Shoutout to Mari’s mom for being terrifying and reminding me of my own mother before she would whoop my ass for something I did. But hilariously her condition for letting her daughter go on the trip is pretty normal: she just has to pass all her tests. It’s not a cute trip in Antarctica, it’s a somewhat scary one, so I’m surprised there wasn’t more of a fight. Either way, that entire scene had me in stitches from her sister and her father shutting the door and trapping Mari with her mother. It’s too real and too relateable.
The episode this time was a little slower but still just as pleasant. The girls start their training, which was to be expected, and I found it really fascinating. First off the girls started with lectures, such as learning some history on Antarctica, learning the rules of the continent and what they are and aren’t allowed to do, the protocol for the expedition, etc. And the captain of the expedition is the woman we saw in last week’s post credits scene.
Shirase feels some sort of animosity towards Gin, as she returned to Japan without her mother. But really, that could only mean one thing and I think everyone knows that Shirase’s mother is dead. Who was Gin praying to in the flashback we saw? It had to be Shirase’s mother. It’s made extremely obvious when all the characters refer to her mother in the past tense. I’m not understanding Shirase, really. I’m sure she understands that her mother is dead, but she still wants to go to Antarctica to “find” her. Again we saw her try to send her mom an email but she deleted right away. What is Shirase out to do really? Gin doesn’t seem like a bad person at all, but I’m sure she must feel some sort of guilt. She’s probably very strict because she knows the dangers of this expedition.
We’re reminded of this when the girls start their training in the mountains. Because Antarctica is just a land of white snow, the girls need to learn how to follow trails and find points to set up their red flags, where in case of a blizzard, they can find their way back. They started off doings things wrong, but with the help of Mari’s master compass skills (“A compasser!”), they were able to figure out their mistake and end up doing really well. Sleeping in a tent could also be considered part of their training. I’m glad they’re all taking this training very seriously as their lives really depend on it. They each showcase their skills in some way, and it was fun watching them set the flags. Again, their chemistry is just so well done, with their scene in the tent with Mari and Hinata laughing at Yuzuki’s weird “Shut talking now” line feeling like they’ve been friends for a long time. It was also a nice touch that Mari shared a little bonding moment with Gin. And of course the sunset at the end was beautiful.
I wonder, though, what that post credits scene from last week was. When did that take place? And just like I thought, we’re going to get something with Megumi. It really hurt to see her in the cafe all by herself. She’s obviously really lonely, and probably jealous that Mari’s made some new friends and seems to get along with them more. Megumi doesn’t leave any hints for Mari, though, so I wonder how her problem is going to arise.
I’m glad they took some time to cover a bit of training (although I can only imagine how much harder it would really be to prepare for a mission like that in real life!) And Mari’s mom, and that whole scene, were hilarious. It’s all been fun and light so far, and I don’t expect the show to go “dark,” really, but there’s going to be a huge emotional wave that’s going to crash down later this season as Shirase has to face reality…basically we all know it’s coming and it’s going to hurt.
I agree that it’s impossible to believe that Shirase doesn’t already know her mother’s dead. Maybe this is just her way of saying goodbye, and just like her mother she’s too stubborn to ever give up until there are no options left. Also, Shirase was several years younger when her mother never returned, and perhaps the entire thing just doesn’t feel real to her still. Going to Antartctica makes it real and will let her move on. I suppose that’s my guess.
I’m not necessarily looking forward to the Megumi scenes to come because I’m going to be pretty sad, but I’m glad that issue will be part of the story. I do, however, hope that they get on the road soon. I’d prefer that we get as close to half the season as possible focused on the adventure.
I’ve seen people say that the series might get Made in Abyss kind of dark and I think that’s a little much. I understand that a place like Antarctica is no joke, you could easily lose your life if you’re not careful but I don’t think this series will go THAT far. But I do think it’ll hit us with a wall of emotions, though I wouldn’t be surprised if they did hit a life-threatening situation due to poor maintenance. Because if the van is any indication, conditions at the Syowa Station may not be the best.
I’m pretty sure Shirase simply needs to go there to get closure on her mother’s death. Her mother was left behind to die in some far away place, and Shirase simply can’t emotionally accept that she’s dead until she’s gone there herself to find out. I’m pretty sure on some level she understands that her mother is dead. She just needs to go through this to properly accept it.
I agree with what you and bedmonds said about Shirase, I just think it’s pretty insane that she would choose to go all the way to Antarctica for closure. For her to do something like this must mean it impacted her so much. And maybe, she also might want to accomplish what her mother wasn’t able to do there.