After I finished Dream Drop Distance, I watched Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover, the movie included in Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue.
Unlike the previous “movies” included in the remixes, which were made up of game cutscenes, χ Back Cover is more like an actual movie. It’s set during the same time as Unchained χ, but follows a different perspective and shows different events. It doesn’t function as a replacement for the mobile game’s story, but as a new part of the saga.
χ Back Cover was pretty interesting. It had some fantastic moments, and I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next.
And then it ended.
It left me with a feeling similar to when I finished Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. “I can’t wait to see–what, why are the credits rolling? That can’t be it! It can’t end like that!”
The good thing, of course, is that unlike KotOR II’s abrupt ending, χ Back Cover essentially teases things to come. It gives a few answers and raises a ton of questions.
Click for χ Back Cover spoiler
You know those “eyes” on some of the Keyblades? Apparently the Master of Masters can use those to see things. All things. Even things in the future. So he’s been spying on us all this time?
That’s not creepy at all!
χ Back Cover sets up a bit of a mystery. It seems there is a traitor among the Foretellers, and as they try to figure out who this traitor might be, they all turn upon each other. But was that an accident, or was it planned? The Master of Masters gave each of his apprentices a specific role that seem designed to ensure they’d become suspicious of one another.
The Master of Masters makes this movie. If nothing else about it interests you, at least watch it for him. Kingdom Hearts has always had comedic moments, but the Master takes it to a new level. Nothing in this series has made me laugh as much as the Master of Masters…
…and yet at the same time, he seems dangerous. Funny, yes, but anyone who can chuckle over how they can’t stop the impending apocalypse doesn’t seem like a good guy.
(Plus he’s so unpredictable that his apprentices are almost always nervous around him. They have no idea how he’s going to react.)
Click for χ Back Cover spoiler
And just how much did he manipulate events?
His “eye” let him see into the future, which is how he wrote the Book of Prophecies. The ending of the Book of Prophecies describes a disastrous Keyblade War and promises that “on that land shall darkness prevail and light expire.”
The Foretellers believe this is in their immediate future, and the Master of Masters says they can’t stop it. Trying to avert it is what leads to their fears of traitors, and (probably) leads to the actual Keyblade War. A self-fulfilling prophecy, then?
But the Master gives his Keyblade to Luxu and tells him to pass it down to his apprentice, and have his apprentice pass it down to his apprentice, thereby ensuring he can watch future events.
He then congratulates Luxu, because the Book of Prophecies is proof that he succeeds in his task.
Mind-bending enough… but wait. The Book of Prophecies, which ends with that catastrophic passage, is proof that Luxu passed the Keyblade on to his apprentice? Then it doesn’t refer to the Foretellers’ immediate future, but a more distant future!
(This matches the Kingdom Hearts 3 trailer scene in which Young Xehanort seems to believe the “darkness prevail and light expire” line refers to their future.)
Yet the Master led them all to believe it was soon… why? So they would tear each other apart? Did he want the Keyblade War to happen? Yet he emphasizes to Ava the importance of ensuring the light survives…
To me, the biggest mystery after watching χ Back Cover is the Master of Master’s motive. What does he want?
Ever since he was first revealed, some fans have speculated that the Master of Masters might be the next Kingdom Hearts villain after the Dark Seeker Saga ends. Now, I still kinda think the Master is Braig, or at least connected to him. While they don’t have the same voice, they have similar mannerisms.
But if the Master is the next main villain… well, for the first time, I’m excited for a Kingdom Hearts villain after Xehanort.
Yet, is the Master of Masters even evil? Is there truly a traitor among the Foretellers? What does the Book of Prophecies really refer to?
Kingdom Hearts χ Back Cover is frustratingly short. It’s like half of a great movie, which leaves it as more of an… enjoyable teaser. Nevertheless, it teases some pretty intriguing things, and it’s worth it for the Master of Masters alone.
Now, that only leaves me with one last piece of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue to play…
In the meantime, there’s also exciting news for fans of the Professor Layton series!