History Fridge / Bayonetta

* Why do Father Balder's outfit and wings so closely resemble a [[AnimalMotifs peacock]]? Peacocks are often the symbol of the sin of {{Pride}}, while pride is associated with the FallenAngel Lucifer. For bonus points, Rodin, who is an actual fallen angel, has the same general motif when you fight him as the game's BonusBoss.

* From when we first meet Luka in the first game, he denotes how the smell of Rosemary has haunted him his entire life and he equates it to Bayonetta's presence in Purgatorio. Yet as Bayonetta denotes, her perfumes have no rosemary in them as they're a demon repellant. The only other presence there that could smell like them is the Angels, and there's a natural reason as to why they'd wear such a smell. But consider the implication of Luka's words: he must've smelled it often enough to be able to pick it out in particular, and given only the ''Angels'' would be wearing it... [[ParanoiaFuel does it mean that the Angels have been keeping tabs on him throughout his life?]] It would certainly explain why he and Bayonetta have the "relationship" they have, with Bayonetta likely killing ''his'' stalkers so he didn't meet his father's fate, as well as Balder knowing him by name since the Angels report to him!

* Normal humans can't see Purgatorio, and can't see Angels, Demons or Bayonetta and can only see the results of their battles. Bad enough when it's a small fight trashing a few park benches and the like. But now remember the big set-piece cinematic battles such as the Prologue in Bayonetta 2 from the human point of view: we have jets crashing into streets and buildings, buildings exploding, a train bridge spontaneously exploding and said train careening off the tracks - potentially resulting in numerous deaths on said train, and to top it all off a skyscraper randomly being crushed and breaking '''and entire buildings floating up into the sky and dropping down during the battle with Gommorah...''' they must be wondering '''WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!'''

* ''Bayo 3'' re-contextualizes Luka's near-superhuman luck and timing (both good and bad) from simply a unexplained source of gags and nick-of-time rescues to something that may have a actual reason in their world. Namely Luka has partial fae ancestry, and thus is a partially supernatural being himself, and luck (both good and bad) is one of the things fae are most well known for having or causing.
* ''Bayo 3'' reveals Bayonetta can rip out her own still beating heart as part of a special ritual to give a summoned demon a more powerful form. While obviously painful and tiring, she's otherwise left no worse for wear. The previous two games showed that Bayonetta can live just fine in space or underwater, meaning her body fundamentally doesn't need to function conventionally to stay alive.
* While the multiverse only came to the forefront in ''Bayo 3,'' if one looks closely at the character models then there were always hints outside of WordOfGod that each Bayonetta of each main game was a different one that had simply led a similar life. As shown in this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6U4yubdL0I video]] the mole near her lips is in a slightly different position in each game. Further, the Bayonetta in the first game gives one of her hair ribbons to Cereza, and wears one ribbon afterwards. Yet, in ''Bayo 2'' if Bayonetta dons her original hair style, she'll be wearing two ribbons. While originally it could have been deemed an oversight, taken with the mole and the plot of ''Bayo 3'' it likely signifies that the Bayonetta of ''2'' is a different Bayonetta who didn't give away one of her ribbons. And sure enough, when the Bayonetta of ''1'' and ''2'' show up during the climax of the game, the Bayonetta of ''1'' has 1 ribbon in her hair.

* Umbra Witches [[DealWithTheDevil strike pacts with demons]] to gain immense magical power, strength and the power to summon demons to aid them in battle, in exchange for hunting Angels. When witches die, their souls are [[DraggedOffToHell dragged down to Inferno]], and it is implied that they are treated like any other soul in Hell. Should a player get a Game Over screen and refuse to continue, a scene plays where Bayonetta is dragged screaming down to Inferno. When Bayonetta is at low health, the pulsating shadow of several clawed hands appear at the edges of the screen, which extend closer the lesser health she has left - the claws of those very demons, so close to fulfilling their contract with Bayonetta and claiming her soul (to a fate that varies depending on the nature of the demon a witch is contracted to). Given how light-hearted the game can be, it's a chilling reminder of just how dark and "evil" being a witch is.

* Why does Bayonetta have an [[TrademarkFavoriteFood obsession with lollipops]], which show up in a lot of cutscenes and which her consumables consist of? Because an offhand comment by [[ChekhovsGunman Luka]] reveals he spoilt Cereza with them while she was under his care.

