Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4

Faputa’s Reg

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4 wasn’t a great episode. But, it was still good. And what made it good is that it had a lot of twists. One of these twists is that Faputa and Reg used to be friends.

Unfortunately, this revelation didn’t lead to any other information about Reg’s past. Reg should have pressed Faputa more for answers instead of running away. But, I’m going to guess that Reg wasn’t originally “Faputa’s” as she claims. My bet is that he came from deeper within the Abyss.

From what I remember, Riko received her mother’s letter from Reg. That implies that Lyza sent Reg to the surface to contact Riko. But, a page from this letter is within the Hollow’s Village. Why would it still be there if that’s where the letter originated? It doesn’t make sense.

Faputa the Hollow from the anime series Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4
Faputa the Hollow

Instead, my theory is that Reg stopped in the Hollow’s Village as he ascended the Abyss. It’s during this stop that he became friends with Faputa and lost the page. But, why would he stop there? And why would he have lost his memories of his time there?

That could be an effect of the Abyss. Reg isn’t human, so the Abyss’ curse doesn’t physically harm him, kill him, or turn him into a Hollow. But, he’s still sentient. So, ascending in the Abyss may harm him by destroying his memories. It’s possible that by the time he got to the Hollow’s Village, he no longer remembered his original mission.

I also want to point out that Reg confirmed Faputa as a Hollow. She may still be immortal somehow. But, she’s a Hollow, which means she was once human. And I have a feeling I know which human she was.

Horror of the Hollow Village

After witnessing the balancing in action, I didn’t expect to see criminals in the village. As far as we know, the balancing is absolute. And harming another person, especially a human, seems like it would always trigger it. So, why would Hollows risk going after Riko?

My guess is that they’ve been Hollows for so long that they’ve lost their humanity. To the Hollows of the village, their bodies and lives may seem worthless. But, that’s not the case for a human — especially one like Riko who can’t afford to die just yet.

This episode also included two firsts in relation to Hollows. This was the first time Riko felt scared of them. And this was the first time that they actually posed a threat to her. Maaa hurt Meinya in Episode 3, but that didn’t appear to be a malicious act.

Hollows from Riko's perspective from the anime series Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4
Hollows from Riko’s perspective

Over the course of the series, we’ve seen that Riko is a unique girl. Her determination to descend into the depths of the Abyss makes her unique on its own. But, she’s also capable of befriending the monstrous Hollows that live there. This doesn’t seem normal.

To be fair, anyone determined to explore the depths of the Abyss is probably as unique as Riko. But, that doesn’t mean most cave raiders who reach the Sixth Layer would be as friendly as Riko. Riko has the benefit of knowing Nanachi — she knows Hollows aren’t dangerous by nature.

So, when Riko sees the Hollows of the village as monsters for a moment, that could be what most people see. Most others who reach this depth likely view the Hollows as scary monsters. And that could be especially true if they don’t meet a Hollow who can speak their language.

Fate of the Ganja Party

The biggest reveal of the episode is that the Ganja Party is still alive. Mitty is also still alive. But, at this point, I don’t have anything to say about that. So, the Ganja Party is what I want to discuss now.

I theorized that they were the ones who founded the Village of the Hollows, and that seems to be correct. We now know for a fact that both Belaf and Wazukyan are living in the village. Nanachi has gone to visit Belaf (and Mitty) and Riko happened to be eating in the same restaurant as Wazukyan.

Of course, both Belaf and Wazykyan are now Hollows. And while it’s unclear if Belaf can speak human languages, we’re told Wazukyan can. Unfortunately, we don’t yet know why some Hollows can still communicate with Humans. Maybe it has something to do with having a strong will.

Wazukyan the Hollow from the anime series Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4
Wazukyan the Hollow

At the end of the episode, we also saw a shot of Vueko. Based on what we saw, she does not appear to be a Hollow. And it even looks like she could be the one behind the balancing in the village. I’m interested to find out more about that.

But, while Belaf, Wazukyan, and Vueko are the “three sages” of the Ganja Party, there’s someone else I need to mention. Who else entered the Abyss with the Ganja Party? The unnamed native girl. And from what we saw, she did make it to the Sixth Layer.

So, where is she now?

As you may have figured out, my prediction is that Faputa is this native girl. The girl was important enough to introduce earlier in the series. And now she’s missing, but Faputa exists. So, it seems clear to me that they’re one and the same.

Conclusion

What do you think about Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4? How do you feel about my theory about the Abyss’ effect on Reg is correct? Would you feel safe in the Hollow’s Village? And do you think Faputa is the native girl from the Ganja Party? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 5 is available now.

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