This Anime Betrayal Is Even More Cut-Throat Than THAT ‘House Of Cards’ Subway Scene

The beauty of S.I.U.’s Tower of God lies in its juxtaposition of innocence and corruption in an allegorical world that pulls together fairy tales and society’s harshest realities into a single narrative thread.

The series’ hero, The Twenty-Fifth Bam, has a child-like purity that draws friends and allies to him like a magnet. It’s his inner goodness that makes others feel like they’ve found a purpose and something to fight for, especially when it comes to protecting him from the dangers of the mysterious ‘tower’ that is the center of the series’ universe. All of which makes the first season’s epic backstabbing betrayal hit that much harder.

The only reason Bam is in the tower at all is to reunite with Rachel, the girl who discovered him trapped in a ominous cave-like environment. We don’t know why he was there, or how long he was isolated for, but it’s this origin story that explains his naivety and provides his driving motivation for the series.

We don’t know how or why Rachel, on the other hand, went through the trouble of reaching Bam in his stone prison, or how those actions may selfishly tie back to her overall goal of climbing the tower and seeing the stars. All we do know, at this point in time is that is blinded by selfishness, and heartlessly abandoned Bam to pursue her goal.

So when she betrays Bam and pushes him from their protective bubble just as they are within arms reach of completing the requirements to move on from the testing floors so they can begin climbing the tower in earnest, we’re gutted even more than when Kevin Spacey pushed Kate Mara in front of that subway train on House of Cards. We all assumed that Rachel had some good reason for keeping her distance from Bam, even going so far as to adopt the alias of Michelle Light, but the truth is she is just rotten to the core.

The biggest reveal of the season, once we’ve had the rug pulled out from under us, is understanding the events up until now from Rachel’s point of view. Learning how guardian and administrator, Headon, used Bam as a means to antagonize Rachel, making her watch his immediate willingness to put himself in the exact danger she was not brave enough to face. For Rachel, Bam is a constant reminder of her moral lacking. He is selfless, well liked, talented, admired, and loved, and receives the very same attention she longs for. Meanwhile, all he desires is her love and company.

That ruthless shove ‘pops’ Bam’s metaphoric ‘bubble’ of innocence, and ushers in his fall from grace into the depths of despair. Not only is he separated from his newfound family of friends, but their very well-being is used to blackmail Bam into becoming a human weapon for a nefarious underworld organization known as F.U.G. Bam suppresses his true nature and desire for connection, making sure no one else gets close enough to him to ever become collateral again.

No matter how exciting, interesting, and complex future arcs become, they all tie back, in some form or fashion to this catalyzing event.

You can watch Tower of God on Crunchyroll, or read the original manhwa on Webtoon.