* In ''Bayonetta 2'', it's a noted issue that Rosa summons Madama Butterfly in place of Madama Khepri for all scenes that matter, from using her wings to DoubleJump to using her in Torture attacks and whatnot. What could be the probable reason behind this? Beyond the fact that Madama Khepri's model hasn't been made yet, Rosa's Robes supresses her own magical power. It would make sense if, after she contracted with Madama Butterfly, Bayonetta allowed Rosa into the contract or to summon Madama Butterfly in Khepri's place as Rosa wouldn't be able to use her.

* Umbra Witches [[DealWithTheDevil strike pacts with demons]] to gain immense magical power, strength and the power to summon demons to aid them in battle, in exchange for hunting Angels. When witches die, their souls are [[DraggedOffToHell dragged down to Inferno]], and it is implied that they are treated like any other soul in Hell. Should a player get a Game Over screen and refuse to continue, a scene plays where Bayonetta is dragged screaming down to Inferno. When Bayonetta is at low health, the pulsating shadow of several clawed hands appear at the edges of the screen, which extend closer the lesser health she has left - the claws of those very demons, so close to fulfilling their contract with Bayonetta and devour her soul. Given how light-hearted the game can be, it's a chilling reminder of just how dark and "evil" being a witch is.

* Umbran Watches slow down the user's age. Lumen Sages have similar clocks, yet Balder looks so much older than Bayonetta and Jeanne. Either the Lumen clock doesn't work as well as its Umbran counterpart, or Balder was deliberately ageing himself as a last ditch effort to kill Loptr.
* Normal humans can't see Purgatorio, and can't see Angels, Demons or Bayonetta and can only see the results of their battles. Bad enough when it's a small fight trashing a few park benches and the like. But now remember the big set-piece cinematic battles such as the Prologue in Bayonetta 2 from the human point of view: we have jets crashing into streets and buildings, buildings exploding, a train bridge spontaenously exploding and said train careening off the tracks - potentially resulting in numerous deaths on said train, and to top it all off a skyscraper randomly being crushed and breaking '''and entire buildings floating up into the sky and dropping down during the battle with Gommorah...''' they must be wondering '''WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!'''

* Umbran Watches slow down the user's age. Lumen Sages have similar clocks, yet Balder looks so much older than Bayonetta and Jeanne. Either the Lumen clock doesn't work as well as its Umbran counterpart, or Balder was deliberately ageing himself as a last ditch effort to kill Loptr.

* Why didn't Bayonetta bring Scarborough Fair on her shopping trip in the opening of ''Bayo 2''? Notice her comment about the cheap handguns being "on sale", and the WordOfGod statement that she and Jeanne have different hairstyles because they just felt like it, [[RealityEnsues like normal people]]. Like a normal person, Bayonetta occasionally forgets things when she leaves the house, like her shopping bags, or a nice winter jacket, or [[BreadEggsMilkSquick a set of reliable firearms]]. She probably realized that she'd forgotten her good guns halfway through the trip, and picked up the handguns just in case. And like a normal person, she has [[ScaryBlackMan a good friend or two]] willing to lend her a good substitute in such a situation, when a hasty replacement doesn't cut it.

* While Bayonetta changing her look in ''2'' is all well and good, her non-special occasion clothing is made out of her hair. In the first game, she wore her hair long (suggesting that her entire getup was basically her hairdo), but since she has short hair in ''2''... well, it's either her body hair, or from [[{{Squick}} other... "places"]]. However, one probable explanation for this is that Bayonetta can likely style her hair with her magic, like when she had it super long and flowing during boss fights in ''Bayonetta 1'' and during Umbran Climax in ''Bayonetta 2''. Therefore, her hair is probably only from her head. If it helps, given the absolutely many bits of MaleGaze going on, we can see that Bayonetta only has hair on her head.

* Bayonetta's "Scarborough Fair" quartet of handguns are [[ThemeNaming individually named]] "Parsley", "Sage", "Rosemary" and "Thyme". In the language of flowers, parsley means festivity, sage means wisdom and immortality, thyme means strength and courage, and rosemary means remembrance. Bayonetta will achieve all four by the end of the game. Rosemary is the last one in this order because Bayonetta will remember her memories as Cereza near the end of the game, and Luka places large bunches of rosemary in Bayonetta's supposed grave during the Epilogue.

