Okay listen up! I always thought the fact that Guts in his dark Berserker Armor and Casca with her white flower dress look like a broom and bride (suit/wedding dress respectively) was a coincidence… but MAYBE this is not a coincidence after all!
The best part on this is: BOTH Guts and Griffith want to be together with their mistress of choice (Casca/Charlotte) but for completely different reasons (Love/Power) – and it’s that reason that will decide whether they will stay together in the long run.
Part 1: Listing Observations
Consider for a moment that….
- we are facing Griffith’s coronation, which means he will have to marry Charlotte.
- in the Golden Age, there are parallels between Guts bonding with Casca (waterfall scene + sexy time afterwards) and Griffith “bonding” with Charlotte by invading her chambers to steal her virginity (in the most emotionally disconnected and mechanical way possible). There’s a good chance these parallels will happen again, given the similarities of theme and setting (e.g. after Doldrey, celebrations in Wyndham vs the celebration in Elfhelm)
- so far Guts and Griffith are often connected in a dual way that IF something good happens to the one, something bad will happen to the other. the best example being in the Golden Age, while Guts and Casca were screwing eachother with a passion, Griffith was suffering in his torture chamber. This type of duality is seen many times throughout Berserk.
Based on these assumptions we can attempt to form hypothesis, by attempting to create parallels to the golden age, while keeping in mind the current situation and state of mind of the characters at the same time.
So let’s ask a couple of important questions and list a couple of observations
If you like my blog consider buying some of my merch on redbubble or commission me (I do art)!
Will Charlotte like getting married to Griffith?
👎 She has been feeling like she does not matter much to Griffith for a while now, similarly how Casca felt about Griffith during the Golden Age. She’s clinging to the hope her lover may give her more attention. Still, Charlotte needs something more profound to make her break away from Griffith (e.g. knowing what happened during the eclipse).
👎 Sonia’s importance to Griffith makes it harder on Charlotte to reach Griffith and get some positive attention from him. (Also fun side note: there possibly will be a similar situation between Guts/Casca/Schierke, but I expect this to be dealt with in a much healthier way)
What are the chances of Casca forming a new bond or team together with Guts?
👍 Unlike Charlotte – who is ridden by doubts about being together with Griffith – we have hard evidence that Casca actually WANTS to see Guts and still LOVES him. The WILL is still there. (TIL GutsXCasca/GriffithXCharlotte duality exists also!)
👍 Casca is a mentally strong person. She won’t give up easily, is fueled by a purpose or a noble dream, from which she manages to draw incredible emotional strength. If she has a goal and purpose in mind, there is no way of stopping her, even if it means sacrificing herself for Griffith, or for the preservation of the hawks after Griffith was captured. This is something what most fans forget these days. This incredible strength will give her a good starting point dealing with her trauma.
Yes, Casca will change as a person because of these traumatic experiences, but someone does not simply get rid of one of their core personality traits because of it (similarly, Guts suddenly didn’t become a weak-ass character after the eclipse).
You may also like: Guts and Casca – finding comfort in themselves
👍 Farnese is still working towards Guts’ favor, as revealed in the passage of dreams (”I will blow your darkness away”). She will give her best to have Casca recover from her trauma, and ideally get them back together as romantic couple.
👎 Guts is a living reminder of the eclipse and thus Casca’s trauma, very likely causing her excruciating emotional pain.
👎 Casca will NOT like that Guts continues to fight as the berserker. She has seen Judeau an Pippin die saving her. We have seen them both in her memories during the passage of dreams. In no way she will let Guts die or even let him end up as apostle or demon.
Conclusion: We get both very strong hints that – while both Guts and Casca still love each other – it is not clear whether they can be together. At the same time it’s not a possibility to be excluded. Still, a lot of development has to happen to make this possible.
Part 2: STarting points for A hypothesis
Okay, let’s keep the above aspects in mind. The next step is to take 3) Duality between Guts and Griffith into account and try to spin these threads further. Let’s form two extreme scenarios (“black” and “white”) to see how likely they are. Evaluating these extreme scenarios gives us a good starting point to extrapolate possible outcomes (which may be “gray” instead of “black” and “white”):
“Griffith will have his glorious coronation while Guts will enter a new age of despair with Casca rejecting him”
How likely is this scenario? Given how 1) Charlotte seems to be having doubts about Griffith and experiencing distance, and 2) Farnese being devoted to have Casca’s soul healed and 3) Casca is a mentally strong person, it’s actually unlikely it will happen as the story currently stands (unless Miura as a writer lets certain world-things happen to make this scenario work).
“Guts will have his glorious reunification with Casca, while Griffith will have his dream destroyed since Charlotte decided to betray him”
I actually do not think this is going to happen in this form, either, at least not yet! Charlotte won’t be rebelling against Griffith anytime soon (unless she gets to see what he has done to get Femto-status, she won’t). The same can be said to Casca: I don’t think her reaction and interaction will be all positive after she is confronted with the fact the eclipse actually happened. There are a lot of negative things that need to be processed here. Still, given the symbols in Elfhelm and the nature of the setting there, plus the fact it was made VERY clear that Casca still loves Guts, I feel like the resolve can be positive in the long run (or perhaps even the entire opposite given that cherry trees are symbols of fleeting, short-lived beauty in Japan, for example).
