User blog:AK151/"Sacrifice" Analysis

So, another Volume ends, and we've got another soundtrack to look forward to (I'm personally waiting for a full version of "Die" myself). And, as is seemingly customary with the end of each volume, we get a new song (or at least a snippet of one) to go crazy over. And since Jeff was so kind as to post lyrics to both this one and "Caffeine", I'm going to go ahead and do an analysis on the song that I feel (out of the two) is most deserving of it (if you haven't guessed, that would be "Sacrifice"). So let's get started. And as a quick note, it's not until the later bits of the song that I feel my analysis gets stronger. Just a bit of a disclaimer.

The Lyrics
Close your eyes now, time for dreams.

Death is never what it seems.

An interesting way to start a song. It sort of sounds like a one-way dialogue (like the episode cut of Red Like Roses Part II). "Death is never what it seems" is an interesting line. There are plenty of ways to interpret it, but in order to get to the bottom of what the narrator is trying to say, we have to first have an initial view of death.

As shown later in the song, the narrator seems to be speaking to someone willing to make sacrifices, perhaps even going so far as to sacrifice his or her life. If we go off of that, and we take the almost lecturing tone of the song into account (more on that later), then one likely interpretation of that line is that death (or, more specifically, a sacrifice) is generally associated with doing some good, saving lives, helping others. And if that perception of sacrifice isn't what it seems...

So, in essence, our narrator is basically saying that a sacrifice meant to save people doesn't necessarily do that. Sometimes sacrifices are in vain. Sound familiar? We can tie that theme back to the second verse of Red Like Roses Part II (in case you haven't figured out, I'll be drawing quite a few parallels between these two songs). However, "death is never what it seems" implies a philosophy exemplified later in the song: sacrifice is always pointless.

Did the things you thought you should,

all the things they said were good.

Well, we've established the song's status as a one-sided dialogue. The wording of these lyrics makes the narrator seem almost chiding. Perhaps the person being addressed is naive? Or perhaps he or she tries to take the counsel of others into account to the point where it is that counsel that decides whether something is good or not (ie. a sacrifice)? There are all sorts of ways to take that line.

All your faith in ancient ways

leaves you trapped inside a maze.

Faith in ancient ways? Have hunters and huntresses been established as an ancient order? Or maybe, in keeping with the currrent themes, our narrator is referring again to sacrifice? The age-old assumption that a well-placed sacrifice could save many more? I'm genuinely unsure about what the first line means. Ancient ways could mean a myriad of different things, from fighting, to being a hunter/huntress, to helping people, all the way to sacrifice.

However, the second line is definitely clear in that whatever these "ancient ways" are, faith in them is blinding. So be it some long-standing tradition, or something ancient keeping everyone safe, it's rendering everyone blind to everything else (trapped in a maze, lost).

Take the lives of those you need.

Sow the death, then reap the seed.

Well, that's dark. The lines here imply that the hunters and huntresses (assuming the song is talking about them) are no strangers to throwing people away. They choose the lives they need, and send them out to die, probably in the hopes that they curb an incoming threat, perhaps from the Grimm. They reap the seeds of sacrifice, in this case, either more time to prepare or more lives saved.

Born an angel, heaven sent...

Before I continue, this line, assuming the narrator is still talking to his or her mute dialogue partner, this establishes said mute character as someone who did a lot of good and who righted a lot of wrongs. Someone willing to lay down his or her life for others. This verse also, in my opinion, establishes fully the song's status as a dialogue between two characters.

Falls from grace are never elegant...

Well, that's certainly not a good thing. What our narrator is saying is that our "angel", our good person, the one our narrator is presumably talking to, had a fall from grace; something happened that tore our angel down, bringing him or her to a low.

Stars will drop out of the sky;

the moon will sadly watch the roses die...

Summer. Rose. Our "angel" is, I am almost certain, Summer Rose. That also means that our narrator is talking directly to Summer Rose. Not only has she had the most prolific sacrifice in the series, but she's arguably the one most identified with roses (even Ruby uses roses as an analogy to watching her die). So, more evidence supporting Summer's death/sacrifice.

...in vain;

lost, no gain.

And more evidence to support Summer's vain sacrifice. Lovely. Whatever she did, it didn't do anything; our narrator is basically saying that Summer wasted her life.

But you're not taking me.

Here's where it gets good. Our narrator isn't going to go down with Summer. This establishes not only the personality of the narrator, but the relationship between the two (at least to a certain degree). They certainly know/knew each other, but I don't think they were friends. Perhaps they were rivals, two powerful warriors with conflicing viewpoints; on one end, Summer, the selfless idealist, focusing on the now, and on the other end, the narrator, cold, pragmatic, not with a particular love of life but a love for living, and with an eye for the long run.

You can't have my life.

<p style="text-align:center;">I'm not your sacrifice.

More reinforcement both for the relationship between Summer and our narrator, and our narrator's personality. They certainly weren't friends, otherwise the narrator wouldn't be so hostile (and he or she sure does seem quite hostile towards Summer's notion of sacrifice) towards Summer. Our narrator is taking a stand; he or she won't go down with Summer; perhaps he or she likes living?

