Reflection

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Reflection 

Reflection
Chapter	6
Strawberries	3
Sides	6A  •  6B  •  6C
Characters	• Madeline  • Badeline  • Theo  • Granny  • Bird
Level navigation Mirror Temple ← Reflection → Summit

Reflection is the sixth chapter of Celeste. Preceded by Mirror Temple and succeeded by Summit, it introduces five new mechanics: feathers, Kevin, Bumpers, Badeline as a boss, and Badeline moving blocks.

Plot

Start

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Reflection begins immediately after the events of Mirror Temple. Madeline sets Theo down a little bit after the temple, as the sun is setting, on what appears to be a small rock bridge. She then lights a campfire, which shoots out red flames. Sometime in the middle of the night, Theo wakes up, and recalls having had a nightmare. Madeline greets her enthusiastically. Theo then realizes that it all happened; however, apart from "having an existential crisis", he's fine now. Madeline then explains to him about Badeline and her influence. To her surprise, Theo does trust her. Thanking him in the process, Maddy then asks how Theo is able to trust her so quickly; it's because of how similar she is to Alex, Theo's sister, and because of her extreme determination. When Theo asks why Madeline is climbing the mountain, she then unravels: Madeline was trying to escape dark thoughts that she had, and was continuously attempting to avoid depression and panic attacks, using the Internet to lash out and drinking alcohol to cope. “I'm good at keeping up appearances, but the truth is I'm barely holding it together.” ~ Madeline When describing what depression feels like to Theo, Maddy states that it's "like you're stuck at the bottom of the ocean", feeling both claustrophobic and exposed, constantly fighting yourself. Theo attempts to convince Madeline that she's a good person. Maddy then states that she wishes to get rid of Badeline, in order to be "free" again; Theo suggests that Madeline could learn to control her instead. When Theo asks "why not take a vacation instead", Madeline tells him that it would be unproductive, and she needs a challenge. When she then asks why Theo went to the mountain, he states that it is because he found a new job but hated it; when she then asks about his grandpa Carlos, he tells her that he's deceased, but they had spent good times before. Apparently, he's the person whom told Theo about Celeste Mountain, and recommended him to come visit it, albeit in a mysterious tone. When Theo asks Madeline who built the temple, Madeline doesn't know, but suggests that it was built prior to everything else on the mountain; she then interjects, saying that that might be why Granny lives there. She interprets her as a mean person, but one whom enjoys living on the mountain. Madeline then asks for the first time to take a selfie with Theo (the reverse, where Theo asked Madeline, happened twice, in Old Site and Golden Ridge). Theo then remembers that Madeline should be able to reach the summit tomorrow, and suggests going to sleep in order to rest well. Madeline agrees. They both head to sleep. Optionally, Madeline can ask to head to sleep earlier, stating that she's tired. If she does choose to go this route, the cutscene is skipped all the way until the selfie sequence. Sometime shortly before dawn, Madeline is then transported into another one of her dreams. The skies gain northern lights, the campfire turns green (a reference to Old Site), and a single golden feather appears. Starjump starts playing. Madeline then flies upwards, encountering some turquoise-colored Starjump Blocks along the way. Once she makes it past a short maze consisting solely of these blocks, Madeline finds Badeline, where she decides to "set her free", in a bid to reclaim control over herself; she insults her in the process, calling her cruelty and manipulativeness out. This ends poorly, and Badeline chokes her using one of many tentacles; she fails to calm herself down, even with the feather technique. She starts then falling. “You are not above me. And you can't climb this mountain.” ~ Badeline Madeline, awake again, slips onto the edge of the rock bridge she was sleeping on; this awakens Theo, who starts freaking out. The rock bridge collapses, destroying a now-unlit campfire and sending Madeline flying down the mountain. She lands into what looks like a crystal cave at the base of the mountain, in a pool of water.

Rest of the chapter

Spoiler

“It's over now. Why won't she leave me alone?” ~ Madeline Madeline is now alone, stuck within a crystal cavern that's even lower than where she started her climb a little less than two days earlier. She's both sad and angry over Badeline having devastated her yet again. She later manages to climb back to what appears like an elevator shaft; Granny, along with the Bird, are waiting there. The old woman first assumes that she "called it quits", but Maddy then tells her that she fell. Granny then comments on how Madeline is so mad at herself, and tells her that she thinks Badeline is scared. When Madeline asks her where she is, the old woman says that she's "nearby"; she later comments on how the mountain is a "place of healing". This whole time, Maddy seems to be flipping between being sad and upset, still clearly not over having fallen earlier. After heading somewhat deeper into the crystal cavern, she finds Badeline, waiting there. Madeline apologizes and says that they should get over it and work together; Badeline, still scared, attempts to defend herself, and becomes aggressive, fighting back Madeline. Upon being defeated, Badeline concedes, saying that she'll "try to leave". However, Madeline tells her that they should "work together", and tells her that it's okay to be scared. Badeline remains scared this whole time, but eventually agrees to "fuse" with Madeline, granting her a second dash. The skies clear out, and they then climb out a section of the cave before Badeline "Badeline-boosts" Madeline out of the cave. Madeline is shocked at first by their "together" powers, and tells her counterpart that they could still climb the mountain once again; Granny and Theo encourages her further. Badeline remains worried and scared this whole time, but eventually agrees. Theo asks if he can help, and Madeline reluctantly accepts, so he carries Madeline's backpack from now on.

Gameplay

A-Side

Reflection A-Side
Level	6A
Strawberries	1
Soundtrack	Celeste OST: 13  •   Madeline and Theo 14  •   Starjump 15  •   Reflection 16  •   Confronting Myself 17  •   Little Goth

Reflection A-side  • B-side  • C-side

Strawberries & Collectibles

Main article: Reflection collectibles

Reflection does not contain any red strawberries, owing to its narrative importance and use of split paths on several occasions. However, a Cassette Tape and Blue Crystal Heart are hidden within, just like all prior A-Side chapters.

Speedrun strategies

Routing

In any%, All Red Berries (ARB), and True Ending speedruns, the optimal strategy is to collect the Cassette Tape in 6A, and then subsequently complete 6B. This is because of how Reflection's B-Side is quite a bit shorter than its A-Side, and because of how 6A does not contain any red strawberries.

Trivia

• Reflection is the only chapter in any% that doesn't have any red berries. One of the reasons is the split paths, as the developers wanted players to be able to get every strawberry in one go, but also it does fit the general story of the chapter.
• Reflection also marks the first time a chapter's end card is animated; Badeline's reflection appears and fades. The Summit's end card is also animated.
• In early development, Reflection was meant to be mainly an underwater level. The idea was eventually scrapped as the devs didn't find the rooms interesting enough to be kept in the game.
• In the developer commentary stream, the vertical falling part was entirely different. At first it was meant to be a fairly long checkpoint with multiple falling rooms, however during the playtesting phase, the majority of people found the rooms to be too hard compared to the rest of the chapter. These rooms eventually ended up being moved to 6B instead.

Celeste base game chapters

• 

  Prologue

• 

  Forsaken City

• 

  Old Site

• 

  Celestial Resort

• 

  Golden Ridge

• 

  Mirror Temple

• 

  Reflection

• 

  Summit

• 

  Epilogue

• 

  Core

• 

  Farewell