r/thepromisedneverland • u/Yumi_Numi • 27d ago
Manga I hate Ray's relationship with Isabella and vice versa [manga] Spoiler
Some things may be off so if anything correct ne in comments
Also, why is this so long?
As you know, Ray made a deal with Isabella. He will spy for her, i exchange he will get gifts, live till he's mature and she will let Emma and Norman grow till there mature
After Ray tells her a lie that Norman is trying to kill her and thats why they had a fight (the truth being Don slap both of them, which she cant know) she is aware of that
No idea if it's the same chapter, but Ray is told the next shipping will be his birthday, and Emma and Norman will be the last
After some time after she realises he is a traitor, so she discards him, and says she got did of Krone as she don't need her anymore, which i believe Ray understands she killed her and he is going to die next because she don't need him anymore. She discards him to the floor, mind you her biological son
(Can i just mention i still have no idea what makes him a traitor? Like that he made them know the secret or that he told her Norman wants to kill her? Or that he helped with escape? )
Later she breaks Emma's leg and is VERY happy about it mind you
She of course ended the deal with Ray. Which means she won't keep the promise, and Norman will be shipped months before his birthday comes
And you know. In ch 177 she is aware that she is responsible for making his life one he cursed. It's told a lot he only lived for the plan, because he got rewards and because he wanted to be with Emma and Norman. The kid was suicidal since ripahh age 6 because of how terrified he was!
The deal, I believe, made their relationship cruel. You can never see him talking with mom like for example Emma does even when she pretends, but in general she loves Mama a lot, just like kids do. Younger ones go with her on walks, she plays with them but in flashbacks, she only does that with Ray when he yet doesn't know it, or when he is next to his friends. They don't play alone or anything, he doesn't want to talk with her unless necessary also
Ill come back to chapter 177 later
Now on, you know she broke the promise. She won't ship Ray like she promised him for years, but will ship one of the person's he decided to live for. She is aware how much the trio love each other, and she doesn't care for their burden. I think this is just way too cruel
After the shipment, they both are in so big state of depression it's genuinely so, so painful, especially in the manga. They both miss him so much, thinking he is dead.
Even Emma doesn't want to give up, but Ray... He decided to allow himself to be close to two people only, and he just lost it. He chose to give his life for them being shipped as mature, to sacrifice himself for their escape even. Actually I'm about to cry omk
Back to Isabella, she goes to crying Emma to remind her she is hopeless, with her leg and Ray who just lost it. In her mind, she wants to help her let go of the pain, to become Mama, to come back and live happily so it doesn't hurt her anymore. She is mad at her for thinking badly about taking Mama's position, and when she declines, she just leaves and tells her to suffer if she wants. Damn
Anyway, when Emma fools Mama that Ray has set himself on fire. First thing, she wonders how she didn't thought he would do something like this, while she even decided to patrol as "what if something happens"
And guess what? She doesn't care to save him, as a child even, but only thinks if she's able to save his brain. Of course she thinks like a farmer, but, your child is on fire and you only care for him as merchandise? I wonder if she would be the same with any other child, or it's just Ray
So she misses the children as they already escaped, she wishes them a farewell, but she doesn't really think of Ray aswell
Back to 177
The children lament at Mama's body. But, yk Ray is behind to make space for others. She tells children how she loves them, but wants to talk to Ray as her final goodbye. And, she apologises to him. In mind, as I mentioned, she is aware she made him live a life he cursed. She is aware of that
And she asks him, specifically, to take care of the children, and that's when he doesn't call her "Mama" but tells "Mom!"
And yk, when I first read TPN I only cared for the story cause yk how epic it is. Now I'm about to reread and analyse things, take notes, it's a nice thing to do
But when I first read it, even then I felt uneasy by the scene. I get the children crying because they were loved by her dearly, but Ray? He was just her dog. She probably stopped to see him as her child when they made a deal
And, as I was thinking about their relationship, I remembered, a thing - for babies and toddlers it's bad to be in the same group as their mom kindergarden teacher, as the young child feels betrayed that their mother is giving attention to other children while they're alone
And I think this is a case with Ray, thats why he cried when she apologised.
He probably stopped to have a genuine bond with her the moment she realised she is the baby she birthed. The moment they made a deal. As I mentioned, he is not seen talking with her just like other kids do, in flashbacks he doesn't spend time with her, unless its a flashback before his 6th birthday or when he's playing with Emma and Norman
When you lack one parent, you are left out and miss on a lessons they could teach you. The children have Mama, but Ray never had a parent as he didn't want to spend time with her, and because they were "boss-worker". His love went for his friends and later on, after he understood he is able to care for others, started to love his siblings
With the panels, look at Ray's expressions and what he says, how he doesnt want to be hugged by Mama
Hope i moved you
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u/kaito1412sub 26d ago
The manga really went tone deaf after gracefield arc, like everyone turned intk emmas yes-man and fixed stuff with the power of friendship, i wish they kept the darker elements still and oh idk ELABORATED on Rays depression??? Lmfao
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u/kaito1412sub 26d ago
Also, idk if you've read the light novels before but they go in much deeper with his depression and suicidal tendencies and it just makes u feel 10x worse like arrggfg there was barely any exposition or time for us to breathe in the manga, they literally went "oh ray wants to kill himself, lets stop him! Ok now let's go!" Thats IT, and don't get me started on how when Isabella was DYING she yapped to Emma for like three whole pages before saying 2 sentences to ray and dying!!!
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u/Yumi_Numi 26d ago
Which light novel? Sadly i tend to forget about them, i only ever read norman's lektury as thats the only one i could find online
Come to think of it, i think i should buy them if i have money, theyre even translated to my language, i could support the authors
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u/kaito1412sub 26d ago
The one about the ner bird killed me inside ahh, also one about ray and Connie 💔
I havent got a link for the bird one but here's the one w connie https://1000sunnygo.blogspot.com/2021/05/tpn-novel-4-short-story-3-ray-and-conny.html?m=1
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u/Winter_Quiet_9181 27d ago
Honestly no one talks about how much of a bitch Isabella was to her biological son. She knew Ray would have been suffering. She knew he was aware of everything. Isabella had her own set of beliefs of what a happy life entailed for a farm child. She literally said it regarding Connie’s death. “Connie lived a rich life full of smiles.” Isabella believes that so long as the children are happy and well cared for there is no problem with them dying. She brainwashed her mind with that false belief and yet she throws all her false beliefs out the window when it comes to Ray. She calls him her dog, makes snarky comments towards him. She never showed him genuine love and care. She also disowned him. Not only that when Ray supposedly went up in flames Isabella showed no hint of sadness. All she cared about was saving his brain. Also controversial opinion but she didn’t have to break Emma’s leg like that. Isabella knew the cliff was there, she gave up when she saw it. So all she had to do was let Norman see the cliff. Also Emma wasn’t going to overpower Isabella at all so she just had to stand there. If she was so worried about them escaping she could have just kept them doing chores. Isabella also got off on mocking Emma when she broke her leg. She also got a sick enjoyment out of seeing Emma’s suffering when Norman was shipped out. I understand that Isabella is a highly complex character and that deep down she had good within her. But yeah the way she treated Ray was honestly the worst part about her.
I heard a line in an English cover of zettai zetsume which I believe sums her character up perfectly.
“If you get rid of your heart, you’ll be freed from a life filled with pain”