The Mind-Blowing Connections Between Miquella and Griffith | ELDEN RING LORE

[@hesmycat]

Miyazaki's entire career has been building up to making a game where you hit Griffith with what he deserves.

[@yesmansam6686]

I'm gonna respec into a Guts build for this.

[@Dracobyte]

Something something Griffith did nothing wrong!

[@maeziyon6751]

Needs to add a weapon with an ash of war called the Rickert Slap.

[@barionsantos]

​@@maeziyon6751 Squier's Retaliation

[@danialyousaf6456]

A backhand parry with a shield works well as a bitch slap.​@@maeziyon6751

[@nukclearmoisturegaming4675]

This aged well. Turns out Miquella is actually a lot like Griffith than people think

[@nothingness217]

I think the Miquella's prophesized eclipse failed because the constellations were in control of Radahn, which is probably the reason Malenia fought him in the battle of Aeonia

[@andrew-rn9ui]

Oh shit , so maybe if you do rannis ending that makes miquella into femto 😂

[@jannickwendt8374]

Your theory just got really juicy, with miyazaki confirming that we have to defeat both Mohg and Radahn to enter the DLC!

[@raider_reaper_4194]

Imagine the DLC is a full on Bersek Eclipse moment unleashing demons

[@andrew-rn9ui]

That would be the gaming moment

[@ainz2579]

Very close

[@GILGAMESH069]

Don't forget their close connection to a one armed swordsman

[@thenobody7509]

Ok so something i want to say. The moonlight boy isnt griffith he is guts and casca's son. He was corrupted by griffith and used as a vessel for him to reenter the world later. If anything miquella also shares that inspiration with him being kidnapped by mohg and corrupted. Id even put it a step further and say miquells was born as two people born in a single body. He is himself at day but becomes st trina at night. He most likely isnt evil

[@Terminalsanity]

Oh he's probably evil alright and probably had an unseen hand in the Night of Black knives, the assignation of Godwyn, and thus the downfall of the Golden order. We know he became disillusioned with Golden order and sought to establish his own order which meant the current order had to fall 1st. Note where you find the Black Knife Assassin Armor and how Black Knife Assassins guarding the seal to the haligtree in ordinia. See you assume Mogh kidnapped Miquella from he Haligtree, but have you considered that perhaps Miquella simply sought his aid when Melania seeming fell in battle and his dream now seemly in ruins and so gave himself over to Mohg the way that Griffith gave himself to Gennon to keep his dream alive. I mean don't you find it odd that Miquella's force's aren't scouring the consecrated snowfield fighting with Mogh's blood tainted dogs and Albanaurics and are instead merely awaiting Miquella's return even Malenia is just sitting around fully assured Miquella will return on his own accord.

[@thenobody7509]

@@Terminalsanity Malenia left the same time miquella went into the tree. Mohg took him while she was gone. Most likely what happened is the formless mother used mohg to get miquella and try to force him to become his vessel. Him having a hand in the night of black knives doesn't make any since when you consider the fact miquella loved godwyne. The statue in his tree of a person holding the twins that's godwyne. Miquella is going to ask us for help in killing godwynes body and stopping the deathblight. You all literally just want him to be evil cause you want to kill him. Another thing which kinda throws miquella is evil out the window. He's torrents owner. Why would he have torrent again in the promo art if he was evil? We have him so logically this means we and miquella are going to be working together. He's literally cursed to be a child I'm not hoping he's evil cause i don't want to kill him

[@Terminalsanity]

@@thenobody7509 We actually don't know the order of those events, we can only speculate. We don't really know much about the relationship between Miquella and Godwyn just that Miquella wished him a true death which may well be just because his half death and the spread of death root it caused(which happened because of Rann's plan which he may not have anticipated) may well be a problem for Miquella's own ambitions. And strictly speaking all his supposed mourning over Godwyn may well have just been a performative front to conceal his involvement in the Night of Black Knives. I go where the available evidence seems to lead, you kind of blitzed past the point of if Miquella was so broken up about Godwyn's death why would he enlist his literal murderers in the protection of the seal to his haligtree in Ordinia? Miquella being Torrent's master at one point hardly tells us anything about Miquella because we are not shown when or why he ceased being Torrent's master, Melina is Torrent's master at the beginning of the game. You said it yourself you don't Miquella to be evil so you've ignored all the evidence that suggests he might be.

[@thenobody7509]

@@Terminalsanity ok. So here's one. From the beginning of the game we are set on the path to find miquella. We are given torrent by melina. Miquella's spirit caller bell by ranni. Miquella after godwyne died had tried to figure out a way to give godwyne a proper death. He even went to the exent of laying his body in the roots of the erdtree in hopes the tree would take godwynes back despite having already tried to make his own tree. Heck, miquella even attempted a ritual involving the eclipse to bring godwyne back that didn't work. Now about the black knives tbh. I just think that's miquella's Good nature perhaps the black knives wanted a safe place to stay and went to miquella and miquella forgave them. I'm just annoyed people see "Oh he has some griffith inspo." And automatically assume he's going to be evil and not try to look at it in a different way. Like for God sake the dude is cursed to forever be a child. Him being evil doesn't make much sense when you consider he's probably really weak in actuality

[@thenobody7509]

@@Terminalsanity adding onto this. It's entirely possible miquella just gave melina torrent. Perhaps finding her after she had become nothing more then a spirit and gave torrent to her so she can move around. Because remember melina even tells us when we get lyndell that there she can move freely. Meaning outside of it she can't

[@annaclarallb]

Oh my God, this SCREAMS Bran Stark. Considering he’s possibly the most powerful wielder of magic in GRRM’s work, I’d look into it. Bran literally will go from boy to marry with a tree. If the ending of the show is true in the books, he’s gonna be a literal tree wizard-human-king. St. Trina might just be a foil to the magical influences on other people’s dreams, but in another level. This is so fucking interesting lol

[@damienmcneff7715]

Dude didn’t even get into the Ganishka/Godwyn connections. Now that is some crazy stuff relating to Miquella and potential DLC

[@Poleit317]

Wdym?

