Aerith's Secret [1/3] - FFVII Remake Mysteries [2/4] | Game Analysis #24
Aerith is a very important character in this FFVII Remake project and it's widely known that Aerith knows more than she should. But how and why and what does it all mean? Let's find out!
Table of Contents
Part 1 ⟵ you are here
Part 2
Part 3
We’re about to spoil the Moogle out of the original Final Fantasy VII, its compilation entries, and the Remake. You’ve been warned.
Have you ever wondered why Aerith, our beloved flower peddler and last descendant of the Ancients, is much more knowledgeable in the Final Fantasy VII Remake compared to the original work and puts new powers on display? Is she travelling through time? Is it the planet’s doing? Is it all a dream? In today’s analysis, we try to unlock those mysteries and present our theories about her new role in this multi-game epic.
Introduction
Greetings, fellow Scholars of the Lifestream!
I’m Kutakuma from the Cosmo Canyon Observatory and today, we’re continuing our series of videos explaining the additional plot elements and the ending of Final Fantasy VII Remake. We know that videos and text-based essays containing many answers and solid theories about Aerith’s knowledge and abilities already exist, but we feel confident in the prospect that we can provide additional insight and information not found elsewhere.
Covering everything related to Aerith is a huge task, so we’re splitting our analysis into 3 smaller parts. In true Final Fantasy VII Remake fashion! Though we also plan to release a complete version shortly after part 3 is online. The choice is yours.
If you haven’t watched our previous analysis on those mysterious specters—also known as the Whispers or Arbiters of Fate—I strongly suggest you do so now and then return to this video.
*Elevator music*
Back already? Fantastic! Let’s jump into the wormhole and see what awaits us on the other side.
Setup
Overview
Aerith is probably the most important character to Final Fantasy VII’s plot. Without her summoning Holy and sending the Lifestream to help, the planet would have been doomed. With this first entry in the Final Fantasy VII Remake project only taking place in Midgar, they had to somehow include that importance and solved it in a very interesting way. Like last time, let’s start by presenting a few questions we aim to answer later in this analysis.
Questions
How does Aerith know so much more than she should?
How do her different actions influence the story?
What does she do to Cloud, Marlene, Red XIII and Sephiroth’s portal?
Why doesn’t she like the real sky?
Why does she think about giving up in the flower garden?
What is her role in this whole Remake project?
Preparation
To start things off, let’s read a few passages from the Lifestream White chapters contained in the novel On The Way To A Smile which bridges the gap between the original Final Fantasy VII story and the animated sequel movie Advent Children. Those chapters will help us understand a few things about Aerith which we never learn about in other Compilation entries nor the Remake.
“She was an Ancient. Thus, she was able to retain her own selfhood even within the flow of the Lifestream. When she wished it, she could dissolve that self and become of the planet forever, but it was too soon for that..”
“[…] but the one time she did stray dangerously close, she learned something important. His memories of Cloud formed the core of his will.”
“She discovered there were many more spirits than before who resisted merging into the Lifestream’s eternal flow.”
“She dove into the current and rushed from here to there, seeking out spirits to help her - other Ancients not yet dispersed. The fading shards of their consciousness responded to her call. Heartbreakingly few though they were, she infused them with her memories and gained their help.”
“She realised the one responsible for sowing all that hatred was trying to manifest himself in the living world.”
“He would begin by using others to act where he could not. Should she do the same? No, she thought. Even if that’s possible, I don’t want to appear before Cloud as someone else. I want him to see me as he knows me.’”
Those were just a few excerpts pertinent to our analysis which is why I recommend reading the full chapters online. Link is in the description below.
Another very important piece of information for this video is contained in a quote about Aerith from scenario writer Kazushige Nojima which is part of a larger interview in the Remake’s Ultimania book:
Kazushige Nojima: “Aerith is the utmost important person in the FFVII Remake, and I was very careful with her lines. Each and every part of her carries a great meaning throughout the story, and I used that premise to write her character.”
