the first theory that has come out that gives me the feeling of "Oh wow, I actually feel kinda upset because this is so well supported and makes so many of the 'question marks' in other theories make sense that it is actually VERY likely to be the truth." Well done. The Blue and Red -> Purple symbolism with the Materia, Aerith's continued focus on manipulating like sephiroth and multiple time stated focus on changing things (killing him finally) and ties to the Gi and new stuff. All of it just fits, to the degree that I feel 'primed' for it heading into part 3. Now I really want to know what Sleepezi's thoughts on this would be.

[@VicM88]

Yeah once I saw what I thought really happened with the BM, it took me a while to figure out what the hell was actually going on and how to make sense of it all. When you look at it from the perspective that "bad writing" and quirky events may not actually be simply bad writing and quirkiness, it actually fits together pretty well. P3 is going to be ridiculously sick. Let Sleepezi know :). I haven't spoken with any of the mainstream creators yet.

[@meischoice]

2:29:46 I am officially subscribed to the theory that Sephiroth has been grooming Cloud to strike fast at the very sight of Sephiroth in order to stop Aeriths death at the temple of the ancients.

[@VicM88]

This post has received my official stamp of approval

[@Nycounterpoint1]

No no no, okay, no you can't say Aerith's forgiveness is selective. No. Hojo killed her Mom. That is an exception and there's no argument or debate. This is your only point that is not valid. other than that, masterpiece. Thank you.

[@VicM88]

I mean, yeah, but when Aerith talks about forgiveness, and not hating Tseng, Tifa and Barrett lost many of their friends, who were basically their family since they had no blood family left. Sephiroth also killed Tifa's dad. Sephiroth killed Cloud's mom. It's not like Aerith didn't know that when she made that speech. Shinra killed tens of thousands of peoples' parents and children with the Sector 7 plate drop. At minimum, her hating Sephiroth but not Tseng shows she has an extreme lack of empathy and/or an extreme double standard.

[@JCSalomon]

Definitely some intriguing points. Location of the Black Materia is plausible. But for you main point to hold, the developers would be subverting, undermining, deconstructing the themes of the original. I do not find _that_ plausible, however strong the logic is.

[@MrTwentington]

Had to watch it in intervals but sooo worth it because you noticed so many things I didn’t catch like Cloud crying when Aerith lives but not when she dies. I have been wondering since rebirth how connected the Gi and Jenova are due to the effigies and whether or not they summoned Jenova on a meteor to save them. Maybe we will find out in part 3 maybe some things will be left mysterious. But I especially liked you considering the planet Gaia as having an inherently blue life force- I always assume it’s green. But in the remake series Aerith has been sooo heavily linked to the colour yellow while Jenova and Sephiroth was linked with purple. At first I just assumed it was colour theory that they’re opposites on a colour wheel. But realising that life on Gaia like Cetra and humans are coded yellow, while Gaia itself is blue- the Gi as red and Jenova and Sephiroth as purple life forces of yellow and red battling for that blue is such an interesting concept. As a big Aerith simp I do not want her to be a bad guy or in the wrong come game 3- but I definitely want those colours we keep seeing to be explored and expanded on.

[@VicM88]

I had a scary thought. You know how we only see male Gi? What if... Jenova are actually the female Gi! OMG!? Yeah, Aerith is certainly up to something. Will be interesting to see exactly what it is.

[@MrTwentington]

@@VicM88 ohhh like a queen bee situation? Now that’d be interesting and I genuinely don’t know what I’d want more: more explicit lore explaining and confirming that or leave it vague for theory crafting. And yeah as much as I do love her it’s been clear since day 1 Aerith is doing *something* I just don’t entirely know for a fact what that something is.