[@chrisspiker5422]

I don't see the connections. Ganishka turned himself into a monster twofold on purpose then turned into the world spiral tree after Skull knights indirect attack. Godwin got turned into a monster (maybe indirectly?) After getting ganked by a harem of ballerina assassins. Then somehow fused with the tree roots? Am I missing something, probably, I would like an elaboration if you still know.

[@maddogbasil]

*He Caaaaaaalllleeeed iiiiit*

[@HeevaEgo]

Elden Ring, comparatively, is much more colourful and ‘Heroic’ than previous titles. Tragic characters like Malenia and Godwyn are even seen through a legendary/heroic viewpoint, despite their respective tragedies. Radagon, despite being a dictator, used to be seen as a heroic champion. Even the base ending has a weirdly bright tone compared to prior games base endings. The Final Boss in Elden Ring is a victory lap compared to prior games final bosses, where they are traditionally seen as purposefully anticlimactic and somber All this to say: I firmly believe, despite the Griffith similarities, Miyazaki wouldnt pervert Miquella’s story into a Griffith. In the bible, Michaela = God to be/Jesus-like figure (I understand this can be intentional to make the ‘Jesus-like’ figure of Elden Ring a bad guy) I’m also aware that there’s only ONE item description (bewitching branch) that freaked everyone out into thinking miquella is manipulative, but I truly believe it’s intentionally vague, but Miquella will a ‘good guy’ so to speak This may age bad, but I think the Griffith comparisons are intentionally meant to represent a disparity between Miquella and Griffith and their respective goals. Griffith = selfish, Miquella = Selfless Elden Rings character tones consist of Legends who sacrifice. I believe Miquella will be a “good guy” but wont have a “happy” ending. He’ll sacrifice his life somehow. Perhaps defeating St. Trina also defeats the more selfless alter-ego: miquella Great video however. You bring good points. And it’s always fun seeing similarities between my two favourite fanstasy worlds. I’d be happy with whatever From chooses, and these are interesting comparisons! If anything, I think St. Trina will be Griffith lol

[@headecas]

Yeah, u would definetly would be a Griffith fanboy if u lived in the world of berserk

[@potatertotes]

I am hoping that Miquella would get a good ending. I do not like Griffith and I would be upset if Miquella turned out as Griffith. Miquella and Godwyn are characters that are both shrouded in mystery and I believe both of them would be very important characters in the DLC. If someone's going to be Griffith please make it Godwyn.

[@HeevaEgo]

@@potatertotes noooo😭 I love Godwyn too lmao

[@elleofmusic]

The thing is, conflating Griffith with Femto is a mistake. Griffith, the human, WAS a genuinely compassionate person. "Good" is too subjective, but he was definitely not a selfish person, despite his lofty dream. His leadership was beloved because he cared about everyone who put their lives on the line simply because they believed in him. He felt that weight acutely, and he took it seriously. Griffith WAS vain, he certainly had an ego, and wasn't unwilling to do underhanded things to achieve his goals, but loyalty meant everything to him, and he always aimed to keep his men from ever having to give their lives for him. That's why his realization that the Band of the Hawk, and even Casca and Guts, were ultimately going to give up on him, is what sent him into such despair that the God Hand were able to convince him that sacrificing them all was justifiable. He felt betrayed. His fall from grace is so devastating because his shift into Femto is a total inversion of the human he once was. All that was left was his ambition. And that's why I think Miquella's parallel with Griffith isn't over. Should he wake, he'll find himself in a withered, broken body. His sister in her own comatose state, his city in ruins, his tree dead, and his people lost to madness. None of his plans came to fruition, and there's barely anything left to salvage of the Lands Between. Even his parents are effectively dead. The absolute despair he'll experience will be enough to drive him to do something very extreme, and very unlike him. We already know he was a major player in the attempt to perform an Eclipse ritual for Godwyn, and now he might be able to actually make it succeed, or more likely, use it on himself. The statues and carvings all over Elphael suggest a worship of Death as a messiah, a leader for the lost. But if that leader should not be benevolent, then we once again have a parallel to Femto as he swept across the country as the Hawk of Light, absorbing the souls of the dead and serving as an antichrist in disguise. And this isn't even getting into all the parallels Miquella has with various themes and characters from ASOIAF. That's a whole other can of worms. But between the cut bloodstone items associated with the Haligtree, and Miquella's connections with dreams and being absorbed into a tree, I'm putting all my stocks in Miquella going full Femto.

[@justinfernandez3894]

Yeah. St. Astraya has more similatiries, sorry.

[@crozraven]

Other things that I would like to add: + The child-like appearance Miquella can also be related to the duality between Griffith/Femto & Moonlight Boy, two souls within the same vessel. + There are multiple times of Moonlight Boy saved Papa Guts & Mama Casca, including "sacrificing" himself to protect Mama Casca from horde of specters, dying, then eaten by the egg apostle. This may set precedence that Miquella might have more in common with Moonlight Boy, instead of Griffith, from personality & deeds POVs. + In the recent Berserk chapters, The World Spiral Tree also being called The Great Helix Tree, literally the same with Elden Ring counterpart. The branches of this particular tree also being used by both Griffith & Moonlight Boy to traverse the world super fast like a supernatural dimensional wormhole. Idk, about Elden ring counterpart, but it could be noted there might be similar case for Miquella in the DLC, like the DLC concept art of Miquella riding torrent in a place that could be a different dimension.

[@leandrorp6642]

One curiosity I want to highlight is that Malenia design is practically Griffith's “warrior side”, a swifth fighter, being the most formidable sword fighter in the game and her connection with Miquella seems to almost divide Griffith's character into these two. The way Malenia “parry” your attacks is exactly the same way Griffith deflects Gutts’ attack in the anime ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKPUh6Jrapqanbs )

[@arthurdossantos6826]

Well, both are two sides of one thing. Or rather, they were born from the same God, Marika. That's why my headcanon is that they are parts of Marika and Radagon that they shed in order to become one

[@greyworld6242]

When Miquella gets out of that “egg” things will never be the same again.

