So, I’ll be honest… I’m pretty confused after watching this episode. Even though I’m aware that we’re reaching the end of the series, I still feel as if it is all happening really fast. I don’t feel as if I’ve had the chance to completely take in everything that has happened since they’ve come to Londinium, probably because the series continues to take different directions from my original predictions (which is in no way a bad thing!). And even now with the final episode approaching, I’m coming to realize that I have a lot of unanswered questions that probably won’t be answered by our conclusion, though depending on next week’s episode, that uncertainty may be a good or a bad thing.
I think what I enjoyed most about this episode was seeing all the significant characters that Mu and Echo met on their journey join up again. However, unlike Project Freedom when it occurred in Liverchester, they’ve collectively agreed that they will take a different approach to the Earless especially after they’ve all met Echo and Mu during their adventures. Unfortunately, some of these reappearances fell a little flat to me, primarily because we didn’t get to spend quite as much time developing them during their episode which is unfortunately due to the episode limit of the series and the amount of content that they wanted to put in. Kevin and Bilin were probably the two that made me feel the most indifferent towards, followed closely by Roz and the Neubauten sisters. In my entry on Episode 3, I mentioned that I enjoyed what we were able to get from meeting Kevin and Bilin, but that I also felt that it ended very abruptly when Echo and Mu departed. And from what I remember, by the time the two left, Bilin still hadn’t changed her mind about eradicating the Earless and Kevin, for the most part, had just come out of hiding. Granted, this most recent Episode gives us a little more insight as to what he was doing during his four years as a shut-in, but I don’t think we got an answer as to why Bilin’s opinion on Earless has been altered. Perhaps I missed something, but for those two in particular, I am confused by their actions.
For Roz and the sisters, I feel like I’m being nit-pickier, but I think I might have missed some clues along the way. Roz confuses me because she immediately calls Mu a friend, and based on all of their interactions… I don’t think Mu was friendly to Roz at any point. I mean, she brought Echo in because he had collapsed, Roz told her to give up being a Player and that she would heal him, Echo lied to Mu, Mu stormed over to Roz and stormed out. If anything, I can see Roz claiming to be a friend of Echo more than Mu? But at the end of the day, there isn’t any malicious intent between Roz and Mu, so I do apologize for picking that apart. For the sisters, I think my biggest confusion is that I was just never sure what their motive was? In the beginning they seemed like they would be akin to Team Rocket where they’d show up, cause problems, and then get beaten (though that was quickly disproved), but now it seems like they’re taking the opposite position? But I honestly think my confusion for these characters come from their quirks and how they speak and lack of development. I’m sure it will all fall into place in the final episode, but as of right now… I feel like I just need some more clarification.
The return to Liverchester and the fight that ensued was pretty interesting though! I liked seeing Swell again and I like the visuals of Mu appearing in a vision telling her to run. I’m also glad that we were able to clear up whether or not Mu was being controlled or was really playing us the whole time, because at the end of last week’s episode I could have been swayed either way. I don’t know if I have too much to say about the fight that occurred other than it was pretty fun to watch. It was stressful and built up a lot of tension and having Echo appear right before the credits makes me excited to see what will come out of the final episode. So all in all, I think this episode was enjoyable because everything is coming back together and we’re reuniting with all the characters we’ve met along the way as we head towards the conclusion, but my biggest critique is that now I’m aware of just how little development a handful of them received so it’s hard for me to understand their new motivations. Still, I think it’s a perfectly fine episode to bring us to the finally! Alright LISTENERS give it all you’ve got