According to that statement, all of Aerith’s lines are carefully crafted with intent and neither random nor casual. Please keep this in mind throughout the rest of this video. This is very important.
And with this knowledge in our backpack, let’s go through the game and dissect all scenes where Aerith exhibits deeper knowledge or new abilities not seen or present in the original game.
Evidence
We’ll skip the intro for now and dive right into the action where Cloud first meets Aerith in chapter 2.
1st meeting with Aerith
The encounter plays out quite differently from the original in terms of tone and motivations. There, Aerith wants to know what’s going on and only offers Cloud a flower when he starts talking about them. Here, Cloud doesn’t feel like talking at all due to Sephiroth’s meddling and tries to ignore her but Aerith practically forces him into taking the flower for free, even though she charged him with 1 Gil in the original, if Cloud chose to accept the flower in the first place. This choice is gone now. Cloud can try and reject her, but this only changes the dialog, not the outcome.
But that’s not all. Aerith talks more relaxed, friendly, and determined, as if she was already waiting for Cloud. She even tells Cloud to give the flower to his “girlfriend” if he declines the offer the first time.
Aerith: “Plus, it’ll make your girlfriend’s day. I guarantee it.”
Does she already know about his connection to Tifa? It’s not the only time she does this either. Is it just a sales tactic? Maybe. But why is she so relaxed after this Mako reactor explosion? And why does she pull every trick at her disposal to make Cloud accept the flower?
Her line about Cloud being worked up about someone being after him also seems rather curious. She doesn’t know about Cloud’s 2 prior Sephiroth hallucinations and thus insists that nobody is after him, as it was the case in the original, implying she operates on that knowledge. Without that, she wouldn’t be so sure about this.
Her explanation for the gesture of giving Cloud the yellow flower—for free no less—is also very telling.
English: “Lovers used to give these when they were reunited.”
German: “Die Blume steht für ein Wiedersehen.” (“This flower is a symbol of people reuniting.”)
Japanese: “花言葉は “再会”” (“It means reunion in the language of flowers.”)
While the English translation took the liberty to add the context of lovers, the core meaning is still the same: giving this yellow flower to someone is a symbol of reunion. Cloud and Aerith never met before, however, so this meaningful gesture raises some alarm bells. In Aerith’s eyes, their meeting here constitutes as a reunion and Cloud giving the flower to Tifa in chapter 3 happens in the context of a reunion as well.
Just when the Whispers appear again, Aerith reaches out to Cloud, genuinely scared, and firmly grabs his arm. That’s when both are able to see the Whispers. What’s also important here is that something happens to Cloud and it’s not just the ability to see the Whispers. Cloud’s shocked expression is unique to Cloud and nobody else is shown reacting this way when gaining the sight for the Whispers.
There are only 2 other instances of such a shocked expression when coming in contact with Aerith: Marlene and Red XIII. More on that when we get there.
Furthermore, whenever there’s such a focus on cloud’s eyes, memories are involved, like when seeing Nibelheim in flames, after talking to his mother, when Aerith says Zack’s name and many others.
With her grasp, Aerith accidentally transfers some memories to Cloud which will have a lasting effect on him throughout the game in the form of visions. More on that in another video.
Sector 5 church
We won’t meet Aerith again until chapter 8, but that’s where it becomes interesting. When Cloud teases her about her special Materia, that she just doesn’t know how to use it, Aerith replies with “could be” instead of “No, I do… It just doesn’t do anything.” This is a very specific change in a conversation being otherwise virtually identical.
After Reno enters the scene, Aerith already pronounces Cloud her bodyguard and knows that he’s a SOLDIER! Not only that, she follows up with bodyguard work not being too different from merc stuff. Guessing the SOLDIER part makes sense due to Cloud’s uniform and the sword and his eyes, but that he’s also a merc? That’s way too much of a coincidence. Even Cloud notices that strange clairvoyance which leads to Aerith’s unconvincing excuse.
