After weeks of essentially having no plot movement, this week’s episode threw many things at us and in quick succession. While beggars (and I am) really can’t be choosers when it comes to timely plot development, this episode moved forward in a variety of different ways. Some of these choices were good, while others could have used the “dead air” from previous episodes to be better.
Awesome character. Why he was introduced so late is beyond me.
Though Ryner’s choice to leave Ferris behind was by no means the highlight of the episode, it was the one event in the episode that triggered its characters to act in a way that didn’t feel cheap. Ferris’ reaction to Ryner’s disappearance made sense and was able to elicit some reaction from me; because it seemed like past episodes had led up to this point. Seeing that even Sion’s comment about dango didn’t even register with Ferris, and we all know how much she loves dango, made this moment even more potent. Then you had Sion calling out to Lucile in vain to determine what he said to Ryner, suggesting that Sion might be losing some of Lucile’s favor.
I feel for Ferris
Unfortunately, the rest of the episode was unable to match that level of depth. The revelation that the black-haired, black clothed character had in the past killed Clough’s friends seemed like it was designed for us to care about that fight. Though the fight between the two was the most interesting since episode 3, I couldn’t get over how Clough’s past seemed like it was tacked on at the last-minute. Seventeen episodes are more than enough time for us to learn about some of these character’s pasts, but it seems like all we are getting is Alpha Stigma back story. Perhaps it’s a moot point given that it would seem the black-haired bad ass might be looking to find and defeat Ryner, just like it seems that every other major character in this show is destined to do, rendering Clough useless.
Then there was the scene with Kiefer and Riphal. While I love that Riphal is so direct about his intentions with Kiefer, I can’t help but think where he has been the past four episodes. For someone who seems like he will turn out to be a major character by the show’s end, he gets very little characterization. I have this bad feeling that we will only get his back story right before or after some pivotal event or death, which seems way too much like Bleach’s modus operandi.
Despite my complaints with the backdrop to some of these scenes, there were a lot of interesting things that suggest that the show is getting on the right track. The way the Roland and Estabul forces intermixed over the course of the fight shows that tensions between the two may be dying down, if only to defeat a common enemy. Kiefer learning about the different types of eyes and their respective powers suggests that there may be even more characters that have powers on par with the Alpha Stigma and the Iino Doue (so even if the plot goes to hell, we will at least have some good action scenes), and that Ryner is really unique, though I guess the viewer kind of already knew that. Plus, Miran Froaude finally looks like he has finally met his maker.
Luke finally showing his skills
There was a lot of stuff going on here, and a lot of it was essentially set up for something in later episodes. I swear that it felt like the writers got switched out or something, because everything that happened here felt so different from previous episodes.
But like you pointed out, there were some parts that were rather questionable. I didn’t like the Clough thing either. It was far too abrupt and rather silly I think. I don’t think it’s necessary to make every character connected to one another, though that appears to be what the writers are trying to do. Well, I can’t wait for the next episode, because the episode preview sure looked interesting.
I don’t have a problem with the show trying to make connections between its characters, and the last two episodes have done a great deal in making those connections. However, some parts of it seem really forced. For example, having Ryner being drawn to speak to Lucile last episode felt really unnatural. I like seeing shows that have events force the characters to act and to bring out their nature, rather than having characters move the plot forward through chance and random events.
My other main complaint is the infrequent appearances by other characters. Like where is Noa? Clough mentions her all the time, and it is heavily suggested they are together, but we never see any of the build up, so it seems a bit unnatural.
I just don’t like how the creators are kind of forcing everyone to have met each other before in some random way. But I actually thought that Ryner being drawn to speak with Lucile made perfect sense. After all, the experience that Ryner had by looking at the dojo with the Alpha Stigma surely warrants further research.
I don’t think that having other characters get relegated to the sidelines is particularly bad, mostly because that’s what ultimately happens in stories like this, where you have a giant host of characters and limited time. The entire Noa x Clough thing was rather silly though, but I just let it slide, like I’ve let many, many other things slide for this series >.>
it just seems like the Alpha Stigma is the device used to get the plot out of a rut. Whether it was Arua in episode 11 ish or Ryner in the last one, it just seems like the Alpha’s Stigmas real purpose is to keep the writers from having a plot that flows. Hopefully, the series doesn’t end with some sort of crazy Alpha Stigma revelation that had absolutely no build up.
And agreed, I have let a lot slide in this thing.
Great new bad guy! gives off some creepy Lelouch feel to his looks xD wonder what is next for this story seems things are finally getting great! glad I stuck with this show well watching it anyway.
A lot of people have mentioned the Lelouch similarities to his looks, but you actually were able to see Lelouch’s motivation for what he did in Code Geass, and I doubt we will get that in this series.
I’m glad I stuck with it to, because as I had mentioned in my last post I almost dropped this in the middle of the last episode. That said, I don’t really understand why its rated a 7.8 at MAL, as it seems like to high of a score when compared to things like the Book of Bantorra which is only at 7.5. I guess it could be due to exposure, but this thing hasn’t been that remarkable.