Category: Beyond

Have you ever read a Tweet on Twitter dot com that made you want to put out a bonfire with your face? Slap your forehead in despair? Maybe it evoked enough rage within you to respond, even though you knew it was a waste of time to engage? Trick question, I think we’ve all been there. I was there, in the trenches, very recently when this lovely Tweet came across my feed, in response to someone stating that both Elden Ring and Bloodborne were games that centered very heavily around women:

So instead of wasting my breath arguing with someone who seems to have the media literacy skills of a kumquat, I will instead be wasting my breath on my own blog, where I can rant in relative solitude.

I think it’s important to first point out that no one mentioned “feminism” in anything this man was responding to – he’s the only one using the term, which I think is a good example of what the kids would call “telling on himself.” Nor is the inclusion of women, or focus on femininity in any regard inherently feminist, which should be obvious. He also seems to be dying on that hill that, somehow motherhood and women aren’t the “only” themes (or singular ‘theme’ according to him, I guess the game only has the one), nor are they especially central to its narrative. Again, no one was claiming that these ICKY feminine themes were the ONLY relevant aspects of Bloodborne, but I digress. I’ve tried really hard to reign myself in, and keep this relatively short, as I love the intricacies of Bloodborne‘s story so much, I could easily ramble for 10,000 words. Anyway – let’s examine some cornerstones of the game’s plot, and you can be the judge.

“Let the pungence of Kos cling, like a mother’s devotion…”

We’ll start from the ‘end’ so to speak – with Bloodborne‘s DLC. The Old Hunters sees your character transported to, and trapped in a liminal, alternate reality known as the Hunter’s Nightmare. As you progress through the Nightmare, you’ll learn about its origins, and the nature of the curse that afflicts all blood-drunk hunters who become trapped there: it all started with a Great One, Kos (or some say Kosm). When this Great One – maybe not female in the traditional sense, but referred to as Mother Kos – washed ashore, already dead in the Fishing Hamlet, its residents came to worship her, and indeed, were eventually transformed by the parasites that lived inside her body. When Byrgenwerth scholars caught wind of the presence of a Great One, they invaded the Hamlet, and massacred the residents, looking for evidence of eyes inside their skulls (a sign of the presence of the Great Ones). Some of the denizens seem to have been kidnapped in order to be experimented on in the Research Hall. As for Kos herself – the hunters pillaged her corpse and stole the umbilical cord inside her; it’s not clear whether the Orphan of Kos was already dead, or if it was killed in the process. Regardless, the wrath of Mother Kos – or rather, her lingering consciousness – was so great that she created the Hunter’s Nightmare. This realm would become a purgatory of sorts for every hunter to experience, as punishment for their transgressions within the Hamlet. An eternal curse, a cycle that would never end. And this is, of course, an important clue in the history of the Hunters, their obsession with the Great Ones, and why the story of Bloodborne happens as it does.

Though it may not be apparent immediately, its clear the further we get into our journey as a Hunter that this interest in the Great Ones is key to the plot of Bloodborne. When our Hunter’s story begins, we’re not sure what has happened within the city of Yharnam (or how/why we’re even there) – all we know is that its the night of the Hunt, we’re a Hunter, and we’re to kill as many beasts as possible. Right off the bat, however, we know there’s more to this story – we’re given instruction to “seek Paleblood to transcend the hunt.” We’ll get into that later, but it seems that mindlessly killing beasts is not our sole purpose. We’re also given the impression that, though the concept of the Hunt and the beast plague isn’t new, something about this particular Hunt is different; the beasts are bigger, stronger, and more numerous than ever before. The night feels never-ending. More and more of Yharnam’s citizens are turning, and it seems the Hunters are fighting a losing battle. But as we later discover, this isn’t necessarily the beginning of the struggle – the Hunters have been fighting a losing battle for some time, and it’s why the Hunter’s Dream exists.

We know that it was through the power of a Great One that the Hunter’s Dream was conceived. Laurence, founder of the Healing Church, after leaving the school of Byrgenwerth and turning his back on his master, beckoned the Great One known as the Moon Presence in order to strike a bargain. Though the nature and terms of this bargain are unclear, we can guess at the possible motivations of each side. Laurence, in fear of the Hunters being overwhelmed by the beast plague, needed more time to figure out a solution, and stronger Hunters on the front lines – the Hunter’s Dream effectively creates immortal Hunters, for as long as they’re tethered to the Dream, they cannot die. But what is in this for the Moon Presence? What could a Great One want with simple humans? Well, the game gives us some information to work with: firstly, that the Great Ones are “sympathetic in spirit, and often answer when called upon,” which could explain the Moon Presences’ initial interest in helping Laurence. Secondly, and more importantly, the Great Ones cannot reproduce. Every Great One loses their child, and yearns for a surrogate. Perhaps then, the Hunter’s Dream served as a proving ground for one that would become the surrogate child of a Great One.

“When the red moon hangs low, the line between man and beast is blurred. And when the Great Ones descend, a womb will be blessed with child.”