Aerith: “Uh… I guessed! from the sword!”
This unfortunate information dump leads to a different outcome, prompting the Whispers to intervene, which Aerith didn’t seem to have anticipated.
She is very surprised that they don’t attack this time and even save her from a painful fall.
Aerith: “Huh? They saved me…”
Makes sense as she’s instead supposed to slip down the rocket wreck.
After the Whispers disappear, Cloud asks: “What are they?” to which she replies “I think… Actually… I don’t know. Let’s just go.” Aerith seems to suspect something but can’t talk about it. She seems to realize that meddling in important events is what calls forth these specters. And lo and behold, no more Whispers for the next 4 chapters, this one included.
Sector 5 slums
From now on, there are so many small but sometimes very significant hints in Aerith’s lines which can be overlooked very easily.
Aerith: “Shall we mosey on over?”
The fact that she uses the term “mosey” this early on is certainly not a coincidence as it’s contained in one of Cloud’s most famous lines from the original game: “Let’s Mosey.” Even if this is exclusive to the English version, it’s quite curious that they placed it here.
Senior Marketing Manager Neal Pabon started off the E3 2019 gameplay presentation with the same catchphrase “Let’s mosey!” and the official English Final Fantasy VII Remake twitter account—and the Square Enix account—has also used this catch phrase a few times.
However, it might also be just a nostalgic reference for the English fans. After all, the weapon seller in the sector 7 slums also used that term when scoffing at Cloud.
Weapons Vendor: “Think you can mosey up in here and have it your way?”
What’s more compelling is that she already knows that Cloud has no idea how to get back to sector 7. While she might just be very perceptive here, there are too many of those “perceptive moments”. Very suspicious.
After Cloud leaves her behind by progressing too far too fast, she gets back at him a bit later with the following line:
Aerith: “Hmm... Maybe I'll go on ahead and leave you all by your lonesome.”
In isolation, this sounds innocuous, but knowing the original story, this might allude to her leaving Cloud and the others behind when she goes off to summon Holy by herself after the Temple of the Ancients.
Later in the scrapyard, we come across a closed gate where Cloud has to move a green crate and monkey bar across to get to the other side. If we try to open the gate first, she already knows that there’s a way to get to the other side only for Cloud:
Aerith: “Maybe there’s a way to get over it? For you, at least.”
After we open the gate:
Aerith: “Thanks, Cloud. I knew you’ll find a way.”
Aerith drops a different line if we do this without approaching the gate first:
Aerith: “Nice work! Way to think ahead.”
Meaning, we only hear her clairvoyant lines when we try to follow the direct path. Curious.
Aerith’s home
Their dialog while walking towards Aerith’s home is an interesting one:
Aerith: “So, Cloud, what’s your favorite flower?”
Cloud: “They’re all the same to me.”
Aerith: “You sure you wanna say that to a florist?”
Cloud: “Better than lying”
Here it’s established that Cloud prefers to say the harsh truth. However…
Aerith: “Okay, then what’d you do with the flower I gave you?”
Cloud: “I, uh…”
Aerith: “You give it away?”
Cloud: “I did.”
Aerith: “Ooh! To who? Tell me!”
Cloud: “Don’t recall.”
Aerith: “Hmmm?”
Cloud: “What?”
Aerith: “I thought you didn’t like lying.”
So, right after he says that he doesn’t like lying, she puts him on the spot with a question he doesn’t want to answer truthfully and accuses him of lying, as if she knew. Which she did, of course.
After introductions in Aerith’s home, Cloud worries about leaving her alone in case the Turks show up again. Unconcerned, she answers with:
Aerith: “I’ve dealt with them before. Honestly, I’m much more worried about you. What if you get lost, huh?”
Firstly, she wouldn’t say that to a random merc who can clearly handle himself. Secondly, why does she care so much about him getting lost? She immediately turns the conversation around by repeating a talking point established during their escape. Cloud seems to share this way of thinking and replies with “Quit acting like you know me.” which is hilariously meta.