[@leperface]

Im so hyped for Shadow of the Erdtree. I've been doing a lore run, just slowly walking through trying to be mindful of everything looking for details I missed. It's Fromsoft though, every DLC they put out seems to be a complete surprise in contrast to any theory the community thinks up.

[@Writh811]

Another great video. As you were demonstrating the similarities between Miquella and Griffith I had a weird thought just roar into my brain. Marika is a lot like Griffith as well. Leyndell is her Falconia. Godfrey was her Guts. In a weird loose way Radagon seems inspired off the moonlight child but being a grown man rather than a child and Rennala is kinda the Casca of the situation (being left in a senseless state as a result of Griffith/Radagon/Marika's deeds). We don't know the full situation around Marika's ascension, how she went from Empyrean to a god. Based on everything else in Elden Ring, I imagine it wasn't a happy process. Being an Empyrean must be like being a candidate for the God Hand. Funny how in Elden Ring we specifically know of 5 people who were considered Empyrean: Marika, Gloam-Eyed Queen, Ranni, Miquella, Malania. Heck comparing the Fimeto of the God Hand to when Malania ascends to Godhood we she emerges from a red bud not unlike a crimson egg and has wings, Griffith is everywhere lol. An off topic thought after talking of Malania's ascension: Malania ascended to Godhood - per her second phase health bar, potentially per the Oracle Envoys being at the Haligtree (if they were there for Miquella they would be at Mohg's palace). She had no Fingers or Shadow that we know of and definitely did not contain the Elden Ring. Soooo how much of the rules that the Golden Order told us about the universe are actually made up Marika propaganda (Sorry too much caffeine this morning)

[@Writh811]

@Lee-km7qq I don't really see how that tracks unless you ignore everything about her life prior to the Greater Will imprisoning her. The reality is she is/was the leader of the Golden Order. She traveled with the Golden Army along side Godfrey and then unleashed her forces on the giants, personally slaying their Fell God. She has the very close ally who is a super warrior chad (Godfrey=Guts). The originality, that writers must add lest it be plagiarism, is that she sent him away. Mind you not everything is a one to one fit, as the writers do need to make it their own and have their own concepts in there which in terms of Casca is why I see her as Rennala. They removed her being apart of the Griffith-parallel's army but she herself like Casca was a warrior and a leader (in this case Rennala gets the extra spice of magic too) but both are left in a mentally broken state in spite of how capable they were and it is because of someone they were very close to and trusted. Not meaning to sound cold be in a cold world Casca was left in a pathetic state after the eclipse. This sorta sentiment can easily apply to the state we find Rennala. When we find Marika it's honestly hard to feel any way for her. She is stone and still one tends to feel as likely to put her head back on as they are to accidently chip more of her off poking at broken edges.

[@eltata6911]

I like to imagine that the eclipse didn't happen because Radahn arrested the movement of the stars. This would also explain why Melania decided to march south and face him during the shattering war. Unlike the other demigods Melania had no interest in obtaining great runes which is evidenced by her sparing Godricks life upon defeating him. She was on a mission to aid her brothers quest to resurrect Godwyn. And upon her depature, Mohg had his opportunity to steal Miquella, ending the entire story with a great tragedy.

[@2JOfficial]

Make a video about where on the map you believe the DLC starting point will be and why

[@jacobferrera1777]

I would love to see that, but I believe it will be in the forbidden lands

[@ermong8124]

I think he already made a video like that a while back couple of months

[@concretephill8509]

Nah. You touch the cocoon surely or the Halig Tree

[@evilmac9623]

I think it will be somewhere in Nokron. It is the perfect timing in the game. You can complete all the endings and it opens up at mid game.

[@cosseybomb]

He has

[@skullknight4579]

Isn't coincidental that the 2 siblings that loved him the most have sprouted wings

[@epiccthulu]

i think another aspect that helps that the black knife assassins guard entry to the haligtree. You have to deal with them in the gaol version of the town. It’s not a band of hawks, but i think its a similar concept if he sent them out on the night of black blades

[@feint6552]

Now we know HE is Griffith

[@_bstr_ct1832]

My feeling is the Erdtree should have taken the form of a double Helix but one half was destroyed before it could grow, possibly the Siluria room could be the other half

[@aeon_6172]

Miyazaki got something hidden up sleeve like always. I can’t wait for shadow of the erdtree

[@monstyn]

If you look at Elden rings map specifically the the underground part. Where the erdtree is. You can see a cross section of the tree stump depicted and it looks as if there’s a tree wrapping around the base of the main tree and even looks like a three fingered hand squeezing the tree

[@richlacerra6668]

When you say that Miquellas motivations is the direct opposite of Griffith, we only know his motivations through what other people and items tells us. It’s actually the same in Berserk, the only people who know Griffiths true intentions and the monster he is are Guts Casca and Rickert, everyone else believes he is a savior and basically worships him. Elden ring could be intentionally giving us the viewpoint of the regular people in Berserk and not the ones who truly know him. They also say that miquella is the most powerful. Everything points towards us and everyone else being mislead to believe he is benevolent, I smell a twist coming

[@maxyboy9648]

I think these connections are more superficial than anything else. Griffith and Miquella are very clearly different in their motivations and beliefs. One is a narcissistic person who wants nothing more than a kingdom for themselves, the other is egalitarian and directly supports those who are persecuted and weak.

[@theArab__]

Griffith also portrays himself as a selfless egalitarian and takes the persecuted and weak into his new kingdom, from an outside perspective of someone who doesn’t know his true nature Griffith appears the same way as you portrayed Miquella. For all we know the REAL Miquella could be much different.

[@minespatch]

@@theArab__ Closest suspicious thing about Miquella is the Bewitching Branch. A mind control item. There's a theory that Miquella did a mistake when he bewitched mohg and that's why Mohg is acting the way he is.

[@Shanesawendsley]

Souls fans read a different fantasy Manga challenge level impossible

[@nickytheanimal2413]

Lol u sound like a brainwashed miquella follower. Who knows his real goals? As far as I’m concerned he’s a usurper evidenced by his own tree

[@ACR995]

@@theArab__yes exactly.

