- "They... They come at night... every year when the carnival approaches... They come riding in a bright, shining ball. A whole lot of them come down... And then... They come to the barn..."
- — Romani
"Them" is the given term for certain enemies from The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask. They are never specifically named; however, Romani refers to them simply as "They", and the Bombers' Notebook refers to them as "Them". "They" appear as purple, floating, ethereal creatures with brightly glowing yellow eyes.
Story[]
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
"Them" converging on Romani Ranch's barn
Every year at Romani Ranch, "They" arrive two days before the Carnival of Time to take the cows away from the ranch. During the events of the game, Romani is preparing to defend the cows from "Them" during their annual attack on the Ranch; to this end, she routinely practices target shooting with her bow. However, Romani's sister Cremia does not believe that "They" are real.
"They" arrive at the ranch on the night of the First Day at 2:30 a.m. in waves coming from a shining ball. Link must fend them off by shooting them with arrows from his Hero's Bow, as no other weapon works against them, and keep them away from the barn until dawn at all costs; should "They" reach it, "They" will destroy the structure's roof, allowing the bright ball from which they came to use shafts of light to abduct the cows, along with Romani. If this happens, Romani shows up at the ranch on the Second Day, wandering around the field and not responding. (It is revealed on the Final Day that she had lost her memories.) It appears that their weakness is sunlight; at 5:30 a.m of the First Day, "They" all disintegrate into smoke as they are hit by the sun, and the shining light ball in which "They" arrived retreats back to whence it came.
"Them" abducting the cows from the barn in the event of Link's failure
The speed at which "They" move is relative to the speed at which time is flowing. If time is slowed down using the "Inverted Song of Time", their movement will be slowed as well, making the battle somewhat easier; however, as the passage of time is also slowed, the battle will last longer, as it will take longer for dawn to arrive. Riding Epona or using the Bunny Hood also greatly enhances Link's ability to cover the large area without allowing the barn to fall prey to "Them". A useful indicator as to where "They" are is the barking of the ranch dog, who will always run to the creature that is the closest to the barn and bark loudly in alarm. The map is a useful tool in establishing the location of one of "Them", as they are shown as bright white, moving dots on the map at all times.
A much easier method of battle is using a certain crate as an axis point to shoot "Them" as if they were targets in a Shooting Gallery. Using the roof of Romani's house as a vantage point proves to be efficient as well. This makes the battle less tedious, as Link will be able to hit any of "Them," even ones who try to attack the barn from behind, without having to frantically run around the ranch to fight.
In the end credits, Romani is seen practicing for future attacks, with her sister Cremia looking on and applauding. This may indicate that Cremia now believes "They" exist.
Spoiler warning: Spoilers end here.
Other appearances[]
UFO concept
Although "They" do not appear in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, one of the early concepts for the game proposed by the younger members of the development team involved a similar concept to "Them" in Majora's Mask where Link has to deal with flying objects that proceeded to abduct various cattle.[1]
Theories[]
Theory warning: This section contains theoretical information based on the research of one or several other users. It has not been officially verified by Nintendo and its factual accuracy is disputed.
Aliens[]
An artist's rendering of the Flatwoods monster
"They" are sometimes presumed to be extraterrestrial beings, as both their behavior and appearance is similar to that of stereotypical aliens; for instance, unexplained real-life abductions of cattle are often attributed to aliens. The ball of light in which "They" arrive is similar to some depictions of a space ship; furthermore, the light beams which they use to transport the cows to their ball of light is reminiscent of the fictional invention known as the tractor beam. Their similarity to reported sightings of the Flatwoods monster, believed to be have been an extraterrestrial entity, also supports this theory.
While its canonical status remains in question, the track listing for The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Original Soundtrack names the song that plays during the battle against "Them" as "Alien Attack". However, in the game, "They" are referred to as ghosts by both Romani, Cremia, and the Bombers' Notebook. This may be a false assumption though on the part of Romani, as she is likely aware of the existence of ghosts, but may not have a concept of aliens from another planet. When Cremia refers to "Them" as ghosts, however, she is probably regarding the stereotypical beliefs that a childish youth such as Romani may have. This is supported because Cremia puts the word "ghosts" in quotation marks, suggesting that she is saying this in a disapproving manner.
Demons[]
Besides Ghosts and Aliens, another possibility is that "They" are Demons. Their actions could simply be the result of their demonic nature or out of pure malevolence. If they are demons, it is possible they serve the Devil (if the Devil is a demon himself) mentioned by Flat. Though "They" are never referred to as Demons, demons could be mistaken for ghosts, spirits, and even aliens. Its also possible that "They" are trying to hide their true nature, by pretending to be Ghosts/Aliens.
Garo[]
Given that the Garo's Mask is obtained nearby and the resemblance between the Garo and "Them" (cloaked figures with glowing eyes), it is possible that "They" are Garo. One possibility is that "They" are Garo (possibly Garo survivors/spirits using ninjutsu or magic to appear as "Them"). However it should be noted that they do not react to the Garo's Mask, making this theory unlikely (unless they realize that Link is only masquerading as a Garo).
Ghosts[]
Though "They" resemble aliens in behavior, they do have ghost-like qualities and appearance. They are also referred to as ghosts in-game and could be actually be ghosts and/or other spiritual entities. While their motivations are unknown, it is possible that they are either minions of Majora or malevolent spirits that terrorize the living.
Gorman Brothers[]
One interesting possibility is that they could be working for Romani Ranch's competitors, the Gorman Brothers. The Gorman Bros. have a history of using underhanded tactics against Romani Ranch and have Garo's Masks (which are related to the ninja-like Garo) in their possession, indicating they may dabble in the occult or are descendants of the Garo tribe that survived the Great War of Ikana. If "They" are in cahoots with the Gorman Bros. it is likely they are demons, spirits (possibly a different form of Garo), monsters, or even aliens summoned by the Gorman to attack the Ranch and steal the Cows.
Motives[]
"They" seem to desire the Cows of Romani Ranch for reasons unrevealed. One possibility is that "They" are attracted to the magic restoring power of the milk produced by the ranch's cows. Another possibility is that they are minions of Majora who where sent to Romani Ranch to terrorize Cremia and Romani, however Romani mentions that "They" come every year around the Carnival of Time, so this is unlikely. Another possibility is "They" prey upon the cows for food like Mooranha. Its also possible that their reasons are not malevolent and may actually be trying to liberate the cows from the ranch. It should be noted that they return Romani to the Ranch with her memories of her abduction removed (or the experience was so traumatic that it affected Romani's memory) instead of simply keeping or killing her.
Theory warning: Theories end here.