Gangsta ep 8 [ Her Voice ]

Every episode of Gangsta that revolves around Alex Benedetto just serves to remind me that this show hurts. What is happiness for these characters? Is the show leading to an unlikely but satisfying ending where every character reaches some kind of happy ending and maintains a sense of self forgiveness while overcoming their trials? Or is the more likely ending of bittersweet human resilience in the face of pain what we are in store for?

A lot of the early episode was animated kind of poorly, I don’t know if this is because of funding or they’re trying to change Alex’s animation to fit the alteration in her personality. Either way, while the beginning was poor it seemed like it was likely because they spent all their time and money animating a very beautiful ending sequence.

I loved this episode’s focus on Alex’s memories. Now that she no longer has supressants in her body there is finally a difference in who she was on the drugs and who she was off of them. It made a lot of sense to see her be a docile prostitute on the drugs and to see her be a traumatized victim off of them. While there are plenty of people in this world who seem to choose that profession out of necessity, it doesn’t seem like Alex particularly wanted to do it.

I hate it for Alex that she is suffering and that all of her important memories seem to have been erased. This episode was both terribly depressing and incredibly uplifting as we see a simultaneous regaining of her memories on Alex’s end, and the denial of the very family member who she remembers from being able to see her. Nothing hurts more than knowing Alex was very close to regaining some form of family and instead only made a small step by regaining her memories of her brother.

I’m conflicted with this series. I can’t tell if these three are going to be perfect OT3 and be together forever, which I would prefer, or if this show is going to be much like Samurai Champloo and eventually allow the dissolution of one or all the bonds in the show thus far. I’m hoping for the first but I never know! The way the plot begins to rev up and allow for the shit storm in the series to begin makes me worried, yet each episode the three prove they work together as a team to comfort one another.

I’m excited as ever for next week, but mostly I’m terribly depressed. Why can’t I have happy thoughts?! He was right fucking there show! Why are you hurting me like this?!

Oki