[@noamias4897]

I’ve always thought that Miquella seems a lot like Griffith, or at least the contrast between how the public and those who know him sees him

[@DawnApon]

People will be like "Miquella wont be an antagonist" right up until the healthbar appears on screen, Im betting.

[@sebasminault5576]

Have some god-damn faith!

[@maltajade9058]

I love this topic, it's like Berserk is a type of inspiring mythos for Miyazaki. Joseph Campbell we need you! Well done on this. I'm leaning toward Miquella taking action for mostly unselfish reasons (his sister and others) but also for himself as opposed to a fully evil purpose. We'll see! Would love more vids like this!!

[@michaelromeo9660]

Unfortunately that probably won't be the case. Hes been pulling the strings the entire time, using us the tarnished for his ambitions.

[@lofimusicandliminalspaces3908]

Just noticed insect like wings in the mohg carrying miquella picture

[@MrParac]

Id like to see a video in this same style about the inspiration ER took from Tolkien's books, that waa just as as much as Berserk

[@Christmas_Johan]

I'd also like to see more soulsborne people read Fevre dream by George RR Martin, as that book is required reading at Fromsoft to all new employees and Miyazaki praises it higher than any other GRRM book including ASOIAF. It might give some insight on Miyazaki thinking and what he wants from the development team on a philosophical level

[@jakobrenner2230]

Tolkien said that his story is “about Death and the desire for Deathlessness”. Much the same can be said about Elden Ring, especially with how the creation of the Golden Order is concerned.

[@miirshroom]

The deck is very stacked against Miquella being benevolent. 'Blood' is universally associated with pain and torment and misguided struggle in the Lands Between. See thorn sorceries and the blood soaked madness of the Land of Reeds. In real life a tree doesn't care if its watered by blood - generally its extra nutrients compared to water even. In the Lands Between blood corrupts. Intentionally or not, Miquella was doing some vile stuff before attracting the attention of Mohg. I also suspect that Miquella's needle is to associate himself and Malenia with the story of Koschei the Deathless - a villain of Russian folklore who stored his immortality inside a needle, inside a diamond, inside a waterfowl, inside a rabbit. Malenia the waterfowl and Miquella the rabbit. If you squint, this could already be referenced in Bloodborne's Orphan of Kos (it's something of a paradox to be orphaned by a deathless being - and there's the connection to blood again). At best, Miquella has the childlike excuse that he didnt know any better which could possibly see him handled more sympathetically than Griffith. "the goal of the eclipse was to give life, with Godwyn the golden the primary aim of it" Also the above is likely wrong. Godwyn is not stated to be the companion that Miquella wants resurrected. On the other hand, Miquella explicitly wishes Godwyn dead for good. There is not enough information to put a name to the person Miquella wants resurrected, but they are probably much more ancient than you'd expect.

[@Terminalsanity]

Yeah I don't know why people think the Eclipse at castle was meant to resurrect Godwyn The ghost says they were unable to resurrect his comerade not his brother if you think about the environment story telling it pretty obvious the ghost was referring to the souless demi god in the nearby walking mausoleum.

[@omerozel4716]

​@@Terminalsanity they think it probably because of the Golden Epitapth description: A sword made to commemorate the death of Godwyn the Golden, first of the demigods to die. Infused with the humble prayer of a young boy; "O brother, lord brother, please die a true death." So they connect it with him trying to grant Godwyn a proper death. The ghost in Castle Sol is talking about soulless comrade. Godwyn lost his soul but still lives. So the theory is that Miquella tried to make an Eclipse to grant Godwyn his proper death.

[@Terminalsanity]

@@omerozel4716 That's the thing though the Eclipse was meant to resurrect a soulless demi god ( all the walking mausoleums contain the body of a soulless demi god) not give them a true death. Likewise the ghost calls the soulless demi god intended to be resurrected Miquella's comrade not his brother. The theory literally ignores both the text and environmental storytelling of the evidence being cited to support it. Its obvious the Eclipse ritual at castle Sol was meant to resurrect the Soulless Demi God in the nearby mausoleum.

[@Breno_Henrique_2004]

Don't forget that the soulless demigods are also called "unwanted childs". Probably there's something very... very wrong about it. Makes sense to call miquella "Griffith".

[@myrrous4284]

Miq is pure. He doesn’t want blood ior death

[@NobleGamer0117]

The way I understood Miquella was by simply comparing him to Gwyndolin from Dark Souls. They were both born males but were mistaken and can be easily mistaken to be females. In fact, this actually serves as a reason for a theory I have for how Miquella became an Emperean. From my observations, it seems that in the world of Elden Ring, both the house of the Erdtree and the house of Caria are matriarchal, where it is the woman that's crowned and the male becomes the consort. But then how would that work for Miquella? Well, the two fingers could have easily mistaken him as a female, given how feminine his appearance is as just have him raised as one, much like Gwyndolin.

[@ZhongliBIGPP]

I dont think he has anything to do with Griffith. Maybe some similarities & some things taken as inspiration but i dont think we can predict anything about the DLC or Miquella based on this. The real thing will be very different

[@Terminalsanity]

Oh he definitely was inspired in part by Griffith. I mean he literally looks and dresses the same way young Griffith did, is androgynous, extremely intelligent, manipulative, and charismatic, has the ambition of establishing his own order, he has a sworn sword absolutely dedicated to his cause whom he calls sister a la Casca, and has an older man absolutely obsessed with him even onto his own destruction a la Gennon, and is undergoing a sort of metamorphosis amid a field of blood a la the eclipse an association Miquella also shares with Griffith. The parallels between Miquella and Griffith are definitely there its just a question of how deep they go like with Artorious and Guts.

