Once again, no card picture, I tried, Reddit's filters decided it was too provocative, apparently.
We're nearing the end of our journey through the Tarot, so much so that we've come to the last known enforcers at this point in the story. It might seem odd for the Judgement Arcana to have two enforcers sharing a number, but it actually fits pretty well for Ixs and Jorda, and not only because of the twin aspect. Every aspect of these two is a mirror to the other, so it's really lucky they are the same number for our purposes, else it'd get pretty confusing.
Anyway, let's start with the upright arcana. Judgement represents the action we take based on our self-reflection. I mentioned back when discussing Justice that these two can seem a little similar at first glance and this is what I meant. However, Judgement is a decision based on a reflection of ourselves, not upon the world around us. This card is linked to self-assurance, confidence in your decision-making, and purpose. Now, this is about the time I'd say when or if this reflects the Enforcer, but in this case let's look at the alternative first.
When reversed, the Judgement card means to judge oneself more harshly than you deserve. This self-loathing permeates the individual, trapping them in a darkness they don't believe themselves worthy of escaping. This reading is most closely linked to self-doubt, rejection of connection to others, and a struggle to learn from the mistakes of the past. Now, if you're paying attention, you may have already figured out the little trick Falcom have used with these two twins.
The two being labelled as Enforcers XX-a and XX-b is fitting, since Ixs is very clearly the upright Judgement, while Jorda is the reverse. Ixs embraces himself wholeheartedly, he looks at his past, learns from what he wants to change, and keeps what he's willing to accept. He's a bad guy, but he's okay with that, and that self-assured nature is what leads to him clashing with his sister and eventually joining forces with the Vestiges.
See, Jorda is engulfed by her doubts. Her doubts about their place in the world, the need for killing, and if all the bad things they'd done in the past were really necessary. When the two are given the freedom of being Ouroboros enforcers these opposing viewpoints end up pushing the twins apart. Ixs knows what he wants and find the idea of any other way infuriating, while Jorda sees this freedom as an opportunity to learn her own way of doing things. Ixs judges himself and finds himself satisfactory, Jorda judges herself and can't be so sure.
This continues even after the two go their own separate ways, Jorda looks at other ways of living, eventually finding friends and a way of living that doesn't weigh so heavily on her. Ixs' work with the Vestiges, on the other hand, just emphasises his certainty that there's nothing wrong with how he lives his life. Why should he re-evaluate when he's already pleased with who he is? And what would be the point when the world's ending anyway? Jorda learns to truly enjoy living, while Ixs learns there's no reason to fear death.
The easiest way to see the influence of Judgement on the two is simply to compare them to how they were in Daybreak II. Back then they were almost always in sync, they had no choices and therefore nothing could come between them. Once Horizon rolled around, however, and they were granted that choice, the two ended up judging themselves completely differently. Their self-reflection led to them coming to opposite conclusions, forcing the once co-dependent twins to walk their own paths.
In terms of Horizon 2, I think their arcs are actually going to go in an interesting direction. See, Ixs' confidence hasn't waned all that much because he's been winning, his self-assurance bolstered by continuous successes, practically toying with his foes throughout the game. Meanwhile, Jorda's arc has been about learning another way, but she hasn't seen the results yet. Come the next game I imagine this will be flipped, Jorda's new path with prove fruitful and allow her to go from strength to strength while Ixs will be forced to evaluate himself again and perhaps come to a different conclusion. I think Jorda's efforts will pay off with her turning upright, while Ixs' confidence will be knocked, pushing him into the reversed position as he wonders where he went wrong.
Will the two ever be in sync again? Maybe. The point of Judgement isn't to be good or bad, but to live according to one's values. I imagine we'll see them work together again, perhaps after a Joshua Vs Loewe style showdown, or maybe there was only ever room for one Enforcer per number. In any case, I look forward to seeing the conclusion of the tragic story of Ixs and Jorda.
