As a whole, I thought this was a pretty fun and interesting episode! We got quite a lot of information out of visiting this city and overall, I just had a really good time with this episode and I still can’t get over the whole “MUMBLE MUMBLE MUMBLE” scene.
This week Echo and Mu head out to find Denka in hopes of following a lead to Jimi, but along the way it seems that they’ve lost all their funds. So naturally it’s time for them to find part time jobs. At the beginning of the episode I was convinced that they were going to follow the same structure and have Mu and Echo separate for most of the episode so that they could add in more information – and don’t get me wrong, they were separated for quite a bit – but it was absolutely hilarious when Girl 6 and Boy 9 found out that they were going to be roommates. And so the two of them begin their respective jobs in hopes of meeting Denka soon, but luckily for Echo his superior runs off with his money so he’s now able to meet a mysterious man who emerges from the ally way who eventually leads Echo back to Mu unknowingly.
But then we’re introduced to two of the town’s undefeated Players, Wendy and Lisa. They were a pretty fun set of Players despite us not having very much time with them, perhaps I’m just a sucker for their dance moves. But I think what made it more enjoyable for me is that they didn’t receive heavy focus throughout the episode. Aside from their fighting style, we didn’t get too much background on them, but they had a significant presence throughout. If they would have given them more of a focus, I think the episode might have gotten too bogged down. So overall I’m happy with what we got! As far as the fight scenes between Mu/Echo & Wendy/Lisa… I think there’s a little more to be desired there. If I’m honest, I was hoping for a solid fight, so their second one in the crowded arena left more to be desired. However! The Earless did show up and I thought that was when we were going to see some cool fight scenes, but again I was left wishing that we could have had a little bit more.
However! I really liked the way handled Denka’s Purple Rain! I thought it was cool conceptually and visually. To have the whole city exist as his amp and having the rays of purple light essentially rain down to remove all the Earless was pretty stunning. And with the city saved, we get to circle around the gain some more information about Jimi. But more importantly, the origins and underlying conflicts of Project Freedom. It was interesting to see them frame the situation as a battle between wanting to coexist vs completely eradicating the Earless especially after all the information that we have gathered previously. It’s been established that Earless used to be Players, in fact Nir even says that there isn’t a way to prevent it – that it’s a destiny they’ll all probably face. It’s interesting to see Denka start out as leading the group to destroying the Earless, but as he’s able to interact with Jimi he changes his view. It also adds context to episode 3 where the narrative from Bilin shows that Jimi went rogue and essentially ruined the plan. Yet, from Denka’s point of view it’s clear that they had tricked Jimi and he was responding to that betrayal.
I’m excited to go into next week’s episode. I feel like things are starting to come together and it has been fun piecing everything together. And as a side note – I’ve also really enjoyed listening to the songs that the title cards have been referencing and seeing how they are incorporated into the episodes. I may not get all the references, but I encourage you all to check them out as well! Let’s see what the Gnome has in store for us!!