* Why is Father Balder's outfit and wings so closely resemble a peacock? Peacocks are often the symbol of the sin of pride and pride is associated with the Fallen Angel Lucifer.
** For bonus points, Rodin, who is an actual fallen angel, has the same general motif when you fight him as the game's BonusBoss.
* Why didn't Bayonetta bring Scarborough Fair on her shopping trip in the opening of ''Bayo 2''? Notice her comment about the cheap handguns being 'on sale', and the WordOfGod that her and Jeanne's different hairstyles are because they just felt like it, [[RealityEnsues like normal people.]] Like a normal person, Bayonetta occasionally forgets things when she leaves the house, like her shopping bags, or a nice winter jacket, or [[BreadEggsMilkSquick a set of reliable firearms]]. She probably realized that she'd forgotten her good guns halfway through the trip, and picked up the handguns just in case. And like a normal person, she has [[ScaryBlackMan a good friend or two]] willing to lend her a good substitute in such a situation, when a hasty replacement doesn't cut it.
* So Paradiso and Inferno are affiliated with the Sun and Moon respectively. Strangely enough, this is still incorporated to the Angel and Demon designs in a very amusing manner. Whereas the Angels' haloes look similar to the Sun, the Moon is incorporated through a Demon's horns.
* The second game sort of gives an explanation of why Bayonetta prefers to fight 'in the nude' by wearing a GodivaHair outfit. Since her magic gives her unlimited control of her hair, even if she takes a near-hit from an attack, it will only cut off a few strands of hair which she can replace immediately. In contrast, any regular clothes she wears may end up getting shredded repeatedly due to her battles, so wearing an outfit made of hair in combat is more economical to her in the long run.

* Jeanne being a history teacher in her spare time. After all, what better person can give lectures about history (namely the time period of [[http://bayonetta.wikia.com/wiki/File:Jeanneschoolteacher.jpg the Witch Hunts]]) than [[JeanneDArchetype someone]] who's actually lived through most of it?
* Why doesn't Aesir play [[TennisBoss Dead Man's Volley]] when he throws a massive structure at Bayonetta in ''Bayo 2''? Because it's his first time seeing the return. In ''Bayo 1'', Jeanne takes a few missile on the first return before starting to volley them back, showing the maneuver takes some getting used to (as any player who ate ''their'' first return can attest to). Whereas Balder, being possessed by Aesir by the time of his boss fight, has seen the maneuver used before, and can start volleying right away.
* Most relevant of all... why does Bayonetta have an obsession with lollipops, which show up in a lot of cutscenes and which her consumeables consist of? Because an offhand comment by Luka reveals he spoilt Cereza with them while she was under his care.
* It's a common thing to note how the Audito's fighting styles are the inverse of their Virtues. Fortitudo tries to keep his distance and blast fire when possible, Temperantia uses overwhelming force without holding back, Iustita does a stealth attack without a word, and Sapienta corners himself in a whirlpool instead of hiding away and attacking from afar. However, if one looks in Bayonetta 2, one can find that they once ''did'' fight the way befitting of their virtue during the Witch Hunts, but they all got beaten easily by the might of Rosa and Bayonetta! Their actions in Bayonetta 1 actually cover the weaknesses their old fighting styles did!
** Fortitudo once fought head on, doing body slams and trying to mow down with his dragon heads. This got him beat easily and thrown off into the distance, so he changed his style to fight more conservatively and from a distance so he may deal more damage and survive longer.
** Temperantia also fought in a similar way, attacking head first and with light blasts without much use of his wind powers. Because this got him beaten easily, he rectifies this by trying to hold his foes at a distance using his wind powers, firing away at them with his gatling gun hands and when his arms are torn off, he creates a light barrier around his face (the only place you could hit him in Bayonetta 2).
** Iustita arrives after you beat Fortitudo and Sapienta and gives you ample time to know he's there so you can prepare yourself, befitting the virtue of Justice. Because this got him beaten, he instead starts the fight through a sneak attack and depriving you the advantage of hitting him directly
** Sapienta fights you head on on the land, showcasing his speed and strength with missile barrages mixed in. Because this earns him a beating by Hekatoncheir and once again gets him beaten, he instead fights you within his own element where he has more advantage in.
* In Bayonetta 2, it's a noted issue that Rosa summons Madama Butterfly in place of Madama Khepri for all scenes that matter, from using her wings to double jump to using her in torture attacks and whatnot. Why is this? Beyond the factor that Madama Khepri's model hasn't been made yet, Rosa's Robes supresses her own magical power. It would make sense if, after she contracted with Madama Butterfly, Bayonetta allowed Rosa into the contract or to summon Madama Butterfly in Khepri's place as Rosa wouldn't be able to use her.

