First of all, keep in mind that despite the fact that this is just a theory, it may end up in a huge spoiler. If you have just started reading the manga or planning to do so, I suggest leaving this article for later. For the rest of you, dive in at your own risk.
The 2CT in a nutshell is a theory stating that the current head of the Phantomhive family (and only living member) is not the real Ciel: he is either an imposter or the real Ciel’s twin brother.
The Two-Ciel Theory, a.k.a 2CT, started as early as the Circus arc with a scene that passed by quite unnoticed with fans confusing some crucial hints with drawing mistakes: (I’m using the anime here for reference as it is much clearer).
The scene clearly shows Ciel at two places at the same time; each side of Vincent Phantomhive is strategically hidden behind an item or a person making it impossible to see who is on both of his sides at the same time.
The scenes are faithful to the manga to the point where it is unlikely for this to be considered a mere mistake:
With more hints being dropped every now and then in flashbacks, it became clearer that there are in fact two Ciels.
(Chapter 99.5: the panels show Ciel in his room with utensils for two people, toys that are normally played by two people and two sets of the same toys.)
After the Circus Arc, the theory died down a little when no more clues were found.
Enter the Green Witch Arc which brought the theory back with even more convincing hints supporting it:
Due to a curse, Ciel was rendered to a miserable version of himself with panic attacks and sleep terror disorder. In one of his nightmares, he dreamt that he was gutted and woke up screaming his own name.
This particular flashback can be easily linked to a previous one when Ciel first met Sebastian and formed the Faustian Contract:
The manga panels show a child being sacrificed; the child looks very similar to Ciel and the scene itself was identical to Ciel’s dream.
Shortly after the contract was formed, Ciel announced himself as the head of the Phantomhive Manor, Sebastian laughed at this and called Ciel a liar without ever explaining why he did so.
In another dream, Ciel sees that there are two versions of himself but only one of the two had the contract seal.
In chapters 126 and 127 (the last two chapters of the manga), the burnt picture of Ciel brought yet another clue with the possibility of not only Ciel having a twin but with that twin being alive as well.
With the Black Butler manga coming to an end, the 2CT remains one of the most intriguing theories in a show that does not fail to marvel us with bewildering plot twists.
Takwa Mejlissi
JET Press Team