[@BathingInAcheron]

Ngl, I will be SO disappointed if Miquella turns out to be just another evil demigod to kill in the DLC. The other demigods in the game, that we know of, have been nothing but power hungry, homicidal, assholes. With the exception of Godwyn who established peace with dragons, General Radahn who used his power and military might to genuinely help ppl, like the town of Selen, and Malenia who supported Miquella in his pursuit of protecting the marginalized races and making the Lands Between a better place for all living things in it. If we really have to fight Miquella I hope it's because he's testing us to see if we're fit to carry on his dream or just fit to build a better world as Elden Lord

[@timothykarhnak-glasby3153]

Unfortunately you'll be pretty disappointed, the mohglested was the actually mohglester

[@BathingInAcheron]

@@timothykarhnak-glasby3153 Yeah someone else already spoiled the entire ending to me, a few days before the DLC released. We can't have shit.

[@ranovee2682]

Dude this Miquella/Griffith theory blows my mind, I love it. There are so many connections between them. Getting crazy with some theories, you could even see that our tarnished character would be seen by Miquella almost how Griffith sees Guts. We liberate Miquella from capture, just like Guts does for Griffith. Yes we did save him, but we also killed his sister, almost how Griffith feels like Guts "stole" Casca from him and he feels this rage for the new Elden lord and wants to take back the power himself, how Griffith as Femto does.. well you know how he does... We also managed to accomplish many things that Miquella wanted to do himself and he might feel that same kind of jealous rage that Griffith feels about Guts..... I know this all doesn't make total sense and it doesn't align perfectly but mannnnn

[@waltercook3843]

I wonder if Mog doesn't end up being part of Miquella's plan, and a necessary step through alchemical allegory to achieving his goal of maturity and fighting off the influences of the outer gods.

[@Terminalsanity]

I'm of the same mind I mean there's no sign that Miquella was taken from the Haligtree by force and you don't see the Haligtree forces scoring the consecrated snowfield looking Miquella or fighting with Mogh's forces there. They're all Malenia included just waiting for him to return. Think Mogh is to Miquella what Gennon was to Griffith a pebble in his road to his ultimate ambition to be used and cast aside when his purpose was served. I also think you're on to something with the alchemical allegory too. See I think Miquella had a hand in the Night of Black Knives through the Black knife assassins who were acting under his orders, that's why you find the Black knife assassin set in Ordinia and why Black knife assassins are guarding the seal to the haligtree there. (I also suspect Miquella had the Black knife assassins betray Ranni during the Night of Black probably by not killing Radhan instead of or in addition to Godwyn and thus neutralizing Ranni's ambitions indefinitely. That would explain why Ranni had the leader of the Black knife assassins Alecto imprisoned on the Moonlight Altar in the immediate aftermath of the night of black knives and why Black knife assassins attack Ranni's crew after she successfully obtains the fingerslayer blade and is once again in a position to thwart Miquella's plan as she was the only Empyrean that was in opposition to Miquella and had the potential to become a God in her own right.) So if Miquella did have a hand in the night of black knives in a fashion he initiated a form of negreto on the lands between, then initiated a plan of purification or albedo through the haligtree, and could have now initiated a process of rubedo in the blood fields of the Mogwyn palace. The pieces are definitely there and I suspect Miquella's ambition was to use this alchemical process to elevate himself and the lands between beyond the influence of any any outer God even the Greater will.

[@waltercook3843]

@@Terminalsanity I think you're really on to something here! Hopefully we get to see soon!!!

[@KS-bo5bg]

Miquella is more like what Griffith wishes he was, not who he actually is.

[@lilstamp08]

Bro I can’t wait for this. This is literally what I’ve been looking into the past week.

[@agm5424]

There's another character that has many connections to Griffith and in my opinion may be a inverted expy of him in elden ring: The Prisioner Tarnished. Let me explain and spoilers for the Berserk manga from here on out: First as we all know The Prisoner represents the archetype of the Spellblade, a swordsman that uses magic along side swordplay to fight. Story wise this makes the prisoner the perfect role for the Tarnished that brings about the Age of the Stars (AoS) ending, which in turn makes The Prisoner a full blown Expy/parallel of Griffith himself in the lore of Elden Ring due to all the parallels/similarities in both Griffith's story and the storyline the Prisioner Tarnish has to walk to reach that ending. First lets talk about Griffith. To make things short in the manga Berserk Griffith is taken prisioner for seducing the crown princesses of Midland and spends a year being tortured while wearing the iron mask shown in the video. Later, after being released by his companions he's given the choice to sacrifice said companions in order to kinda ascend/transform into an evil demonic god, a member of the GodHand; and the Prisioner's journey to bring about the AoS is a positive/good twist and interpretation of this, a "Griffith, but not actually Griffith, did nothing wrong" sceneario. How and why? The reasons/similarities are as follow: First: Griffith was a skilled swordsman that mainly uses a slender blade which allowed him to move freely in combat. The Prisioner, and the Spellblade archetype as a whole, also uses a slender blade and moves freely in combat in order to avoid damage as opposed to a full blown armored magic knight that dives head first in the thick of it and takes hits head on due to wearing a full set of armor. Second: While the magic knight is typically show as a fantasy version of a medieval British knight, the Spellblade is sometimes presented in fantasy with an appearance similar to that of a sword wielding French Musketeer. It is theorized by many Berserk fans that the story is mainly set in a fantasy version of France (there's a video somewhere in yt that may point at this) making Griffith a French man furthering the connection between him and the Prisioner/Spellblade. Third there's the Prisioner's origins: According to the game the Prisioner used to mingled among the elite or was a straight up member before "falling from grace". The elite being probably the Carian Royal Family since the spell that The Prisoner uses at the start of the game is one of Carian origin. In Griffith's case he was very well liked by the nobility of Midland before being sentenced. Fourth: Griffith's fall was due to him seducing Charlotte, the crown princess of Midland while the Tarnished Prisioner properly becomes the consort of Ranni the (legal) crown royal princes of the Carian Royal Family at the end of her quest, which is necessary to unlock the AoS ending. Four and a half: At the End of Ranni's quest line, when you become her consort, the Tarnished is gifted with the Darkmoon GreatSword. This would be perfect for the Prisioner who is a Spellblade and the Dark Moon Greatsword is a literal magical sword fit for the consort of a demigod known as the Lunar Princess. (Although personally I believe the Wing of Astel is a better intelligence weapon than the DMG.) Fifth: In order to achive his ascension into the GodHand Griffith willingly sacrificed his companions, the Band of the Hawk. At the end of Ranni's quest all of your questline companions, Ranni's subordinates, also end up dead due to different circumstances. The main difference being that while Griffith knew what He was doing the deaths of Blaid and Iggy were not intentional on part of the Tarnished and are seen as unfortunate; except for Sellevus, that creep got what he deserved. Sixth, and this is the big one: Griffith became/ascend into a member of the GodHand, a group of god like demons that serve an Eldritch god that is technically the main antagonist of the whole story, at least thematically speaking that is, the GH and Griffith in particular are the true bad guys. Meanwhile at the AoS ending Ranni, possibly representing an unseen moon themed god/entity (the jury is still out on that one), becomes the goddess of the new aforementioned age just like Marika was the goddess of the previous one. This would mean that as her consort the Tarnished/Prisioner ascended into a demigod, the Elden Lord of the Stars, just like Godfrey, Radagon and by extension both their respective children were ascended into god like status when they married Marika.

