Alright. Didn’t expect that to happen.
Feeling like X-Men more than ever, most of episode nine of Charlotte treats us to a flashback of Yuu’s former life, which turns out to be an incarceration, along with Ayumi, in a facility such as that which once contained Nao’s brother. The episode was storytelling at it’s best in the series, fast-paced yet carefully bringing the viewer along, even as it introduced new, major characters and gave primary roles to others with smaller ones thus far.
Part of what was so exciting in this episode, too, was how the audience kept gaining new insights into the show and the characters’ histories, even as Yuu was learning the same. Not until the end of episode nine, and not even then fully, could Yuu see all that was happening and all that had occurred. In fact, the episode used a lot of eye symbolism throughout (Shuu must see to be able to time leap; Yuu is unable to “see” the events of his past; and Shuu’s sight is gone in the modern time – as is Sala’s). That make me think about how for a creature which is often proud of its vision (see technology today and yesterday, cough, Tower of Babel, cough), we’re very limited in what God lets us view.
The Israelites, for instance, all through Old Testament times, had only prophecy, not fully comprehended, that God was making a way for humanity’s salvation. They only knew bits and pieces of what would happen. The disciples weren’t much better off in that regard, even with Christ in their midst, for the gospels chronicle how time after time they didn’t get it. The Bible records a whole history of people not being able to envisage the Father’s plan, as through eight and a quarter episodes of Charlotte, Yuu didn’t have his full sight either.
But even knowing the story of salvation, we today still can’t see everything – despite how carefully plan out our lives as if we can expect all things that will head our way. But for those that examine the events of their lives and are wise enough to see God’s fingerprints on them, we can see how little we knew and how little we know, as God shows us only what we need to see, which is rarely the entirety of a situation.
It’s reminiscent of Sala’s prophecy in episode eight, where she tells Yuu (You!), and I’m paraphrasing, that he’s going to have to make a choice when God intervenes with him. For us, when God “opens a door” or lights a path, it becomes our choice to faithful to him or not, despite not seeing the whole. Often in time, and only if need be, will God give us greater range of vision to see the bigger picture. Our duty and our response is only to be faithful in the here and now, whether we see a lot…or only a small piece of the picture.