[@Shift_Work_Life]

What is your hatred for Aerith coming from. Are you seeing her through clouded eyes? She knows the evil of Hojo. She does have compassion for the Turks, they have a shitty job and do bad things for the shitty job, so yeah they're complicit, but they are inherently evil people. When Aerith was still young but living with Elmyra, Tseng looked after her. Whenever she was out and about in the slums, Tseng always watched out of sight, but she knew he was there. There is an unspoken bond between them.

[@VicM88]

Did you mean to say the Turks are not* inherently evil? Do you think Hojo is inherently evil? What does inherently evil even mean? "It's their job" is the dumbest excuse I've ever heard. Hojo was hired by Shinra. He's doing his job too. Yeah, Hojo is doing some things on his own volition, but we have plenty of examples with former SOLDIERS and Reeves contradicting or defecting from Shinra. Tseng is consistently shown to be a ridiculous person from when he tried backwards rationalizing dropping Sector 7 plate to when he asked the party to "take care of Aerith for me" as he threw a grenade into them. But to answer your question, I'm very familiar with this kind of excuse making. I know where Sephiroth is coming from. I understand his, Jenova's and the Gi's conclusion to punish Gaia and the Cetra, including Aerith. A lot of why I made this theory is because I understand what they are setting up here. Exactly how bad or how much of a problem they make Aerith out to be in part 3, we'll see. I'm very interested in how they'll handle this, and I am showing other people like you the patterns and mechanics of the developers' and Sephiroth's strategy.

[@Jordan10704]

2:03:41 Sepiroth didn’t say the true materia was hidden between worlds, he said the true _counterpart_ was hidden between worlds. In other words, the white materia. Which is what see in the very next scene when Sepiroth invades Aerith’s reality.

[@VicM88]

Counterpart definition on Google is: 1. a person or thing holding a position or performing a function that corresponds to that of another person or thing in another place. 2. one of two or more copies of a legal document. The white materia is not the black materia's counterpart. Counterpart doesn't mean opposite. It more closely means a copy or placeholder.

[@Charliestrife01]

Chinese is on the way. This is gona be a good watch…

[@BLa-lq2bs]

I like your theories regarding the different colored lifestream. I never gave the blue lifestream any thought to be fair. But as for some of your other ideas in the last half, I gotta disagree. Example, I think Aerith is dead, and Cloud is blocking it out. Either way, great video, and agree to disagree. We’ll all have to wait and see what happens.

[@VicM88]

Do you mean dead, as in, she has no chance breaking into the main reality and having a physical effect on it? I think her main world version died, but she has a living self dead in a 2nd world, but that world is on the verge of dying. I think it's maybe possible she could live, but she certainly has some effect on Cloud. Do you think it's Jenova making Cloud think Aerith is alive? Aerith? Or Cloud just lying to himself?

[@BLa-lq2bs]

@ I think she’s dead, but due to her being a Cetra she is able to retain her spiritual self and move freely in the lifestream and its worlds. But I think she’s physically dead in all the worlds. I think that maybe Jenova’s cells are using their mimic ability to make Cloud see Aerith in the Forgotten Capital because there is something very eerie and unsettling about that Aerith. The fact that she doesn’t seem to feel any sadness seeing Tifa and the rest of the party grieve is questionable. As for the Aerith out in the field, maybe that’s our Omni Aerith. But she was so set on Cloud focusing on himself, that I find it odd that when Cloud says he’ll stop Sephiroth, she’s like “promise?🥴” when she’s been saying she’ll deal with him herself and for Cloud to just focus on himself. Maybe both Omni Aerith and a Jenova Aerith are at play. So Aerith could be protecting Cloud from seeing the truth, and he himself could be blocking it out as well. It’s hard to say definitively.

[@lordlame]

Great video, time to play it again

[@MotherOfSorrows]

Not too much on my sweet girl Aerith... Not too much

[@NickEBN79]

Very interesting video. Great job.

[@Willica]

I've been enjoying the video so far and plan on continuing watching it but you missed the mark so hard at 41:40 it brought everything to a complete halt. Cloud doesn't attack Sephiroth because it's being suggested that he's a coward, Cloud is attacking Sephiroth because "run Cloud, run away, you have to leave, you have to live" are the last words his mother (Claudia) spoke to him before dying

[@VicM88]

That seemed to be a fake memory. The building was already toast when Cloud was on the ground outside, AND Sephiroth said he stabbed her. She probably wasn't speaking. It doesn't factor that much into the theory though.

[@Willica]

@@VicM88 nah man remake's ultimania revealed those were her final words years before rebirth even came out. Either way, false memory or not, that's what Cloud thinks happened so that's why he reacted the way he did. Don't worry it's a mild fumble that my autism couldn't help but point out lol. I'm still watching / enjoying the video, I'm about halfway through now, and so far you make a compelling argument and I see no real faults in your theory, it makes more sense of what's going on than most that's for sure

[@VicM88]

@@Willica That is interesting. Can speculate a lot on that.

[@thelogzz]

Came here to say this

[@Charliestrife01]

Those were indeed her last words

[@SyddlesFuzz]

Opening mah eyesssss man

[@SurAuvers]

I dont know if it's right to say Aerith is contradicting herself by not forgiving Sephiroth. I also think forgiveness is also forgiving *yourself* because she and everyone else has something they probably need to forgive themselves for.

[@SurAuvers]

I've been thinking alot about this and wanted to add: Aerith isn't being hypocritical at all. On the beach she and at the nibelheim water tower she makes it out how bad she feels about the negative thoughts she's having. Which means she isn't saying any of this from a place of nievety, she wrestlers with these thoughts of anger, regret, and sadness too. But just because you're aware of them and know what you're supposed to do, doesn't make it easy to do. Changing is difficult and takes active work which is what she's clearly trying to do for herself even if she hasn't fully succeeded. But it's clearly not in her overall nature and beliefs to hate people. It's also not being intolerant to fear and be upset with someone who is currently causing mass malicious acts beyond the scope of the universe lol. Whether she's forgiven Sephiroth or not isn't what's being said. She may feel pity for him, she even asks him in the final fight of Rebirth if this is truly what he wants and tries to wrap her head around why he wants this and he refuses to answer his question. That doesn't sound like being intolerant. Also "everyone lies" 1. Theres no such thing as forvever We dont know exactly what that means but we do know that when she says that Aerith isnt fully herself. She speaks in two voices and a green aura is around her. Its likley her future self talking. You cant say shes lying when her past self is talking about her current beliefs about time. And honestly, the past is more or less forever. The past events only seem to be able to be changed to the extent Sephiroth can control Cloud which is only a few weeks before the games story begins. The stuff thats happened in their lives prior? Unchanged. Remake seems to have new events happen to the characters but the core events are the same. So this can't be a lie. 2. Tifa & Aeriths girltalk and post girltalk Tifa is dealing with someone with a clearly delicate psyche. She knows something is wrong and doesnt know what it is. If youve ever been around someone in such a delicate sitiation, you DO need to be careful of what you say and do around them. All Aerith did was try to check up on Cloud necause she knows he and Tifa are in a bad place. Thats omission, sure but its being done in empathy and the fact that Tifa told Aerith this stuff in confidence. Lumping this into "everyone sucks" because theyre looking out for a mentally ill friend is kind of.... nuts. BTW going to post this seperatley since people will probably not read the reply.

[@meggi8048]

So Aerith is end boss now?

[@VicM88]

Possibly part of the gamut of end bosses. There is probably something behind Aerith like Minerva or maybe something greater representing the Cetra. Genesis for sure is going to appear and represent Minerva in p3.

[@bronsonjohnson9019]

The real villain was the friends we made along the way.

