The red behelit...

[Morbius]

I know there is another thread concerning the morality of Griffith but I began to wonder if "The Egg of the King" (aka the red behelit) holds any power over Griffith... It kind of reminds me of the One Ring in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings... There are even lesser behelits similar to the idea of the lesser rings...

Anyway, does the red behelit have any power over Griffith? Could it be that it slowly corrupts his mind as he comes closer to gaining power?

I also noticed that in the 4th episode he offers it to Gattsu... Do you believe that if the offer was serious and Gattsu had accepted it that he would have met a similar fate as Griffith? It's hard to believe that anyone else weilding the red behelit could have been so successful as Griffith or achieved as much... I wonder if Gattsu would have been as easily corrupted by the power and become as equally evil as Griffith did...

So how much of a factor does the Egg of the King play in Griffith's downfall? Is it really his own actions that lead to his fate or is the behelit directing Griffith to his destiny?

[Drizzten]

Says Morb:
I know there is another thread concerning the morality of Griffith but I began to wonder if "The Egg of the King" (aka the red behelit) holds any power over Griffith... It kind of reminds me of the One Ring in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings... There are even lesser behelits similar to the idea of the lesser rings...
I never thought about it like that. Interesting...

Anyway, does the red behelit have any power over Griffith? Could it be that it slowly corrupts his mind as he comes closer to gaining power?
I must first say that it haven't seen the last ten or so episodes in months, so I may be fuzzy. It is my opinion, however, that while it certainly did have an effect on Griffith, there also must have been a placebo effect on him. Things have power due to two reasons. They either grant actual power, or their symbolism encourages the person to gain power on their own. I believe that some of Griffith's arrogance is due to the behelit. Just look at it's name. It gives off a sense of power, it has demonstrated unusual characteristics, and it has saved his life. That's one potent symbol.

I also noticed that in the 4th episode he offers it to Gattsu... Do you believe that if the offer was serious and Gattsu had accepted it that he would have met a similar fate as Griffith?
Good question...one that I have never considered. I'll have to think about it for now. So until then and for aruement's sake, I say no because I think internally Gatts is made of stronger stuff than Griffith and would be able to resist the behelit's influence.

[Morbius]

I watched the ending again and I noticed something new to add to this that might clear things up a bit... One of the guardians tells Griffith that the "Egg of the King" chose him because he was blessed... So I think that means that Griffith would have gained fame and power even without the behelit...

But I don't know if events could have been altered without it since the the whole theme behind Berserk is that everything is controlled by fate and no man can change his destiny...

[Ckrisz]

I think that Griffith, for whatever reason, was chosen long ago to join the God Hand. This was the "blessing." The Behelit is really just a symbol of the God Hand's power, the switch one has to throw to bring them into the world. But I'm not sure the Behelit would have affected Guts, because I believe it was meant only for Griffith. It probably would have zero or little effect on anyone. I think that the apostles are all "chosen" by God Hand beforehand, and given behelits that activate when their emotions are raging at their peak.

The Red Behelit would just found a way to return to Griffith; witness its miraculous reappearance just as Griffith is trying to commit suicide.