The Hermitage

Hermitage : remote, and lonely place ! It's a retreat when we can devote himself to manual works or meditation !
By extension, it also denotes or an hermit's house, or a sort of remote sanctuary for monks and others religious people.
In France, «Ermitage» is a name given for many rustic houses. In the US, the name takes a H and it refers to two other famous buildings : The first one is a museum house built on a ground in terrace looks like the one from the series ; the second is the house of the ancient president Andrew Jackson…

A name at the very least intrigant, used for the house of a simple science teacher… But Franz Hopper isn't just a simple science teacher !
The Hermitage (which, let's remark, doesn't look like a real Hermitage), has been the residence of Franz Hopper when the scientist lived, at first in family, then, after the hypothetic death of his wife, hidden of the Men in Black. It was in a way a retreat to finish his great project : Lyoko !

Today, it is just the shadow of its ruins… At first, we have to guess how it happened…

Once upon a time … the Hermitage :

We can't surely claim that Franz always lived in the Hermitage ! In Aelita's flash-back (Episode 52 «The Key»), we see the family reunited in a swiss chalet, visibly at the mountain.

We find it again when Aelita is a little bit older, in the Hermitage this time, for Christmas ! We also see the mother comfortably settled in an armchair and Franz Hopper at the piano.

At this time, the Hermitage seems to be a radiant house like we all would like to have when we leave Mom and Dad's house. The outside aspect of the place is eloquent ! Large stairs, visibly made of marble, a quite vast garden. Furthermore, the place is remote in a little woodwind and this, in the middle of the parisian suburbs. We're not going to valuate the cost of the house, however it seems that Hopper had a little fortune…

Inside, a warming atmosphere with a very well decorated inside. Carpet, trinkets, pretty furnitures, fitted carpet, sofa, lamp, also a bookcase and Hopper's piano as the final touch. The light floods out through the large windows reinforcing more the glory of this building.
Except the hall and the living room, we only see Aelita's bedroom ! Entirely decorated in pink, we especially discover a fireplace of decorations, plushes and posters.

About rooms, the Hermitage extends on two floors, so we can't suspect all the things there. The lounge and the hall seems to take up the major part of the ground floor ! Upstairs is surely located, in addition to Aelita's bedroom, Franz Hopper's bedroom. According to the number of doors, we can think the house contains other rooms, like a guest room, or why not a little DIY workshop for Franz ?

From the hall, we also reach little stairs which lead to an inferior level. About this one, few informations, to tell the truth two. On one hand, We find there a door which leads up to the garden, on the other hand, there's a heating room, with obscure function…

In the garden of the Hermitage, we find taps still connected to the water, pits but above all, a door which leads to the sewers and, from here, to the Factory, the laboratory of Franz Hopper !

It's by this way that Hopper will run away with Aelita, letting the Hermitage, without any ruler.


The Hermitage at the time of the series :

Ten long years without owner transformed the Hermitage !
We can, of course, put most of the damages about the worn state of time : The dust traps which recover the furnitures, the wallpapers and the fitted carpets tarnished and probably moth-eaten by the possible parasites…

Yet, the smashed closets doors, the knocked down furnitures, the papers thrown all over the place, there's no doubt : the Hermitage may have been frisked and we're not surprised by the identity of the investigators : the men of the Carthage Project !
The frisk doesn't really seem to be at its height : many books are still in their place on the bookcase. Even Mister Puck hasn't been discovered in the hole on the wall behind the poster.

After all these years of emptiness, the hypothesis that the Hermitage may have been squatted for a time stays plausible. It also is curious that everybody lets this house dying without caring of what happened to the former occupiers. May the State intercede ? The heroes only heard about a mortgage contract of the flat.


Role of the Hermitage :

The Hermitage makes up, since the first episode of the season 2 an element of the plot. Indeed, just from the point of view of the series, it's the third place which has its importance in the evolution of the story, with Kadic and the Factory ! In the season 1, if the other places were linked to the action, it only was because XANA attacked there. To see this old building appear suddenly in the cartoon generates some interrogations.

Then comes Aelita's visions ! If the young girl feels them during all the season 2, these ones appear most of the time in the Hermitage and with her visions, a new key figure suddenly appears : Franz Hopper !
During the season 2, the building in ruins is used as a «tool» to the evolution of the plot about Franz Hopper and Aelita's past. The viewer feels it and his interest is maintained in this place which continues to do some appearances in the course of the episodes like in the episode 31 «Mister Puck» where the plush is found or the episode 90 «Wrong Exposure» when it's a photo containing some notes from Franz Hopper which is discovered.

When Aelita sees her memory returned by Franz Hopper, the last mysteries are puzzled out ! We know that Aelita lived there with Franz Hopper before running away and being virtualized on Lyoko ! The Hermitage slightly lost of interest, unless some kind of revelation about the men in black takes place !

It still leads us to see the Hermitage in rare occasions : At first because Aelita, even before returning her memory, felt that something linked her to this house, a strong link which crossed the years ! It's for that reason that the young girl still goes in the ruins of her ancient house when she is deeply sad and needs some loneliness.
The heroes also know that it's a sure retreat when they need to sum up the situation. So, that's at the Hermitage the heroes will go after William destroyed Lyoko, and there that they will receive a singular message !

We still ignore the future of the Hermitage, given that Franz Hopper is dead… Maybe Jeremy will tamper with the papers to get back the house ?


Important events that happened there :

-June, 6th, 1994 : Franz Hopper is found by the men in black who comes at his home ! He is forced to run away on Lyoko posthaste with his daughter, only letting a plush behind her, containing a key of a locker… (Flash-back of the episode 52 «The Key»).

-Episode 27 «New Order» : Afraid by visions, Aelita arrives to the Hermitage. The heroes discover the house and are attacked there by XANA. The furniture lay into them while Yumi and Ulrich nearly got grilled in the heating room of the basement ! The heroes discover the way linking the Hermitage to the factory.

-Episode 28 «Unchartered Territory» : The heroes explorate the Hermitage ! They discover in particular the history book about the Punic Wars, which help Jeremy to insert the code Scipio for the first time !

-Episode 31 «Mister Puck» : The heroes go back to the Hermitage and guided by her visions, Aelita find Mister Puck behind a poster in what was her bedroom.

-Episode 43 «XANA's Kiss» : Fallen out with Jeremy, Aelita takes refuge at the Hermitage ! A polymorphic clone joins her and tries to drag her on Lyoko ! Then follows an altercation with the group and a fight between Odd and the aforesaid clone.

-Episode 46 «Deja Vu» : XANA harasses Aelita with visions and wild imaginings. She goes to the Hermitage to find answers but will only find more hallucinations ! It will encourage her to go to the Sector 5…

-Episode 51 «Revelation» : Odd is locked in a pit which fills up with water, because of a polymorphic clone. He is saved from the drowning by Yumi.

-Episode 65 «Final Round» : The heroes meet up in the Hermitage after seeing the destruction of Lyoko. There, they receive a message coming from the Network from Franz Hopper !

-Episode 70 «Skidbladnir» : The heroes christen the Skidbladnir.

-Episode 90 «Wrong Exposure» : The heroes find a photo of Franz Hopper and Aelita, containing notes that will permit Jeremy to create a new program.