[@medigoomnis]

While some things like the Shadow Flare comments are certainly way too much of a stretch, the vast majority of what you say here actually sounds really on point and logical, even if I don't actually believe all of it and could argue various parts pretty conclusively, I feel, but not here. If nothing else, this gives a new dimension to how I, at least, think about what's happened and coming... By the way, the place where aerith and cloud shopped was not seen anywhere else in the game, that's why elmyra didn't stop her...check the dogs. Kadaj...Geostigma...came...from the lifestream...Jenova is purple and can infect the lifestream, hence Dirge of Cerberus and Advent Children...Jenova, the purple, is a way for the Gi to join the lifestream, perhaps...to change it...maybe!

[@VicM88]

Why is the Shadow Flare comment a stretch? What do you think about he background of the Saphir Seph fight looking like a "Clouded eye seeing nothing but shadow?" Yeah, I think Elmyra didn't stop her because Aerith decided to wake up in an alternate world "that has accepted its fate." Elmyra, Marlene and Zack were pretty clearly in a world where people were fretting about the tear in the sky.

[@charliewild2367]

Wait how do you know that this was 'all delusional' in relation to what Sephiroth originally worked out. Seohiroth in the very speech in the original demozies the Cetra... Then refers to himself as a decendent of the Ancients, this makes no sense. Unless you concede that an Ancient and Cetra are not one in the same... They were once, but set this path aside for a moment. Jenova is literally an Ancient. Sephiroth wasn't incorrect in what he said, he always knew what Jenova was in the original at least after travelling the Lifestream, yet his speech in the oroginal he actually knew more. Why would he berate the Cetra (who are too Ancients but strayed from their duties) and then be happy to be glorified as an Cetra/Ancient. This is because the two are not one in the same, not anymore at least. In the remake this has been redacted to some extent this realties version of Seohiroth does think that he is decended from the Cetra as such Jenova is in complete control, in the original he overtook Jenova's consciousness and controlled her with the knowledge of the Lifestream, which he still does retain, but onoy in liminal spaces of the lifestream. Jenova is now completely in control I think... until we see the real Sepbiroth, that only seems to appear in liminial spaces, where he has only spoken of assisting. When Aerith says, You're wrong you're all wrong. Necause that is not Sephiroth it's Jenova. Sephiroth has only been seen in the remakes twice when transported to the singularity. A version of this is warped by Aerith and only seen with light. Paired with what Sephiroth says both in the original and in the present Remake Trilogy isn't completely incorrect... That we know of. He says originally the Cetra would move in settle a planet then move on. However, Jenova is not referred to as a Cetra, but an Ancient as are the Cetra... Both are interchangeable with one another, as Jenova is an ancient, being seemingly unable to die no matter how many cycles the world has gone through. Jenova has persisted, the Cetra are an Ancient race, true. However, they did possibly forsake what their purpose was, whatever that may be, which I assume is to come build a world and move on. Instead the Cetra settled the planet becoming the dominant race for a while. Until Jenova lands to perhaps 'correct' that mistake hundreds of millenia ago. Sephiroth may have been the first to see this, the planet is trapped in a cycle, no matter what Jenova; it is still an Ancient, trapped. As are the memories and thoughts of all that are present in the Lifestream seemingly unable to move forwards. When what possibly 'should' occur is the energy being used to settle the next planet or part of it anyway, either way you can deduce that the Cetra did something wrong in their duties and Sephiroth worked this out. We know that the Cetra created materia. Magic, from the Lifestream... according to Shinra, however the Gi also have this ability, they mention that the Cetra are not what people think at all, not inherently pure as history has portrayed it anyway. The life that was originally supposed to be settled here may have been the Gi, however they were usurped by the Cetra. Then they're descendents, humanity, that were meant to travel in and leave... This could be Minerva as the original Ancient that came to Gaia. That OR (this is more likely) the Gi were or are a part of the Cycle that Jenova's purpose as an Ancient was, however she was disrupted from her own journey to intervene and 'fix' what the Cetra had done. She may have come first, making Sephiroth a decendent of the Ancients that gave life to the Gi. This may be why the Gi are trapped in the centre of the Planet similar to how Terra and Gaia work in FFIX. The cycle has been horrendously disrupted. The Gi are stuck in what is essentially a version of Hell, because of the Cetra's desire to settle. Sephiroth's plan wad to absorb the Lifestream and travel on, additionally the Weapon from Dierge's (Urgh) purpose is to do the same, we know weapons are the will of the planet. It may be proable that the Lifestream was supposed to be linear or cylical but with only one source of life. Which has been completely disrupted, resulting in an Ouroboros state for the planet and all involved. Trapping all in the planet including both humanity's