EPISODE REVIEW: THE CHASM OF CONFUSION

EPISODE REVIEW

Le gouffre aux chimères (The Chasm of Confusion, El abismo de la confusión, 
Die Schlucht der Verwirrung), or, Good and Evil Share the Same Face:


English Title: The Chasm of Confusion
Original Title: Le gouffre aux chimères
(Spanish Title: El abismo de la confusión)
(German Title: Die Schlucht der Verwirrung)
(Norwegian Title: Den mørke og den lyse verden)
(Italian Title: Fratelli gemelli)
Episode Number: 21
Series: Moby Dick et le Secret de Mu (Moby Dick and the Secret of Mu)
Genre: Adventures/Edutainment (Moral)
Produced by: Benoît Petit and Axel Carrère
Producers: Carrère Group, TF1
Country of Origin: France
Year: 2005
First Release: 2005

SOME MORE INFO ON THE SERIES
This animesque masterpiece, inspired by Hayao Miyazaki, was the last of the great French series that came before today's lamentable kitsch animated series trend. Then came the crisis, perchance never to end.
I once saw this rarity as a teenager, about a decade ago, in La Dos and in Spanish national childrens' network Clan TV. Nowadays, it is no longer aired, but I have found the original series in French, uploaded by a devoted YouTuber (may it stay on YouTube for a long time!
The series has also aired in Russia, Norway, and the Germanophone world.

The inspiration for this series was the Herman Melville novel about Captain Ahab and his pursuit of the titular white whale (Ahab, in the series, is still the absolute monarch on the Pequod, and the sailors Stubb and Flask appear as well). Only that Moby Dick is here a sacred whale to the lost Muvian or Lemurian culture. Upon the collapse of the Muvians' foothold on the planet due to a tidal wave after centuries of decadence and war, white whales, one of which was MD, carried the survivors of the Great Cataclysm around the world, to twenty-four different places where they founded colonies under the leadership of the so-called Naacals: traditional sages, who serve as priests, rulers, and advisors of these local communities in harmony with nature.
From their base on Mystery Island somewhere in South-East Asia, two twelve-year-old children, Romy and Satya, are the Chosen Ones who travel, in each episode, to a different colony (a local community, often located on an island, if not, in some other kind of wilderness) to be led by its Naacal into a Magical World where they have to pass a test, not before having given them an ambiguous warning, which conceals a moral lesson, in advance. The moral lesson is always key to passing the test, always involving beasts, gods, and/or other challenges. After the test is passed, our young heroes receive a sacred tablet from the Naacal du jour. Only when all of the twenty-four tablets are gathered will the Great Heritage be revealed, to better the life of all humankind.
In a side story, the Pequod crew are seen trying to capture Moby Dick and the Muvian treasures of the Magical World, always with disastrous results.
So the plot of every episode (except the first and last ones) is as formulaic as it is philosophical.

Once having broken the ice (you'll see why this is such a good expression!), we are now ready to take the plunge into the Chasm of Confusion:

Like Andersen would have said: "Ready? Let's start the story, and when it comes to an end we shall know much more than we already know..."

For this episode, Romy and Satya have to visit Makano, a volcanic island whose only crater leads, according to legend, to a chasm which runs all the way to the centre of the Earth (Jules Verne reference, anyone?)...
Their own local Naacal's warning before the departure is food for thought:
"Sur Makano, le bien et le mal ont le même visage".
"On Makano, good and evil share the same face".

Once they have teleported themselves to their destination, our young heroes are affably welcomed by a tall, red-haired man who calls himself Kolomo and introduces himself as "the Naacal of this land".
"The Magic World is waiting impatiently", he reassures them with a smile.

The kids follow Kolomo into a mine shaft in the slope of the volcano. They grow sceptical upon seeing the lamentable state of the mine train, but the red-haired Naacal reassures them:
"You have nothing to fear, my dear Romy. Ride the mine cart and I will open the Magical Gate. Trust me..." There is a Cheshire Cat grin on his devious face.
ROMY: And my trial?
KOLOMO: You will confront it as well as you can, my boy. May I give you some advice? Strike always the shadows in the heart if you wish to defeat them completely ("Je t'acconseille de frapper les ombres au plein coeur si tu veux réussir a les vaincre").
ROMY: The shadows?
Kolomo pushes the cart downhill through a rundown mine train more reminiscent of a roller coaster, as he ironically sends them a wish:
"Bonne chance, mes jeunes amis!" ("Good luck, my young friends!")

The young people's suspicions are aroused once more. Satya has the impression that Kolomo has something to hide (I have the impression as well).
The train ride is an extremely dangerous coaster. Satya calls it, fittingly, the "train d'enfer" (train to Hell).

Meanwhile, outside on the beach, Kolomo is chanting some words in an unknown language as he is controlling the flames of a bonfire (is this a Naacal or a priest of R'hllor?)...

