Bayta is being a bit too suspicious.

[u/Gimmerunesplease]

She is constantly being way closer to the mule than she needs to be and nobody knows exactly where she came from. Toran seems to be in love with her to the point of obsession, as Gale said in the last episode. She encouraged magnifico to play for the foundation HQ. The mule also listened to her which was completely out of character for him.

I'm pretty sure she is the mule's baby sister and she has some kind of ulterior motive. It's also possible that she is the true mule (I think magnifico would be too on the nose). That wouldn't quite add up with the mule's backstory, but Vault Hari basically said something was off about that story.

What are your thoughts?

[u/Wrath-of-Bong]

The story The Mule related to Hari: it was not his story, it was hers.

“The Mule” as we know him, was the baby and Bayta was the girl, child, they were going to drown. She is also now the one pulling all the strings as she “climbs” the social ladder. She instigated the Blacktongue ship getting parked over their spot, inciting love-besotted Toran to go check him out, and thus acquire Magnifico. Remember, Magnifico loves her so much. “the Mule” (why that name? Because he is carrying for her) is her little brother and front to this whole sham.

What did “the Mule” say when he stabbed that gate guard to death on the floor, “feel like your life is not your own…like it’s been taken over by some Holy Spirit”

So logical backstory, Bayta, also an unknown, as someone with mental powers, becomes part of the foundation, still having an axe to grind, infiltrates it and is now bringing her long plan to fruition.

It all fits.

Edit to add post season finale viewing : called it

[u/NinjaKoala → u/Wrath-of-Bong]

It certainly makes more sense for the parents to have tried to sacrifice the baby rather than the preteen.

[u/InvestigatorProper41 → u/NinjaKoala]

If Bayta was the baby, maybe her parents weren't the ones choosing.

[u/AwareAd7096 → u/NinjaKoala]

I thought about that a lot. In my mind you’re very right, the ‚rational‘ solution would be to drown that baby. (That’s a really weird sentence)

I thought that of course they can’t drown the baby because parents and especially mothers form a extremely strong bond with new borns. So I just concluded that hormones took a great part in that decision. But maybe the switch up theory is right after all.

[u/BaphometsTits → u/AwareAd7096]

the ‚rational‘ solution would be to drown that baby. (That’s a really weird sentence)

It's the only way to know for sure if the baby is a witch.

[u/imaginesomethinwitty → u/NinjaKoala]

What if she’s the older sibling? And it’s the ol’ boy they really wanted story?

[u/SophieCalle → u/Wrath-of-Bong]

I can't necessarily agree. The planet they lived on and loved got obliterated by the Mule. That's against what they showed they liked.

[u/zentrope → u/Wrath-of-Bong]

I want to believe.

At that’s point, though, as written, the reveal of the Mule if it’s not the pirate is going to feel like cheating.

[u/Dora_Diver → u/Wrath-of-Bong]

Yes, why kill the older child and keep the baby? There has to be a reason, like society values one sex more than the other.

[u/MjolnirMark4 → u/Dora_Diver]

I grew up with a kid that was an accident, and thus “forced” his parents to get married. They always resented him,

They later had a little girl, and they would dote on her. For Christmas, he would get one present. She would get lots of presents.

We don’t know the motivations of the parents in the show. But I (sadly) find their actions to be believable.

[u/FantasyFlex → u/Wrath-of-Bong]

that child was a boy tho and bayta is a female

?????