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Who bombed the abbey?
While no side involved in WWII would have had any scruples about damaging a medieval abbey during a bombing run if it was near a target, the Abbey of St. Cârța as depicted in the film is literally in the middle of nowhere, in the Romanian mountains. What possible reason could anyone have to fly a bomber all the way to there and unload on the place?
- Could easily be an accident. Allied bomber attacking the Romanian oil fields, has to turn back due to damage and ditches its bombs to lighten plane (and avoid trying to land a broke bird with explosives onboard). Its night, the monastery is blacked out and they don't realize where they are dropping, end result-Oops! (Sadly not uncommon even in real life)
Asking for help
The bombing run that damaged the seal took place during WWII, meaning that it had to have taken place before 1945. However, it takes Valak until 1952 to kill the last two nuns and finally have full control of the abbey. We also know that the abbey remained in contact with the outside world during this period because Sister Charlotte from Annabelle: Creation was stationed there during this period (as the picture with Valak on it shows) and was able to leave alive and well. Also, despite its remoteness, the discovery of Sister Victoria's death is reported fast enough that the Vatican is able to summon Father Burke, send him to London to pick up Sister Irene and have them make their way to St. Cârța in a matter of weeks. So why didn't the Abbess request help from Rome when the situation turned dire and the sisters started dying?
- Judging from the condition of her body (Father Burke easily rips her arm off to get away), and where it's found (in an open area that can't be barricaded), the Abbess may have been one of the first victims. After that, none of the others may have been able to make the request.
- The nuns may also have been trying to enforce a Closed Circle to prevent Valak from using someone potentially coming in to help as a host.
Everyone's Dead, Dave
So we know from the Conjuring 2 that Valak can control ghosts, and a huge reveal in this film is that everyone from the Abbey has been dead all along and our heroes have been interacting with either their ghosts or illusions made by Valak. My question is: why are the dead people able to tell the heroes so much about Valak, including how to beat it? Shouldn't Valak be able to stop the from doing that or, if they're all illusions by Valak, know not to tell people its weakneses? Or did it just not care?
- It might be that, because nuns have a stronger connection to the divine than the average person does, they're better able to resist and rebel against Valak's control. Alternatively, Valak is just being sadistic in forcing the nuns to constantly relive the days before their deaths, unaware that Irene is psychic and able to converse with their spirits.
Sisters! We have the Blood of Christ! Let’s…not use it??
So we know that the bombing run during WWII broke the seal and released Valak. We also know to seal him up again, you have to use the Blood of Christ, which they apparently still have tucked away in storage. W-why didn’t they use it this whole time? Seems they could’ve prevented a whole lot of deaths had they done it the minute they suspected the seal was broken. If it worked before, it certainly would work again. I mean, it’s only the Blood shedded from their eternally blessed and everlasting Lord.
