Memory Revealed
"Yes, I was in love."
These are my interpretations of the episodes, not true summaries.
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Interpretation:
"Was" is the crucial word
in this sentence. She doesn't love the current Shiori. She hates her, which
we hear from her at the end. The Shiori she loves is the friend she knew,
the friend she and the anonymous boy hung out with. She longs for
the innocence and happiness of that time, before Shiori turned on her and
betrayed her. What kind of friend is the current Shiori? A
friend who deliberately steals a boy she thought Juri liked. A friend
who has since left the school with the prized prince, deserting Juri. Juri
hates this current girl, for her ignorance of Juri's feelings, for the
mask of innocence she still wears. She is painfully innocent of Juri's
feelings for her, and yet is not truly innocent because of her selfish
act of stealing the guy. She's hurt Juri by stealing not just the boy,
but the happiness the three of them had. And now, she is bitterly jealous
that the boy and Shiori are still able to enjoy a measure of innocent happiness,
leaving her alone and miserable.
Juri is resigned to the
fact there are no miracles. Of course, for her there cannot be.
Even if Shiori were to write another letter, confessing her undying love
for Juri, Juri still would feel there are no miracles. The miracle
she wants is her old friend back, Shiori's innocence, not the betrayal,
not the hurt. The girl she fell in love with will never return to
her, so she clings to her picture instead, a poor substitute to love and
to hate in private. And Shiori never can know her feelings. To Juri's
mind, Shiori has lost the privilege of seeing into her heart long ago.
There may be miracles, but she can never have the one she wants.
Surely if there is such a power, it can do anything, it can even turn back
time and ressurect the dead from memory. She simply can't except they may
exist and she just can't have that miracle. She concludes, resentfully
and angrily, that they don't exist.
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Brief overview:
In this episode, we get
an overview of who Juri is and what she does (or rather, does not) believe.
From the start, see she is unhappy; even her talent at fencing Miki
comments means little to her. She and Utena have a chat in
the hallway, and we first hear the infamous line: "Believe in a miracle,
that your wish come true." as the girl from her memory offers the orange
rose. Juri concludes that it is foolish to fight for the Rose Bride, because
the power of miracles does not exist.
At a council meeting later, the
Duelists decide that it is Juri's turn to duel. Miki claims she has
no motive to duel, but Touga quickly makes it known that she does. She
wishes to disprove the power of miracles -- or perhaps she does not. Perhaps
she wants the power of miracles to grant her her wish, her love.
Then we see into Juri's
past, and learn about her two closest friends in middle school and what
drew them apart. The girl steals a boy she thought Juri liked because
she knows the boy likes Juri. Shiori refuses to regret her action as it
was what she wanted for her heart, she loved this boy so much. Juri
reads a letter from this girl, seemingly glad she is well, but also missing
the times when all three were friends and bitterly jealous of her happiness.
Utena runs into Juri sitting
by the fountains/water at night. Juri asks why she dresses like a
boy, and Utena tells her of her memory of a prince. It had been rumored
that Juri was like a wild animal, and here she becomes like one.
Angry and bitter at Utena's idealism and foolishness, Juri claims she has
no right to bear the Rose Signet and tries to rip it off her finger.
Threatening to disprove Utena's miracles with her sword, Juri challenges
her to duel.
When the duel starts, it is clear
Juri has the upper hand all the way through. In the end, she disarms Utena
and flings her to the ground. Sword pointed at Utena's neck, Juri
is about to cut off the white rose when the Sword of Dios falls, slicing
only through Juri's rose. Juri stubbornly refuses to admit
this was a miracle.
Later, Touga calls her on her skepticism: can she
doubt miracles now? Juri replies in a noncommittal way. After he leaves,
she admits to herself she hates her middle school friend, whose picture
she now carries in a gold locket, because the girl can't know her feelings.