Of course, Aerith doesn’t give Cloud any slack and immediately decides to escort him to sector 7, just like in the original. However, there’s a difference. There, Cloud asks her whether sector 7 is far from her home and mentions Tifa. That’s enough incentive for Aerith to show him the way to reunite him with an important person. In the Remake, Aerith asks Cloud if he’s gonna head back to sector 7 and immediately offers to show him the way. She clearly sets up the situation for having a reason to bring him there. Why? To ensure the events play out as intended and to avoid further Whispering.
This guy are sick
When entering the kids’ hideout for the first time, Aerith drops another seemingly innocuous line:
Aerith: “I know this place is off-limits to grown-ups, but if we want to rescue them… well… We gotta break the rules.”
Quite the uncanny foreshadowing of this first installment’s main goal: to save the planet, they need to break its own rules by removing the enforcers of the original chain of events. Just like they need to break the kids’ rules to save 2 of them. Furthermore, on board the Highwind after the rocket flies into Meteor, Cid calls the planet a kid.
Hmmm…
Shortly before they return to the hideout with the rescued kids, Cloud suffers from another memory flashback of young Tifa.
Cloud: “Tifa…”
Aerith: “Tifa? What’s wrong?”
Cloud: “Nothing.”
Aerith: “Is Tifa, like… your girlfriend?”
Cloud: “No.”
Aerith: “But she’s someone special.”
Like during their first meeting, Aerith makes use of the word “girlfriend” and even after Cloud’s denial, she determines Tifa to be someone special to him. In the original, Aerith reacts with disappointment if we confirm her question about Tifa being Cloud girlfriend. Here, she keeps pushing this narrative, as if she knows Tifa is Cloud’s only option for the future.
Right after Cloud’s encounter with the guy that are sick, he’s trying to resist the reunion’s call but can’t snap out of it until Aerith interferes and tells him to get it together. An oblivious person would ask if Cloud’s ok or at least add an explanation to why he should get it together. Yes, Aerith did see Cloud in a similar state before in chapter 2 when they first met. Still wouldn’t she ask him what his episodes are about or at least offer him to talk about it? Her reaction and behavior here implies that she already knows about Cloud’s troubles.
Shortly after, Cloud asks her about Sephiroth. She innocently claims to have heard from the news that he was a war hero who died in an accident 5 years ago. However, her reaction to Cloud’s speculation about Sephiroth still being alive speaks volumes. The camera zooms in on the lower part of her face while she replies with “Oh, right.” hiding her eyes. This is a technique often used in Japanese media, especially Anime, to show emotional distress or to hint at the character hiding something while being emotionally distressed.
This fits our hypothesis as Cloud’s speculation breaks Aerith’s façade of barely knowing anything about Sephiroth. Then she breaks this moment quickly by hastily walking away without looking at Cloud.
Aerith: “Come on. Let’s go.”
In the original, she calls Shinra’s newspapers unreliable after the flashback in Kalm concludes. In the Remake, she calls the Daily Buzz a rag which prints awful rumors about the slums.
It’s obvious she would never take Shinra news at face value.
Don’t rely on me
After completing several side quests, the sun begins to crawl towards dusk and Aerith starts a conversation about Cloud’s mercenary work. Cloud isn’t the salesman type, so he’d rather leave that part to Aerith, to which she replies with:
Aerith: “All right, but don’t think you can rely on me forever, mister.”
A not so subtle foreshadowing. In this game, it refers to her absence after being kidnapped by the Turks. In terms of the full story, she’s referring to her permanent absence after… that event in the Forgotten City. Both instances also affect gameplay as we’ll lose a powerful caster and healer.
Language of flowers
The next interesting dialog happens on the elevated flower field in Aerith’s garden upon completing all 6 side quests in the sector 5 slums.
