It’s all a spoiler, so most of the post will be behind the tags. Sorry.
Ok, that part of the theory is out the window.
At first, when the show started, I thought, “ok, I half expected to see the original timeline somewhere in the series, so enh.” I was really kind of disappointed at some cliche elements. Oh, me of little faith….
Until, that is, Sayaka went over and became a witch… I won’t describe what happened next, but it was the foundation upon which Homura’s trek through hell was built. It isn’t clear over just how many time loops Homura’s been trying to save Madoka — and failing every time — but it looks like we’re on the fifth iteration. Face Walpurgis alone? Been there, done that. And failed to save Madoka from Kyubey, as she became a Puella Magi, one-shotted the witch…and became the most powerful witch ever. So what if Makodka the witch destroys the world? Kyubey doesn’t care; thanks to Madoka, they’re way over quota for this quarter. Lots of emotion in the world’s destruction…. Terrify Madoka and make her an enemy? If that is what it takes to keep her promise, Homura will pay that price.
My final prediction:
Hold it. Refrigerator moment…
- In the first timeline, Mami dies at the beginning of the fight against the Walpurgisnacht. Madoka carries on, knowing she can’t win, but she does… at the cost of her life. Homura wishes to “redo” her meeting with Madoka so that she will become the one to protect Madoka — so she becomes a time-traveling puella magi.
- Second loop, the three of them fight, Mami dies, but Homura finds out the truth about witches, as Madoka barely survives, only to become a witch. Homura resets again.
- Third loop, all the girls join up, but no one believes her. Makoka and Homura have to fight without Mami, and both barely survive, with their gems black. Madoka uses her last grief seed, that she’s been hiding, to save Homura. Homura resets.
- Fourth loop, she kills Kyubey and warns Madoka, — but as we see the beginning of the first episode, Kyubey is still trying to persuade Madoka. Successfully as it turns out. Madoka one-shots the witch, ends up replacing her. Homura resets again, and we’re now in the fifth timeline.
Notice the pattern here? Two girls, both die. Three girls, one dies, one’s badly wounded. Two girls, both barely survive. Two girls, witch loses badly; both girls survive but one becomes a witch. Madoka is becoming more and more powerful each loop. In the first loop, Mami is clearly stronger. By the last loop, Madoka is able to easily defeat the most powerful witch in the world. Kyubey, in the fifth timeline, is mystified as to how Madoka can be so powerful. Is Homura somehow dragging Madoka’s soul back with her each time, reinforcing it? Is she unintentionally strengthening Madoka’s powers in some other way? Does Homura’s reason for time-traveling somehow make Madoka the center of the universe, and thus most powerful spirit in it? Is the real answer going to be that this time, Madoka will be so powerful, that she will transcend to something beyond a puella magi, that isn’t subject to Kyubey’s rules? Kyubey’s Gun: “You could become a goddess, you’re that powerful.”
Delicious, if he’s undone by the original wish he granted to Homura. Damifino if that’s where they’re going, though. If I could answer those questions, I’d be the writer…
Getting stronger: [spoiler]Doesn’t Madoka’s wish change each time? Become about more and more important things? If Madoka makes the right wish, then we get Homura’s victory scenario.
That’s my guess.[/spoiler]
We never actually see her wish, but from Kyubey, we know her potential is off the scale at least in this timeline.
Given the scale of destruction in Japan this morning, this is a crappy whine, but dammit the timing sucks.
Hm hm hm…
[spoiler]I don’t know that it’s a matter of Madoka getting magically stronger. We know that Sayaka, for example, didn’t display a lot of imagination in using her power – some stuff like what she saw Mami do, otherwise just swinging her sword. So what if Madoka is like that? If all she’s got for an example is Mami’s guns-and-threads, then is there necessarily a spur for her to do a lot better? But faced with a more-competent Homura, suddenly Mami looks a lot less impressive. And Homura is getting more and more deadly. I mean, she started off with nothing but a stopwatch and a pipe bomb, but in her current incarnation she takes the witch that downed Mami and punches it out trivially – not breaking a sweat, even. If Madoka’s got the potential to do essentially what she wants as a magical girl, then Homura’s spurring the potential on, not necessarily by some mystic method, but just by showing her that there are greater possibilities.
So what’s the difference in this loop? Kyubei’s motive has been revealed, by Kyubei, so there’s no issue of whether Homura is telling the truth or not. Madoka knows what happens to magical girls. In a way, Homura’s already fulfilled old-Madoka’s request – if Madoka steps up to become a magical girl now, it’ll be with her eyes wide open.[/spoiler]
I disagree.Homura’s getting better too, because by now she has four or five times the battles of the other girls. But it’s determination, battle experience, and learning new ways to use her power. Watching her rob the police station blind for gear was hilarious. Not sure how she got hammerspace in addition to time travel, but it answers the question I had about where she pulled the grenade from. But there’s no question that Madoka is gaining potential with each trip. It’s not that she steps up her game to keep up with Homura — that would take time and experience that she didn’t get in the fourth loop. It’s that she has greater potential, so there’s another explanation necessary.