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This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
| “ | Θυμήσου, ƎNA: "το μόνο που χρειάζεται είναι το σωστό μέρος και το σωστό φαγητό." (Remember, ƎNA: “All it takes is the right place and the right food.”) | „ | |
| ~ Theodora's final piece of advice for ENA |
Theodora is a supporting protagonist in the 2025 surreal adventure game ENA: Dream BBQ.
She is the mysterious and almighty Genie of the Lonely Door, who is able to help people ascend by letting them confess their sins in her realm, the Bathroom. As such, ENA is tasked with seeking her out, seeing as she's the only available genie with the authority to turn off the cigarette smoke blocking her path. Like some other characters in-game, Theodora doesn't speak English, instead speaking Greek.
She is voiced by Erini Katopodis.
Why isn't she heroic or villainous?[]
- While she allows people to ascend to become angels by absolving their sins, it's unknown how much of a good thing this is, seeing as getting possessed by an angel seems extremely uncomfortable as evidenced by ENA.
- Despite being incredibly rude and judgemental to ENA, Theodora doesn't commit any crimes outright, even giving her one single wish out of respect for her.
Appearance[]
In her normal form, Theodora appears to have a body akin to a Matryoshka doll, with two pink cat-like ears(?) sticking out from the top of her head. The top part of her body is black in colour, with her face having yellowish skin. She has smudges of bluish paint around her eyes and blue teeth that are constantly gritted. Theodora also wears a pink collar with blue square sections dividing the pink portions. Her midsection is yellow in colour, being divided from her bottom half by a black line with a shield-like symbol in her middle. She wears pink sleeves and has glove-like hands. Finally, her bottom section appears to be pink and her legs, which are wrapped around her body, appear to end in cat-like paws.
In her true form, Theodora appears to be a gigantic, stony statue of a woman wearing large hoop earrings. She has empty eyes that depict either single versions of multiple copies of her normal self, though they mostly display an empty void with sparse green lines. She has curly hair in this form and a golden hatch on the top of her head, which she can use to show visions from.
The broken shell of Theodora appears to be a shattered version of her normal form, albeit with muted colours and fading patterns.
Personality[]
As the Genie of the Lonely Door, Theodora maintains an air of regality and power, utilising bold and powerful language that exemplifies her status and might. She displays a rather forgiving and welcoming mindset, happily welcoming ENA to ascend as she forgives all of her sins. However, like numerous other characters in-game, Theodora greatly resents ENA for some unknown transgression, seeing as she immediately stops her ascension when she realises she's helping out ENA and attempts to leave afterwards. To this end, she also seems rather judgy and insulting, remarking that living a peaceful life is beyond ENA's capabilities and belittling her competency. Despite this, Theodora displays a sense of honour, seeing as she allows ENA a single wish as a reward for her journey and agrees to help her find the Boss despite her reservations. She also seems to greatly value the natural order of things, seeing as the reason for her turning down several of ENA's wishes is simply because they violate natural rules in one way or another.
The husk of Theodora displays a kinder, if more solemn personality, apologising for being unable to help ENA reach the smoke machine in her current state and not displaying any part of her normal self's rudeness. While still uncertain of ENA's competency, the husk appears to be more concerned for ENA's safety rather than belittling her, and seems quite willing to help bend the rules to help ENA out. Notably, she also speaks in a more monotonous tone, contrasting her normal self's sing-song manner of speaking.
Biography[]
ENA: Dream BBQ[]
Upon entering the Orb or getting devoured in the Purge event, ENA will end up in a black void in her hungover form, where she's directed to the Bathroom over a bridge of white liquid. From there, ENA must cross the bridge, either via the rafts floating along it or using the Humanboard (if she has it). Her encounter with Theodora will depend on whether or not she succeeds in reaching the Bathroom.
Success route[]
If ENA successfully enters the Bathroom, she will go through the numerous stalls and facilities there until she reaches a well in the middle of a hallway full of confessional stalls. There, she hoists Theodora out of a well. Theodora congratulates ENA for reaching the Bathroom and, mending her torso wound, declares her sins forgiven as she ascends to become an angel. However, she quickly recognises ENA and promptly unforgives her, halting her transformation and returning her to her normal form. Theodora plans to leave, but ENA demands for her to stay. Theodora reluctantly agrees and decides to reward ENA's persistence with a single aspiration. From there, ENA may choose from a selection of five aspirations:
- If ENA wishes for a blissful life, Theodora refuses as it's beyond ENA's capabilities.
- If ENA wishes for the punishment of the Moon, Theodora refuses as nobody deserves to be punished for being born, except ENA of course.
- If ENA wishes for eternal happiness, Theodora refuses as she can't change the natural order of things.
- If ENA wishes for the forgiveness of Unforgiven Frank, Theodora just says "nope".
Eventually, ENA is left with a single aspiration: to clear the smoke. She explains her goal of finding the Boss, and while Theodora is unconfident that ENA truly knows what she's doing, remarking that she seems in conflict with her proclaimed goals and true intentions. Regardless, she opens up a portal in the well, allowing ENA to find the source of the smoke.
Failure route[]
If ENA falls in the river, she will arrive in a mysterious village, now restored to her normal form. With some guidance from Unforgiven Frank, ENA interacts with the right hut and enters a waterway that leads to the Broken Palace, where she finds the husk of Theodora, who mysteriously died during ENA's journey there. The husk informs ENA that the absolution of her sins is impossible with Theodora dead. ENA asks for help to turn off the smoke, and while the husk is still suspicious of ENA's competence in her task of finding the Boss, she agrees. She informs ENA that she's currently separated from her physical form and while she's technically not supposed to let her go back, she'll make an exception for today and thus, uses her memories to transport ENA to a reality where she crossed the river successfully.
Post-interaction[]
Regardless of how ENA comes to find Theodora, she is engulfed in a white light as Theodora utters her final message: that all it takes is "the right place and the right food". ENA will then end up in a room with the smoke machine, which she destroys with a paper fan, allowing her and Froggy to proceed on their journey.
Trivia[]
- Theodora is one of only three NPCs to refer to ENA as ƎNA, which is how her name is stylised in the game's name and the series title itself.
- Like many of the characters in the ENA series, Theodora seems to take inspiration from Peruvian arts, with her face resembling a design on a textile created by the Paracaras people, a society of Andean peoples who lived in what's now the Ica region of Peru.
- In addition, Theodora's body shape seems to be inspired by either Matryoshka dolls or Nazca fertility deity vessels.
- Theodora's manner of speaking seems to be based off the Byzantine chants utilised in many Greek Orthodox Churches, with her voice actress stating she grew up attending one of said churches in an online comment.
- In the starting room of the Uncanny Streets, several vessels resembling Theodora can be found hanged up from nooses, with a fourth noose being missing. What the significance of this is unknown, though it's possible that these are spare vessels for Theodora to inhabit.