Difference between revisions of "The Order"

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The Order is the secret, and apparently powerful organization behind the Hymn of One, the religion which Bree belonged to.

On a very general level, The Order can simply be described (as of October 2007) as a secret organization that prizes and preys on trait positive girls such as Bree and Emma. A more in-depth analysis suggests that The Order is a complex organization with multiple factions and positions, and still not fully explained purposes. Furthermore, the concept of The Order has also developed, and perhaps morphed, since Lonelygirl15 started.

Overview

Bree's early videos mentioned that she had been "religious" her whole life, but Bree did not reveal what the name of her religion was. She did reveal that she was not Christian.

An organization called "The Order of Denderah" was first mentioned in the video Learning To Drive (Sept. 20, 2006). In that video, Daniel and Bree were arguing about Bree's ritual and she exclaimed that her parents were "not Order of Denderah!" A few weeks later in his Order Of Denderah video (Oct. 6, 2006), Daniel tried to research the Order of Denderah because he suspects that it is Bree's religion. The concern of many fans through this time period of the show was that Bree's religion was some type of evil cult.

In early November 2006, Gemma disclaimed that Bree was part of relgion: "It's more like a secret society. It's not a religion after all." Gemma also disclaimed any connection to Thelema, and called the organization, simply, The Order. (Learning Egyptian (Nov. 9, 2006)). It was unclear at the time whether Gemma meant that the Order was the same as the Order of Denderah.

Eventually, Bree reveals that her religion is called the The Hymn of One, and describes as a front for the Order, a "recruiting branch." (Losing My Religion (Apr. 3, 2007)).

Religious undertones

Although the Creators have claimed that they do not want the Order to be associated with any one religion, many references to existing religions can be found throughout the series. These references include:

• The picture of Aleister Crowley on Bree's bedroom wall.
• Bree attended summer camp with peers from her religion in which they put on a play about Pilgrims arriving at Plymouth and the adventures that they had.
• Bree's studies of Enochian in preparation for the ceremony.
• Bree's mention of her mother's strong belief in Free will.
• Preparation for the ceremony also includes studies on The Zodiac of Denderah.
• Bree attends a ceremony on the Fall Equinox in which her dad performs bibliomancy.

Furthermore, on more than one occasion, Bree expresses reservation about sharing her beliefs with others. Her religion is unusual and sometimes adds to her alienation from her peers.

• Bree has told viewers that she does not talk about her religion because she expects some people would be very disrespectful of it. (A Change In My Life)
• Bree mentions that she was once friends with a girl named Cassie, who stopped coming over because the "religion thing kinda freaked her out." (My Helper)

The reason for the religious undertones to the Order is that they are operating under the guise of "The Hymn of One" to mask their real operations and true intentions. Bree didn't learn about that when she met with her father in December.

Structure and Inner Workings

Much of the Lonelygirl15 series revolves around the mysterious Order and the obscure ceremony that they want Bree to perform.

The Order is very secretive about its operations; Bree has mentioned that information is often withheld from lower-level members, and that some of these people's lives are dedicated to keeping their business private.

• The Leaders: Over time, it has been revealed that the figures of authority within the Order include The Deacons and Elders.

• The Hymn of One contains believers in its cult-like religion, which are generally not aware of the Order or its activities. It has been described as the recruitment arm of the Order.

Older lonelygirl15 videos sugggest that many members of Bree's religion (before it was dubbed The Hymn of One) live in communities, which are widespread across the globe. There are at least three communities: one in England, one in South Africa, and another in New Zealand. Although Bree lived in Southern California, no mention of a commune in that location was ever made. However it is clear that other members of the Hymn of One do live in Souther California, as Bree attended summer camp nearby, and the Hymn of One later has done recruiting activities in the same area.

• OpAPHID - During the period of time in the series where OpAphid was the official ARG (Nov. 2006 - March 2007), OpAphid was represented to be a militant enforcement branch of the Order, and often some of the people hunting down Bree.

• Watchers. Watchers were originally described by Gemma as a twisted "Knights of the Round Table" part of the Order. (A Watcher (Nov. 17, 2006)). Gemma's description, however, was later contradicted by Alex, in Proceed with Caution (July 23, 2007): "He's part of a 20-member team whose only mission is to protect girls like Bree. They have no knowledge whatsoever of the Ceremony, they've never even heard of it. They're members of the Hymn of One and they don't know anything about the Order, its intentions, its makeup; they don't even know the Order exists. Be that as it may, Watchers will absolutely use violence if violence is used first, and if that's the case, watch out!"

• According to different accounts from Bree and Gemma, Bree's mother appears to hold a higher rank in the Order than her father. Little has been disclosed about how many levels there are and which positions are held by her parents.

Concerns about the Order's intentions for the ceremony and for Bree's safety eventually prompted her mother and father to request (unsuccessfully) that she be excused from it. The selection process that led them to choose Bree to participate is unclear, but according to Bree it appears that she (and many other girls) were selected at birth and placed in protected homes until puberty, at which time she was singled out from the rest as the right person for the ceremony. This reveals that her "parents" are not her biological ones, but it is unclear whether she was forcefully taken or kidnapped from her real parents.

• Shadows. Guards for Elders.

OpAphid

Bree and Gemma have both mentioned the acronym OPAPHID. Gemma said in her video An Awkward Silence that it was a guide to their interactions with outsiders. However, OpAPHID is also an organization working for or with the Order, with OpAphid as its leader. Gemma has been revealed to be an OpAphid agent in the Tachyon videos Gemma? [Part I], [Part II], [Part III], [Part IV], and the Brother video Gemma [Part V].