[Rewatch] Mahou Shoujo Madoka☆Magica Episode 12 Discussion

###I Can’t Make the Fourth Watch for the Fourth Movie Joke Since ~~Walrus~~ Walpurgis no Kaiten Isn’t Out Yet (Rewatcher, Subbed):

**First Scene (00:00 – 02:33):** We had a climactic emotional scene and a climatic battle scene last episode, but the true overall climatic moment of the show is here. We’ve had a single driving question throughout the entire show: will Madoka decide to make a magical girl and if so what will she wish for? Now, at last, we get an answer to that question, along with Madoka’s reason for making it (via monologue to Homura). All that remains is denouement. (Side note: this episode and episode 12 aired as a two-parter due to the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and resulting tsunami forcing a delay ~~pay no attention to how Shaft project management might have forced a delay anywaysr~~ – “the year the world gave up Madoka Magica for Lent”, ha ha only serious, episode 11 aired the day after Ash Wednesday and these two episodes aired on Good Friday – so there is less need to built tension back up than you would have with a weekly break.) Note that the answer reiterates Kyubey’s sneaky thesis statement at the very start of the show: Madoka *does* have the power to change this incredible tragedy… provided that she makes the correct decision wrt her wish, which she has just done.

(Also, a side note on Madoka: to reiterate a point I made last year, Madoka is slightly unusual. Unlike the three arc protagonists, Madoka is *not* really a dramatic protagonist per se. She has a little character arc to her, but it’s entirely rediscovering the her that she has always been and is understated. Instead, Madoka is fundamentally an *investigative* protagonist, a type more commonly seen these days in detective fiction (also relevantly given Gen Urobutchi, it’s not an uncommon protagonist type in horror, especially cosmic horror). She is posed with a question and her task is to discover all the information she needs to make an informed answer to that question and then make it.)

**Second Scene (02:44 – 04:11):** Hello Sagitta Luminis! Oh wait, I should actually say something about the narrative purpose instead. This scene is actually mostly functioning at the thematic level (it is hammering in probably the single strongest theme of the entire show); it is, however, also explaining the cost of what Madoka has done and why she thinks this is worth this in spite of that.

**Third Scene (04:12 – 07:15):** The thing about this episode is that I really don’t have too much to say about it because it’s not doing all that much on the narrative level. Last scene was largely thematic, this one jumps up to mostly functioning on the symbolic/conceptual level and the mythic level above that. From a strictly narrative perspective this is mostly just one final moment of audience catharsis via Madoka being fucking awesome. (Which of course is not unimportant: that catharsis is the *entire point* of tragedy, though here it’s coming about by the intervention of an outside power (thus transforming the tragedy to comedy) than via the tragic hero’s final fall. But that’s really not the actual focus of this scene, just how what it’s actually doing is transmitted.)

**Fourth Scene (07:16 – 09:37):** So, first, a stray note on my “the reason Walpurgisnacht doesn’t seem to have a barrier is because the entire show takes place inside it” theory: if I didn’t mention it last year (I probably did and forgot about it), note that the sound effect for the universe being rearranged is the Witch barrier collapse sound effect. As for the scene itself, again it’s functioning mostly on the symbolic and mythic levels I think; the narrative point here is mostly showing why the negative effects that would be expected from Madoka’s action don’t happen.

**Fifth Scene (09:38 – 13:19):** From a narrative perspective I am inclined to call this scene “the scene that explains why Homura is vaguely okay with this despite all she’s gone through for the sake of saving Madoka” and “another part of why Madoka herself is okay with this”.

[Rebellion aside] >!If you’re going “wait, would Homura really be okay with this?” then well do we have a movie for you…!<

[Rebellion speculation] >!The much more interesting question is whether Madoka herself is actually really okay with this. I have some doubts and this scene is one of the big pieces of that…!<

**Sixth Scene (13:19 – 15:47):** We are now firmly in the denouement and it is time to wrap up the remaining loose ends. Here we get the coda to Sayaka’s arc: the effects of her wish when all is said and done and her reaching a level of peace with how it all turned out. We also get reaffirmation from Madoka that the desires that led girls to become magical girls are not pointless and are worth recognition and respect.

**Seventh Scene (15:47 – 16:51):** Part 2 of the denouement: showing how the new system works after Madoka’s alteration, as seen from the perspective of the girls still in it, plus showing that Homura has in fact managed to retain her memories of Madoka – and that she is the only one who still remembers.

**Eighth Scene (16:52 – 18:50:)** We also get to see that the loss of memory of Madoka extends to her family… except Takkun, which actually makes sense, there is a concept in certain circles that children can see the Unseen to a greater extent because they haven’t yet been trained out of doing so and I suspect that our creative team here was familiar either with that directly or with fictional depictions of similar concepts. (To quote on GNU Sir Terry Pratchett who I strongly suspect was familiar with the ideas of said certain circles: “I’m a wizard! We can see things that are really there, you know!”) We’re also getting to see that the Kaname family is still doing fine deprived of its older daughter and that Homura is doing reasonably well… and also a bit of very late characterization, that despite everything Homura is willing to give up her only memento of Madoka for the sake of Madoka’s family.