Inside the mine, the train abruptly ends in a chasm at the bottom of which there is a lake of lava. Before the cart falls into it, a spherical force field summoned by Kolomo envelops the mine cart with Romy and Satya on board. Thanks to the force field, the cart lands, fortunately, on the shore of the blazing lake. Now they are convinced that Kolomo is not that bad... (or not?)
SATYA: Kolomo hadn't lied to us at all.

Upon coming across the lava lake, which blocks their path, our young heroes are astonished.
ROMY: This could as well have been the centre of the Earth!
SATYA: All right. Now what should we do?

Suddenly, shadows quickly rush on the red walls of the cavern. Satya notices this and draws Romy's attention. Then, the shadows become humanoid and seize the children.

Then, Romy remembers Kolomo's advice and, picking up stones from the ground, throws them at the hearts (well, the middle of the chest) of the shadows, that turn to black stone and crumble.

The children embrace and smile, but then, more hostile shadows arise from the shards of the old ones. Putting them to rout seems to have become like the Hydra of Lerna. A dozen shadows (Dementors? Or spawn of R'hllor clergy?) surround Romy and Satya, putting them between a lake of liquid rock and a monster shadow place.
ROMY: Oh no! Kolomo has set a trap for us...

There is no escape, and it seems that our young heroes are most certainly doomed to perish.

But then, suddenly, they hear a calm male voice giving commands:
MYSTERIOUS MALE: Away! And may light reign once more.
From a blue-tinged gallery in the wall of the chasm, this voice is heard as a bright ray of light appears. The shadows, who had turned their attention towards the voice, are completely destroyed by this ray of light.
The brightness of the bluish white light dazzles Romy and Satya, who are also surprised by the defeat of their opponents.

The children follow the gallery with purple walls, from which the voice and light came forth, as the shadows regroup themselves in the distance...

They keep on running without anywhere to go, until they enter a cavern of blue ice crystals, which reflect them like mirrors all over the place.

SATYA: Have you seen these? They're ice crystals. Giant ice crystals...

ROMY: They're incredibly pure... This is like a hall of mirrors!

(Allusion to the mirror-decked halls of many baroque royal palaces, including Versailles)

And, in such a lovely scenery, Romy makes a rather convenient remark:

ROMY: I don't understand why Kolomo has advised us to strike the shadows in the heart. Perhaps he doesn't know that they'd multiply...

SATYA: Or perhaps his intention is to get rid of us.

ROMY: But he's this island's Naacal!

SATYA: We don't have any proof!

The two young friends have a heated argument.

Meanwhile, outside on the beach, by a bonfire, a disappointed Kolomo vents his rage, yet in a controlled manner:

KOLOMO: Hgr! They have found it at last! But they will not be able to leave. Ha-ha-ha-ha! (EVIL LAUGH)

Meanwhile, in the ice cave, the children discover a middle-aged man encased in a block of ice, from which only his face surfaces. He looks like Kolomo in everything but hair colour: the prisoner's hair is white instead of red.

At first, Satya mistakes him for Kolomo, but Romy signals that this is another person:

SATYA: This is Kolomo!

ROMY: No. His hair is a different colour. Look!

PRISONER: Let light reign once more! Help me!

ROMY: What is he saying?

We are surprised by the uncanny resemblance of Kolomo and the Prisoner to each other, and also by the contrast of their hair colour.

Satya has recognized his voice as that of their saviour from the shadows, and she is not willing to leave him in such dire straits once she has realised that he is imprisoned.

SATYA: His incantation has saved us. We have to get him out of there.

But how? The ice crystals are hard, harder than anything. 

Upon seeing his reflection multiple times in the facets of a single crystal, Romy suddenly has a bright idea, that Satya suddenly understands. Pulling forth a feather which they carried, they shout and create a vibration so high-pitched that it causes most of the ice crystals to shatter.

The prison crystal shatters as well, and the white-haired prisoner falls unconscious in Satya's arms:

Once he has come to, the liberated prisoner reveals his identity as he thanks the children for freeing him:

PRISONER: Thank you very much, dear children. My name is Moloko, and I know who you are. My twin brother did not doubt at all that you were going to set me free.

SATYA: Kolomo is your twin brother? Then...

MOLOKO: Yes. On this island, there are two Naacals. Unluckily, you have chanced to meet the evildoing one.

ROMY: But... why? A Naacal just can't be evil!

(Mais, pourquoi? Un Naacal ne peut être mauvais!)

MOLOKO: We Naacals are nothing but humans, with their strengths and with their weaknesses.

(Les Naacals ne sommes pas que des êtres humains, avec leurs forces et leurs faiblesses).

These words struck me to the core. Hitherto, the Naacals had all of them been wise mentors. Yet Naacals are humans, and humans are flawed. Not even the Pope himself is infallible.

The fact that the two of them are brothers, twin brothers, and their names are anagrams. That is also worth mentioning. So good and evil have the same face...

