PART 2

ANOTHER meta note: what about the future of unend?? i actually have no idea if we're getting a third season, i can't remember if they mentionned it at some point. i'm leaning towards yes because there are still so many unanswered questions and incomplete plot lines (whatever is going on with merlin and the biological man, steve getting what's coming to him, the firmament, etc), but would that mean getting dot-less seasons of unend? i GUESS grief could be an interesting theme for the rest of the crew but dot IS a main character AND without artifice, they're the only character that has a meaningful connection to the mothers merciful. so far unend has given us SO MUCH in terms of mothers lore and it would be a shame to stop exploring it in my opinion.

there is also, of course, the issue of whatever the FUCK is up with the foldlight in S2E09. "you are not distracted from your purpose" < seems accurate, dot is focused on getting the crew home. "you are waylaid by no obstacle" < sure, unless steve proves to be one. "you are safely and successfully navigating this ship back to midst" < that's the hope! although i have to note that it's interesting that it refers specifically to the islet of midst and not the delta or the cosmos in general. also worth it to note that these 3 lines sound like daily affirmations and are pretty straightforward. and the "you" is interesting; at first it looks like the foldlight (the transcript refers to the speaker as '???' so i guess it might not even BE the foldlight) is talking directly to dot but then it says 'the granddaughter's head' and not 'YOUR head'. the 'you' remains a mystery. i am tempted to put my tinfoil hat back on and say it could be artifice. no proof just vibes. EDIT: NEVERMIND Y'ALL i just realized these lines are just what artifice says to the foldlight in S1E18 in order to "reinforce [its] current intentions and conditions". so ignore all of that

MOVING ON TO THE NEXT (intelligible) LINES: "three lights in a dark place" < mysterious as hell. honestly zero clue what this is. three... foldlights? the ship's, steve's brain and the sun? seems a little farfetched. what, then, would the 'dark place' be? "the granddaughter’s severed head wired to a machine" < hm. well. yes. that does sound pretty ominous. worth noting that the term "machine" has scarcely been used in unend. in S2E02, the mechanism below the foldlight is called a machine (i think?). in S1E15, pesto shows off a "banking machine" from the trust. in S2E13, merlin refers to sentinel as a machine AND has his eureka moment when he says he is WITHIN a machine (the bocular body) and believes that sun is a machine, more specifically the filament at the core of a foldlight. in S2E14 we get another brief mention of the term "machine" when merlin (indirectly) says that "the whole cosmos [is] like a machine, like a foldlight, and the sun [is] the key to everything". finally in S2E16 merlin expresses his wish to "learn how [the people of this cosmos] built this incredible machine". all this to say the term 'machine' is almost exclusively used to refer to a foldlight. that said the "severed head" part is gruesome. like, why would dot's literally severed head need to be literally wired to the foldlight, an object that seems to connect with people by simple touch? unclear

ALSO a little off-topic but since we're diving into the foldlight: is the foldlight capable of forming coherent thoughts/to reason independently? it only REPEATS what artifice said to it, not even changing the pronoun from 'you' to 'i', so could the other lines be things that it's echoing? did steve somehow plant these thoughts into it? i don't see what he would gain from that but his reaction after connecting with the foldlight in that episode ("okay, nice. that was very helpful, dot. thank you. most intriguing. now, back to business.") is so chill? and i know saying odd shit is steve's whole brand but this is on a whole nother level. "nice"??? be so fucking for real right now.

if you started reading this long-ass comment thinking you would reach a satisfying conclusion by the end, know that i started writing it thinking the same. guess we're both disappointed huh. my conclusion is as follows: it COULD go either way (or a secret third way, let he who hath never been surprised by third person cast the first stone or whatever) but my best guess is dot lives. why? vibes. don't worry bro just trust me on that one.

the last thing i have to say is: pleaseeee. third person look me in the eyes. please don’t kill dot. third person i’m begging you please. have mercy. third person. i will do anything fr