With the latest chapters showing a “skinny” Big Mom who looks like Mother Carmel, I would like to post my theory which has been stucked on my mind for several weeks.
Mother Carmel was old and knew that she will die in the near future. With the ability of the Soru Soru no Mi, she added her soul in Linlin’s body. Slowly she began to gain the control over the body while dominating Linlin’s soul.
Here are some points that could support my theory:
- Mother Carmel had connections to the Government and Cipher Pol as a child trafficker. Big Mom also has connections to the World Government (in form of the CP0).
- Mother Carmels interest in establishing relationships with powerful people (like the government or Elbaf), is the same like Big Moms interest in gaining powerful relationships (gained through marriages of her children).
- Mother Carmel appeared to love her children, while her true interest was only the business with them. Same could be said about Big Mom and her children.
- Mother Carmel was willingly leaving Elbaf in order to protect Linlin. Not because she cared for her, but because she had a plan for her.
- Just before she “vanished”, Mother Caramel said to the CP0 “Time to wash my hands of this business. THIS IS MY LAST DEAL!”
- She served Linlin the croquembouche, although she already knew that this caused her to freak out in Elbaf. This could have happened, because it was easier to use the ability of the Soru Soru no Mi on an unconscious Linlin.
- Mother Carmels nickname was once “Mountain Witch”, which could be a reference to Japanese folklore. In this folklore, children had been nursed before being devoured. This could be a reference to Linlin eating Mother Carmel or Mother Carmel “devouring” Linlins soul.
- Big Mom’s strong interest in the gigantification of children could be explained with this theory. She is getting old and needs a new strong vessel for her soul in the near future (Maybe Linlin really is creation of Vegapunk. But that’s another story…).
- The character of Big Mom is very ambivalent. She wants to create a utopia where all races can live together in peace. At the same time she is ready to kill a whole family at a wedding in order to gain military might for a war. This could be a result of the inner conflict in consequence of the two souls in one body.
Small hints, which seem not important but still can be mentioned:
- The name “Mother Carmel” could already be a foreshadowing of the name “Big Mom”.
- Big Mom having the same lipstick as Mother Carmel (I know its duh… but still…)
- Big Moms tattoo of two hearts, with the big heart surrounded by lines while the small one is not.
What could this mean for the future:
Maybe the Strawhats don’t have to beat Big Mom physically, but only Mother Carmel’s soul. A keypoint could be Sanji’s cake and Brook’s soul ability. After Mother Carmel is beaten, Linlin could be so happy about having her body on her own again, that she really let the Strawhats set sail without any grudge.
TLDR: Mother Carmels soul is still alive in Linlin’s body and together they are creating the ambivalent character Big Mom. She is the enemy to beat.
*Theory by cuvax
