What do you think of Episode 8 of
The central battle of this episode is A good example. On the face of it, this is a clever battle of wits between Touka and an equally conniving enemy general, using dirty tricks and hidden moves to outwit each other until one manages to draw one to the other before. In practice, it’s a rushed and poorly edited time slot that takes longer to explain than to play, and there’s never a second of tension. Fights with no sense of urgency or spatial continuity were useful enough when they were merely vehicles for punchlines, but now these are at least serious bouts with a ticking clock, so “just enough to tell a joke” can no longer be cut.
also coincides with the show’s regression in It’s humorous. You’d think that the closest enemy, Touka’s former mentor who taught him the art of traps and tricks, would add to his character, or at least on top of his recent turnaround. Instead, we get plenty of exposition to complement their relationship before Touka jumps to sexually humiliating her. When the second half of the episode tries to shore up Touka’s heroic qualities again, he sneaks away and puts Yuna’s body in a sock again, because he probably cares about her enough to fight Hell’s armies, but not enough to respect her. Bodily autonomy. Combine that with Ethel’s throbbing Great Barton’s corner mingling with Fieri’s well-worn fumbling jokes, and it’s as if we’re back to the excruciating hacker comedy of the first few episodes.
Pity because there are elements here still Effective, even if only in isolated moments. Touka and Estel being mean peas on the pod was so much fun, the two of them picking that lock and breaking into the magical artisan’s house made me laugh out loud. The old man’s rhetoric about pouring tea on everyone’s head was still rote, but it was worth laughing at seeing Airi timidly sitting there waiting for her turn, looking both scared and helpless. Touka finally facing an opponent as devious as he is is a cool twist that could have easily been the show’s highlight thus far if it had been better executed.
But that’s not what we got, As odd as it is, I was disappointed to see the series take such a step backwards. It’s never going to be a favorite, but there’s some promise from previous episodes. It’s a big disappointment to see so much potential destroyed so quickly.
Rating:
