WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Chapter #181.2 of The Promised Neverland by Kaiu Shiri, Posuka Demizu, Satsuki Yamashita and Mark McMurray, available now in English from Viz Media.
The Mamas, the so-called villains in The Promised Neverland, are not one-dimensional figures. It's so easy to denounce them, but they were once orphans in the same position as the Grace Field kids. While this casts a more complex light on the Mamas, it doesn't absolve them of any guilt. If anything, it makes them look more irredeemable because they made their choice despite knowing the truth behind the farms.
Isabella's backstory cast her decision in a more sympathetic light. The latest Promised Neverland bonus chapter offers a closer look at another Mama's backstory: Krone, who changed from a gentle and effervescent girl to who she is now because of someone she thought she trusted.
Krone and Cecile's Friendship
Krone's story begins in the early stages of her training, standing before Mama as she berates her for losing her embroidery. To Krone's utter shock, her friend Cecile, whom she thought she lost two years ago, stands up for her. Cecile has changed a lot since she last saw her. Not only is she taller and thinner, but something intrinsic had changed: there's a hardness in her that wasn't there before. It doesn't seem to matter to Krone -- Cecile is still the strong person that she was two years ago when she threw a punch to defend herself. She bursts into tears of happiness over having her friend back.
Cecile tells Krone that because only a few orphans can become Sisters and even fewer will be chosen to be Moms, "You never show weaknesses." However, with only one girl to be chosen to become a Sister, this sparks Cecile's determination to escape from the institution.
Planning the Escape
Getting out is harder than it seems. A chip in their chest will kill them if they leave. Cecile produces an embroidery ring with threads sewn by past trainees detailing an escape route. The two of them work together, but with Grandma's pocket watch out of their reach--the only thing that can nullify the effects of the chip -- freedom seems impossible.
The next day, they discover that someone tried to escape only to have her chip activated, instantly killing her. Fear fuels the two girls' desperation to escape and Krone comes up with an idea: if she can sneak into the baths while Grandma is bathing, she can steal her pocket watch... except it's the wrong one. It is a tracker watch. Krone sprints off to warn Cecile.
Cecile's Choice
But Cecile isn't who Krone thought she was: she was a spy for Grandma. Cecile laughs at how naive Krone was to believe her and reveals that she was the one to hide her embroidery to gain her trust. All of Cecile's words about how happy she was to see Krone alive was a lie.
Angry tears running down her face, Krone realizes that in order for her to live, she has to make sure she's ahead of everyone else even if that means hurting them to get there. She tells Grandma that Cecile was the ringleader, and shows her the embroidery ring, effectively killing her former friend. The rest of the chapter follows Krone as she gets older, studying and training to become a Mama.
Krone and Cecile Reunited
In a rare moment of vulnerability, Cecile confessed that she wanted to be like Krone. She passes it off casually but Cecile was most likely confessing that she wished that she could have the same innocence and hope that Krone still had. But she knew that they could never escape their predicament. Cecile also knew that Krone could never survive the way she was now. She loved her too much to see her die and so, Cecile had to break her: She had to make Krone distrust everyone and force her to betray Cecile in turn.
The worst part is that they both turned into people they didn't want to be but had to be in order to stay alive. It ruined their friendship. Cecile died believing that Krone would hate her and Krone died, believing that her one friend had sold her out. In a truly tragic and ironic twist, the two friends ended up reuniting in the same spot: dying under the hands of demons, staring at the same sky they once played under when they were kids.