<p style="text-align:center;">You can try, but I'm free,

<p style="text-align:center;">and you won't conquer me.

Okay, now that's interesting. Now our narrator isn't as much showing selfish concern for his or her own life as much as taking a stand against someone who is apparantly pressuring others to fight in vain. Our narrator is asserting his or her free will, clashing directly with Summer.

<p style="text-align:center;">I won't crawl,

<p style="text-align:center;">most of all,

<p style="text-align:center;">I won't fall

<p style="text-align:center;">for you.

Summer is asking our narrator to take a fall. Not with her, but for her. That's what that final line implies. Our narrator isn't going to throw away his or her life at Summer's request. Selfishness? Maybe.

The Narrator
Now then, there's lots of speculation on who the narrator is. I think it's a dead certainty that the song involves Summer Rose in some way, shape, or form. Mainly because of the rose allusion, along with the theme of the vanity of sacrifice. But before we get into the big speculation, let's identify our narrator.

First off, the only ones who could possibly fit the role would be either Summer or Cinder. I don't think there's anybody else who could be making this narration. So, let's evaluate the potential for these characters to be our mysterious narrator.

Summer: I'll admit, the credit for this concept goes more to ChishioKunrin than to me. Basically, the idea is that Summer's going off on the establishment; she was expected to sacrifice herself, and maybe it did seem that way, but she in reality refused to waste her life, and lives. That's ChishioKunrin's theory, at least, and it does make quite a bit of sense. It's not something I thought of, but I wanted to put it here anyways because it's a good theory. All credit, of course, goes to him for it.

Alright, with Summer done, let's move on to my own theories as to the identity of the narrator:

Cinder: I think Cinder's been the subject of more speculation than any other character. No one knows anything about her, and therefore, we can all make up all sorts of potential theories about her. So here's another one of mine: she's the narrator of this song. But the implications are greater. For the purposes of this speculation, I'm going to assume that "Sacrifice" is both a one-sided dialogue between Cinder and someone else, and that the "someone else" is Summer Rose (all based on the evidence from the analysis above).

With all that assumed, we learn not only aspects of Cinder's personality, but bits of her background: she knew Summer Rose. However, unlike many theories (including mine, at one point), they weren't friends. In fact, the song suggests the opposite: there is a distinct lack of respect in the way the lyrics are written (see Tone below) that makes it seem like Cinder is either mocking or scornful of Summer's sacrifice. She is certainly mocking of Summer's willingness to accept the age-old strategy of throwing hunters and huntresses at a threat in order to keep it back. Additionally, Cinder isn't one to waste her life; perhaps she recognizes that Summer's sacrifice is in vain, or perhaps she simply doesn't want to lose what she has. But the gist of the song is that Cinder is taking a stand against Summer Rose as the latter tries to convince the former to fight something and potentially (or likely) die in said fight.

In essence, "Sacrifice" represents Cinder's thoughts on the concept, and her refusal to throw her life away either with or for Summer Rose.

There is another possibility, however, one that might not be as much a stretch as some might believe...

Raven Branwen: The mysterious woman no one knows nothing about, who looks way too overleveled to fight with anyone other than a main main villain. Why is she a potential narrator, you ask? Well, first off, we know nothing about her. Actually, that's not true. First off, she's very powerful (or at least, she seems powerful), and probably very experienced. She bears a likeness to Yang, but that isn't particularly significant for our purposes. The important thing is that she seems to be fighting against Cinder's forces (and possibly, by extension, the Grimm). She isn't a hunter or huntress, however, at least, not one known to anyone else. Why? Well, Oobleck would certainly know if there were other hunters or huntresses in the area. Also, if Raven were a huntress, would she not have stayed and helped fight? No, she's a rogue element, seemingly against Cinder and/or the Grimm, but at the same time, apparently concerned with nothing (aside from Yang's safety, perhaps).

So, we know she's powerful, experienced, and a rogue element. Here's the kicker: we don't know her relationship with Summer Rose. It could very well be possible that Raven knew Summer Rose, and is the one taking a stand against her; instead of sacrificing her life in vain, she decides to go out on her own and fight the Grimm her own way, leaving Summer to make her sacrifice.

So, basically, it's the same as if Cinder were the narrator; the song is Raven's refusal to Summer to throw her life away.

Tone
This will probably be a bit on the short side, but I feel it's important to the overall feel of the song. The way the lyrics are written, it almost seems as if an air of condescension pervades the entire song. Our narrator is showing mocking scorn towards Summer's sacrifice, it seems, and this scorn culminates in defiant refusal to participate in the same, stupid, pointless action.

Throughout the song, we get the sense that there is no air of respect between the two people. Whoever the narrator is, he or she doesn't have any respect for Summer Rose, or her willingness to sacrifice herself. Perhaps that feeling is mutual.

Story Implications
Okay, here's where things might get interesting. I honestly don't know where to start here, but  before I do start, let me just say that this is all pure speculation based on pure speculation based on an interpretation of the lyrics of a song. These are my theories, and I do not expect them to be right.