Aerith: “It won’t be much longer now. The flowers, they… they have something important to tell us. Something they… need to share with us. At least that’s the feeling I get. But before they can… there’s a final step that has to be taken.” *Fist clenching* “Otherwise… we won’t her them.”
Right after talking about that final step, Aerith clenches her fist. It’s causing her distress. But why?
Option 1: Aerith refers to her own death which is necessary for helping the planet to get rid of Meteor.
Option 2: She could refer to a disturbance in the Lifestream, caused by Sephiroth, which needs to be eliminated to restore order and allow the Lifestream to flow properly and ensure communication.
However, this blockade might have been already lifted by the end of this first game. Remember Marlene tending to a few yellow flowers in her room before Elmyra calls for her? They clearly communicate with little Marlene when the water droplet falls. She immediately feels her daddy calling out from far away. The petals dancing in the wind during the scene transition to Barret solidify this sentiment.
But what was preventing the flowers from communicating in the first place? Potentially the planet’s distress from its impending demise. With the future being reverted to a blank slate, hope has returned.
Aerith: “Maybe I should just give up. Honestly… it’s what I do best.”
Cloud: “Could have fooled me. From what I’ve seen, you’re no quitter.”
Aerith: “Well today’s special! That’s why I’ve been working my butt off!”
Isn’t it strange for Aerith to even suggest that giving up is what she does best? From what we know, she never gives up on anything throughout the whole Final Fantasy VII Compilation.
She always goes through with an idea, no matter the resistance.
She sends over 80 letters1 to Zack for years and only stops when she senses his passing.2
She makes Cloud her bodyguard, forces herself upon him as a guide through the slums…
And even keeps fighting for her friends and the planet after returning to the Lifestream.
Aerith: “Maybe I should just give up.”
But… why give up on trying to make the flowers talk? She knows what needs to be done, so her resignation sounds like she’s tried to achieve this many times, like a stubborn player trying to defeat a difficult enemy and dying to it over and over and over again…
Leaving Aerith behind
The rest of chapter 8 runs analogous to the original. However, something interesting happens when Cloud fails to sneak out undetected multiple times. According to an interview with Motomu Toriyama, Aerith is the one cleaning up the mess bit by bit each time she catches Cloud outside of his room. She wants to make it easier for him to eventually escape.
Motomu Toriyama: “Despite being mad at Cloud, Aerith cleans up the mess bit by bit to make it easier for him to sneak out.”
Convinced yet?
Much more interesting, however, is their reunion shortly after before leaving for sector 6. Instead of waiting in front of the tunnel and having a simple conversation, Aerith acts and moves in a very similar fashion to her appearance in Cloud’s dream after the events in the Temple of the Ancients. She peeks out from behind some debris the same way, she goes into his face using a similar pose, talks in a similar way and walks or skips away from him at the end.
While this scene had to be modernized, the similarities are too obvious once detected. It is also what triggers Cloud’s vision with the Lifestream theme playing, causing him to shed a tear.
Through sector 6
This next point might just be the result of a tutorial integrated into gameplay, but Aerith is unnaturally quick to suggest using the robot arm for traversal. She also quickly suggests moving containers with that arm and even has no apprehension of being transported herself. Quick intuition or existing knowledge?
She hasn’t been through here with Zack as far as we can remember. While they do go through the collapsed expressway in Crisis Core, the game completely skips this section, so we don’t know if they had to use any robot arms for traversal.
Evergreen Park
After Cloud finally manages to return the high-five, we arrive at one of the most famous places in Midgar, the sector 6 playground, now called Evergreen Park. Here, Aerith increases her effort to ensure everything goes according to the original timeline. At least for now.
Cloud: “Looks shut. How do we open it?”
Aerith: “More importantly, how about we take a break? Sound good?”
Cloud: “No, I don’t have time for—”
Aerith: “Up there looks nice. C’mon!”
