Clair Obscure: Expedition 33’s plot is an emotional and narrative rollercoaster. Every time you think you’ve figured something out, a new plot twist will throw all your theories out the window, andyou’ll never guess how the game’s ending unfolds. That being said, it all starts with a giant woman writing numbers on a rock.
The game doesn’t frontload any exposition; all you know is that the Paintress reduces the number on the monolith every year, and people of that age are gommaged. However, once you fully understand the plot at the end of the game, you probably wonder why she didn’t just write a clearer message. It seems fans have theorised a number of reasons for it.
Warning: Spoilers for Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 below
Why Doesn’t The Paintress Just Tell Us What’s Happening At The Monolith?
As you too may have wondered, a post byL_sigh_kangerooon the Clair Obscur subreddit asked, “Instead of writing the age of the people who are in danger as a warning, why didn’t The Paintress write “The guy under the monolith is gommaging you guys we need to stop him?”" Admittedly, I too wondered that towards the end of the game. But, you’ll understand after you consider everything that has happened.
There are several reasons as to why the Paintress didn’t just advertise the facts to the people of Lumiere and the expeditions. L_sigh_kangeroo themselves realised that even killing Renoir wouldn’t have done much, as it would only “delay the inevitable”. While that’s one reason, there’s also the Paintress'/Aline’s mental state to consider.
After losing Verso, and spending so much time in the canvas, Aline is almost mentally broken. Some comments pointed out that the fracture also took a toll on her as she couldn’t even grasp what was real at this point, as seen in the buildup to her boss fight. Add to that, the Nevrons, who severely weaken her.
Another pointed out that while she tries to warn Lumiere of the yearly gommage, she doesn’t truly think they could even do anything about it. At this point, counting down the years is just a small mercy on them.