We know the Great Ones cannot reproduce, and always lose their children, but there is evidence of one significant liaison between the Great Ones and the Pthumerians that resulted in a child of sorts. The Pthumerians were an ancient, humanoid race of people who once inhabited the labyrinths below Yharnam – known to us as the Chalice Dungeons. Also worthy of noting that the city of Yharnam shares its namesake with the Pthumerian Queen, Yharnam. Clearly not an important female character. Yharnam can be encountered as a boss in the Chalice Dungeons, but during the main game, we see her several times when her phantom appears to our Hunter. First, she appears to us after defeating Rom, the Vacuous Spider; Queen Yharnam is tall, pale, and wearing a flowing white gown stained red. Her bloodied abdomen is impossible to miss, and we can infer that she was pregnant with the child of a Great One (Oedon, in this case), and this pregnancy ended in either miscarriage, problems during childbirth, or more disturbingly, that the child was forcibly ripped from her womb. It’s at this point, when she first appears, that we begin to hear the cries of a baby, and are introduced to the ritual that the School of Mensis is performing in Yahar’gul – a ritual that granted them audience with Mergo, an infant Great One, and allowed them access to the Nightmare. This infant Great One, Mergo, is implied to be the child of Yharnam, and it is within this Nightmare that we encounter the Queen a second time. She stands at the foot of Mergo’s Loft, staring upward – she does not acknowledge our Hunter at all. Once we’ve defeated Mergo’s Wet Nurse, and successfully silenced the infant’s “harrowing cry,” we can check on Yharnam again. She bows at us (in thanks, perhaps?) and vanishes from the Nightmare. It’s at this point that we can return to the Hunter’s Dream, and finish the game.

As with all FromSoftware games, there are multiple endings available for our Hunter in Bloodborne – the “true” ending, however, is locked behind the finding of, and consumption of, three key items. What are these key items, you ask? Umbilical cords, of course! Famous for not being associated with women, childbirth, or motherhood. There are actually four umbilical cords available to our Hunter throughout the game, and consuming at least three will grant us access to the thing we’ve been seeking all along – Paleblood. Paleblood, as it turns out, is less of a what, and more of a whom. Paleblood, also known as the Moon Presence, is the Great One behind the inception of the Hunter’s Dream, and the final challenge standing between us, and true ascension. Defeating the Moon Presence grants us the Trophy, “Childhood’s Beginning” and turns us into an infant Great One – an alien slug baby. Beautiful.

And so, a game that initially seems to be about dealing with standard Gothic fare – fighting supernatural beasts, dodging deadly plagues, tolerating the English – shifts gears to become a Lovecraftian cosmic horror. Our Hunter learns about the different factions of the Healing Church, and their different methods of elevating humanity, and ultimately, understanding the Eldritch Truth. So I think we’ve already established, even though I’ve barely scratched the surface of the intricacies of Bloodborne’s plot, that the game is very much not “at its core about stopping a beast plague by killing as many of them as you can.” The point of killing the things we do is to gain strength and Insight, which directly correlates to our ability to perceive the Great Ones, and extend our consciousness beyond our physical realm. The beast plague itself is directly tied to the presence of the Great Ones, their influence, and the denizens of Yharnam using (and abusing) the blood of the Old Ones without understanding the consequences.

Again, why are the Great Ones here? They seem interested in humanity primarily for their ability to reproduce. And Bloodborne is riddled with reproductive imagery, and themes of birth. Cycles, blood, pregnancy, wombs – it’s all there, if you have the insight to recognize it. We have Annalise, Queen of the Vilebloods, sealed away in Cainhurst Castle where she waits to conceive a new Heir of Blood. We’re supposed to bring her Blood Dregs in order to do this – check them out and feel free to let me know what you think they look like. We’ve already talked about Queen Yharnam, but we also have Arianna, an NPC we interact with throughout the game. She is also impregnated by a Great One, and gives birth near the end of the game. You can obtain one of your Third Umbilical Cords by destroying the child. We have the School of Mensis – “Mensis” sounding an awful lot like another term, ‘menses,’ having to do with menstruation, and childbirth. Which is, you know, typically associated with women. And of course, we can’t forget the crowning glory, the epic symbolism that is the Orphan of Kos beating the Eldritch Truth out of you with his own placenta-turned-weapon. A very humbling experience, to say the least.

So there we have it. Bloodborne, in a nutshell: a game that is clearly devoid of any thematic concepts relating to motherhood, and women. On a more serious note, I find it baffling that you could even try to make the argument that these plot points aren’t the core from which the spokes of Bloodborne’s narrative originate. This has to be willful ignorance, right? It’s concerning to me that someone would view the simple inclusion of themes relating to women as offensively feminist, and therefore worthy of disdain (and also being willing to die on that hill). I can understand pleading ignorance for concepts that you may not have noticed, or for things that went over your head, but denying their significance is something else entirely. And if you genuinely got through this entire game without understanding, or being able to comprehend the importance of these “feminine” themes, I have only one thing to say to you: skill issue. I hope your mother is proud of you.