She ignores Cloud’s question outright and directs the conversation towards taking a break. Cloud seems to be in a hurry in the Remake while he never complained about taking a break in the original. Aerith ignores Cloud and climbs on top of the slide, forcing him to follow her. Again, Aerith acts almost too comfortable around Cloud during this scene.
First, she scoots closer to him and after his memory glitch, she’s marveling at his eyes from only a foot or so away, most likely to distract him from his memory glitch caused by herself.
Aerith: “Wow… Your eyes.”
She’s already seen Cloud’s eyes up close before: when she woke him up in the church and during their conversation in the tunnel to sector 6. So why point out his eyes now? She also already knows about Mako eyes from Zack, which she does comment on briefly.
Cloud: “Oh. It’s ‘cause of the Mako. All SOLDIERs have ‘em.”
Aerith: “Yeah… I know”
Aerith generally acts as if she’s known Cloud for much longer than a day and possibly has enjoyed romantic fireworks with him. Maybe from within a cable car riding around an amusement park…
Anyway, back to that glitch, which is a completely new element in the Remake. In the original, Aerith answers with “It doesn’t really matter” to Cloud’s question about her first boyfriend’s name. Right after, the gate to sector 7 opens. In the Remake, Aerith hesitates several seconds and looks very unsure whether to say Zack’s name but does so anyway, causing Cloud’s mind to block out the name and prevent itself from breaking.
Aerith knows that she probably shouldn’t say Zack’s name out loud as she never did in the original. Still, it seems she wants to test what happens when she confronts Cloud with a piece of the truth. Alternatively, it’s possible that, since she knows that Cloud’s persona is based on Zack’s, she’s trying to find out how much they’re alike and attempts to somewhat replicate the moment she had with Zack in Crisis Core when she marvelled at his eyes.
Aerith: “So pretty...”
Zack: “The face?”
Aerith: “The eyes!”
Zack: “You like them? Then take a closer look. Eyes infused with Mako energy a SOLDIER trademark.”
Aerith: “Oh you!”
Or to test if Zack’s soul was somehow residing within Cloud, which would allow her to talk to Zack directly.
Fun fact: their lines are identical in the Japanese versions of Remake and Crisis Core.
Unfortunately, Cloud answers in a very matter-of-fact manner, unlike Zack, who reacted with much more charm. That might be the reason for Aerith’s bummed out reaction. Her last line of this scene is a very important one:
Aerith: “Gotta look forward, not back.”
She clearly thinks back to her time with Zack during this scene which is why she turns sad and apologizes for bumming Cloud out. Zack is dead. She needs to look forward and not wallow in sweet memories.
Another new addition to the Remake is Aerith showing Cloud the secret underground passage to sector 7. We won’t even need to use it until chapter 13, so why show it to us now? Maybe to make sure that Cloud is able to guide Tifa and Barret back to sector 7 in chapter 13? Interestingly, Tifa doesn’t know about it while Barret does:
Tifa: “The main entrance to sector 7 is buried under rubble now. So how are we supposed to get back inside?”
Cloud: “Underground passage in the park.”
Barret: “Ah, good plan.”
This suggests that Aerith already knows about their return to sector 7 after Plate Fall. However, such a return never happened in the original, which raises a lot of questions.
Why does Aerith want Cloud to know about the secret passage?
She knows they won’t use it now as Tifa is going to show up any time now and their destination will change. Showing this passage to Cloud now would be counterproductive.
But, if she shows Cloud this passage now so he can then use this knowledge to lead the others to sector 7 after Plate Fall, what exactly does she want to achieve with this?
She also leads Cloud through the broken expressway filled with debris, monsters and obstacles instead of safe streets to and through Wall Market to reach the sector 7 gate.
Yes, that’s how it happened in the original but it’s also the same path Cloud uses to lead Tifa and Barret to that secret passage to avoid Wall Market and the Shinra troops in chapter 13.
It really seems like Aerith sets up everything here to make chapter 13 happen and ensure they do come and rescue her after receiving Elmyra’s blessing to do so. Besides keeping “fate” intact.