* While Bayonetta changing her look in 2 is all well and good, her non-special occasion clothing is made out of her hair. While in the first game, she wore her hair long (suggesting that her entire getup was basically her 'do), since she has short hair in 2...well...it's either her body hair, or from [[{{Squick}} other...places....]].
** Bayonetta can likely style her hair with her magic, like when she had it super long and flowing during boss fights in Bayonetta 1 and during Umbran Climax in Bayonetta 2. Therefore, her hair is probably only from her head. If it helps, given the absolutely many bits of MaleGaze going on, we can see that Bayonetta only has hair on her head.
* Umbran Watches slow down the user's age. Lumen Sages have similar clocks, yet Balder looks so much older than Bayonetta and Jeanne. Either the Lumen clock doesn't work as well as its Umbran counterpart, or Balder was deliberately ageing himself [[spoiler:as a last ditch effort to kill Loptr]].

* With her foggy memories, Bayonetta could have interpreted Jeanne's first challenge in the past as an attempt to show off how superior she was as a prodigy of the Umbra Witches. Add in Jeanne's behavior throughout the game, and she comes off as a sore loser with a grudge. However, the truth is that Jeanne challenged Bayonetta as an equal in their coven with Father Balder manipulating the both of them into becoming enemies.
* On the Wii U port of the game, you are given costumes based on Nintendo characters, which appear in game to give Bayonetta an aesthetic change. However, during some of the Wicked Weave attacks, most notably the Climax attacks, the costumes don't come off, which could be dismissed as a system limitation or something of the sort. But thinking about it in-universe, and how those attacks works, you realize that normally when Bayonetta doesn't have a costume on, she has her normal bodysuit. Since she's wearing a costume, she doesn't need the bodysuit, where she can extend her hair as much as she needs to in order to execute the climax attacks without losing her bodysuit.

* Umbra Witches strike pacts with demons to gain immense magical power, strength and the power to summon demons to aid them in battle, in exchange for hunting Angels. When witches die, their souls are [[DraggedOffToHell dragged down to Inferno]], and it is implied that they are treated like any other soul in Hell. Should a player get a 'Game Over' and refuse to continue, a scene plays where Bayonetta is dragged screaming down to Inferno. When Bayonetta is at low health the pulsating shadow of several clawed hands can be seen at the edges of the screen, that is stronger depending on how little health she has left -- the claws of those very demons, so close to being able to fulfill their contract with Bayonetta and devour her soul. Given how light-hearted the game can be, it's a chilling reminder of just how dark and 'evil' being a witch is...

* Bayonetta has multiple elements of butterflies in her design: Butterflies appear when she jumps, her glasses have them, her ''entire shadow is a giant butterfly''. Now look at the demon she summons to make giant fist and boot Wicked Weave attacks - the game manual [[AllThereInTheManual mentions her name as Madama Butterfly]]. This is also the Italian name of [[Theatre/MadameButterfly a famous opera]] whose theme revolves around an American soldier and a Japanese woman during the war who fall in love, but eventually, he leaves her alone and pregnant with a child born of both worlds who will be accepted by none. This neatly parallels the game's backstory; Bayonetta herself is the daughter of a Lumen Sage and Umbra Witch ([[MalignedMixedMarriage a forbidden union by both parties]])!.
* An example of why Bayonetta considers the Angels to be ugly? Need I bring up the Beloved who fell in love with Cereza?
** Or the horrid forms under their [[SculptedPhysique Sculpted Physiques]]?
** Might also be the reason Bayonetta has [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes a fear of tentacles]]. Note that Cereza and Luka were very much nearby and capable of watching the fight and Iustita's unnerving appearance [[AllThereInTheManual due to being the virtue closest to Inferno]]. Most kids would likely be scarred for life.