conciousness, the Gi and the Cerra in a cyclical neverending dream. Remember in remake it is n9 longer the planet that screams other than fate and the noise of the weapons takes the place of Gaia from the original. I'm not entirely sure what I'm trying to say here... I've only just got through 20% of this video. Anothet thing, Aerith's ability to pierce the entire perview of what is going on may be symbolic. Due to the fact that she is half Cetra and half human... She is literally half of the Ancient magick and knowledge of the planet and half the Scientific knowledge that led to Seohiroth's initial conception... Aerith is somewhat aware of the reality she's in and what's going on right up until she breaks fate, this is the same Aerith that gives Cloud the empty materia. Which Cloud could potentially use to create a somewhat 'true holy'. Which would need the memories of all, Gi included which may be why, she allows the Black Materia to remain in Cloud's pocket. Sorry I should wait but I need my notes! Issues are that Seohiroth knew of Jenova and Lucrecia in the original. However, the theory doesn't fall apart because of that. Seohiroth originally took over Jenova and controlled it. Which is why the he uses it's mimic abilities to show himself from the minute he took over Jenova's consciousness and escape the Shinra building. He then brings himself the Bpack Materia to become a living God. However, he may have been unaware that by overtaking Jenova's consciousness he already was one. What I think is happening here is that Seohiroth can see that Jenova is now the one in control in most realities. As the Lifestream is incapable of purging her, as we saw in Advent Children. As such, Seohiroth is doomed to be used over and over again. Or simply repeat his mistakes forever because with Jenova entangled in the Lifestream the planet just cannot die. It is trapped in a state of dreaming, although the state of dreams and reality are both aspects of one another so... Inconsequential really. As said by the woman in Cosmo Canyon if the Lifestream cannot distinguish dream from reality what does it matter both exist. Seohiroth is present in liminal spaces, he seems to want to absorb the memories or the Gi stored in the Black Materia... And likely holy to gain enough power to escape the same purgatory as the Gi and similarly the entire life of the planet is now stuck within. Aerith, by not trusting Sephiroth as you have pointed out is now just as bad as Jenova, or as each other. However, you haven't taken into account that after the Whipers surroded her in the Shinra HQ she lost her 'Omni' status and jit brcame another Aerith in that world essentially dying at the end of Remake. As for her and Jenova I don't even think you can blame them and was just either overthrown or came to correct the mistakes of Minerva (more likely the latter and being the mother of the Cetra) and the only true statement made by her is ironically when she is possessed. 'Nothing is forever'. Unless it's an Ouroboros and a constant state of Rebirth, however this ends up becoming earily similar to hell... If not one in the same. So, Sephiroth just wants to break the cycle. As said the planet needs to return to the singularity, where it will eventually undergo a Rebirth and the Ancients can continue their work of going Planet to Planet instilling life and letting it undergo it's own cycle. Not this hellscape Quantum entanglement that occured by mistake. Aerith in this theory really is her fathers daughter and essentially triggering the events over and over. The version of Sephiroth that appears with one Black wing in the Temple of the Ancients throws this all out slightly. It doesn't make much sense. Though it may be the only time that a Jenova/Sephiroth combination speaks with a Aerith/Minerva and when the initial meeting took place. If Cloud attacks or gives Sephiroth the Black Materia in the crater. He would be giving it to a metephorical version of either the games original... Or finally awale the true Sephiroth. Sephiroth was only seen twice in the original in the Crater and... Again in the Crater. Whether he plans to take that materia and use it to absorb a 3rd Meteor as we have seen he seems to be doing... Although given the purple hue this may more likepy be Jenova. With Seohiroth only being able to occupy the singularity or spaces between worlds, or versions that are under Jenova's control or still have Sephorpth's old mentality. There is so much more to this. Whoever said to send this to Maximillion Dood... No, he wouldn't understand it. Final Fantasy Peasant on the other hand would understand this on a much deeper level. As he understands the basis from which games are rooted within, such as the various religions for example Qabbala/Yggdasill, i.e. The tree of Sephiroth. Probably helping to reach a better conclusion than... The other one. I need to write more. This was so good, amazingly well done and thought out very well. I am exhausted and doneth. I shall return. Amazing video, your simplified version doesn't do this justice at all. Really stella work. Sorry, here I am rambling incoherently here as I am writing it down as I go along. I feel . It is important, to an extent to write down for me to go over. These are just mad ramblings, until I can piece this together, I wouldn't have been able to do so without this video though! However, I'm not finished. This probably won't even make sense until I've finished and gone over it all. I will return to and continue adding to it.

