To my dismay, the detestable Smiley is still alive and now in the middle of recuperating. Come on, I thought I won’t need to see him ever again! What needs to be done to kill him permanently?! JUST DROP DEAD FOR GOOD! To make it even more infuriating, the episode revealed how Charlotte was brainwashed and her mother got killed by Smiley, making me hate him even more than I already have! URGH!
So, after they were captured, Charlotte survived sex with Smiley and since then they did it regularly all the while Smiley brainwashed her into thinking that her real father was dead, so she must bear Smiley’s child “for her deceased father’s sake”. Her mother, Jessica, who couldn’t bear to see her daughter being brainwashed and raped repeatedly, tried to free her by killing her, only to be killed by Smiley before she could do so. Ironically, her attempt to save her daughter from Smiley’s grasp effectively traumatized Charlotte, causing the brainwash to complete. (TT_TT)
I’ve been thinking about this, I wonder if the whole Smiley being an automation who seeks to have children and whatnot is symbolizing the use of sex dolls/robots in real life. I’ve heard a mention of it, but never looked up about it further because, honestly, it disgusted me. There are many arguments about the use of sex dolls/robots, my guess BRS showed how negative the impact it can be for people in real life, it does more harm than good.
We also finally learned about the importance of Lighthouse No. 8 and Empress and the other girls’ past. Empress was originally an orphan without a name brought to the house. Jessica gave her name by having Empress randomly deciding to take a tarot card from her. When the girl pulled the Empress tarot card, Jessica named her so, symbolizing happiness, affection, and prosperity. Similarly, the other girls were also given the name the same way, for exception of Dead Master.
Dead Master’s love for Empress was revealed her. Dead Master’s name was originally the Devil, with her horns made her look like a monster, which she disliked. However, Empress likened the horn to a forest deer and she commented how cool they were. No only that, Empress also renamed her name from Devil to Dead Master by doing the same thing as Jessica when she gave her name. Dead Master pulled out Death tarot card, so Empress renamed her Dead Master from Death God. This kindness instantly captivated the timid Dead Master who considered Empress as her angel from then on.
On the matter of Lighthouse No. 8. No doubt it’s where the girls of Hemiteos Unit were gathered and trained. It’s an experimental site for making excellent warriors. Even though knowing this, Empress still stayed in the lighthouse because she would’ve died if not. The same also could be said to Strength, who lost both her arms when arriving at the lighthouse. Dead Master, on the other hand, wondered about their part as Hemiteos Unit and unsure about fighting. Empress solidified the group’s motivation to fight: to protect their loved ones.
Knowing the possibility of her being killed, Jessica left a video message that revealed that she’s a Hemiteos unit herself, code name Stella. The video explained that the Hemiteos Unit was originally created to protect the Elysion Plan, a project of semi-permanent infrastructure development using nanomachine. When this failed, the lighthouse around the world was built like an orphanage to gather girls to become the new Hemiteos Unit, which was a success. When the Artemis Rebellion broke out, however, the Hemiteos Unit was dispatched to fight Artemis and her army, with Empress, Dead Master, and Strength being the only survivors, causing the Elysion Plan to be abandoned and Jessica went into hiding. She hid her identity to protect the Colonel now revealed his name to be David (FINALLY! HIS NAME! Now, I don’t need to refer him as Colonel anymore), whom she genuinely loved and giving birth to Charlotte with him was one true things among her life. During her capture, Jessica slipped in a virus in the program of the device, preventing her to become a full Hemiteos Unit, and in hope it’ll save Charlotte. She also believed that Empress and the others would come back, so left behind a device that can strengthen or erase the Hemiteos Unit’s power. I only know you for a short time, but I love you Jessica! Don’t worry, Empress and the others will handle everything in your stead!
I thought the episode would end at that, never thought they’ll go straight to David fighting against Charlotte. I rolled my eyes when Charlotte actually called her own father a pervert for not reacting to her punches. Excuse me, Charlotte, but the title of pervert should be given to that detestable Smiley who brainwashed and raped you! At lest David bought enough time for Empress to complete her readjustment. Next episode would be Empress vs. Charlotte. I hope that Empress manage to save Charlotte. David already lost his wife, I couldn’t bear to see him lose his daughter too.
Fact: Jessica’s real name, Stella is reference to the actual name of the game’s Black Rock Shooter.