author: Ewa Ichniowska
Honkai Star Rail (HSR) - Mikhail and Misha’s Relationship Explained
Penacony in HSR is shrouded in mysteries. One of them is the identity of Mikhail. In this article we theorize about who he is and how is he connected to Misha.
The recently unveiled new world in Honkai Star Rail, Penacony, fascinates players with an air of mystery. The main character enters the Dreamscape, a simulated world where “dreams become reality”, but instead of paradise, finds an intrigue where nothing and no one is what they seem. Even the hard-working, innocent Misha, a bellboy at the Reverie hotel, seems to be hiding a huge secret. The name Mikhail, which is referenced in one of the cutscenes in version 2.0, and in the map area A Child’s Dream, might be an important piece of the puzzle.
Who is Mikhail and what is his connection to Misha in Honkai Star Rail (HSR)
Not much is known about Mikhail for now, other than that his name is called in a vision Trailblazer has while entering the Dreamscape. A crying voice is calling out for Mikhail, begging him to come back.
It’s difficult to tell who the voice might belong to – in the Japanese dub, it sounds quite similar to Misha’s, but in the English version, the voices seem quite different. Until more information is revealed, we can’t be sure.
The identity of the person calling opens up two distinct possibilities. First, that Mikhail is someone Misha has a connection to. However, his character stories don’t mention another person close to him, aside from his grandfather.
Then, another theory is that Mikhail might be Misha himself. This seems to be more likely as the name Misha is a diminutive of Mikhail. There are also multiple hints that Misha will be more important in Penacony’s story than expected, and that he’s hiding something.
Misha has a strong thematic relation with the concepts of time and clocks. It’s shown by his ability to stop time with his pocket watch, but also in his character stories and his room. Filled with irregularly shaped clocks, it appears to be a reference to the famous Surrealist painting “The Persistence of Memory” by Salvador Dali.
Furthermore, Misha’s stories reveal surprisingly little about him, as parts 2 to 4 are set in an imaginary story Misha daydreams about – or are they really?
His Character Story part 3 mentions his pocket watch transforming into a “figure with arms and legs, dressed in a uniform and a red bow tie,” which exactly fits the description of Clockie, the mascot of Penacony. The character appears in the main story of Penacony, but only a few humans, including Misha, can see him. What’s even more interesting is that in Misha’s daydream, Mr. Pocket Watch, who might be Clockie, calls him “Captain”.
There is a figure who played a leading role in Penacony’s lore, and who’s also linked with clocks, like Misha. It’s the elusive Watchmaker, who has established many enterprises on the planet and shaped what it is today. According to the descriptions of Watchmaker, Master of Dream Machinations Relic set no one knows the mogul’s identity, and its not even certain if Watchmaker is just one person or a group or concept. It’s possible that Misha has some sort of connection with him. However, the boy may not be consciously aware of it.
Misha dreams of leaving Penacony and embarking on interstellar adventures. It’s also notable that we meet him in the real version of the Reverie hotel, rather than the Dreamscape. It might be that the person calling Mikhail is someone Misha left behind in the dream world.
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