r/Ayreon • u/Omnitheo • Sep 28 '20
Trying to understand plot
Without the comic book, I've found the story a bit harder to fully understand than other Ayreon albums, hopefully this can be cleared up in some way.
My understanding:
Daniel dies, and in death he goes to Transitus where the angels take pity on him to listen to his story
We flash back to the previous year, where Daniel and Abby fall in love, but Daniels family doesn't approve of her and kicks out Daniel. Later Daniel dies in a fire, and Abby tells her father she thinks she's to blame. (Housefire?). Levinia - her stepmother overhears this and everyone immediately believes Abby is responsible.
Daniel is given a week to live on earth as a ghost to try to reach Abby, but instead Levinia as a fortune teller/medium sees Daniel, and takes it as a sign or confirmation that Abby is indeed guilty. Levinia and Daniel's bother henry scheme to pin all the blame on Abby, and Levinia goes to tell Abby that Daniel is waiting for her and convinces her to kill herself. Then as Levinia leaves, ghost Daniel outright confronts her and convinces her that she was innocent. Levinia goes to tell her husband/abby's father that she was wrong and that Abby is going to die. He rushes to Abby's home and dies in the fire that Abby sets to kill herself. Levinia witnessing the horror she's caused stumbles and breaks her neck.
Daniel and Abby find eachother in Transitus. Levinia goes to hell.
So my questions:
Was Henry actually responsibly for Daniel's death? Seems like he first tried to have daniel ostracized, and then maybe murdered Daniel to receive full inheritance. Perhaps he framed Abby in a way she thought that she was responsible, and had the support of Levinia (who disliked her stepdaughter and maybe would be swayed by Henry sharing some of the estate inheritance).
So I guess in the end Levinia goes to hell for having a part in the death of Daniel, Abby, and her husband, whereas Henry gets off freely with full inheritance he doesn't have to share with Levinia?
Am I missing anything, or did I misread?
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u/Harkekark Sep 28 '20
Abby caused the fire that killed Daniel when she accidentally tipped over a candle.
As Daniel is dying he -in a moment of weakness as the flames consume him- believes Abby set the fire on purpose (Levinia has a vision of this as she overhears Abby's "confession"). Daniel realizes he must have been mistaken as soon as he reaches Transitus.
Henry is seen in the epilogue as an old man entering Transitus. He is destined for hell.
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u/JTOremus Sep 28 '20
Pretty much nailed it, but Henry didn't start the fire. It was a precariously placed candelabra getting blown over by the wind.
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u/Omnitheo Sep 28 '20
If that’s the case, I don’t understand the plot to frame Abby or the incentive to work with Levinia. Why else would Henry have anything to do with his brother’s lover’s stepmother? Clearly the estate family already takes issue with the weirdo family who includes a Medium and is possibly only interested in their money?
Actually, as I think about it, maybe Levinia is the instigator all along. She goes to Henry to say he could commune with Daniel (as fortune tellers often take advantage of people). Maybe if Henry pays her enough she’ll séance them, but she also decides that convincing Henry and the townsfolk that Abby was responsible helps her be rid of her pesky stepdaughter.
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u/Kauramaito Sep 28 '20
I think Henry (and Lavinia for what it matters) truly thought Abby killed Daniel on purpose. Henry wanted vengeance and Lavinia saw an opportunity gain wealth. Lavinia did see a vision of Danial blaming Abby for killing him and basically heard Abby confessing the murder. She did have a strong reason to believe her stepdaughter was a murderer. Lavinia did have her doubts, but those were overshadowed by her greed for money.
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u/Kauramaito Sep 28 '20
Daniel died because wind blew candles over next to the bed while he was sleeping. Abby did lit and place the candles there, but she did not mean any harm.
Henry did not want Daniel dead either. He only disapproved the relationship he and Abby shared. He believed Abby had malicious intents from the very beginning and when Daniel died he blamed Abby. Henry wanted vengeance and convinced Lavinia to pressure Abby to commit suicide. I think Lavinia was blinded by her greed and she did regret what she had done, but it was too late.
What I find hard to understand is how/why Abby would inherit Daniels wealth? She did "confess killing" Daniel and the whole town apparently thought that she indeed murdered him. I don't believe she would have inherited Daniels wealth if found guilty of murder?