With that out of the way, let's start our speculation by making assumptions: Cinder is our narrator, and she's talking to Summer.

So, Cinder's our narrator. That means she knew Summer, and fought on the same side as her. Summer decided to make a sacrifice and tried to talk Cinder into going with her, and Cinder refused for reasons unknown. So, that begs the question, why is Cinder now fighting against Beacon, the people she was initially fighting for? Well, I've put this theory on paper before, but maybe Cinder is still fighting for Remnant, but in her own way?

She's still fighting the Grimm, but perhaps she believes that Beacon is weak and needs to get stronger in order to face the threat of the Grimm properly. That certainly isn't evident from the Volume 2 finale, but I'm firm in my belief that the Grimm in that episode were weak (even the Nevermores and Death Stalkers; keep in mind, Beacon was basically successfully keeping these things in captivity). Cinder believes that no one is prepared for the Grimm, so she decides to launch an offensive against the world to jar it into reality and make it get its act together. True, if that's the case, then the lyrics are a bit contradictory: despite her insistence on not falling, that's exactly what Cinder does. However, in this case, perhaps she was referring to a vain sacrifice. Or perhaps she simply wouldn't fall at Summer's behest ("I won't fall for you")?

Now, let's switch gears and assume that Raven is the narrator, and that the dialogue is between our overleveled masked Yang lookalike and Summer Rose.

We learn that Raven had little respect for Summer, and nothing but scorn for the establishment's strategy of throwing men at a problem until said problem is curbed. She refused to be a part of it, refused to throw her life away for no reason. She refused to fall. So, she set off on her own, to fight the Grimm her way. And that's where she is now. The question is, what part will she play as the next volume unfolds? We just don't know where she stands at this point, so it's very difficult to say.

Let's stray from narration for a bit here, because there's actually something I want to focus on:

<p style="text-align:center;">Born an angel, heaven sent...

<p style="text-align:center;">Falls from grace are never elegant...

<p style="text-align:center;">Stars will drop out of the sky;

<p style="text-align:center;">the moon will sadly watch the roses die.

I think at this point the most prevalent assumption is that Summer Rose (I assume the one being referenced in the above verse) died making some big sacrifice to save lives. But that doesn't sound much like a "fall from grace". So what if the circumstances were a bit different.

Now, this is a bit on the crazy side, so bear with me. Basically, what if Summer, the model huntress, the perfect mother, and the angelic woman, saw something, some danger or some evil, and she decided that the only way she could fight that evil would be to stoop to its level? What if, instead of some big sacrifice in battle, Summer's sacrifice was slower, as her character slowly began slipping away? She started lowering herself to the level of her enemies, and in doing so, she began to fall from grace? Her death was not completely literal; the roses died, faded, but the person still lived. She concealed the changes from everyone around her, and the only one that could watch her as she slowly died was the moon. And one day, she goes on a mission, and dies anyways. Her sacrifice, her decision to basically kill her character, ended up being completely in vain.

And that's where our narrator comes in. She notices the character change in Summer, and when the latter tries to convince our narrator to do the same, she refuses to fall with her, or for her. Thus, Summer Rose, perfection incarnate, falls from grace and sacrifices herself in vain, with none to watch the roses die but the moon.

True, the song doesn't completely support this (if it's a dialogue, then the narrator is also referencing Summer's adherence to "the rules", which sort of potentially contradicts the entire basis of that theory). But still, it's an interesting thought...

Other Comments
What with all the mentions of "falling", it's interesting to note Cinder's last name. Just a small thought...

With regards to the full version of this song (I assume there will be one), it's going to be insanely awesome if this is like a version of Red Like Roses Part II except as a debate between two people of equal stature with little respect for one another; for example, our narrator mocking Summer's sacrifice, and Summer trying to justify it or something along those lines. That would be very interesting.

The concluding songs in each volume (based on a sample size of a whopping one volume) seem to relate to the past few episodes (Stray focusing on Blake's acceptance issues with her team). What of note was there in the past two episodes? We saw some Grimm, but they got so utterly destroyed they couldn't possibly have had a lasting presence, at least not for us. Neo and the lieutenant both dominated their fights with Yang and Weiss respectively (actually, with regards to the latter, the lieutenant just got a good hit in; before that, he was getting completely screwed). Roman got captured. None of this really sticks, aside from Neo, but we still know absolutely nothing about her, save that she fights for Roman, doesn't speak, and can make an overpowered character look completely undertrained. However, we all remember two real things: Raven Branwen's appearance, and Cinder discussing the furthering of her plans (and calling the day a success). That means that in some way, I firmly believe that the song either relates somehow to Raven or Cinder, as they are the most prevalent parts of each episode, plotwise (not counting CFVE, as they already got their own single).

Conclusion
So there we have it. My "analysis" of "Sacrifice". I'm honestly not sure how worthwile any of my anaylsis or speculation will be, considering not only am I constantly changing my theories as I think more about them, but that I am quite possibly delirious from lack of sleep (which might also contribute to me potentially forgetting something important). However, that's basically a moot point. Hope you all enjoyed this wall of text! Good day!