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Captain Burns was a mysterious character to say the least, with the question of where his true allegiance lay always leaving fans in the dark.
Thanks to his affiliation to the Holy Sol Temple, it was easy to think of him as an enemy. However, he also helped the Fire Force from the sideline when needed.
When he helped Joker and Benimaru uncover the secrets of the Raffles and the Holy Sol Temple, it seemed as if Burns was definitely on the side of our heroes.
However, come Fire Force Season 3, we see the company 1 captain betraying his companions and siding with the Evangelist.
He even suggests the idea of converting Akitaru Obi, the captain of Fire Force Company 8 into an infernal. Given his surprise, let us try to understand why exactly he switched sides. And trust me, the answer here is multifaceted.
Why did Captain Burns betray the Fire Force?
Let me start off by saying this, Captain Burns is not an outright evil person. Once you finish reading this article, you will understand that he wasn’t exactly against the Fire Force either.
First and foremost, Burns saw himself as a servant of God. Ever since he was a kid, all he did was pray. What did he pray for? Maybe for the empire and the people in it? Maybe for the human combustion to stop. Maybe salvation for his teammates.
It didn’t really matter. Because, for Burns, prayer itself was his goal. He was someone who was completely devoted to God, or atleast to the idea of God.
However, on the day he witnessed the Evangelist and Adolla, he started questioning his belief. He started doubting what the Holy Sol Temple and the Empire were hiding. Who was this transcendent being that he saw? And why was he in such awe of it?
Years later when he discovered the diary of Raffles I, he realized that the Holy Sol Temple was a hollow organization. There was no Sun God listening to his prayers. It was all probably a lie fabricated by the White Clads.
But then, he had still witnessed the Evangelist. And when Haumea talked to him at the Curia (depicted in the first episode of Fire Force Season 3), Burns started to view the Evangelist as the God of this world.
And since he was priest, Burns felt obliged to follow God. That was the only way he had lived his life till now. He had been on the path of servitude ever since he could remember, and he decided to continue to do the bidding of this new God he came to revere.
That was the answer he came to. But like I said before, there are more facets to Burns defecting to the White Clads.
Underlying motives:
When Burns realized that the Evangelist planned to destroy the world and turn it into a sun, he was not entirely comfortable with the idea. But the entity who wished it was God itself in Burns’ mind.
So, how could an old priest who had spent his whole life praying hope to bring about a change?
Basically, Burns felt that if someone could indeed change the fate of the world by going up against God itself, then it was not him. It was too late for him to change.
So, instead of fighting a losing battle, Burns decided to be the first obstacle that the hero – Shinra – will have to overcome. By fighting Shinra, he was making sure that the youngster understood the burden he will have to bear, and the kind of opponents he will have to face going forward.
The mantle of being a hero was not a easy one to carry!
Thematically, he was also sticking to his role. Burns was baptized as Leonard Burns, as the Lion who would cleanse the empire of its devils.
Shinra was seen as the devil by many. And Burns wanted to burn away this image of Shinra and turn him into a hero. In the end, we can safely say he indeed was successful in doing so.
But that’s not all, Burns’ stand also managed to unite the Fire Force together. While the White Clads had assumed that it would essentially break the force up, it had the entirely opposite effect!
Understanding the trope Burns portrayed:
With the Shinra vs Burns fight author Atsushi Ohkubo essentially portrayed the trope of generation gap that exists in Japan.
Burns embodies the older generation, characterized by an almost unshakeable sense of duty and utmost loyalty to a higher authority. First it was the Holy Sol Temple, and then the Evangelist, whom he accepted as the true God despite their plan to destroy the world.
His inability to deviate from the path he had been walking on, despite the devastating implications, is similar to how the older generation in Japan have a deep loyalty to their company, despite long working hours. He is essentially embodied the idea of a corporate slave here – only that the entity he was bound to happened to be the Evangelist.
Shinra on the other hand embodied the younger generation or the Satori Sedai. He was willing to to defy even a God-like entity in order to save humanity. He was determined to forge a new path, by even challenging the status quo itself.
Burns represented the established order, and Shinra, by defeating him, took the first step towards breaking the rigidly ingrained traditions which held the empire back.
In the end, Burns was never a true villain. He was more of an obstacle that Shinra had to overcome. Whatever he did, he only did so that the Fire Force could reach the ultimate truth of the world.
What are your thoughts on Captain Burns’ role in Fire Force. Let me know them in the comments below!