That is interesting isn’t it? There is a good chance that neither Guts nor Griffith are going to experience something overly negative or positive in the next couple of chapters to come, but something more in between. In the long run, this may look very differently, however!
Part 3: The hypothesis
Both Guts and Griffith are extremely close to reaching their dreams (arguably, Guts is possibly closer to this than Griffith currently is). With their dreams being so close to being fulfilled, it’s possible something happens that may shatter these dreams apart, which may send them to a downwards spiral. We already know something like this happened when Griffith and the old band of the hawk victoriously ended the 100 year war – then everything began falling apart the moment Guts left the hawks. So given the factors I listed above, it’s possible that BOTH Guts’ and Griffith’s dreams are being tested: but their outcomes may end up being entirely different, given their capacity to form friendships with people and the dynamics among their companions.
What could be shattering Griffith’s dream?
If Charlotte sees past her infatuation with Griffith, it is possible she will break away from him. Her loyalty to him is being tested already. As the story currently stands, we are still far away from this, but I can see Miura doing this in order to to create a climax for a final confrontation: Remember that she did rebel against her father, the King of Midland, and learned to despise him the moment he sexually assaulted her. That even went so far as to help the Hawks to get Griffith out of his cell (this is pretty HUGE; remember she’s literally the Princess, in a worst case scenario it would have gotten her beheaded for treason) So in other words, particularly Charlotte is not fond of people that commit sexual assault. What would happen Charlotte was told by Casca what Griffith has done to her…? Remember that having Charlotte in the bag means the throne for Griffith.
We also know that Minister Foss, while he currently is being docile to Griffith, seems to know the truth about Griffith’s conspiracy that killed Lord Julius, Adonis and the Queen of Midland (okay – if he doesn’t already know about Julius and Adonis, he’s smart enough to figure it out by himself). If Foss decides to speak up for whatever reason, e.g. Guts entering the scene and turning the tide somehow, Griffith will be in big trouble.
We already see Sir Laban question whether demons and humans are meant to be fighting together and that he still feels uneasy cooperating with them. Him and Sir Owen are both candidates to potentially switch sides if shit hits the fan.
Conclusion: Griffith has no genuine, healthy relationship to anyone at this point. Even the interactions he has with Sonia remain kind of shallow. Most of what he does remains mostly in the shadows, unknown to everyone, including the reader. Except for his entrancing charm, god-like powers, taking the role of the messiah, and his vision of a united empire, there is no “personal” value (e.g. friendship) that people have in Griffith – but they may get benefits by allying with him, e.g. protection. I think people will ditch him the moment he loses any of this or his credibility.
That being said: the points above alone do not suffice to combat Griffith – but if all of these factors come together at the right time, they may contribute greatly to Griffith’s final downfall.
What could be shattering Guts’ dream?
Guts’ conviction and choice to protect those he loves instead of going after his fated nemesis may be challenged once again. Casca’s scream at the end of chapter 355 could trigger a chain of events that may end up with Guts using the Behelit (or… with Guts possibly very close to using it, as it was the case with Slan’s encounter in volume 25).
What is also a obstacle to Guts’ wish to reunite with Casca is the fact he is a living trigger for her PTSD.
“Your wish may not be her wish”: Casca’s possible wish to meet Griffith (as way to avenge her ruined family) or her desire to a) protect her son or b) get him back somehow may be in conflict with Guts’ wish to protect those he loves. A similar scenario with reversed roles is also entirely possible, with Casca not wanting to pursue Griffith to preserve what is left of her family, and Guts’ desire for revenge.
What is also being tested again is Schierke’s loyalty to Guts. Ivalera notes that she has “awakened the final boss”: how Guts and Casca interact may mess with Schierke’s crush-like feelings she has for him and the sense of belonging she found in the group (remember that Schierke is one key influence that prevents Guts not turning into a demon through the berserker armor). However, given how Schierke’s and Casca’s personalities are emotionally and intellectually compatible, I actually think they are set to become very good friends – if they manage to overcome the challenges they are to face together.
Conclusion: now the thing with Guts is that we are shown again and again, his companions decided to stay with him and be loyal to him:
- Schierke was asked to join Sonia, yet she still decided to as Guts made her feel welcome by giving her comfort as she was mourning the loss of her mistress, Flora.
- Farnese also ran off to get Guts a ship and had the intention to leave permanently; but because Guts followed her, she realized her importance in the group.
- Serpico also acknowledges Guts’ honorable fighting style (not using his canon or berserker armor) while they were dueling in Vritannis – which indicates that Guts appreciated and respected him. As a result, Serpico decided to put his trust into him.
Guts is literally binding those around him to him by being respectful, fair, responsive and caring towards them.
Well with Guts himself, he has proven many times that he is fighting for Casca, for the very person that is dearest to him, with his companions reminding him of that fact. Their reminders are the reason Guts is not consuming himself in mindless rage, to fight for a dream together and to protect each other instead. The best part? It’s still Guts’ choice to follow his companions’ advice, to pick people over power, which is one reason why Guts – eventually – will be victorious.
So… that’s it from my part! I hope you enjoyed this article, I spent a lot of time writing it!
Berserk Analysis 
One thought on “Predictions based on the impending “Wedding Theme” in Berserk”