Even the best laid plans can be completely ruined by unforeseen forces. My plan was to write this theory after my Seth one, and point out that Urien didn’t hate his brother, Gill – he just wanted his brother back to normal. There’s plenty of evidence in Gill’s story mode that proves this. Unfortunately for me, someone on Twitter pointed this out before I had a chance to write about it and surprise everyone.
Of course, if it was this easy to figure out, it wasn’t going to make a good theory anyway. Regardless, we can still analyze the story and point out all the keys pieces of evidence that support this.
First, there’s Urien’s Street Fighter V Arcade Mode ending in said game. The ending, while showing a flashback of Gill and Urien in happier times, simply states, “Distant memories of a beloved brother but for Urien, they are only obstacles now. The brother… must be destroyed.” This shows that Gill and Urien were once close, but their respective roles in the Secret Society caused a rift that could not be repaired. Urien’s reaction to seeing Gill’s picture is far from pleasant.
There’s also Urien’s quote when he wins a match against his brother: “Watch me, Gill!” There is no hatred, no wish of death. Only a younger brother who wants his older brother’s attention. The win quote is proof enough that Urien just wants to be on his brother’s radar. However, there is no bigger piece of evidence than the dialogue between Gill and Urien when Gill beats Urien in Gill’s Story Mode.
Gill completely dismisses Urien, telling him that everything is destined as told by the Secret Society/Illuminati’s prophecy. Urien states that he will “destroy that accursed prophecy,” but Gill tells him that once the prophecy is fulfilled, Urien will be able to live however he pleases. Urien sees this as abandonment, calling his brother’s name as he walks away, begging him to…
It’s sad. It’s pathetic. However, it shows that Urien does care deeply about his brother, whereas Gill does not care about his, choosing to believe his life is dictated by the prophecy. As Gill himself states:
Gill is the only one who can bring the Illuminati’s plans to fruition, and he completely accepts the mission without compunctions. This is the biggest difference between Gill and Urien. Urien desires the freedom to make his own choices regarding control of the world. Gill believes that everything is set in stone. These opposite philosophies are the main reason why their rift began, along with Urien’s intense jealousy.
The rift is also likely why Urien treats Kolin so poorly – she has the means to be close to his brother where he can not. She replaced him in Gill’s life, and his animosity towards her reflects his feelings of abandonment. In fact, Gill knows exactly how to press Urien’s buttons, calling him nothing more than a “spare.”
Urien is deeply hurt from this. He craves his brother’s acceptance, but Gill outright refuses to show him love. However, this isn’t because of anything Urien himself did – it’s Gill’s belief that love is pointless. As Gill states in his win quote to Ibuki:
“Friends, love… Mere trivialities. Everything is as it’s been written.”
Gill is no longer capable of the love he once showed, as his mentality changed as he both grew up and began fulfilling his presumed destiny as the messiah of the world.
It seems then that should be the end of the story of those two brothers. However, there’s something else going on, something far deeper at work here, and of course, a certain Man of Mystery is the key to revealing it:
It’s very odd that G would say “The ancient earthling reveals himself,” considering that:
1) G has never shown condescension to any other character in Street Fighter V.
2) Gill isn’t ancient.
As stated on Wikia:
“Supplementary material notes that, unlike the other candidates for the leadership of the Secret Society, who are kidnapped and brainwashed into doing their bidding, Gill and his younger brother Urien were born to parents who were long time members of the cult. Both their parents are said to have been candidates to the presidency of the cult; being holders of Ph.D(s) in their respective fields. It is noted that their mother, an olympic level athlete and a doctorate in Sports Dynamics was especially a favourite to become the President.” https://streetfighter.fandom.com/wiki/Gill
So… what’s the deal here? As it turns out, there’s an interesting possibility behind Gill’s power, something that’s already been shown with Necalli, Bison, and perhaps even G: possession.
In other words, based on what has already happened in Street Fighter on multiple occasions, it’s very likely there’s a separate, sentient entity residing inside of Gill.
As I stated before, this is a recurring theme in Street Fighter:
1) Necalli consumed the soul (and apparently, body) of the Warrior Prophet, and ended up taking his form rather than returning to his natural, emerald-skinned state. This is likely due to the Warrior Prophet being able to take some control over Necalli’s actions, leaving him far weaker and able to be defeated by the likes of Ryu, Dhalsim, Bison, and Akuma.
2) Shadaloo creates new bodies for Bison, who inhabits them as he needs. This is Bison’s primary form of resurrection, in fact, as Ed’s, Falke’s, Cammy’s, and even Rose’s stories are centered on being possessed by Bison.
3) As I’ve pointed out many times, based on the evidence presented, I feel very strongly that G is a possessor in his own right, controlling people with handshakes and turning them into Qs. If this is the case, this would make G the fourth verified character who deals with possession.
“Wait,” you say. “G’s the fourth character? If there’s Necalli and Bison, who’s the third?”
Gill himself, as he has already shown to have the ability to possess people, albeit on a more limited scale. Both of his endings in SFV (the SFV and SFIII routes) and his ending in Street Fighter III: Third Strike show that he’s able to “awaken” the power within people, which just so happens to be the exact same powers he himself holds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWcjRmWhNZw
Possession could also explain why Gill refers to himself in the third person at times, like when he’s addressing Urien. While it could be that he just likes the sound of his own name, it could also be a way by Capcom’s writers to overemphasize the idea that this isn’t Gill talking, but another being who is trying too hard to disguise its identity and doing a poor job at it. This is sort of revealed at the beginning of Gill’s story mode, in his conversation with Kolin.
Moreso, this would all explain why G would call Gill ancient in the first place: he wasn’t addressing Gill, but the entity that lives within him. G knows the entity within Gill because he’s crossed paths with it before. Gill himself acknowledges it, even though he isn’t entirely sure where G came from.
Basically, while Gill is possessed with an entity, Gill’s mind is still conscious, and perceives everything to be under his control rather than the entity’s. This is why he doesn’t recognize G immediately. The entity knows G, but Gill himself doesn’t.
However, if you believe absolutely none of this is true within the story, then there is one more scenario I’d like you to consider.
Since Gill has now claimed the title of Emperor of the Illuminati, this must mean that Gill’s story took place after Third Strike, since he was President of the Illuminati before-hand. If this is true, then Gill mentioning he’s felt G’s power before has an even bigger meaning.
Gill has a win quote to a particular character in the original Japanese version of Third Strike: 全能の私にも解らぬとは････ 何者だ君は？
This was translated by Midgardsorm from the SRK forums as, “Even I, in all my omnipotence, can’t understand… Who are you?” The character this is said to?
Gill has run into Q before. G and Q are not the same person, and Gill has no clue who G is.
G is not an Illuminati project, but G and Gill sure do have a lot in common.
Street Fighter Game Lore Theories 