[@dippking4638]

No

[@stormdragon2529]

the ritual at castle Sol failed cause of Radahn holding out the stars. that's why Malenia went out to battle him at Miquella's orders and that's also when he was kidnapped by Mohg

[@Blockvard]

Wonder what will happen when the Erdtree is under Shadow...rebirth of Miquella in the eclipse perhaps...

[@Asterati]

I think Miquella was going to use the cocooned albinaurics as sacrifices, and a big part of that is another Fromsoft game called Kuon

[@Doffy11232]

Interesting, vaatividya theorized they wanted to be born a new mimicking Miquella but failed in the process, but I've never heard of this before.

[@Asterati]

It's a kind of obscure game that bombed when it came out. The plot has to do with an evil priest transforming people into monsters by putting them in wicker chests with silk worms, and a pair of twins that are a manifestation of holy mulberry trees. Fromsoft likes reusing themes from their previous games.

[@nickytheanimal2413]

Miquella being the dude of sleep and Griffith having a dream just dawned on me as another cool connection

[@lahunica2726]

Judging by the lore of Miquella, for him to be a friendly NPC with even a pretty good ending would be logical, almost nothing in game makes you suspicious of him.

[@808nzaro]

too many red flags on Miquella to not be suspicious

[@Daanikduul]

what about him attempting to evoke an eclipse that actively spreads deathblight (castle sol with the eclipse shotel)

[@Eternal_Placidity]

Idk… the fact the he supposedly learned how to make everyone adore him is kind of shady.

[@xxreyoxx]

That Bewitching Branch says otherwise. Miquella is sus..

[@lahunica2726]

@@Eternal_Placidity ah yes I forgot about that, although I would like to read the japanese transcript about that.

[@Christmas_Johan]

I'm not so much worried about Miquella, i am however worried about St. Trina

[@HeevaEgo]

agreed. I’ve said this in a comment elsewhere but I don’t think there’s as much similarity between Miquella and Griffith as there is between St. Trina and Griffith

[@Christmas_Johan]

​​@@HeevaEgoPersonally I like the interpretation that Tarnished archaeologist gives about Miquella, that is to say Miquella is a Christ like figure and his followers at the Haligtree await his return like the second coming. Personally it would be kinda refreshing if one character in Miyazaki game was a bit more pure hearted than Trustworthy Patches Alternatively you can view Miquella as Griffith, and St. Trina as Femto However duality is a central theme of Elden Ring, and we know from Miquella's cut dialogue that he's looking to create a world in all things may flourish, rather graceful or malign. If we consider Miquella to be the graceful aspect, we might have to also consider that St. Trina is the malign. We know from St Trina's torch that the adult depiction is unsettling to say the least. We also know through cut content the connection to dreams, The merchants, and just how much Kale's dream involves burning the place to the ground in frenzy As not all dreams are pleasant (I also wouldn't be surprised if you can fight either Miquella or St. Trina depending on options taken during the DLC, secret option both at same time sword saint Miquella here we come)

[@portalmanHUN]

There are a couple of descriptions about sleep and how it's not so different from death. Could be a hint.

[@Christmas_Johan]

@@portalmanHUN something how it prevents destined death right but is death? Makes the Melina flame of frenzy ending really interesting imo, well more so

[@joeyjones9041]

I can't wait to see why he is called the most fearsome Empyrean.

[@lambosenpaii6089]

DLC gonna be so good

[@Joshua_Shadow_Manriguez]

Miquella is more an Anti-Griffith and, if anything, is more like a Soul King candidate in Bleach. I mean, a self-sacrificing nature isn't explicitly a requirement, but it does match up with the original Soul King and Ichigo Kurosaki. Granted, Bleach also shares a lot of themes with Souls games as well, so...

[@Echidnut]

Love the metroid music

[@James-ne3lc]

The Haligtree was meant for the outcasts of society and a place where anybody could live peacefully. It's why you find Misbegotten, Albinaurics, and Loretta, who devoted herself to this idea to protect the tree.

[@EldenRingBuildsArchive]

FromSoftware loves to reinterpret previous concepts they used in their games, and I believe that the blueprint rather than Griffith, is Gwyndolin, or more specifically the Shinto God Tsukuyomi: child of the head God Izanagi (Geyn/RadaMarika), master of illusions (what are dreams, if not illusions of reality?), connection to crows, and is depicted as both male and female (Velka and Gwyndolin are the only Gods capable of passing judgment to their own kind, with both crowfolks and silver knights collecting their covenant items)

[@SixBeark]

There's a very important issue with your reading of Griffith. Griffith initiates the eclipse by giving up on his dream. The eclipse is literally powered by the collapse of Griffith's ambition. That's why the eclipse doesn't happen until *after* he throws himself on Casca. Whereas her desire for him was unconditional before, it is ultimately her repulsion and pity that break him open for the god hand. That distinction is important because we have a lot of evidence that it is the breaking of hearts & crushing of dreams that makes power in Elden Ring - Edgar the Revenger, Marias, bunch of NPC items that get stronger after you do bad stuff to the NPC etc

[@SixBeark]

It is only after Griffith loses all human reasons for living that he can be reborn

[@brothersantodes1278]

cant wait for elden rings crazy eclipse skybox dark souls 3 version was hauntingly beautiful

[@fluidabyss]

can't wait to see miquella summon the godhand

[@TheGrzesiek102]

Could this be a coincidence I just finished watching Berserk and I'm loving it. in addition, a video from you about this topic, are we waiting for an eclipse?