MOLOKO: Kolomo had imprisoned me here, using his powers, so that the secret of the Muvians could never be revealed to you.

SATYA: Thus, why has he sent us into the Magical World?

MOLOKO: To lead you astray, for we are still in the dark side of the Magical World. Follow me. Not far from here, there is the bright side. For, on this island, as in real life, everything contains its opposite.

(Pour vous perdre, car nous sommes ici dans la face sombre du Monde Magique. Suivez-moi. Il éxiste, tout prês d'ici, la face claire. Car sur cette île, comme dans la vie, toutes les choses renferment son contraire).

Outside the cave, by the fireside, Kolomo feels a twinge of rage:

KOLOMO: Moloko... Moloko is free! Curses! (chants in some unknown language, placing himself in crucified position, then irradiates a magenta glow) Shadow of evil, obey my voice! Destroy them, or they will destroy us!

As he chants these words while shining with a magenta glow, his shadow comes to life (Now we've got the headcanon that Kolomo is a priest of R'hllor).

The shadow enters the tunnel and rushes on the walls of the lava lake...

In the hall of ice, Moloko senses the presence of his brother.

MOLOKO: Kolomo is catching up with us. We've got to make haste.

Followed by the children, he stops before a large ice crystal, where he folds his arms together and begins to pray, as he irradiates a blue glow:

MOLOKO: Makano, Makano, let ice turn to water once more!

Makano, Makano, let the bright side prevail once more!

As the Naacal is bent in prayer, shadows led by Kolomo's own storm the hall of ice. The mentor is so deeply concentrated that he doesn't pay heed to the children's alerts.

The light that Moloko irradiates is so bright that it forces the shadows to retreat.

In the meantime, the ice crystal which conceals the gate to the Magical World has already been liquefied.
MOLOKO: Come on! The passage is open!
The Naacal, and then the children, cross a wall of cold water to enter the bright side of the Magical World:

On the other side, there is an ice cavern with walls of a deeper blue colour. With a lake of ice for a floor, the place reminds me of the Snow Queen's hall.

MOLOKO: This is the bright side. Romy, it is here that you shall prove your worth. Here will the trial take place, and you will receive the sacred tablet.

ROMY: What should I do?

MOLOKO (laughs): You shall simply save us. I can only come to your aid once.

ROMY: Save us? Eh... From what?

MOLOKO: From this.

The ice lake cracks, and out flutter thousands of little white fairies.

SATYA: How lovely!

But soon it turns out that these fairies are not as innocent as they seem. One of them alights on Satya's left elbow, freezing it cold and lifeless. Will the effect spread to vital organs?

SATYA: Oh no! They're beginning to... These creatures want to freeze us to death!

More and more of the fairies alight on Satya and Romy, freezing parts of the children's limbs. Will they survive and pass the test?

Their summer clothes, more apt for a tropical climate, can't shield the children. Within seconds, both of them are already half-frozen...

SATYA: Hurry up!

ROMY: I do, I do. Let me reflect. It's cold... but how should one defeat the cold?

Then, Romy conveniently remembers a winter day at the Naacal Academy. In those days, he wasn't fond of winter weather at all...

ROMY: My fingers are frozen, Papa! I don't love the cold at all! It should never be cold!

Romy's father strokes his hair and gives him some words of wisdom worth writing down here:

FATHER: Do you know, Romy? The cold is necessary. The warmth of springtime is less pleasant than the fact that it comes after a harsh winter. Light cannot exist if there isn't any darkness. Life is precious just because death is inevitable. Everything has its opposite. These are the positive and negative forces of the universe, endlessly balancing each other.

(Mais tu sais, Romy? Le froid est nécessaire. La douceur du printemps ne te semble agréable que pas qu'elle succède aux rigueurs de l'hiver. La lumière n'éxiste qu'en opposition a l'obscurité. La vie n'est précieuse que parce que la mort est inévitable. Toutes les choses possèdent son contraire. Ce sont les forces positives et négatives de l'univers qui s'équilibrent sans cesser.)

Then, Romy awakens from his memories and returns to our days with a flash of inspiration:

ROMY: Got it! I've got it, Moloko! Shatter the passageway that separates both the Magical Worlds. Shatter the mirror of ice!

MOLOKO: If you wish... 

(arms outstretched, glowing blue): Makano, Makano, let the passage open once more! 

Makano, Makano!

Shards and fairies are sent flying in all directions by the explosion. And then, before the now open portal, stands Kolomo's dreaded shadow, which soon, now being able to cross, invades the bright side of the Magical World:

The ice fairies battle the smaller shadows. When two of them strike each other, both the shadow and the fairy disappear:

Then, all of the fairies attack Kolomo's shadow at once. Their numbers dwindle and they rush into their demise, dying like lemmings:

However, their sacrifice has not been in vain, for they have finally turned Kolomo's shadow into a ball of fading white light. Both armies have defeated and exterminated each other: