WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 8 of Shadows House, "In the Palm of His Hand," now streaming on Funimation.
The entire arc of Shadows House's first season centers around the much-feared Debut, both a rite of passage for the Shadows and the first occasion where the Faces would be seen by other Shadow Nobles. The Debut is also a time of tests -- of synch, skill and smarts -- that puts both the Face and their Masters through the grinder, and a live spectacle for the older Nobles that live in the Adult Building and follow the proceedings like sports fans watch a match.
At the heart of this season's Debut is Edward, the newly appointed master of ceremonies, who at first seemed like a perfectly normal -- if ambitious -- human servant. That is, until Episode 8, where it is revealed that he is also a Shadow. The reveal happens as he's playing the piano in the garden labyrinth and pitch-black soot covers his hands, hair, neck and face, erasing his expression and leaving only his raw emotion and his soot power, which consists of manipulating music.
Shadows House has hinted that the Nobles would eventually possess their Faces through the whole season: the Phantom attack looked like a possession gone wrong; the Nobles' obsession with keeping their Faces' faces intact and as beautiful as possible and their huge labor force of children never boded well. However, even the Noble adults presented just their Shadow form, not their faces.
However, Episode 7 had featured Aileen, the Noble who could create soot animals, and who now turns out to be just like Edward, a servant most of the time, and a Shadow who entertains other Nobles above her station when they feel like it. Allie and Jer were Edward's comrades back when they were children and the only three survivors of their own Debut. It's also interesting that Edward looks decades older than Jer and Allie, who are at most in their early twenties; this might be a disguise that he puts on or a secondary effect of merging with his Shadow Noble.
While Edward's reveal is spectacular, as far as anime transformations go, the most interesting part is the implication of it. The Noble children expect to be treated with the utmost respect at all times, and most believe that this deferential treatment will carry on after their debut. However, the reality is that, after the Debut, they might become even worse off, being treated like Living Dolls by their fellow Nobles.
From this perspective, Edward's desire to make this particular Debut unforgettable is completely understandable, if misguided. He knows that all the Nobles will be watching, and this might be the only time they've seen him after his own Debut. He wants to ascend and become one of them, perhaps in spite of the Shadows House's shady true nature.
It is really quite sad. Jer and Allie, the closest thing Edward has as friends, seem to follow him just as a means to stay together. On the other hand, Edward is particularly obsessed with Kate, the Shadow child who also seems to know that Noble House is a massive con, which irks Edward so badly that he wants Kate and Emilico to fail, which will mean that they are eliminated -- and out of sight, out of mind.
Shadows House is currently streaming on Funimation, with new episodes every Saturday.
