A bit of a slower episode this time but still filled with even more mystery and questions about this entire island.
My suspicions towards Tokiko and the Hishigata family was spot on as it seems like they’re in charge of the Shadows, or are at least assisting them. What could possibly be in it for them, unless it is just complete devotion to Hiruko (who is the shadow mother). Shadows want to completely eradicate humans, and from what we saw in the time loop with the festival, that really means ALL humans. I don’t know if Shinpei is going to remember Tokiko’s words from that night and warn her of what’s going to happen to her and all the destruction that will happen, but it looks like they’re all getting themselves into a really bad situation. Tokiko promises not to harm them, even with two large Shadows right next to her. But we can’t say that won’t happen once we reach the shadow mother and she realizes her missing eye is sitting right in front of her in Shinpei. In fact, I think she knows that already considering the end of Ushio’s flashback. With the next episode being called “Bloody Night”, I’m not expecting anything good. But, we should get some answers and possibly the whole lore of this island next time.
I’m really curious how long these Shadows have been around and just how strong they are to have had this whole cave (“Hiruko Cave”) as their home, and for them to basically copy parts of the ocean. From Nezu’s story, it could be that it’s been since the Meiji era but who knows. It’s interesting however with how many of these shadow babies there are, both small and large. They even looked half complete as half of of their heads are formed. How long does it take for them to fully form and to be able to be able to copy like all the Shadows we’ve seen? And how they even come to be in the first place. I also felt like there was a bit of foreshadowing when it came to “eating”. First of all, 9pm being the time to eat seems really specific for me and I wonder if it had been 9pm when the massacre at the festival happened. Anyway, Ushio had mentioned she needed the human Ushio’s original body to be able to copy and fully heal herself. Shinpei questioning if that was the only way, maybe not. The officer from last episode that went up to both Tokiko and Mio is now dead and looks like he’s going to be the next meal. It’s basically the same as what happened at the festival, but we know that Ushio would never want to do that to an innocent person. And so it makes me think…
With the next episode’s title, I think we’re definitely getting a time reset. Shinpei is just dragging this out as much as he can to be able to get as much info as he can, and when the time is right he’ll either purposely get himself killed or just kill himself. I’m not sure how he would do that considering he left his backpack and nail gun behind. And if that’s successful, he’s most likely going to convince Alan to not cremate Ushio’s body just so Shadow Ushio will be able to copy her when she needs to recharge. How that will go, I have no clue.
A couple things bothered me this episode though. First of all, HOW was Shiori able to survive? I know the episode plainly explained it when she slipped through the cracks in the concrete and escaped into the sewer? But I thought using the nail gun to pierce them three times would make them completely immobile, including both of their forms. Shiori was still clearly stuck so I don’t understand how she was able to escape. And second of all, the Mio and Tetsu scenes were kind of annoying? I know that Mio really cares about Shiori, but to go after her when she clearly looks strange and even went down a manhole, not acting like the typical Shiori she knew. This is how people die in horror movies! Also rip to Nezu, and possibly Hizuru/Ryuunosuke. I guess I also know who Haine is now. I don’t expect to get Hizuru’s whole story yet with that large Shadow, so that will remain a mystery for now. And with those two dead, I think a time reset is inevitable. Where will the story go from here?
