There’s no shortage of amazing and well-developed characters in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, each with their own tragic and heartbreaking background that adds layers upon layers of depth to the overall story. Two of the most beloved characters in the game, however, share a particularly special bond that most players will never fully realize if they don’t dive into their unique relationship quests. If you missed out on this detail in your first playthrough, make sure you don’t make the same mistake during your next one.

In Sciel’s storyline, we learn about her tragic history with her husband, which is slowly revealed over the course of the game as you advance her unique relationship quest. While every character in Clair Obscurhas an incredible backstory, Sciel’s is especially poignant because it intersects with another fan-favorite character, Esquie. They share a special bond throughout the game that isn’t clearly explained unless you advance Sciel’s relationship level and learn one specific detail that connects the dots very explicitly.

Sciel Has The Most Tragic Backstory In Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

Sciel’s Husband Was Taken From Her Far Too Soon

We learn through Sciel’s storyline that she has a somewhat inexplicable fear of water, and eventually, you can give her some swimming lessons with Verso and even romance her instead of Lune if you so choose. However, the reason behind this fear of water is deep-seated and especially tragic. Sciel’s husband, Pierre, was taken from her in a heartbreaking drowning accident that completely shook Sciel to her core. While she knew that he would eventually be gommaged in the future, he drowned and passed away roughly five years before he was supposed to.

As a result, Sciel became deeply depressed, so much so that she tried to drown herself and be with Pierre in the only way she saw as possible. Miraculously, she survived this drowning, but in an even more gut-wrenching blow, she learned that she was actually pregnant before her attempted suicide, and the child was lost in the process. This series of events is by far the most devastating and heartbreaking storyline, but there is a small silver lining in how Sciel survived the drowning. It turns out that Sciel’s bond with Esquie isn’t merely a coincidence after all.

Why Esquie & Sciel Have A Deeper Connection Than You Realize

Esquie Saved Sciel From A Tragic End

There are subtle hints at a deeper connection between Sciel and Esquie throughout Clair Obscur’s main story, but we eventually learn that they share a special bond due to Esquie saving her during the aforementioned suicide attempt. We get hints at this special bond early in the game when we first meet Esquie, though this won’t make much sense unless you’ve already played through the game and seen how it all plays out. In fact, during an early encounter with Esquie, he says to Sciel, “Hello again, my terrible swimmer friend. You’ve finally come to learn to swim!”

The foreshadowing early in Act 1 about Esquie and Sciel’s bond makes the storyline that much more powerful.

This is how we learn about Sciel’s phobia, as she states, “No … I’m not that fond of water.” Later, during a conversation with Esquie back at camp, Sciel presses him about this initial conversation, learning that it wasn’t the first time the two had met. This is when she puts the pieces together and realizes that Esquie was the one to save her when she “stopped swimming in the middle of the ocean.” She asks Esquie how he was able to find her out there, and he says that he “heard [her] tears” and came to save her.

As the conversation continues, Esquie asks Sciel, “You were looking for someone then. Did you find them?” Sciel says that she did not, but hopes to find them soon, and Esquie then offers some solace in the fact that he always manages to find his stones after losing them. This whole sequence is heartbreaking, but it’s one of the best examples of how these characters are connected by much deeper threads than we first realize. The foreshadowing early in Act 1 about Esquie and Sciel’s bond makes the storyline that much more powerful when experienced during New Game+.

Sciel & Esquie’s Bond Is A Perfect Example Of What Makes Clair Obscur So Powerful

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What Seems Like An Offhand Comment Is A Critical Detail

Sciel and Esquie’s bond is just one example of how these deeper connections are formed between characters in Clair Obscur, but it’s easily one of the most powerful instances of foreshadowing and character development in the game. With so many small threads like these that tie characters together, each side story and quest adds another layer of depth to the larger story. If you haven’t attempted a NG+ run yet, it’s well worth it for these sorts of details that you likely weren’t paying attention to during your first playthrough.

Dozens of hints and details found early in the game foreshadow what’s to come in the later acts, and it’s one of the reasons Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has such incredible replay value. Sciel and Esquie’s bond is only one of many different storylines that interconnect and are hinted at throughout the main story, and it’s well worth starting over from the beginning to experience these amazing connections for yourself.