Short Answer: Zero Two initially had no idea that Hiro was her actual darling from the past, so she made a choice to exploit him and drain his energy in order to continue murdering Klaxosaurs and eventually turn into a human to reconcile with her real darling. She eventually discovers the startling reality that Hiro was actually her true darling all along, making her hate herself to the point that she decided to cut off ties with him as a punishment.
Several theories revolve around this question; since the anime doesn’t feature any clear answer, it has become difficult to come up with a universally accepted theory. Instead of following random theories, let’s discuss the past encounter between Hiro and Zero Two while discovering the facts that can lead us to an answer.
How did Zero Two and Hiro meet?
Unlike the usual romantic encounters, Zero Two and Hiro met when the world had long forgotten the meaning of love and family as people had lost their ability to produce offspring’s. At the same time, the outside world was deserted and ravaged by Klaxosaurs. Dr. Franxx’s research enabled the adults to produce artificial fertile children capable of piloting his newly developed advanced mecha called Franxx. Hiro was among the artificially created children, but unlike the emotionless children, he was quite normal and cheerful. From a young age, he dreamt of leaving this caged life to explore the outside world, but his own weakness refrained him from doing so.
“They’re tiny fragments of memories. It’s white, cold, and filled with things unknown, but it’s beautiful. In the outside world that I felt for the first time, I heard a voice calling to me from somewhere. And before my eyes, a warm hand was reaching out for me.”
Zero Two about her childhood memories
On the other hand, Zero Two’s life was completely different from other children’s as Dr. Franxx created her as the clone of the Klaxosaur Princess and subjected her to various cruel experiments. Through a series of events, Hiro witnessed adults torturing Zero Two and decided to save her. Although Zero Two had red skin color, fangs, and horns, none of them could stop Hiro from saving her as in this ruthless bizarre world; he found Zero Two’s existence beautiful. At first, Zero Two hesitated, but she accepted Hiro’s help as it was the first time anyone stretched out a helping hand. The two ventured through the blizzard until the adults caught them and even attacked Hiro, who tried to protect Zero Two till the end.
Did Hiro lose his memories?
The adults ordered Dr. Franxx to erase the memories of Hiro and Zero Two by using the Memory Implantation process that not only erases memories of subjects but also implants fabricated memories. Hiro, being a human, couldn’t fight back the alteration of memories, but Zero Two being a Hybrid KlaxoSapien, was able to keep fragments of this memory as she refused to forget about her beloved darling. Adults performed this process several times on Zero Two’s memories, but they couldn’t wipe out her entire memory, as shown in episode 13 of Darling in the Franxx.
“Our sole reason to exist is to become FRANXX and fight. We were born only for that purpose, raised only for that purpose. But to me, the failure of the group, that’s something I can’t forgive. With nowhere I can feel like I belong… that’s when I met you.”
Hiro’s first narrative
The adults not only erased Hiro’s memories but implanted fake memories, which in turn changed Hiro’s entire personality into a more obedient parasite bent on fulfilling his duty without caring a bit about his life, as shown at the beginning of the series where Hiro finds himself lost and useless as he failed to pilot Franxx. Tragically, Hiro’s relationship with other children also suffered because of this memory loss as he promised Mitsuru that he would become an official Parasite together with him, but after memory loss, Hiro forgot about the promise, causing Mitsuru much grief.
Do Zero Two and Hiro get their memories back?
Although Zero Two retained some fragments of her past memory but couldn’t realize that Hiro was her darling from the past and decided to use him like all previous Parasites. On the other hand, Hiro had no idea about Zero Two’s obsession with becoming human as adults altered his memories. Gradually, Zero Two started becoming more aggressive and fierce during fighting Klaxosaurs. Although Hiro tried to stop her, Zero Two instead attacked him while draining his life energy, as shown in Episode 12 of Darling in the Franxx.
“You were the girl with the picture book back then, weren’t you?”
Hiro after regaining memories
As Hiro struggles to free himself from Zero Two’s hands, a deep connection is established between them, causing Zero Two’s memories to flow through Hiro’s mind. After witnessing Zero Two memory fragments, Hiro also regains his memories of where he helped Zero Two escape while falling in love with her. At the same time, Zero Two also regains all her memories and learns the shocking truth that Hiro is her beloved darling from the past. Hiro not only regained his memories but also came to know about his real self that was lost because of memory alteration. It is worth noting that the piloting system in Franxx connects the minds of stamen and pistil and allows them to synchronize with each other. Since the synchronization level between Hiro and Zero Two reached a critical level, it enabled them to unlock their forgotten memories.
Is Hiro Zero Two’s Darling?
After going through Zero Two’s memories, Hiro learns about his past encounter with her and how he promised to be together with her, while Zero Two learns that Hiro was indeed the boy who helped her escape the facility and tried to protect her. This realization came hard on Zero Two as she had been working hard to become human so that she could reunite with her darling, but instead of protecting him, Zero Two unknowingly tried to devour him. Afterward, She tried to talk with Hiro, but Ichigo and others refrained her from doing so as they didn’t want Hiro to get injured again, much to Zero Two’s despair.
“Let me get a taste of you. After all…you are now my darling!”
Zero Two declaring Hiro as her darling
In the first place, Zero Two decided to become human because society couldn’t allow her to be together with him as she belongs to a different race. The adults used this tragedy to manipulate her into thinking that killing Klaxosaurs can make her human. Since that day, Zero Two has been tirelessly killing Klaxosaurs while searching for her beloved darling, and her sole driving force was Hiro’s promise. It is worth noting that Zero Two learned the word “Darling” when Hiro promised to marry her and told her that he would be her darling after marriage, as shown in episode 13 of Darling in the Franxx.
You Might Also Like: Darling in the Franxx Season 2: All You Need to Know
The finale of Darling in the Franxx overtook us emotionally, and we couldn’t help but think how creators will continue this story in the next season as Hiro and Zero Two’s reincarnation and VIRM’s inevitable return are clear indications that a season 2 of Darling in the Franxx is possible.
If you want to discover the latest updates and possibilities about Darling in the Franxx Season 2, click here to check out our detailed article “Darling in the Franxx Season 2: All You Need To Know.”
You Might Also Like: Why can’t the kids become adults in Darling in the Franxx?
Darling in the Franxx had several mysteries that confused the audience in the most unpredictable ways and why children in Darling in the Franxx can’t become adults is one of them. We have seen children wondering what their future will be if they happen to become adults one day. Although they are aware of the fact that they won’t become adults, they still hope for a future.
If you are prepared to learn about the tragedy hampering the children from achieving their lifelong dreams, click here to check out the detailed article “Why can’t the kids become adults in Darling in the Franxx?”
Our Final Thoughts:
In the end, we can’t help but pity Zero Two as she ended up doing harm to his beloved darling despite swearing to be together with him. On the other hand, Hiro suffered as he forgot his promise with Zero Two. Although it was inevitable as his memories were altered, he still blames himself for this outcome. Things would have gone quite differently if Zero Two and Hiro had recognized each other from the beginning, but again the story would have suffered in terms of suspense and development. Considering all this, it is safe to conclude that despite all the tragedies, Zero Two and Hiro’s love for each other enabled them to be together in the end.
Thank you for reading!
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