Silvaze ‘06: Part 8 - Epilogue
Previously: Blaze sacrificed herself to save the future.
Because of Blaze’s fate, she doesn’t appear in Last Story. Silver is alone among the past-dwellers. However, he is not insecure.
Silver is the first to display hope. He recalls the miracle of the Chaos Emeralds which Blaze told him about and kneels before Elise, respecting the princess he once neglected. Silver then works with the others to defeat Solaris, simultaneously overcoming his manipulator Mephiles and his nemesis Iblis.
Afterwards, Elise extinguishes Solaris. She gives up love - her relationship with Sonic - for the sake of the world, something that both her father (with his wife) and Silver (with Blaze) were incapable of doing. This completely resets the events of the game. Silver is back in his future, and Blaze is in the Sol dimension.
Thus, it’s as if Silver and Blaze never met. Everything we’ve just analyzed has been undone. Wow. On the bright side, this gives the two a fresh start - it grants Silver the “absolution” he dreamt of.
Summary: The Silvaze Dynamic
Even though Silver and Blaze’s journey has been undone, it’s given us a glimpse at what could be. If these two became partners again, their dynamic would more or less resemble what we saw here.
So what’s the conclusion? What does this game tell us about Silver and Blaze? What insights can we take away and use to develop their relationship again?
Silver relies on Blaze to pull him out of his own head. It’s not that he’s incompetent, he just needs direction. He’s so emotionally charged that he needs someone to anchor him in practicality, and that person is Blaze. He adores Blaze’s maturity. He values her straightforward thinking. She calms him down and helps him stay focused. She makes him feel safe.
Meanwhile, Blaze relies on Silver to take the lead and pull her forward. It’s not that she lacks confidence, but rather she lives off Silver’s passion: if she’s the steering wheel, he’s the gas pedal. Blaze adores Silver’s naivete. She is charmed by his sweet earnestness and courage. He helps her care for others and for herself. He makes her feel alive.
Both are dedicated to their mission. They never distract each other, one always keeps the other in line (usually Blaze) to see things through. This means they have little time to relax and enjoy each other’s company, but it also forms a different, fire-forged bond that is just as priceless.
Silver looks to Blaze for answers. While she gives him solace, Blaze’s intelligence enjoys being useful. She loves watching him grow, possibly because it gives her hope for herself. But sometimes Silver’s questions are too much to answer, forcing Blaze to reconsider her own biases. This is valuable, as Blaze is used to rolling with the punches and not questioning.
Both have different kinds of social ineptitude that balance out. Silver is awkward and too trusting of others, while Blaze is removed and not trusting enough. We see Silver is too willing to obey Mephiles, and Blaze is indifferent to the citizens of Soleanna.
Silver trusts Blaze to work without him, showing concern but respecting her as an independent person. Contrarily, Blaze doesn’t like leaving Silver alone and will go out of her way to include him. She doesn’t want to fail him.
Both are incredibly loyal. Silver always follows Blaze’s guidance, while Blaze always follows him into trouble. They love to help each other, and regret when they’re unable to. Neither abandons the other - Silver did for a while, but that guilt inevitably caught up with him and forced him to wait for her.
They are transparent about their trials and insecurities, never lying. Silver admits when he is wrong and tries to make it up to Blaze. She struggles speaking openly about herself, but finally does at the very end.
At the same time, they don��t always need to talk. They trust each other enough to communicate non-verbally, or to leave gaps in knowledge and respect the other’s privacy.
By the end of the story, Silver loves Blaze more than the world and wouldn’t sacrifice her for anything. But Blaze is mature enough to not let her own love interfere with their mission, even if it resulted in their separation.
This is Silvaze!
(Render by ChaosX, for Project 06)
I believe, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that these two loved each other. However. I must admit that their relationship was not overtly romantic.
I’ve used the L word a lot so far, but not to imply romantic love. Sure, the idea of being alone together in a hostile world, relying on each other at every turn, is romantic. And some of their lines could easily be interpreted thusly, like English!Silver’s “I wouldn’t know what to do without you!” or Blaze’s “You’re still so naive. But I’ve always liked that about you.” And then of course, the heavily romantic tones of “Dreams of an Absolution” sure help.
But little suggests the two act at all attracted to each other. This could be explained away by saying they’re too stressed out to express affection, or that they’re both emotionally-repressed teenagers who dont know how to flirt (I buy into both). On the other hand, we’re dealing with Sonic Team here. They’ve never been into writing romance in the first place.
Or have they…?
Erratum: Amy and Elise
Okay, there’s one scene that I totally skipped back in Part 4. I thought it was pointless, only included in Silver Episode’s Theater because Amy third-wheels that story. Upon reconsideration, I realize it may have been included for a reason. There is some thematic stuff going on.
Amy is like the avatar of love - her crush on Sonic is arguably her most iconic trait. She’s got an intuition about romance, able to track her darling Sonic like a hound and deduce love in others too.
An example of this is with Elise, after Silver and Blaze’s big reunion and White Acropolis. Once Elise proactively escapes from Eggman’s base with Amy, she repeats some advice that a friend (Sonic) gave her: “Nothing will change if I just wait around.”
This quote doesn’t seem like grounds to assume someone has a crush, and yet Amy deduces that Elise is in love with the person. Somehow, Amy finds this phrase romantic, and she’s correct: Elise and Sonic are the epitome of romance in the game. They share intimate alone time, bridal carry segments, and even a big ol’ smooch on Sonic’s cold, dead lips later on.
Amy inferring Elise’s crush seems unrelated. But what if we recall that Blaze shared a very similar sentiment with Silver when he was feeling lost?
I couldn’t help but see the parallel. Both are calls to action from a hero to their admirer: Sonic to Elise, Blaze to Silver.
A similar parallel (from Part 3) is how “You’re My Companion” kicks in right after Amy declares she would choose Sonic over the world. Amy’s love for Sonic is definitely romantic, so it implies Silver and Blaze have a similar relationship. Amy’s eagerness to help Silver find his “person” in Part 2 is also noteworthy, implying she believes Silver is seeking someone he loves. I guess I’m saying that if Amy ever met Silver and Blaze together, she would probably ship them.
Like I said, it’s no where near perfect evidence of a Silvaze romance. But there are parallels deliberately drawn between other romantic relationships and Silvaze’s relationship. So hey, it’s something.
Conclusion
I’ve come to appreciate Silver and Blaze’s dynamic in 06. I do have some qualms: I think Blaze is sidelined a bit too much and her weaknesses aren’t explored nearly as deeply as Silver’s. But compared to other side characters like Tails or Knuckles, she’s actually quite fleshed out. This was the game that introduced Silver, so it needed to focus on him first and foremost. Next time, I’d like to see a story from Blaze’s perspective showing how Silver helps her in return.
Since 06, Silver and Blaze have remained a bit of a package deal. They stand together in group shots, they share unique animations in the Olympics games, and they interact a bit in the IDW comics too. They have yet to be explored on as deep a level as 06 ever again. Considering the time reset, they must be getting to know each other all over again. But with how Sonic-focused the games have been in the past decade, there’s been no time to focus on the side cast like Silver and Blaze. I’m not going to hold my breath, but I really do hope something comes of them in the future.
Thank you for reading!
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