10.4.5 Stopping Freddy’s and Kreacher’s Quarrel

There wasn’t really a good place to fit this in, so I decided here was good enough.

Remember when I said she asks the scarecrow to stop Freddy and Kreacher from fighting anymore? Which it said ok to? Well I believe the way Emma gets this to happen (or at least the more dangerous side) is via that scene where Kreacher falls.

The day Emma talks to the scarecrow during that scene is 7/7. The next part of Emma’s diary we see is on 7/9, which is when we see her examining the handrail. The incident where Kreacher falls is on 7/10. As soon as he falls, Emma is almost immediately on the scene (which is already suspicious she was there so quickly. No one else was near enough to hear or be there that fast). Then there’s how she says she “heard someone fall”.

This is also suspicious. Why would she immediately suspect that or jump to that conclusion? (Also, I know Emily was a little distance away from the “dining room”, but if Emma could hear clear enough to tell someone was falling, you’d think Emily would’ve heard something too. )

Even Emily comments this line of Emma’s is suspicious after the fact.

After retrieving Emily, Emma urges Emily to quickly check his injuries. She acts really helpful and concerned, as well as is the one to bandage him up on Emily’s guidance, but I believe that’s all it is. An act. The reason is because, immediately after, Kreacher feels the need to “repay” Emma for her “kindness”. The important point here is that, from this point on, we don’t see Kreacher talking or thinking about Freddy. This is when we start to see him interacting with just Emma. Meaning that Kreacher’s focus has turned away from Freddy. Freddy at the moment using the distraction provided by Emma dealing with Kreacher as well as pulling Emily away allows Freddy to sneak into Emily’s room, which is when he discovers Emily was the one to get Martha killed.

Freddy and Kreacher have successfully stopped arguing. Meaning the “scarecrow’s” promise came true. This makes Emma happy, and as a result she goes to the scarecrow to thank it (for stopping the two from arguing). Emma may be going to the scarecrow for this purpose the day Kreacher pretends to be it, which is on 7/11. I can’t say for sure how true this last part is, but it’s just a thought. The point is that I believe Emma was the one to cause Kreacher’s accident as a way to get him to stop fighting with Freddy. The fact she seems surprised he can stand up may mean she meant for him to possibly be hurt worse?

Either way, intentional or not, Emma’s actions are the reason Kreacher feels the need to do what he does later.

Crack theory: what if Kreacher acts the way he does because somehow he knows Emma has a problem and is trying to help? He obviously knew she was kind of mental. He comments as much about it. And Kreacher’s spent enough time around disabled kids, orphans, the insane, and the needy that maybe he’s aware of essentially what she needs? For Emma, this is the fact she wants/needs her dad (has wanted him ever since he left her at the orphanage). The way she talks to the scarecrow may not directly tell Kreacher the specifics, but it may be enough for him to get the idea? That’s why he says Emma “needs a real man”.

Maybe he’s trying to help fix this somewhat by dressing up as the scarecrow to give it a bit more life? It’s possible he’s seen her hug it, which would hint to Kreacher what it potentially was that Emma needed. We know he’s dealt with kids that missed their parents, so that could’ve given him some idea that Emma may have been similar. We know this because Robbie, who was one of the orphans at Kreacher’s orphanage, also missed his parents.

(Robbie) 1. Diary 1: Something's up with Robbie. He kept asking where his parents went. I couldn't answer him despite having come up with various answers. You're such a loser sister, Dolores.

Kreacher isn’t a very emotional person. He’s a realist, not a romantic. He’s had to grow up and live on the streets, all while figuring out how to survive all on his own. It’s likely he may not be the greatest when it comes to this specific subject, but he tries (as we saw with the Rainbow orb, Chinese lion costume, and the “Home, Sweet Home” banner). This, plus the fact he doesn’t know all the specifics about Emma and her problem, could be why this ends up coming across to us as a weird scene and such of Kreacher. But Kreacher, as we’ve built up, wants to help those in need. That’s why he has an orphanage and steals to fund it. He could tell Emma wasn’t upper class like Freddy and Emily. That’s why he was willing to treat her differently and attempt to help her out. So it’s possible that’s what he’s doing here. Trying to help Emma, cheer her up, help her feel less lonely, give her what she seems to need. A real (“warm”) person to fill the hole she substitutes with a “pile of straw” (which she tries to see as a replacement for Leo). Someone who can respond back when Emma talks to them (when Emma starts thinking or wishes she could talk to her dad).

To put it another way: Kreacher is trying to help Emma because he’s seen her talking to the scarecrow (before he pretended to be it). He knows she’s screwed up. So maybe he wants to help her like he helps out all the other children at his orphanage. Maybe he’s trying to give her something more real to talk to, to possibly help her issue, rather than continue to have her try to talk to a pile of straw. I mean, he does dress up as a Chinese lion for his orphans. I don't think it's a stretch to say he may be trying to do the same thing here. This may be another act of his to try to help another broken child so to say.

Unfortunately for Kreacher, Emma isn’t quite aware of his intentions. As a result, this could be part of the reason why Kreacher calls her “ungrateful” in the diary. It may also be what Kreacher is referring to when he says “I’m trying to be nice” as well as why he gets upset with her later.

Maybe another reason he treats her harshly is because he thinks she’s been tainted by the “upper class”. She does spend a good bit of time with Emily, and even some with Freddy. And as I’ve said, Kreacher really does not like the “upper class”. This is not an excuse though, just another possibility of explaining his actions.

Another idea goes back to Emma possibly hallucinating, or at least her perception of reality regarding these events are twisted. Emily has said hallucinations are possible due to Emma's condition. It's also possible that, since Emma is obsessed with Emily, maybe when Emma says Kreacher is bad news, she believes this and thus that's what she sees when she encounters him (twists reality to see this happen). Also, Emma does have another personality that is in charge of reality as well as shielding Emma and her inner, protected world from reality (she’s protecting her other self), so maybe that version of her is the one behind or involved with how we see things during that event. If anything, the devs have said multiple times things aren’t quite as they seem.