Kalm's Flashback - Blog Posts

Tifa’s interrogation: the flashback at Kalm

The flashback at Kalm represents the first time Tifa truly comprehends the depth of Cloud’s delusions. Some fans see Tifa’s behavior during this episode as complete head-in-the-sand avoidance of the issue. 

But… this is a misinterpretation. Tifa isn’t avoiding Cloud’s crisis at Kalm, even if she does opt for subtlety (a necessity, given what transpired at the train station). Tifa tries to use the Kalm flashback to gather evidence to disprove Cloud’s version of events… but she unfortunately discovers that the situation is not so clear-cut.

Tifa’s behavior makes her intentions obvious. As soon as Barret asks Cloud to tell his story, Tifa keeps silent, fidgeting restlessly with her hair. And in contrast with Barret and Aerith, her only dialogue is “…”s:

 As we know, Tifa hasn’t yet had the chance to hear Cloud’s side of the story: at the train station, he reacted violently when Tifa questioned him; at both the bar in OG and Remake’s Alone at Last, Cloud brushes off her questions. Kalm marks Tifa’s very first opportunity to gather information and understand the nature of Cloud’s inconsistencies. The fidgeting is a sign of Tifa’s anticipation/dread; the ellipses represent her listening intently to Cloud’s story, giving him the space he needs to speak without her contradictory recollections setting him off.

Indeed, Tifa’s very first remark is only in response to an interruption:

Barret: Yo wait a minute!! Isn’t that, um…? The name of Sephiroth’s mother… I remember Jenova. That’s that damn headless spook livin’ in the Shinra building.

Cloud: That’s right.

Tifa: Barret, would you please let us hear what Cloud has to say? You can ask questions later.

Barret: Tifa, I was only…

Tifa: OK Cloud, continue.

Aerith: The childhood friends reunite!

Cloud: …I was really surprised with Tifa.

(watch here)

Tifa abruptly cuts Barret off in a way that takes all three characters aback–why is she so uncharacteristically brusque? Cloud, Barret, and Aerith all verbally react to the outburst, as the devs want the player to notice how unusual Tifa’s behavior is. While a first-time player may not understand her motivations, a seasoned player will: at this moment, Tifa doesn’t care about anything but hearing Cloud’s story and figuring out what’s wrong with him.

Tifa continues to listen in silence until Cloud reaches her house. Suddenly, Tifa asks Cloud about everything he did there:

Tifa: Cloud…? Did you go into my house?

Cloud…? Did you go into my room?

Did you play my piano?

(if you check in the drawers to find the underwear…) …Cloud. We’re talking about something really important here.

Did you read it? My letter?

Do you remember what it said…?

Cloud… Do you remember all of it?

(link to the full sequence in Tifa’s room)

These questions may look trivial, like a frivolous Tifa trying to ensure her girlish modesty was maintained five years ago. But it’s the last two questions about the letter which reveal what Tifa is truly doing: she’s subtly interrogating Cloud to determine if he was truly at Nibelheim. If Tifa’s primary motivation is to lessen her embarrassment, then why does she explicitly prompt Cloud to restate the entire letter in front of the entire team five years later?

The full content of the letter is information which Tifa is intimately familiar with, information that only she–or someone who truly was in her room that day–would know. If Cloud doesn’t know about the objects in her room or blatantly bullshits in response her questions, then Tifa has all the more evidence that Cloud wasn’t actually there. But if he does know the answers to these questions, especially regarding something as temporary as a letter, then… what does it mean? That Cloud truly was there, even though Tifa doesn’t remember him being there…? What does that say about Cloud’s memories…? What does that say about Tifa’s…?

The fact that Cloud passes her “test”–that he knows private details of her room, and gives an accurate account of its contents–leads Tifa to recognize that there is more to Nibelheim incident than just her recollections, and there is more to Cloud’s side of the story.  Tifa doesn’t have a full understanding of the situation, and as long as she can’t explain the discrepancies between her memories and Cloud’s, she can’t simply refute Cloud’s version of events. Like it or not, Tifa realizes that the Nibelheim flashback has become a “he said, she said” situation. And who knows… maybe this confident, capable Cloud is correct, and she’s the one who’s wrong?