* Just how the hell does Bayonetta actually ''fire'' the guns on her heels? They don't even have any trig-- [[HotWitch ...Oh,]] [[AWizardDidIt wait...]]
* Despite the Prologue chapter being set at nighttime, Bayonetta cannot use her [[WallRun Witch Walk]] ability that triggers during full moons. She only gains access to Witch Walk in Chapter 3 after recalling a memory and is subsequently used in scripted areas where there is a visible full moon. This brings up the fact that Witch Walk is something that must be consciously or manually activated, and this even [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration applies in-game]] as the player can manually revert to the normal orientation from a Witch Walk by pressing a specific button.
* When you unlock the Handguns, their FlavorText specifically mentions one being able to "hold back their full power". In the Prologue, several guns break in Bayonetta's hands because she's trying to fight at her normal capacity, but the guns are unable to withstand her magic. It is also the same reason why the equippable Handguns have much weaker damage output and firepower than the Scarborough Fair because Bayonetta is holding back her power so that the guns won't be damaged again.
* In the language of flowers, parsley means festivity, sage means wisdom and immortality, thyme means strength and courage, and rosemary means remembrance. Bayonetta will achieve all four by the end of the game.
* Speaking of rosemary, the {{Foreshadowing}} entry in the the first game's page mentions that Luka recalls the day his father died by the scent of rosemary only when angels are nearby, and shortly after Bayonetta tells Luka that rosemary is a demon repellent (She specifically mentions that there is no rosemary in her perfume, so if he smells rosemary, it can't be from her). Given that by default angels are opposed to demons, exuding a smell unpleasant to the demons is just a normal thing for angels to have.
* It would be weird at first as to why the game intentionally spells Cereza calling Bayonetta as "Mummy!" instead of the proper "mommy!". Before Antonio Redgrave found her in the bottom of the lake, Bayonetta had just been sleeping in a coffin for ''years'', just like Egyptian mummies.
** Bayonetta speaks with a British accent; in British English, "mummy" and "mum" take the place of "mommy" and "mom."
* Why does Bayonetta give Luka the nickname Cheshire? [[ButtMonkey He reminds her of her favourite, beloved toy.]]
* Bayonetta has multiple elements of butterflies in her design: Butterflies appear when she jumps, her glasses have them, her ''entire shadow is a giant butterfly''. Now look at the demon she summons to make giant fist and boot attacks - the game manual [[AllThereInTheManual mentions her name is Madama Butterfly.]] This is also the name of a famous opera whose theme is an American soldier and a Japanese woman during the war who fall in love, but eventually he leaves her alone and pregnant with a child born of both worlds who will be accepted by none... and Bayonetta herself is the daughter of a Lumen Sage and Umbra Witch!

* Speaking of rosemary, the {{Foreshadowing}} entry in the the first game's page mentions that Luka recalls the day his father died by the scent of rosemary only when angels are nearby, and shortly after Bayonetta tells Luka that rosemary is a demon repellent. Given that by default angels are opposed to demons, exuding a smell unpleasant to the demons is just a normal thing for angels to have.

* When you give Rodin an LP, he goes through a [=Hellgate=] to fight a demon and [[PoweredByAForsakenChild seal its soul in a weapon]]. He comes back, apparently having barely won. So why can't he deal with a single [[Franchise/SuperMarioBros Chain Chomp]]? Because they're {{Invincible Minor Minion}}s in most games, including [[VideoGame/SuperMario64 the one]] this specific Chomp is from, where explosions merely stun it.

* Most relevant of all... why does Bayonetta have an obsession with lollipops, which show up in a lot of cutscenes and which her consumeables consist of? Because an offhand comment by Luka reveals he spoilt Cezera with them while she was under his care.

* Most relevant of all... why does Bayonetta have an obsession with lollipops, which consist of most of her consumeables? Because an offhand comment by Luka reveals he spoilt Cezera with them while she was under his care.

* Are the angel's forms under their SculptedPhysique grotesque because it [[LightIsNotGood represent their inner evil?]] Or is it simply because Bayonetta is slowly but surely breaking their skin off and [[FlayedAlive flaying them alive?!]]

* Are the angel's forms under their SculptedPhysique grotesque because it [[LightIsNotGood represent their inner evil?]] Or is it simply because Bayonetta is slowly but surely breaking their skin off and [[FlayedAlive flaying them alive?!]]