Deca-Dence sure likes making me emotional these days, doesn’t it? We’re coming down the wire and this episode was also really exciting. Natsume and Kaburagi have successfully infiltrated the Gadoll factory due to their chipless states and the help of the cyborgs down in the poop shaft. I honestly love how the lines between the cyborg and deca-dence worlds are slowly starting to come together and affect the other. I do hope that we’ll get to see Natsume meet Kaburagi’s real body because honestly that would be the cutest thing ever.
I’m honestly not sure how they were able to make a purple-skinned man look terrifying, but every time Hugin shows up in human form, my heart just sinks. He’s honestly terrifying, especially with how strong he is and for a split second I did think that he did just drive a hole into Natsume’s chest. Thankfully that wasn’t the case and due to Jill’s expert hacking skills was able make it seem like there were duplicates of both Kaburagi and Natsume.
There is definitely a theme of people being okay with their reality if things stayed the same. Turkey ended up being the third route someone would take out of desperation to keep things as they are, even saying the same thing that both Fei and Minato did: “I liked things the way that they were. It was enough for me.” It’s definitely something the show wants us to really think about considering this is the third time it was brought up by a character. Fei, Minato and Turkey all felt like things should have stayed as they were, driving them to go against the people closest to them. Though all three had different outcomes. Fei was able to come around to the idea of change, though albeit abruptly. In Turkey’s case, his had to be the most extreme and terrible route to take as he betrayed everyone he knew and got many killed in the process, just so that he could save himself and have things go back to what he considered “normal.” While Minato turned his back on Kaburagi and chose to not involve himself with his plans, I don’t think his story is finished. Unless his route is the neutral route while Fei’s would be considered the “good outcome” and Turkey’s the “bad outcome.” We’ll have to see just where Minato’s route will land him amidst everything. Life constantly changes, there’s no way that things can stay the same as they are forever, especially when people need to constantly change to better themselves.
It honestly felt so satisfying when Donatello threw Turkey down the “poop hole.” I totally called that he tipped Hugin off so that wasn’t much of a surprise, but the little snake shark finally got what was coming to him. And I was glad that it was Donatello and Sarkozy being the ones to do him in at the end. And when he was crying out to Sarkozy to save him, the gall this guy has to plead for help after he left him to die just a little before. Not to mention he made it so that all of the death and destruction would land on Sarkozy’s shoulders rather than his own. So, it felt like justice when he got blown up by none other than Sarkozy himself.
And while I do not like Sarkozy still, I will admit that he died with honor… even if I don’t know where he got that explosive oxyone. Though I guess it can be assumed that he had been saving it for a while considering how long he must have been down there. And his sacrifice created the best opportunity for Kaburagi and Natsume to shut down the factory. Even successfully allowing him to escape from Hugin. It was annoying how he still went along with the plan for longer than he should have after his friends were being killed off. So at least he got a little bit of a redemption in the end there and genuinely helped out this time a round when it really counted. But man do I hate it when naive characters get tricked into doing things with the promise of them being known as a hero. However, he ended up being someone who became a part of a chain of inspiration that was started by Natsume. If Natsume hadn’t saved Kaburagi and helped him change his perspective, Sarkozy wouldn’t have “pushed himself to his limits.” And I don’t know about you, but I love seeing things like that get passed from one person to another. So, rest in peace, Sark.
But man, Natsume’s reaction at the end of the episode hurt. Especially since she’s been living her life clinging to hope, only to find out that the world she was living in was a lie essentially. It was then she probably realized just how hopeless her situation really was and no matter how hard she fought and struggled, in the end, someone had always been pulling the strings and playing with their lives as if it were a game. Which is exactly what was happening. And for Kaburagi to tell her that the world, the Gadoll and even his body was manufactured, must have absolutely crushed her. And it hurts to see such a positive character like Natsume just look so defeated and even more so to find out that Kaburagi was also lying to her as well (though unwillingly). I JUST WANT HAPPY NATSUME AGAIN.
Also, DID PIPE JUST FREAKING DIE ALONG WITH THE OTHER GADOLL…?! No wonder Kaburagi looked so distressed and sad when they left Pipe. Even giving him a “final meal”…. Noooooo… That part honestly got me super emotional especially since we know how attached both Natsume and Kaburagi are to him. NATSUME IS LOSING EVERYTHING SHE LOVED AND I AM NOT OKAY WITH THAT. Because when Kaburagi disappeared for who knows how long, at least she still had Pipe. But now… I REALLY HOPE HE’S NOT GONE.
I am curious as what direction this series will take now that there are only about 3 more episodes left. This episode felt like the finale or second to last episode. However, while the Gadoll factory has been shut down, the system is still a concern so taking down that may be the finale the show will send off with a bang. Considering things have just been escalating since episode freaking four, I really hope this series leaves off on one heck of a finale. And while I am disappointed that Natsume didn’t really do much on this mission, I do hope she does more in these last few episodes.