**Ninth Scene (18:50 – 21:28):** More denouement: Kyubey and magical girls (or at least Kyubey and Homura) seem to be on better terms in this new universe. We also see the new enemy that magical girls fight instead of Witches and that Homura now fights on in Madoka’s name, plus the new weapon with which she does so.

[Rebellion aside] >!If they didn’t either alter the script slightly in the last few weeks to support a sequel and/or intentionally plan a potential sequel hook when finalizing the script in the first place then they did a damn good job of using this scene as a lever for Rebellion. Some of the rest of the finale is iffier in that regard unless a very specific theory of mine pans out, mind…!<

**Tenth Scene (23:00 – 24:06):** A distant coda with Homura marching off to potential doom against a swarm of giant majuu/Wraiths[1] sometime in the indefinite future, ala the legendary Bolivian Army ending, as Madoka’s voice urges her on. Then we get a final curtain call from our main characters and all the other magical girls, because this show does like to use its stage play framing.

[1] – “‘Go to hell.’ ‘Earth first.’” Sorry, couldn’t resist.

### Rewatcher

## Madoka Magica – Impactful and Artful: [Episode 12](https://imgur.com/VauEpKS)

_Everything, Everywhere, All At Once_

What an incredible episode. It really is the most ultimate climax the narrative could have had and it was pulled off to perfection. These past 11 episodes have been the build up to the universe defining wish Madoka makes this episode.

Madoka’s wish is her solution to all the pain witches have caused throughout history across every timeline: “By my own hands I wish to erase every single witch in every universe, past and future”. This is a not subtle Christ allegory, all the way down to bearing the sins of every magical girl and removing the consequences of making the contract. Despite this, it’s still EXTREMELY effective storytelling. Madoka’s wish is so cathartic to watch as it rewrites this horrid multi-verse into one where magical girls can have hope.

The ultimate catharsis comes from Madoka embracing Homura as she comprehends the struggle Homura went through across these multiple universes to save her. Although Madoka now exists on a different plane of existence to Homura, she is still with her through her omniscient perception of time and space. It is beautiful to see Homura gain a newfound hope through this and determination to keep moving forward.

There are however problems with Madoka’s wish. She did not solve entropy. She did not undo the cycle of magical girls. She did not erase the sadness and hatred from the world. This of course further strengthens the Christ allegory, but leaves the show in an interesting place.

There are still magical girls. Kyubey is still on earth collecting energy. The girls still fight against manifestations of despair. Madoka appears to have [found some meaning in all of this](https://imgur.com/BDZLt7w). And so Homura will fight to protect it just as Madoka wished.

—

In terms of philosophy, I don’t exactly agree with this (and I think I’m in a minority for this belief). I don’t like the idea that hatred, suffering, and death brings meaning to being human. That kind of thinking has been used to justify numerous atrocities. That said, it’s convenient to delude yourself into believing it since it makes the evil which exists in the world easier to ignore as a natural part of life.

However, I can’t fault Madoka Magica’s exploration of this theme. In particular, I don’t think they are painting Madoka’s choice as necessarily right or wrong. Rather it is being used to explore her purity and the relationship between her and Homura. In this way, they executed on the characterization shown so far to perfection and leaves the narrative in a place which can act as an end to the story.

However, it is not the end. Until tomorrow…

[](#stare)

### Some Amazing Shots, Scenes and Stitches

* [No reason to despair](https://files.catbox.moe/s5265r.mp4)
* [Best Friends](https://imgur.com/Cw2ZK5e) (“friends”)
* [Homura Happy](https://imgur.com/pX7JLyx)
* [The Fight Continues](https://files.catbox.moe/o0nr6y.mp4)
* [Don’t Forget](https://imgur.com/fZ06LsJ)
* [Puella Magi Madoka Magica](https://imgur.com/y7abGw4)

See you all tomorrow

Rewatcher, dubbed

An important aspect to the finale I’d like to draw attention to is the effective defeat of Kyubey. In direct contrast to Kyubey’s claims, Madoka defeats even the witch born of the culmination of all the suffering of every magical girl across time, and a few people have lingering memories of her. If, as has been speculated a lot in this rewatch, Kyubey cannot tell lies then Madoka’s wish has indeed transcended reality.

Now then, I’d like to get a bit poetic.

Despair is easy. Verily, the world creaks under the weight of humanity’s sins. All manner of incomprehensible, meaningless cruelty is splattered across history’s pages, both modern and ancient. Some give in to it, others destroy themselves trying to combat it. The worst among us use it as a weapon.

Hope is *hard*. Hope *matters*. If nobody cares, nothing will ever get better.

But there’s more to it than that, blind faith solves nothing on its own and is often counterproductive. A wish has to be actionable. To be actionable, a wish must also be realistic. To make realistic wishes, one must understand reality.

