Blood and Insight: The Search for Evolution in Bloodborne

    Bloodborne stands out from the rest of FromSoftware’s previous games for a multitude of reasons. It has much faster and aggressive gameplay. There is a new healing system and the opportunity to quickly regain health after taking damage. Its consistent gothic architecture creates a Lovecraftian tone that differentiates it from the Souls series’ medieval and varied architecture. I think Bloodborne shows just how different it is in regard to its story. Dark Souls is primarily interested in trying to understand humanity and how it can be preserved. Bloodborne is focused on what comes after. What is the next step beyond humanity and how do we get there? How do we as humans ascend to something greater? Bloodborne purposes two options and then spends the entire game exploring each path. There is the advancement of the physical body through blood and there is the advancement of the mind through insight.

Blood

The proper story of Bloodborne starts with one special discovery. The knowledge of the Great Ones and the old blood that came from their bodies. This was discovered by the Byrgenwerth scholars in the Pthumerian tombs. With the discovery of the Great Ones, the scholars of Byrgenwerth saw their goal and understood what they wanted to become. Something akin to a god, a Great One. The old blood discovered in the labyrinths had the ability to cure most diseases and wounds. It even had the potential of evolving humans. Understanding the power of the old blood, a section of the Byrgenwerth scholars split to form the Healing Church led by Vicar Laurence and focused heavily on studying the blood. The Healing Church spreads the blood to the citizens of Yharnam gaining immense political power in the process. Although the old blood is an incredible medicine it is also responsible for the Scourge of Beast that plagues Yharnam. Those that received blood ministration slowly transformed into cannibalistic beasts that terrorized the streets of Yharnam. In order to combat these beasts, the Healing Church established the Workshop Hunters and later the Healing Church Hunters. This proved a disastrous decision as the bloodlust of the Hunters only advanced the beast transformation within their own bodies creating even more powerful beasts. Through Laurence’s attempts to bring humans closer to the Great Ones by infusing them with their blood he seemingly only created an enemy that threatened to wipe humans out. He would late be consumed by the blood himself.

But what if the Healing Church was not entirely wrong. What if the old blood is truly a viable option for human evolution. The beats that plague the world of Bloodborne are clearly physically stronger, faster, and more durable than the average human. Not every beast has completely lost its mind either. The fully transformed beasts never attack each other. In fact, they often cooperate to prey upon humans. Many of them are still capable of speech and higher thought. The afflicted beggar can speak in unbroken sentences and even question your own morality after he transforms. Ludwig also retains his speech and recalls his time as a hunter. The Vileblood Queen who is corrupted by “forbidden blood” is perfectly coherent and at times regards the player with some affection. Djura and his companions have dedicated their lives to defending the beasts of Old Yharnam. Djura believes that they are still people and worth protecting. To him, the hunters are the true beasts who deserve to be slaughtered. The fact that he is able to live amongst the beast means that there is some truth to his claim. Even the player can dabble in the power of beasthood with various Caryll Runes, weapons, and items. Although dangerous at the very least it is clear that it is possible to enjoy the benefits of beasthood without losing one’s mind or humanity. The beasts of Yharnam might just be a more advanced species slowly replacing humans. Altering the physical body can bring humans closer to power. Closer to the Great Ones. Closer to the next step in their evolution.

Insight

    While Laurence created the Healing Church to study the old blood, Master Willem still controlled the Byrgenwerth college. Willem shunned the study of old blood and rightfully feared that it would be the undoing of mankind. Instead, he focused on the pursuit of insight and expanding the human mind with knowledge so that humans could ascend to the same plane as the Great Ones. Willem rejected the physical and embraced the metaphysical. Willem takes the idea of insight literally. Insight is the representation of seeing and understanding. He wants to see more of the world that is obscured to him. This leads to the insight experiments that create so many of the Kin in the game. The Byrgenwerth college wasn't the only group that took an interest in insight and performed these experiments. The Healing Church created The Choir to make contact with the Great Ones and The School of Mensis did similarly. These groups want to see and understand the things that are hidden from them. They add eyes to both the exterior and interior of their test subjects and attempt to expand their brains so that they can hold more knowledge. At first, these experiments seem to be just as disastrous as the blood experiments. The subjects turn into hideous creatures with multiple eyes and/or large bulbous heads desperate to consume the brains of their prey. Although each group failed multiple times they eventually reached the truth.

Willem’s ideas on insight seem to have been correct. Every True Great One has left the physical world and ascended to the realm of dreams and nightmares. Their minds are so powerful and hold so much knowledge that they no longer require bodies. Ebrietas was left behind in the physical world while the others ascended. Expanding one’s brain and lining the mind with eyes on the inside brings one closer to the Great Ones. The more insight the player has the more of the true world they are able to see. The Choir was able to create the Celestial Emissary to commune with Ebrietas. Master Willem used an Umbilical Cord to beseech Kos to transform Rom into a Kin. The School of Mensis also used an Umbilical Cord to make contact with Mergo. This proves that insight, knowledge of the cosmos, and inner reflection, can be used to advance a human mind enough to summon a Great One or turn someone into a Great One. Once the player has consumed three Umbilical Cords and defeated the Moon Presence they are reborn as a baby Great One. By focusing on the mind rather than the body humans can take the next step in their evolution.

Mind and Body

    Despite the immense knowledge and power that the Great Ones hold they seem to not have any ambitions or motivations of their own. Most if not all of the Great Ones are fulfilling the wishes and prays of humans. Rom hides the Blood Moon at the request of Master Willem. The Celestial Emissary works for The Choir to communicate with Ebrietas. Ebrietas also willingly works with The Choir to help them understand the Great Ones. Kos creates the Hunter’s Nightmare because the people of the Fishing Hamlet prayed for the hunters to be cursed. Mergo creates the Nightmare of Mensis when the School of Mensis summons it with the Umbilical Cord. The Moon Presence similarly creates the Hunter’s Dream at the request of Gehrman. Every Great One’s actions in the story are to appease the humans who have called upon them. Most are nonaggressive to the player until provoked. The only desires that the Great Ones seem to have are to find children and be close to them in their dream worlds. Every Great One dedicates all of their time and incredible power towards impregnating a human or trapping a human as their surrogate child. Queen Yharnam, Gehrman, Micolash, Willem, Arianna, and the imposter Iosefka are all either made into surrogate children or impregnated with the child of a Great One.  The Great Ones yearn to replace the children that they have lost and are willing to grant almost any wish to accomplish it. Isn’t it ironic that beings that hold the knowledge of the cosmos and have transcended the material world only desire for the one thing that a physical body can give you? Even Odeon who had evolved into nothing but a voice wants to have a child. At the absolute height of power and knowledge, these creatures envy the primitive creatures that wish to become them. The Great Ones strive to be closer to humans while humans strive to be closer to the Great Ones. It would seem that to reach true contentment you must evolve both the body and mind as one.