History Fridge / PandoraHearts

** It actually is '''[[UpToEleven worse]]''' than that. During the 100 year period that the Abyss was dark, Chains were brought into existence [[spoiler:from things that somehow survived the fall into the Abyss]], where they were trapped in a violent, eternally [[DarkWorld dark]] kill-or-be-killed EldritchLocation with only one escape: a contract with a human from the surface world. [[spoiler:If [[TraumaCongaLine Oz's experience was any indication]], Chains under normal contracts have little control over their own powers and can be used as a LivingWeapon regardless of the Chain's own desires,]] so while the Contract system can have its benefits, at its worst it's basically a form of slavery. [[spoiler: This can also be turned on its head in a way: in cases where the Contractor is particularly mentally weak, a Chain can influence their thoughts and emotions, but still not to the extent that a Contractor can control their Chain.]] And even worse than ''all that'', any Chain that died during the century-long darkness couldn't enter back into the Reincarnation cycle, meaning that after all their suffering, they ended up DeaderThanDead.

** Fittingly enough for a mirrored pair of foils, the name "Jack" has had a lot of different meanings over time. Through the years it gained some less reputable connations (involving crime), but for quite a long period of the English language, the name "Jack" was a stand-in word for "man," just like the name "Guy" would be later. "Jack" was a general word for a man, somewhere in function between modern terms like "dude" and "bloke" and calling someone a "John Doe." Hence historical nicknames like Spring-Heeled Jack, Three-Fingered Jack, Jack the Ripper--they weren't called that because Jack was their actual name, but because Jack was a generic term for a man often used in lieu of a real name. In other words, Oz's name means "god" and Jack's name means "man" (but specifically a generic and identity-less kind of "man"). Considering the twist about their true natures, true moralities, who's possessing who, and the identity crises of both characters, the choice of names here is pretty loaded.

** Fittingly enough for a mirrored pair of foils, the name "Jack" has had a lot of different meanings over time. Through the years it gained some less reputable connations (involving crime), but for quite a long period of the English language, the name "Jack" was a stand-in word for "man," just like the name "Guy" would be later. "Jack" was a general word for a man, somewhere in function between modern terms like "dude" and "bloke" and calling someone a "John Doe." Hence historical nicknames like Spring-Heeled Jack, Three-Fingered Jack, Jack the Ripper--they weren't called that because Jack was their actual name, but because Jack was a generic term for a man often used in lieu of a real name. In other words, Oz's name means "god" and Jack's name means "man" (but specifically a generic and identity-less kind of "man"). Considering the twist about their true natures, true moralities, who's possessing who, and the identity crises of both characters, the author's choice of names here is pretty loaded.

** Fittingly enough for a mirrored pair of foils, the name "Jack" has had a lot of different meanings over the years. Over the years it gained some less reputable connations (involving crime), but for quite a long period of the English language, the name "Jack" was a stand-in word for "man," just like the name "Guy" would be later. "Jack" was a general word for a man, somewhere in function between modern terms like "dude" and "bloke" and calling someone a "John Doe." Hence historical nicknames like Spring-Heeled Jack, Three-Fingered Jack, Jack the Ripper--they weren't called that because Jack was their actual name, but because Jack was a generic term for a man often used in lieu of a real name. In other words, Oz's name means "god" and Jack's name means "man" (but specifically a generic and identity-less kind of "man"). Considering the twist about their true natures, true moralities, who's possessing who, and the identity crises of both characters, the author's choice of names here is pretty loaded.

* There is ''so many'' interpretive potential layers of MeaningfulName going on between Oz and Oswald and even Oscar. Up first is the fact that, in hindsight, it's obvious Oscar's name was a RedHerring intended to circumstancially imply that Oz was named after Oscar so no one would guess until TheReveal the connection between Oz's and Oswald's names. Then there's the fact that Oswald's name follows the Christian symbolism used when discussing the Abyss--Oswald, broken down into its two elements, means 'os' (god) and wald (rule). Oswald has been described as king of the emissaries of the Abyss on occasion and his character is based upon the Red King from Alice in Wonderland--but more than that, it hints that Oswald isn't the villain, he's just ruling in the way he ''believes'' is right and ordained. And following that same logic, "Oz" literally derives from the root element meaning "God"--fitting for the MessianicArchetype of the series.
** Fittingly enough for a mirrored pair of foils, the name "Jack" has had a lot of different meanings over the years. Over the years it gained some less reputable connations (involving crime), but for quite a long period of the English language, the name "Jack" was a stand-in word for "man," just like the name "Guy" would be later. "Jack" was a general word for a man, somewhere in function between modern terms like "dude" and "bloke" and calling someone a "John Doe." Hence historical nicknames like Spring-Heeled Jack, Three-Fingered Jack, Jack the Ripper--they weren't called that because Jack was their actual name, but because Jack was a generic term for a man often used in lieu of a real name. In other words, Oz's name means "God" and Jack's name means "man" (but specifically a generic and identity-less kind of "man"). Considering the twist about their true natures, true moralities, who's possessing who, and the identity crises of both characters, the author's choice of names here is pretty loaded.

** Fittingly enough for a mirrored pair of foils, the name "Jack" has had a lot of different meanings over the years. Over the years it gained some less reputable connations (involving crime), but for quite a long period of the English language, the name "Jack" was a stand-in word for "man," just like the name "Guy" would be later. "Jack" was a general word for a man, somewhere in function between modern terms like "dude" and "bloke" and calling someone a "John Doe." Hence historical nicknames like Spring-Heeled Jack, Three-Fingered Jack, Jack the Ripper--they weren't called that because Jack was their actual name, but because Jack was a generic term for a man often used in lieu of their real name. In other words, Oz's name means "God" and Jack's name means "Man." Considering the twist about their true natures, true moralities, who's possessing who, and the identity crises of both characters, the author's choice of names here is pretty loaded.

* At an early part of the manga, Oz tells Gilbert that "Rabbits die if they get lonely." Oz is, of course, the true B-Rabbit, and has had to cope with quietly feeling isolated and alone and undeserving of those around him for most of his life, something that has taken a massive toll on his mental health. As per CharacterDevelopment, when heading into Sablier for the last time, Oz offhandedly mentions with a smile how strange it is that even though he's literally just lost his group in the Hole's illusions, he still doesn't feel alone.

* The whole prospect of incuses themselves. The fact that you've made a [[DealWithTheDevil contract with a Chain]] is bad enough, but as a bonus, you get a clock tattoo on your chest that literally, visibly counts down to your death. The hand will move every once in a while and you'll have no control when. [[RaceAgainstTheClock You're running out of time.]] [[ParanoiaFuel Someday soon, no matter what you do now,]] [[YourDaysAreNumbered you're going to die.]]

** Further, the fact that Oz's slash wound on Gil during the first Coming of Age Ceremony is the only thing to ever leave a scar [[spoiler:foreshadows Oz's inhuman nature. Because Baskervilles are beings halfway between Chain and human and can even walk off things like being ''shot in the head,'' only powerful Chain-killing chains like Mad Hatter and B-Rabbit can truly permanently hurt the Baskervilles. If Oz were a normal human, the scar he uses to confirm Gilbert's identity post-timeskip couldn't exist. This is later addressed by Break in an omake, who implies that even weakened Oz must still have had some of his lethal powers for him to scar Gilbert.]]