The Hypernatural and Supernatural in Madlax -- Episode 23

Episode 23: Enticement, choice and killing intention

Lost Hearts ~doubt~: 迷心 (Meishin)

Avant shows the scenery of ruins in the moon. A girl is screaming. “I missed you, Father! Stop! Why are you doing this?” There are figures of little Madlax holding a gun and little Margaret in tattered clothes. Margaret’s doll is lying on the ground. Laetitia mutters, “Yes, that’s me. …Hurry here.”

Friday Monday holds Margaret gently, covering her in his coat. Madlax is lying under the cliff, consciousless.

Friday is muttering in his mansion. “To think those who discern the era would get in my way. But she will come here. If she is Madlax, she will. As long as Margaret Burton is here, she will.” Besides him, Margaret is lying on a table with her eyes closed.

Madlax regains consciousness under the cliff. “I’m not injured. Was that a dream after all?” Nakhl talks to her. “No, it’s reality. I think you know why you’re healed.” Madlax understands. “Yes, you are right.”

Madlax has recovered from the injury caused by Margaret as she had done from the gun shot given by Limelda. Nakhl asks her, “Margaret Burton tried to kill you. Why?” Madlax answers, “Because I committed a crime. It’s only what I deserve.” Nakhl asks again. “Are you seeking death?” Madlax answers. “I’m just bad at living. That’s why I lost even my only friend. Maybe it’s okay for me to just disappear now.” Nakhl talks to her. “If that’s what you want, you can go ahead. However, living people have things they need to do.” Hearing this, Madlax asks. “Where’s that girl? Where’s Margaret?” Nakhl answers, saying, “She’s gone. Along with the masked man.” Friday is nestling close to Margaret lying in a bed.

Nakhl says, “Yes. He’s probably trying to open the door using Margaret Burton. No, the door may already be open.” But Madlax takes out a piece of paper. “No, it can’t be. Because this is here.” Nakhl asks. “What’s that?” Madlax answers her, “Now I understand. This is a page of the book Margaret Had. The truth of twelve years ago. And me myself. …I’m going. Not to kill people, but to do what I have to do.” Seeing Madlax off, Nakhl mutters, “I am sorry, Lady Quanzitta. I’ve done something that I shouldn’t have done as a discerner. However, I have no regrets. I just can’t help but be drawn to her. Madlax…” These words spoken by Nakhl functions as one of peculiar perspectives affording the meaning of the existence of Madlax and confirming the directing strategy of this anime. There are some people who advocate in their own ways the meaning of Madlax’s existence who has been declared to have “no Gift” and sentenced to be different. Madlax is talking to deceased Vanessa. “Vanessa. I’ll keep my promise to you. I will keep it. So I’ll say my goodbyes after that.” Laetitia is muttering somewhere. “They’re getting closer and closer to the truth. Soon, I’ll return to myself.”

Margaret is walking in a flower garden. “This flower… A yellow flower… Father!” “A helianthus, eh?” Friday tells Margaret. “Do you know what the helianthus means in the language of flowers? …It means ‘enticement’.” Margaret understands. “Oh. So this flower is luring someone here, huh?” “Yes. It’s enticing you here, Madlax. By your coming here, my twelve-year loss of time will be made good. Soon I’ll have what I desire.” It appears that the meaning of the flower helianthus, which was described in the episode 4 where Piederica Morey was killed by his own daughter, is going to be disclosed in this episode 23. This is one of the instances of fictional meaning configuration that has similar mechanism to the principle of synchronicity. These crossings of meaning axes come to determine the qualia peculiar to a fictional work. Just as each perception constructs qualia, a story endowed with particular perspectives is to be acknowledged as one of many modalities of intelligence corroborated by the mechanism of synesthesia for a subject of consciousness. Though Margaret is calling Friday Monday “father” lovingly, the reason is not given to the audience. This is one of the most peculiar hyper natural descriptions adopted in this anime.

By Nakhl’s guidance, Madlax and Elenore comes near the vicinity Margaret is now located. “This is Kalistale. The area of the most violent warfare in all of Gazth-Sonika.” Nakhl explains the cause that started the civil war. “By using the three books twelve years ago. …Margaret Burton, who has the Gift, makes that possible.” Madlax says, “Leave the rest of this to me.” Elenore insists, “No, I’m coming too.” Madlax answers, “No, you’d die.” This time, Madlax’s words that foretell the death of the addressed ones are told to Elenore, who has been both an obedient maid and efficient guardian and sometimes like a stalker have persistently followed Margaret.

Margaret is talking to Friday in his mansion. “Say, Father, shouldn’t we go? I want to go with you.” Friday answers, “I’m sorry, but will you give me a little more time? I’m waiting for the girl with the same name as my old friend. Yes, for Madlax.” Though this seems to be a very important information that tells about the relationship between Friday and Margaret’s father, it is a limited disclosure leaving too many voids in its content. Hearing the name, Margaret utters surprising words. “I hate that girl. So it’s okay for me to kill her, right?” Margaret is now assuming something like an expression of evil will that has been foreign to this girl. Friday answers her quite complacently, “Yes, quite all right. You can do whatever you’d like, Margaret.” Margaret asks, “If that girl dies, will you be happy too?” Friday answers, “Of course.” Margaret’s lines seem to indicate not only some special psychical phase between Her and Madlax but also universal quality that is commonly discoverable in human mind. “I’ll kill her, then, I’m going to erase her existence.” Friday seems to be much pleased with her words. “You’re magnificent, Margaret. Even without opening the door, you’re infinitely close to the human Essence. It’s almost as if I can hear that place’s melody.” This is a peculiarly interesting conversation that seems to explain the word “Essence” Friday has told repeatedly. But the reason is not given why Margaret was calling Friday “father”.

Elenore asks Madlax. “Is Madlax your real name?” Madlax answers her, saying, “No. I didn’t have any memories of my past, and I only remembered the word ‘Madlax’. So I made that word my code name.” Elenore tells her. “Miss Margaret was the same. She’d lost all her memories except for the word ‘Madlax’. Please tell me. What’s the relationship between you and Miss Margaret?” Elenore is telling the secret of her mistress to Madlax, like as she did to Carrossea, who visited Margaret for the first time in the episode 13. It is supposed she had intended to gather information about the mystery Margaret had been involved. This is another instance of hyper natural directing method indicating the chain of latent meanings with occasional emergence of fragmented pieces of information. Madlax answers her, saying, “I’m not sure. But she and I are connected. …Yes. That I can tell. So I’m going to her. To know who I really am. To find out the truth. And to keep a promise with my friend.”

Madlax and Elenore goes together into the woods where most fierce battles are engaged. Madlax readily meet the enemy. But one of the soldiers points his gun to Elenore and prompts Madlax to throw her gun away. Elenore urges her to keep fighting ignoring her condition. Madlax doesn’t seem to succumb to the order of the soldier. She unhesitatingly shoots down the bullet fired aiming at Elenore. It seems Madlax has got sound conviction of the psychical relationship between her and Margaret, and also of her ability that comes close to supernatural domain. Her peculiar faculty enacted in battle scenes may be some sort of revelation of the power Margaret exhibits in the choice of her destiny, in limited condition of gun fight.

Laetitia’s voice is saying somewhere. “You are affection within madness. A kind killer.” Against the blue moon hanging in the sky, Madlax answers, saying, “Yes, that’s Madlax. I have something I have to do. That’s the truth I chose of my own free will.” “Truth” determines personality as particular “meaning” generated by the subject of consciousness through the act of choice by free will.