A big part of what separates Madoka Magica from others of its kind are its concessions. We can’t save everyone from making bad choices, we can’t eliminate despair, and sometimes we have to accept loss or make a sacrifice to move forward, but we can wake up tomorrow and try to make something of what we’ve got. As long as we can do that, it will have been enough in the end. Hope and despair needn’t be a zero sum game.

> If someone tells me that it’s wrong to hope, I’ll tell them they’re wrong every time.

QotD:

6) [No…](#thoughtful)

### Content Corner Reruns

I mentioned that if I could Clockwork Orange everyone here into watching just one video from the ones I’ve shared, it’d be Explanation Point’s, but I may have to retract that statement. Meguca is a mandatory experience. For the love of Madokami, just watch it! **That includes you this time, first timers!**

[Meguca](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrgxHDoe8gA) from Exists to Keep Meduka Video on Youtube

[Visual Storytelling – Breaking Down PMMM – Final Dialogue](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQjoORWhc_4) by clearandsweet

*”Ah, you seek meaning. Then listen to the music, not the song.”*-Kosh

Rewatcher(Througout Heaven and Earth MadoKami alone is the honored one)

Sub

My third time writing up this episode, and my third time immediately taking an hour to do other things. This time, I re-read some old comments to see what I’ve missed and…I can confidently state this contradiction: I do not logically understand what I just saw. That said, I understand it inherently. Basically, it as close to a religious experience as I can tolerate. But anyways, I have good news! There’s no need to wonder where your Goddess is! She stands right there before you and she is fresh out of despair…

So Madoka finally discovered a wish that could break the system and Homura has given her the karmic juice to power it. In both sub and dub, we get the closest thing to fear Cubes has had and it warms my heart. As she spreads through time, and probably space, we see that a lot of the girls are much younger, which is eww. But a new universe is formed and Homura is the only one that remembers the old one…mostly.

Madoka herself changes her base nature to a huge degree. Interestingly, the nearest comps to this are the Prophets from Deep Space Nine and Dr Manhattan from Watchmen. Now while I am positive Gen has read Watchmen, everything about Madoka’s new form is much more Prophet(or whatever beings they are based on) in that it isn’t eternal suffering or loneliness or anything. This is a good end…for Madoka, at least.

So…from last rewatch, I will again say that no scifi/rational interpretation of this show works. Everyone is much better served using the theatrics and moving on from there. I’ve not been big on it here but Cubes is Mephistopholes and little else.

Last main point is the incredible irony I find when people say “Madoka is just misery porn/Gen hates magical girls” after seeing him make one of the best entries into the genre. Madoka’s wish is a perfect solution for that genre because despite all the horrible wrongs of Cubes, her wish is for hope and not wrath.

So this is an incredible, beautiful, self contained story that both breaks you and then heals you. There is absolutely no need for anything more. So of fucking course the infected, swollen stab wound that is Rebellion happens.

QotD:1 Darmok on the ocean

2 No but it is better than what I could conceive

3 It is the most complete story I’ve ever seen

4 No

6 I really don’t like not having a season discussion day so what’s part of the movie I get to, I get to.

# First time watcher (for the last time!)

Well done Madoka! *That* was a wish worth sacrificing your soul. The writers did not dissapoint – all of the lead-up and context surrounding Madoka’s power wasn’t just lip service. Her reality-shifting wish really made Walpurgisnacht look like childs play. That said, I’m absolutely heartbroken with how things went for Homura and Madoka. That conversation she had with Madoka’s family absolutely shattered me. I am hoping that the movie is a little more positive.

As an overall impression of the series, I now truly understand why it is one of the greats. I’ve watched quite a bit of Anime, and I’ve seen a lot of shows that are incredilbly well made, exciting, and entertaining. Very few stories are like this one though, stories where you can feel the love and care infused into them. It’s something truly magical, and I will hold Puella Magi Madoka Magica near and dear to my heart for years to come. If I had to give it a word – this show makes me feel hopeful. Madoka is constantly in tears and anguish over how unfair the world is, and as a viewer, you feel it too. No matter how hard things got though, Madoka never once gave up hope. She believed in a happy ending for her friends, family, and universe from start to finish, no matter how much that beleif hurt her. That hope is something I’ll treasure. A very fitting sendoff quote:

Don’t forget.

Always, somewhere,

someone is fighting for you.

As long as you remember her,

you are not alone.

Also wana say huge thanks to Tarhalindur and Shimmering-Sky for hosting this rewatch. I probably wouldn’t have ever taken the time to sit down and watch this show if it weren’t for your efforts. Thank you for introducing me to something so incredibly special.

QOTD

1. THAT DID NOT SOOTHE MY SOUL
2. In some regard yes, I figured it would be a world-changing wish. I didn’t expect a whole new universe, though.
3. I was very satisfied. The buildup to this point justified it completely. It’s heartbreaking but still so good.
4. I mean… I could do without the nudity in the final episode but I’m pretty desensitized to that thing at this point. Other than that, nope.
5. Preferably some sort of happier resolution for Madoka/Homura