[@charliewild2367]

I missed the part where the Cetra state that they were probably envied because of their Celestial advisary, which I'm guessing is Jenova for the Gi. However, Minerva was not meant to remain and allow the Cetra to dominate in such a way. Whilst she occupied the planet first, as true Ancients their job is to come, create life then continue on into the cosmos. Hence why Sephiroth calls the Cetra and their decendents traitors, as he is the only human aspect that was instilled with the Gi's human aspect in vitro. However, as Minerva remained and did not do this, as it had grown weary of travel the Cetra were given the ability to create magic from memory or perhaps were always meant to have this, since the Gi can do this too. Yet are supposed devolve into humanity or a lower life form. However, due to the emergence of Jenova whilst one Celestial still occupied the Planet. Possibly when a new lifecycle... NOT! A calamity from the skies, as described by the Cetra is supposed to take it's place akin to natural order, they become trapped within one anothers flow of life. With the life they were meant to have being granted seeded and then left to its own devices until time saw fit to Renew. Resulting in 3 genetically incompatible aspects populating Gaia, it would be four, but the Gi are trapped in a cycle of purgatory and thus cannot devolve from their closer to Godlike state. Allowing them to create the Black Materia for salvation and the Cetra to create Holy for theirs. However, as holy was there first it would perform it's funtion of a reset... In it's natural way similar to how Cetra and the Lifestream work. Whereas, Meteor is close to how Jenova works in their memories colliding with a planet and seeding Rebirth that way. Therefore, Sephiroth is potentially Gi/Jenova in a human devolved aspect can summon meteor and Aerith also being Minerva/Cetra's version can use Meteor. However, in the original they all just fuck up the planet and leave it in stasis because 'This isn't how it's supposed to be'. However! Cloud, Angeal, Gensis and Zack all possess all 4 aspects 6 if you include the Ancients that seeded them. As Soldiers are injected with Jenova Cells, they could create the necessary memories from all genetic ancestors... Though, you could argue Seohiroth could do this too. Aerith maybe gave the Clear Materia to Cloud on the hopes of this as it had once housed the memories of holy. The Cetra are likely self-righteous since their Ancient deity still resides and thus believe themselves the natures intended 'stewards of the planet'. Leading to the Gi becoming 'bitter' since they were unable to rightfully claim the planet in the natural cycle as Minerva had grown weary of her journey... Though, her children that she gave life to had devilved to a point where they literally created an arms company that became the worlds Government that literally sucks the planet of its own lifeblood to survive and Jenova was supposed to do her duty in seeding the next stage of life. Gaia has just become a poor middle woman. Dreaming the dreams of it's dead trapped in a cruel never ending cycle of purgatory for all.