Now… how do we know that Tifa’s questions about her room are intended to represent her attempts at fact-finding? How do we know that they really aren’t just a trivial cutesy gameplay mechanic to break up the monotony of the flashback?

And the answer is… it’s because Cloud’s answers to these questions are referenced during a critical scene: Sephiroth’s illusion at the Northern Crater.

Cloud: The town hadn’t changed at all. What did I do? Oh yeah…

Cloud’s lines are directly influenced by the actions that Cloud took during the Kalm flashback. After the above line, Cloud can make any number of statements:

“I saw my mom. I saw the people in town.”

“Yeah, I went to Tifa’s room. There, I…”

“I played the piano!”

“I looked in the drawers!”

“I read the letter addressed to Tifa!”

Based on how much or how little you did, Cloud will say more (or fewer) of the above statements.

For example, in this player’s Nibelheim flashback, Cloud met his mom and went in Tifa’s room, where he jammed on the piano and raided her dressers. But he never found the letter. So during the Nibelheim illusion, Cloud only makes statements 1-4.

On the other hand, this player’s Cloud experienced everything during the Nibelheim flashback, so Cloud makes all 5 statements during the Nibelheim illusion.

But in this player’s Nibelheim flashback, Cloud went to Tifa’s room but did the bare minimum. Didn’t say “yes” to anything or even see Cloud’s mom. So Cloud only makes statement 2.

With this easily-missed callback, it proves that Cloud himself recognizes the purpose and utility of Tifa’s questioning back at Kalm, and emphasizes how Tifa interrogated Cloud during the Kalm flashback to try and find incontrovertible proof of his presence on that day.

Final thoughts:

>> Tifa’s final question. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Tifa’s final question at Kalm. After Barret leaves the room, Tifa speaks up one more time:

Tifa: …… Cloud…? How bad was I when Sephiroth cut me? Cloud: I thought you were a goner. …I was really sad. Tifa: ……

There are four ways to interpret this exchange:

The first is how a first-time player would experience it: it’s an exchange which both builds Cloud up as a reliable narrator and suggests that Cloud was relatively indifferent towards Tifa. (Seasoned players will recognize why this moment is played down this way: to build up the shock of the Lifestream reveal, where we learn Cloud isn’t a reliable narrator and that he was deeply affected by Tifa’s injury because he revolves around her.)

The second interpretation is that Tifa’s asking Cloud one more question to confirm if he not only was in her room, but also in the reactor that day–in case you missed visiting Tifa’s house, it’s one last factfinding mission to prove that Cloud was truly there.

The third interpretation is that Cloud’s confidence and accuracy during the flashback leads Tifa to doubt herself; she wonders if the severity of her injuries may be the reason why she misremembers the day’s events. This question alludes to her uncertainty; perhaps she’s performing some factfinding for herself by comparing more of her recollections to his.

The fourth interpretation is that Tifa always knew how badly she was injured, but this is the very first time she learns that Cloud was there when she was injured. Tifa hoped that Cloud would be emotionally impacted by her injury (due to the Promise), which is why she prompts him about it. Unfortunately, his indifferent response is very disappointing. (This could be another reason why her reaction to this moment in the Lifestream is so pronounced and why she brings up the Promise.)

While I think interpretation #1 is definitely what the devs want first-time players to get out of this conversation, I’m not sure if seasoned players are supposed to take #2, #3, #4, or something else away from it. I’ll leave that to you! I hope Remake (or a future Ultimania) gives us some greater clarity here.

>> PS: Undies. Tifa’s not really mad about the underwear–note how her response isn’t something like, “I can’t believe you invaded my privacy like that!” but it’s actually, “Cloud!!! […] …Cloud. We’re talking about something really important here.” Tifa is exasperated that Cloud’s talking about some inane pervy bullshit while she’s TRYING to figure out what’s wrong with him. Come the fuck on, Cloud, a little seriousness here!!

>> PPS: Undies, round 2. Cloud really DID look through her underwear drawer. He wasn’t kidding, because he legitimately uses that fact to prove his existence at Northern Crater. (“I looked in the drawers!”) “I simp for Tifa, therefore I am.” Oh Cloud.