A "Brief" Analysis Of Ishmael's Character Before Canto 5 Releases

[Flygoniaks]

WARNING! This will contain MODERATE spoilers for the story thus far! Certain moments will be referenced, but no major plot points will be explained in detail. Still, proceed at your own risk!

I know this is completely out of the blue, but this is something I've been thinking about ever since a certain interaction in Chapter 4. Since Chapter 5 is releasing in less than 2 hours from now, I thought it would be interesting to see how well my thoughts/theories age after Ishmael's chapter is fully released. So, here's what I've observed about Ishmael as a character thus far, and where I think her story might go in the very near future. We'll see if I'm right or wrong in due time!

Ishmael & Fear of the Unknown

Many people (myself included) like to joke that Ishmael is the most "normal" and level-headed of the Sinners, but I suspect that she has a lot more going on. I believe Ishmael appears to be suffering from a rather extreme case of xenophobia (no, not THAT kind of xenophobia - I'm referring to its literal meaning, "fear of the unknown"), which has influenced a surprising amount of her dialogue and reactions thus far.

As for the cause of this deep-rooted fear in Ishmael, I think it's fairly obvious that her experience on the Great Lake, and her encounter with the White Whale, are probably responsible for this trauma. In particular, I think it may be due to the seemingly incomprehensible nature of the Whale, and the other beings that she's encountered - one of the reasons these monsters were probably so scary and so dangerous is due to how little she, or anyone else on her boat, truly knew about them.

So, you're probably wondering how I reached the conclusion that Ishmael is afraid of the unknown specifically. Well, this mainly has to do with how Ishmael copes with that phobia. It seems that Ishmael is often in a state of denial, deliberately trying to delude herself into thinking that she knows everything, and that she totally understands how the world works, when in reality she is far less experienced and knowledgeable than her confidence would suggest.

How this Fear Manifests Itself

Strangely, Ishmael will sometimes simply make stuff up whenever an explanation is needed. We can see this in one of her first lines of dialogue - in "Selva Oscura," after being revived for the first time, Ishmael asks Dante "were you a surgeon or something in the Nest?" At first this seems pretty natural for a person to do, but after reviewing some story cutscenes, I think Ishmael relies on assumptions and first impressions an unhealthy amount, or at least significantly more than most other characters.

In addition, Ishmael has almost always responded negatively to her worldview being challenged. This is also tied to her phobia, as she sees her coping mechanism being broken down to be a threat. This is probably why she has dislike of Outis in particular, as she believes Outis acts far too authoritative for the position she's supposed to be in. This also explains some of her moments with Heathcliff - she loves to bully him, but occasionally he does something unexpected, and Ishmael doesn't know how to react.

Ishmael responds to her worldview being challenged in different ways, depending the context and how severe the "challenge" is. When it's only a minor issue, Ishmael usually expresses annoyance or frustration, but in more severe cases, Ishmael instead attempts to start a fight, escape the area, or is so shocked that she cannot move. This closely resembles the "fight, flight, or freeze" response that a lot of people (and animals) have to danger, which I think is further evidence that Ishmael feels unsafe.

Some Specific Examples of This Happening

This probably not EVERY example of this happening, here are some moments that might help show what I mean. I'll sort these by chapters for spoiler reasons.

Prologue/Chapter 1
Ishmael gets upset at Faust because she was told this job would "advance her career," but she is not seeing any of that. She claims the contract is "based on lies" (she appears to be the only Sinner to believe this).
When the LCB first meets Yuri, Ishmael goes on a short rant about how Fixers are "wage slaves" and uses stereotypes to assume things about her (we know that Ishmael was a Fixer in the past, so this may be based off her experience).
Ishmael is the one to explain and that various groups are looting the fallen L Corp.'s Branch Facilities. Although she is correct here, she seems unusually matter-of-fact about what should be only rumors to her.

Chapter 2
When the LCB first meets Effie and Saude, Ishmael immediately assumes that they are cocky and lacking talent, and is then taken aback when she realizes their plan is actually very detailed and competent.
During the "slot machine incident," Ishmael gets EXTREMELY angry at Dante, as she previously believed them to be trustworthy, and that trust has been shattered.
During the Baba Yaga escape sequence, Ishmael is especially distressed (this may be due to the size of the Abnormality reminding her of her traumas).