Also curious is Aerith’s behavior before the gate opens. She knows Cloud very well and is able to set up circumstances that make him hesitate and procrastinate using the secret passage. The awkward silence and saying “So…” at the same time reeks of a setup by Aerith. Remember: everything she does and says is important and deliberate.
She tells Cloud to go on ahead but at the same time knows that he won’t let her return home by herself. They met bandits and other monsters along the way after all. The talk about a safer backup route home sounds bogus but it doesn’t matter as the gate to sector 7 opens right when Cloud is about to enter the secret passage. Her orchestrated delay paid off.
It looks like they arrived at the park a bit too early, which is why those additional scenes even happened. Why too early? Aerith’s knowledge about the original timeline allowed them to travel more quickly.
We gotta save Tifa!
Cloud’s quick chat with Tifa is new to the Remake and results in her telling him to not worry and return to the others. Aerith also behaves differently. In the original, she’s the one running after Tifa as soon as she realizes that the girl escorted in the Chocobo carriage is the one Cloud was talking about at her home. In Remake, Aerith cuts off Cloud’s walk back towards the gate and orders him to go after Tifa instead. It’s how it happened in the original game after all, which Aerith aims to preserve.
While she might know what happens to girls escorted to Wall Market in that Chocobo carriage, she talks as if she knows everything about Don Corneo and how he operates in detail. She was also too far away to overhear their conversation over the noise of the carriage. Plus, Sam’s Delivery Service is not just used for bringing in girls to the Don but also for general transportation.
Aerith also doesn’t know about the trio, their roles, and their necessary approval to get into the Don’s mansion either. Additionally, when Cloud hesitates, she grabs his arm with pleading eyes, which seems off for someone having no connection to Tifa whatsoever.
Once in Wall Market, we witness Aerith being adamant about getting into the Don’s mansion, no matter what it takes and she’s always at Cloud’s side, making sure everything goes according to plan—barring one segment.
After being blown off by Leslie and his goons, Aerith tries her hardest to join the audition: at Chocobo Sam’s, at Madame M’s, and even tries to get an audience with Andrea Rhodea. She also insists on joining Cloud in the tournament to make sure that they win and score the dress for her.
After getting dressed, she makes sure to get Cloud into the Honeybee Inn so he can get dressed up as well and receive Andrea’s approval. Aerith’s relentless push to get into the Don’s mansion as candidates certainly rings some alarm bells, especially after all those horrible things she tells Cloud about the Don to make him chase after Tifa.
Once reunited, Aerith greets Tifa as if they’re already friends. Even Tifa’s hesitant reaction suggests this.
Aerith: “Hey, Tifa. How you doing?”
Tifa: “Uh, okay…?”
Aerith: “Oh right—I’m Aerith. A friend of Cloud’s.”
Aerith’s “Oh right” in the middle suggests that she remembered that Tifa has never seen her before and then introduces herself. As a result of Aerith’s connection to Tifa, the girls grow close much faster compared to the original.
When she tells Tifa not to worry about the audition’s outcome, as it will be the same no matter who gets picked, Aerith sounds very confident while Tifa seems hesitant and overwhelmed by the situation.
Aerith: “Then your worries are over, aren’t they? Because the other two candidates are right here. Right?”
Tifa: “Right…”
Aerith: “So yeah! If we’re all in on it, then nothing can go wrong!”
Tifa: “Uh, I guess not…”
Aerith knows what to do to ensure the original chain of events. No Whispers have shown up since the incident in the church and she’ll make sure it stays that way until chapter 12 starts.
Sewers
During the next 2 chapters, there are several scenes where Tifa and Aerith talk about the imminent plate fall and whether Don Corneo was lying or not. Each time, Aerith talks in a way as if she knows it will fall.
Right after defeating Abzu, notice how Tifa is still skeptical but Aerith makes sure that they also think of the possibility that Corneo was telling the truth, which he was.
