DARLING in the FRANXX Episode 10

Shit. I think Zorome met his mom… I swear that woman has something to do with bringing him to this world. Not only he says she felt familiar, but they shared the same eye color, AND she knew he was Code 666. BUT MAN SHE WAS CRUEL WHEN SHE NONCHALANTLY DROPPED THE TRUTH BOMB! What a way to crush a boy’s lifelong dream!

Zero Two describes the Plantation City as Lifeless, and that is exactly how we saw it today. I can count with one hand how many people we saw roaming on the streets. There is no sense of community, relationships, or livelihood. This begs to question what kind of lifestyle are the adults living? The woman introduced Zorome to her partner inside of a capsule, getting his “Dose of Happiness”, activating his brain’s reward system to gain a sense of pleasure. Based off what the woman had discussed with Zorome, her partner hasn’t come out in years, long enough for the woman to have forgotten the sound of his voice.

The biggest question comes to mind is: What is that energy really being used for? Back in Episode 5, Mitsuru explained the fuel is essential for both the adults, the FRANXX and Parasites to live. But how much of that is actually true?

Some of the things we did learn was that Parasites’ bodies are different than the adult’s, and are described as “infected children”. The most striking piece of evidence was the orange piece the woman wore on her chest, along with the fact the officials provided her a new one as well. This is likely to be the Magma Fuel that attracts the Klaxosaurs. She also mentioned how she can’t “taste”/”sense” anything anymore, and she’s fine as long as she gets sufficient nutrition. My guess, that packet’s content that she probably has to refill/replace. I also noticed “disinfectant” and the drink she was drinking were also shared the same color, orange. It appears the adults do not eat in order to gain nutrition, but through fluid.

And Zorome was able to witness at least three of them, and learn the truth about Parasites. One of the most frustrating parts is of course the truth being muted out entirely. We the audience, didn’t get to hear it, but I think it is safe to assume based on the clues that have been provided that Parasites will never be able to grow up into adults, and perhaps they will never gain the right to live in the city.

There was another hint that was dropped, and that was from one of the men who came by to “disinfect him”. The official took pity on him, telling his colleague to lay off blaming the child, because the Parasites are victims in this too. Does the man pity him for being used as disposable tools, or is it because Parasites are infected by something that prevents them from maturing into adults? Or is it something else? Either way, there was clearly a purpose for “disinfecting” the space Zorome was in, and it appears as though his presence alone had to a negative side-effect on the woman, causing her condition to significantly weaken.

I don’t know what happened between the time he was found and sent back to the Garden, but it is alarming to see Zorome stopped thinking about it, and forgot the woman. I don’t know APE interfered with his memories before dropping him back in, or the shock was too much for him to handle, and he is in this state of denial. And I know it is probably too soon for them to find out the truth, but since I knew from the get of of this episode that Zorome was going to uncover a game-changing secret, I am disappointed he didn’t say anything to the rest of the group- especially with their upcoming mission that has potential death flags written all over it.

The disgusting part of the episode was of course when Papa and his elites talked how how they are prepared to send Squad 13 into the next stage. But before they do, they should “reward” them, in order to boost their morale. Their so-called reward were medals and being granted permission to visit the Plantation’s Inner City for the first time. The adults do the usual stump speech, “Thank you for defending us Adults, papa will be overjoyed”, but when Zorome hopes to shakes hands, the man just leaves him out in the cold! It just goes to show they don’t actually care about them, and they never have, and never will. And to make matter worse: the only one they actually care about is Zero Two, and it’s probably for all the wrong reasons.