Chapter 3
After Ryoshu jokes about breaking into K Corp.'s Nest with brute force, Ishmael describes in detail why that would not work and isn't necessary (she's correct again, but her response is unusually detailed for what was only a joke).
During the checkpoint security sequence, Dante notices that Ishmael acts differently when she's nervous, seemingly becoming more controlling and trying to keep things the way she thinks they should be.

Chapter 3.5
When Samjo presents his offer to solve the Distortion case, Ishmael assumes that Faust is going to reject his offer, and is completely baffled when she accepts instead.
Ishmael joins Ryoshu's team because she believes Gregor's cooking will remind her of her time on the boat, which she does not want.

Chapter 4
When the K Corp. Filming Drones first appear, Ishmael IMMEDIATELY assumes they are "combat drones" sent to fight alongside the LCB and even makes up a justification for it (this is one of my personal favorite examples that I found).
Later in the chapter, Ishmael makes a comment about the "moral principles between firms." She is then called out by 3 other Sinners for being not only wrong, but confidently wrong about this (this scene is the moment that caused me to go down this rabbit hole in the first place, eventually piecing all of this together).
In the dungeon, when Ishmael learns about how rich Yi Sang was in his past, she is so shocked that she briefly breaks character.

Chapter 4.5
Honestly, this entire interlude is an example of this behavior, if not the BIGGEST example of them all. I don't think I need to explain this one.

So Where Does Ishmael's Character Go From Here?

This is where we go from analytical territory to more speculative stuff. Personally, I think (if Chapter 4.5 is any indication) that Ishmael's character arc in Chapter 5 is essentially going to be the reversal of her "fear of the unknown." In previous chapters she has responded negatively to things she does not know about, or that contradicted her understanding of the world - however now we are now in a District where Ishmael knows MORE about the current situation than any other Sinner.

Chapter 4.5 was a unique case for Ishmael, as while her response matches her behavior from previous chapters, the trigger for it was the exact opposite: rather than being afraid of that what she does not know, Ishmael was instead afraid of the Great Lake because she knew EXACTLY what is out there. I believe that Ishmael's knowledge of the Great Lake will keep coming up as we progress through Chapter 5.

Whether she will continue to remain scared throughout the chapter, or instead realizes that the other Sinners need her to survive (thus becoming a confident leader for the chapter) remains to be seen, and I'm personally curious if she'll be able to overcome her fear of the unknown in this chapter. If Sinclair and Yi Sang have become slightly more confident after their respective chapters, it might be possible that after Chapter 5, Ishmael is more willing to admit when she's wrong or doesn't know something.

But I could also be completely wrong about everything here - and that's OK! It was fun thinking about this the past few weeks. So, I hope you enjoyed reading, and if you have any thoughts or notes you want to add, feel free to leave the below!

[Birp]

You should post this on reddit too, good analysis.

[【Silver】]

Honestly, I'm both excited and scared for this chapter. I really want to see how Ishmael turns out by the end of it, especially after seeing the changes brought on for Sinclair & Yi Sang in the prior chapters.

[eggseed]

Just starting Canto 5. I really hate ishmael for now

[jobhobster]

Originally posted by eggseed:

Just starting Canto 5. I really hate ishmael for now

I felt the same, but at some point she actually starts rocking hard, and that's actually quite decent character writing, since her whole ark problem is "♥♥♥♥ y'all I got whale to kill"

[eggseed]

Originally posted by jobhobster:

Originally posted by eggseed:

Just starting Canto 5. I really hate ishmael for now

I felt the same, but at some point she actually starts rocking hard, and that's actually quite decent character writing, since her whole ark problem is "♥♥♥♥ y'all I got whale to kill"

I Don't think that excuses her for being an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ by simply calling the whole gang "land mutts with no experience in the sea" and still refusing to assist them knowing damn well they don't have experience and will likely never get even if they manage to go through the whole city before going to U corp lake

[Sleekie]

Originally posted by eggseed:

Originally posted by jobhobster:

I felt the same, but at some point she actually starts rocking hard, and that's actually quite decent character writing, since her whole ark problem is "♥♥♥♥ y'all I got whale to kill"

I Don't think that excuses her for being an ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ by simply calling the whole gang "land mutts with no experience in the sea" and still refusing to assist them knowing damn well they don't have experience and will likely never get even if they manage to go through the whole city before going to U corp lake

To be fair, they're a bunch of lazy-ass lunatics who won't take a dangerous situation seriously. I'd have run out of patience with them too.