[@VicM88]

@@charliewild2367 I like how into it you are. I think there is a misconception that a lot of people have, that Sephiroth in the original had understood Jenova was an alien and not a Cetra. In the original flashback he says, "But, those who disliked the journey appeared. They stopped their migrations, built shelters and elected to lead an easier life. They took that which the planet and the Cetra had made without giving back one whit in return!" He did not say ALL Cetra neglected their duty. Only some of them. Those were supposedly Cloud's ancestors and the rest of the "humans." Originally, Sephiroth never understood Jenova was not actually a Cetra. Sephiroth did not die when Cloud stabbed him. When he traveled the lifestream, he physically traveled it. It's doubtful the lifestream would have shown Sephiroth anything about the truth. At the northern crater, it's only the top half of his body because Cloud stabbed him in the low back with his huge buster sword. He lost his legs on the way, which is why he had to stay in the Mako stasis. We also know he physically traveled there, and not his spirit going through the lifestream, because in the beginning of AC the Turks find Jenova's head inside the northern crater. He never "took control" of Jenova, indicated by his AC copies still being obsessed with finding "Mother" and crying over it. Hojo randomly says it at the NC in the original, but he doesn't really have a basis for it. Sephiroth may have thought he was in control, but it was still largely Jenova manipulating him.

[@Valentien23]

Yeah i need ALL that; fk a summary :)

[@VicM88]

Hahaha! True

[@Turntwobounceland]

2:03:08 I don't think this portion of the analysis is on point. The reason being where Aerith is - how can she see the Black Materia at the bottom of the pit when standing in the middle of the bridge. None of the cutscenes before or after the closeup of her face indicate she changed positions. If she was able to see it, why weren't the other members of Avalanche? I agree with the end result of Aerith putting the Black Materia in Cloud's possession, but I think the closeup of her face was a moment of realization on her part, not so much identifying where exactly the materia was.

[@VicM88]

Yeah she does not physically see it, but she is in communion with the lifestream before entering and inside the temple. It's more that she senses it or she is being shown where it is. She is able to read the Cetra's language, even though she has no knowledge of it. And originally, she was the one who knew the temple would become the BM. More of a sense or bestowed knowledge thing. Her expression is just the clue that she notices something.

[@saulmiller422]

I dont understand why u have need for bashing Aerith like that. Bro she literally took Kadaj to lifestream in Advent Children and he was one of Sephiroth s remnants. I dont think u understand her and also other characters, nobody is simply "lying" it s always complicated situations. Sephiroth killed Tifa s dad, Cloud s mom, Cloud and Tifa s neighbours, because of him Cloud s end up messed up and Zack dies and Jenova controlled by Sephiroth killed Aerith so u know there s lil bit of problem with forgiving him. Video was fine until u start bashing characters. And btw u should probably check japanese line for " those who look with clouded eyes.." because english team effed up translation. Also this version of Sephiroth (who absorbs meteor and knows Cloud s limit break and scene of final fight from OG FF7 is recreated suggests this is AC or post AC Sephiroth same goes for Aerith) I dont think he will be fooled by fake black materia I dont think Aerith gave materia to Cloud either There s a ton mistranslation in this game so u cant take things literally But respect for long video

[@VicM88]

Thanks. I think the creators directed the English translation differently because there are different meanings of words within cultures when you take direct translations. For example, apparently the Japanese version calls the Whispers "Feelers," which is a completely different word in English and has a very different implication. Another example, when Sephiroth sees Cloud has the White Materia, in Japanese he says something like, "You should be punished." It's a different technical meaning of "very poor form," but they are both accusations that Cloud/Aerith are breaking rules or norms, which punishment is for. I don't think you completely understand the theory. Sephiroth was not fooled by the fake. He knew it was fake and allowed Aerith to take the real one, because he wants her to think she has an Ace up her sleeve. The reason I rip on Aerith some is because these poor aspects of her personality are allowing her to be controlled/manipulated/guided by Sephiroth. Aerith took up Kadaj because Kadaj was largely from the lifestream. He was a human form, still. So is at least half of Sephiroth.

[@saulmiller422]

@@VicM88 japanese version is making more sense if they talked before or if he s trying to try something new but he is mass murderer so u know... I dont think AC or post AC Aerith is anything u describing and she has planet on her side so her will could be will of planet or will of lifestream In AC she is shown as semi goddess welcoming people into afterlife, travelling back n forth, resurrecting Cloud, devs re talking about "her consciousness being with Cloud" but movie shows different things They changed so many things that nobody knows for sure if they follow OG FF7 story where Seph is regenerating in N.crater and Cloud gives him B.M. This Seph is allready absorbing Meteors, has portals all over the place, knows things up to AC or more and u re telling me that Cloud who was allready mindcontrolled so much that he almost killed Tifa it s gonna slash Seph reg.body with BM buster sword? Cloud is getting controlled through jenova cells and he definetely had no Aerith cells in him. Aerith probably gave Cloud ability to see multiple worlds in similar way she gave him ability to see whispers when touched him. Tifa exposed to deep lifestream gain also partial ability to see multiple worlds that s why she sees 2 realities when running to altair. At the end of the day devs make things this way so people will want play 3rd game and find answers, nobody knows for sure what s going on But after playing Ever Crisis it seems there will be some kind of Sephiroth redemption arc, they even link cutscene to Seph at EoC and in ome cutscene it s either he s having painful memory or Jenova headache, which can lead into more of watashi/ore Seph theory. Now Seph red.arc can be something as messed up as him killing Rosen to save Glenn, Matt and Lucia. And he allready has fixation with Cloud so i hope his vision isnt to kill everyone except Cloud but he s allready saying weird things like wants Cloud to burn the world like he did.

[@VicM88]

@@saulmiller422 Yes, Sephiroth could have a redemption arc. But the point of the video is to show he and Jenova had actual reasons why they were pissed off at the Cetra and Gaians. There is still the issue of the Gi being trapped, who Jenova looks for sure to be associated with. What do you expect Jenova and Sephiroth to do relating to them? Just ask pretty please? We already see the Gaians lying about returning their Black Materia to them. Why would they want to be nice? They wouldn't necessarily. That's the main reason I expose Aerith's BS. If a "positive" result is going to happen, it will probably be the result of Sephiroth's work on Cloud, Rufus, and Zack.

[@DonShotta24]

Go play Rebirth. You should’ve played it before doing this video

[@VicM88]

I spoiled Remake before playing it and it was still great. But yeah, part 3 I'm probably going to want to play first. I was able to put this theory together probably because I wasn't spending the 100+ hours actually playing the game.

[@Valentien23]

Wym by that? Can you explain?

[@VicM88]

@@Valentien23 I haven't owned a Playstation after PS2. It took a lot of time figuring out, writing out, and pieces the theory video together. I think I was able to notice more clues by just watching other people play than if I was in the middle of playing it myself, having to consider all the other gameplay elements.

[@Valentien23]

@@VicM88 sorry for the confusion; I need. The OP to explain their statement; I can understand yours

[@andycarroll3403]

“I have not played Rebirth” not a great start buddy

[@VicM88]

Ironically, it's probably the best start. One of the reasons why I was able to fit everything together so well. I didn't have to invest a lot of time in other aspects of the game and could focus on the story and clues.

[@J-A2023]

I think Aerith at the end is Jenova. He can't accept her death. So they're gonna add her original death to lifestream section with tife which will break cloud even more. that empty materia is Cloud(since he's empty) so after accepting the fact that both Aerith and zack are death and he's not a soldier, that empty materia will become Cloud materia with a new color