Bakura and Ryou switching

[branchandroot]

Major Spoilers in this entry.

For the next installment of my contemplations on Bakura and Ryou, I must note that, all during the second half of the Duelist Kingdom arc, they switch back and forth fast and often, with only a single bobble in continuity: the moment right after Ryou re-dons the Ring and doesn’t remember Bakura assisting the pharaoh with a distraction against the maze brothers.  After that there are only  three moments when we see Bakura manifest as himself, but there are quite a few moments when Ryou says or does things that are slightly out of character: telling the pharaoh to kill Pegasus or offering to come skulking downstairs with Honda or knowing what a shadow game is.  At the same time, the moments of Ryou’s apparent control follow very quickly on Bakura’s and Ryou does not seem to be at all confused about suddenly being down in the dungeon helping Honda rescue Mokuba. If we assume that Bakura is pretending to be Ryou more assiduously than usual, that works, but then that also suggests that it’s actually Bakura who offers his heart to guard the pharaoh against Pegasus’ mind reading, which I find dubious.

What seems more likely to me is that Bakura is allowing Ryou to stay aware and in “front”, but is watching over his shoulder close enough to switch seamlessly or to influence what Ryou is saying and thinking.  The moments when he clearly takes control are one instance of his style chicanery (in the maze), two of violence (the guard and Pegasus) and one of gloating over Shadi’s portrait. Those, it seems equally likely, Ryou is not aware for; at least he doesn’t seem to realize that Bakura has killed Pegasus and stolen the Eye.  The rest of the time, however, Bakura behaves pretty benignly toward his host, and we can, perhaps, understand why Ryou thought that it was all right to wear the Ring again.