Tifa: “Hey… You don’t believe that crazy story of his, do you?”
[…]
Aerith: “But… if he was telling the truth… [Tifa has a surprised reaction to Aerith] And there’s still a chance he was, isn’t there? Then we should go.”
Before crossing the wobbly bridge, pay close attention to Aerith’s reactions.
Tifa: “But what if Corneo really was telling the truth…? We have to get there in time to stop it. We have to.”
Aerith: “Right…”
Tifa: “Aerith, what are you not telling me?”
Aerith: “Huh?”
When Tifa says that they have to stop the plate from falling, Aerith looks down with a sad expression. Very suspicious. Tifa notices her strange reaction, too, but before Aerith is forced to explain herself, Cloud interrupts the 2. You got lucky there, Aerith!
Aerith: “Still thinking about the plate?”
Tifa: “Yeah.”
Aerith: “The future isn’t… set in stone. That’s what I always tell myself.”
Aerith believes we can shape our own future despite the Whispers trying to uphold fate. But for now, she tries to not deviate at all, which explains the Whispers’ absence. However, she seems to constantly search for a way to break free of fate so she can help shape a better future for everyone.
Train Graveyard
After they see the first Shinra chopper flying by, Tifa’s heart sinks visibly. While Cloud tries to shrug it off as just a patrol, Aerith reassures Tifa that they will make it in time.
Cloud: “Just on patrol”
Aerith: “Don’t worry. We’ll make it in time.”
Her line implies that the threat is real, but they’ll make it there in time to help, which is exactly what happens. Also notice Aerith’s praying stance while saying this.
In most other situations where she switches to that stance, she seems to be in communication with the planet, like before the Ghoul boss battle, in her chapter 14 resolution scene, or when telling Elmyra about her dead husband.
When the door to the maintenance facility opens by itself, both Cloud and especially Tifa feel very uncomfortable entering it, given all those ghost vibes and the rumors. To keep both going, which is very important to reaching the pillar in time, Aerith pulls the jealousy card for Tifa and the bodyguard card for Cloud. This leads Tifa to claim her part of Cloud for herself, his still free right arm, and with both girls depending on him for safety, even if partially fake, Cloud takes the lead in entering the ghost house.
Mission accomplished. Well done, Aerith!
After moving the first of 3 locomotives, the trio overhears the conversation between Tseng and Reno, confirming Corneo’s ramblings about Shinra dropping the plate. Tifa almost loses it while Cloud reassures her with his usual logic and rational views. Aerith on the other hand does neither and tells them that the only thing they can do now is to keep moving. She’s being purposefully vague and neither confirms nor denies any outcome while appearing very confident about the situation. You only do that when you know what’s going to happen.
This concludes part 1 of Aerith’s Secret.
Due to the sheer amount of content, I decided to split it into 3 parts. Not only for the first video releases of this analysis back then but also for their transcripts here, even though I linked the full video up top. The table of contents will also encompass all 3 parts eventually and be present in all 3 transcript articles for easy navigation, all the while keeping the article length and footnotes at a manageable size.
Keep reading in part 2 linked below:
![Aerith's Secret [2/3] - FFVII Remake Mysteries [2/4] | Game Analysis #24](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1300,h_650,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa823b7b7-876d-46b6-99c5-49189049f760_3840x2160.png)
89 letters, to be exact.
A bit earlier, actually. Zack reads her 89th and final letter—delivered by an Angeal copy monster—after defeating Genesis but before his Last Stand on the cliff.
Where you been, I just seen this post, I followed you for everything on the Remake and loved your in depth videos were the best, it came out and then u been silent, u not on YouTube making videos anymore? Where can I watch your hour/hours long videos of u talking about everything, miss them, im such a FF7 fan, been playing the games since the first on NES.
U broke it down so nice and geeked about it like I did, COME BACK WITH YOUR VIDEOS PLEASE