Post — Aaron Ngo

Major Spoilers are included in this Webtoon Review. Please read with caution.

The seventh arc of the series centered around John and his secrets. Without Seraphina around for support, the increased bullying and lack of understanding about Seraphina’s sudden lack of communication online drove John to remember his past. John’s physical appearance even started to change—the hair gel was gone and his eyes were glowing yellow! John’s “True Colours” were revealed.

The arc also discussed the EMBER threat in episode 41, as the Headmaster began to grow concern about the killings of high-tier vigilantes. They were unnerved as Rei—the X-Static vigilante, the former “King” of Turf War, and Remi’s brother—was killed, and he was a known reader of the book, Unordinary—something Wellston Private High School suspended Seraphina for having possessed and read.

John’s father made a cameo too when John called him asking for another copy of the banned book. The series hadn’t really explained why John’s father isn’t around or why he wrote the book aside to inspire vigilantes. The EMBER plot was still hanging out in the background, as the series chose the slow build-up route in order to focus on character.

Episode 42 revealed another flashback to John’s past at New Bostin High School, confirming some of our suspicions. John does have an ability—not shown yet—but we were given a hint at powerful he was.

Like Arlo, John was the “King” of his old school. The unknown girl—Claire—was shown fully in the flashback, and how she called him a “monster” for flaunting his power over the students, whom he had beaten severely 20 to 1.

This flashback occurred naturally during the fight with the bullies in the present day, as John held back at the last minute and allowed them to beat him severely after the flashback ended. Arlo couldn’t stand the disruption in the social hierarchy and stopped the bullies from hurting him further in episode 43. Arlo’s character was an interesting one to explore, as they humanized him more through his interaction with John at the infirmary and later at Woaba Bubba. The comedic moments with Arlo and Islen—the student head of the school press—were also very helpful.

Arlo respected the social hierarchy and wanted to put John “in his place”, but prior to this arc, the audience—well, at least I did—misunderstood what he meant by that. Arlo couldn’t handle John being treated like a cripple when he knew John had abilities and that he belonged higher up in the social hierarchy. This revelation made me reevaluate what I initially thought about Arlo when he first appeared during the “Turf War Arc”.

Overall, we’re getting some answers, but more questions were being presented. What exactly is John’s abilities? Like, we have a good enough understanding on why John doesn’t use his powers—connected to his own personal views on the social hierarchy—but not his level or what the power actually is yet. The whole “we got answers, but they bring up more questions” type of storytelling. I’m really looking forward to the next couple arcs. Hopefully, Seraphina and John will be reunited soon.

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