[@SixBeark]

Connect 'the Tarnished' with 'the Brand of Sacrifice' and you can get a bit more out of the 'what did Miquella sacrifice' question

[@jonahingram3496]

For a minute there i thought of making a casca joke but it seems that I’m blanking in it

[@Salamonderman]

Mogh is Femto - Miquella is Griffith... . . . . . . (Saint Trina could be the Moonlight boy...)

[@DreamskyDance]

There is one crucial difference... Griffith is a selfish piece of s....t, while Miquella, how ever good or bad he is, is not selfish and it seems it is not bad per se. It may turned out to be bad for us, the tarnished, and we even may fight him in the dlc, but the remains of his deeds and efforts to better the world for everybody are there. How ever right or wrong his vision it was, it is a Vision and not "sixteen year old edgelord's with too much power and charisma ideological vomit."

[@OnSchoolyard]

Marika is Griffith….maybe Miquella is Griffith jr…maybe not….but Marika is Def the Griffith in this story…

[@ChunkyDunker]

I would like to note that the bewitching branch turns the individual into a temporary ally. We get the Fervors cookbook after getting the Moghwyn palace map. It’s crafted by using a sacramental bud and Miquella’a Lily. The bewitching branch could possibly be used to lure those not accepted by the Erdtree and Miquella used these beings to further his own goals. He bewitched them into following his rule. If he could gather enough power from these beings by sacrificing them, he might have accomplished his goal whatever that may be. Possibly breaking the curse of eternal youth to gain enough owed for a new age. Maybe the age would be in the spirit world and he would need enough power to kill Godwyn’s soul.

[@Raito73]

Pretty sure Miyazaki wouldn't give us some warm story or good ending with Miquella and I wouldn't surprise if any of the "Femto" things come out. Miyazaki always hiding some evil ideas behind his evil smile, LOL

[@Yul_B_Awright]

just to clarify: the moonlight boy is very very likely the child of Casca and Guts, that was corrupted by Griffith during the eclipse and used as a vessel for his rebirth during the ceremony with the behelith/egg-like apostle. It was heavily implied before and with the transformation on elf island it was pretty much confirmed...

[@Deal2306]

I don’t think many of these are similarities. You did start off and conclude by saying a lot of the Zerk refs are surface level. Their similarities begin to diverge pretty fast and I personally don’t see anything deeper aligning going from where the story currently is. Keep up the videos though! I automatically click on anything I see you post!

[@schnoz2372]

Whats most interesting is how the tree's branches offer paths to different parts of the world. Thats amazing.

[@-Sparagmos-]

I'm pretty sure Ico was the biggest inspiration. The ones that are there are mostly superficial.

[@toji6476]

I truly believe miquella wont be an antagonist to our character in the dlc

[@Etticos.]

Oh boy am I a sucker for a video detailing the ‘Zerk refs in a Souls game!

[@parisp7502]

oh my God you made me realize the connection with only the thumbnail. Bro.

[@hannahshark8080]

It's 4am and I can't sleep. Ooh, new Zio vid 😍

[@Cj-Wu]

sick video i was thinking about this and was HOPING someone touched on this !

[@Jakehatred666]

It just dawned on me that, Visually, Mogh carrying off a sleeping Miquella is akin to Zodd Carrying Griffith around. Better yet, The way Miquella is all withered and practically devoid of life is exactly how Griffith appears right at the cusp of his ascension into a God Hand.

[@tz5116]

Miquella could be a 'good' version. Or his downfall is gonna show in the DLC. So excited.

[@Zarocaz]

My current theory, at least based on the image we were given, is that Miquella might be playable somehow or for part of the DLC. Story wise though it could go a different way. I think at this point Miquella's plan got fucked enough to drive him to do things he normally wouldn't, which could invert his usual benevolent demeanor into something more sinister. Who the hell knows?

[@vexmyth0clast]

I actually just watched a lot of the Berserk anime for the first time a few days ago and I’m absolutely blown away by the story. It’s an absolute masterpiece in storytelling and character development. I’m going to watch the films and read the books next.

[@tollutollu]

Just opened this video about Miquella, I sure hope Ziostorm saw my previous comments and now understands that the "Halig" in Haligtree is Old English for "Holy" and that the g at the end has a y sound if it's near a long vowel, like i. I'm sure he will correct his prior errors in pronunciation this video!

[@bhz8499]

Maybe Miquella will be MESMERizing us in his demon form. Impaling us or our summons with bewitching branches….

[@kamuymamushi5877]

Have been waiting so long for the lore between Miquella and Griffith

[@PlutoBlack]

What if FromSoft is like, “Fuck it, three phase boss battle for Miquella.”? I can see players battle a Corrupt Miquella (Femto), Prime Miquella (Reincarnated Griffith) and then Child Miquella (Pre-Eclipse Griffith) at the end. They got a lot of things to work with lolo

[@Noizzed]

Also both were raw dogged by an old dude who is a powerful leader

[@gaddielrodriguez7372]

Another clear connection for me is Griffith’s ability to manifest on dreams just like Saint Trinna.

[@BlackXSunlight]

I always figured the eclipse didn't work out because Radahn's magic was pausing all celestial movements above the Lands Between.

[@lordodin5755]

Me fighting miquella with the big sword "GRIFFILAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA"

[@dragonenderfowl5040]

This post has aged like fine wine that was converted from water by Jesus Christ himself since SotE’s release.

[@k2geekd]

no it didn’t 😭 this vid shows base level comparisons that don’t even reach into his motivations, fate, and story.

[@mcclanesjolund4813]

Could you imagine if Miyazaki just got to directly make berserk into a game

[@ghoulishgoober3122]

Like sekiro but you play as Guts without as much parrying, or maybe more parrying but a focus on the beefiness of it, only some attacks will have to be parried or something but you really feel the parry

[@storkyfallout6516]

Took me by surprise when I realized that they where similar. From the egg to the soldiers sacrificing themselves to the womb tree with a blinded by faith warrior woman who follows him to see his dream come true.

[@cesarbernardi1646]

I'm going to thrown in a theory: Miquella went away with Mohg voluntarily. Malenia was absent, but Mohg still doesn't have what it takes to invade the heart of the Haligtree. His faction is simply unmentioned as being part of the Shattering war. His army is non-existent (hard to believe a handful of red frogs would defeat any army) his main agents (Bloody Fingers) are violent psychos more concerned with killing Tarnished (the *only* man to oppose them is Yura, who is not much in the grand scheme of things even after Shabriri possesses his corpse), and his most loyal servant (Varré) is more of a recruiter than a frontline soldier. The Haligtree could be failing even before Miquella was taken to Mohgwyn. Mohg is in cohorts with a blood related Outer god, so perhaps Miquella's blood needed a boost in order to make the Haligtree reach its full potential. It's known Miquella doesn't react at all to Mohg's advances, thus denying him his victory, while the Formless Mother power seemingly grew him into adulthood, which could be what the Haligtree needed. Griffith's ascension into Femto is basically a deal with the devil (or devils, in his case). If Miquella became a vassal to the Formless Mother, we'd need to know if that too came at a very high price (he's already sacrificed his body, both by becoming deformed and being abused by Mohg)... maybe the Formless mother will try to take over the Haligtree somehow, and the 'inevitable' dinasty is hers and not Mohg's? Of course, this leaves Godwyn completely out of the plot, and since one of Miquella's drives was either reviving him or giving him a proper death, I could be completely wrong.

[@grimngruesome8988]

Been waiting for this!

[@kenshin391]

I wish we got to see Miquella's final form. Damn that Mohg for what he's done. If we have to fight Miquella in the dlc I hope he has an epic form.

[@grgrgrgrgrgrgrgrgr]

my favourite elden ring youtuber making a video about my favourite manga? YES PLEASE!!! EDIT: amazing video, thank you so much for your work!! I had this feeling of familiarity all along but didn't make the connection between Miquella and Griffith. Can't wait for the DLC!!

[@Егор_Г]

All right...

[@NocturnalNick]

what's goin on

[@tyhussein]

🥛

[@Adelesprings]

I love your videos but I especially wante to point out I repeatedly notice the music from metroid prime series that you select, and that I love your choice!!

[@zadig08]

In Griffith's case, there is no way the ends could justify the means. No matter how glorious the outcome. That's one of the key themes.

[@malbhet]

Falconia was actually created by the Skull Knight long ago when he was still a human king before being betrayed by Void, the leader of the God Hand. Falconia disappeared when the other previous God Hand members appeared to sacrifice Skull Knight's kingdom and wife, similar to what happened to Guts.

[@avorix98]

I would love if From got the rights from DarkHorse/Young Animal to create a Berserk game. The series deserves an adaptation and I couldn’t think of a better studio to make it

[@KTheStruggler]

Elden Ring lore got me in to berserk and manga as a whole which I think is funny.

[@deathman656762]

Haven't watched yet . But first thoughts before veiwing . Their motivations are very different different . Miquella's is pure , trying to reverse a curse imposed on him and his sister . Where as Griffith desires to rule a kingdom and therefore rule over men, unpure motivation . You could say both are selfish in nature though

[@adamkorzon2972]

I was thinking that messmer was Miquellas other self and he is actually St. Trina in spirit.He shed his other self by leaving and went into the Tree and that is where he found the shadow,or Marika told him how.She might have feared Messmer and what he was doing.The serpent is the enemy and was the one who somehow duped that old man in that painting that got that rune fragment shoved up his but.Or he did that to protect it and is pulling it out to give to you when you beat a boss.Only reason you would do something like that is either being punished or hiding something in their own body.Maybe he knows the greater will and the ring was stolen or deceptively there was a coup.The whole Dragon lord and Gloam eyed queen is very interesting because it would tell me what I want to know.And treating people lesser and banishing them because you pulled grace intent fully when done with them should not condemn them to be chased out,and if I were Godfrey or the Tarnished I would have went where I wanted to go away from you.Honor warrants truth and should be respected at the very least not thrown to the wayside and take my sons lock them in a sewer and be thrown out of my house by some cheating insecure wife who wants to live forever.Or he was explained why he must in order to fool somebody or deceived.We have no idea how long Godfrey took to leave once grace was stripped,and how long before Radagon first appeared.That would tell me if maybe he was sent from the shadow lands?With his golden host?Or was he a champion related to the Giants.When you read a book there are some things left out for the imagination I get it,but sorry to say the lore is really vague and has a sense of multiple writers.If this was just a book people would hate it lucky it is a game.They should have at least give us some idea how Marika was both her and radagon.She does not just hate him she is saying you are not yet me you are not yet a god then immediately shattered.They were already together before she said this.The empyrean thing has to be explained for us to even have any clue what is going on at all.If you know that you can pretty much imagine the rest.Was Marika willing or for a while planning all this?Or did she just have an epiphany?The greater will or grace is all for us coming back and brandishing the ring to rip down Radagons duct tape job for us to face and fight the beast as well.Or are their rules it must be won in battle no other way.Way too many questions

[@Radagon69]

Nice work

[@Sinha010]

Here's some interesting but dark information. I haven't read berserk but Miquella and the moon boy remind me of some esoteric knowledge. There is something called the tree of life present in all humans and some occultists have been known to be able to fracture the mind and create multiple personalities in people. The ways are horrid, but the top of the tree of life is the mind and the bottom is the an*s. They say that if you cause harm to the base of the "tree" you're able to split the tree, causing multiple personalities. It is done through the key of Solomon, which is a hexagonal representation of the an*s and it goes through the tree and breaks the mind into hexagons. Idk if Griffith went through an*l r*pe, but if he did, then the writers are really knowledgeable of the occult.