There’s a lot I don’t quite understand about the story. I wonder if it’s because I’m not listening (no pun intended) intently enough or if that’s just how I’m supposed to feel.
— Even though Mu just murdered two young men, the citizens don’t know that. They just happy to think that Jimi is back. With this, Tommy kicks his plan into high gear. He’s putting together a second Project Freedom, and as a result, all of the Players are dusting themselves off and reconvening for one last show. Tommy even has an army of kids to spread his propaganda. I just wish there was more context for why these kids are ranting about how bad adults are to those same adults. What made Londinium turn out this way? I guess that’s just left up to our imagination.
— Where’s the real Mu right now? It seems like she’s stuck inside her own head. I don’t really understand what the Jimi in her head is talking about, though. Oh well, my knack for understanding these anime seems to have dulled over the years. I have less time and energy to really focus on these shows, and Listeners‘ narrative isn’t doing me any favors.
— After all, a lot of plot points just go unexplained. Apparently, the Dada sisters were in cahoots with Tommy. Were. They are quickly dismissed, and that’s it. They’ll show up again before the series is over, but I’m still left scratching my head for now.
— Echo seemed to have given up until Nir runs into him. But of course, it’s far from a happy reunion. She intends to get her revenge, and it’s not as though she isn’t justified. Not only has she lost her parents to the Earless, she lost her new friends to Mu. In any case, she inadvertently frees Echo from his stupor.
— The two kids discover that Tommy intends to drug everyone up at the concert. But before they can do anything about it, old man Marshall betrays them. He’s just a mercenary; he sells himself out to the highest bidder. No wonder these kids hate the grown-ups.
— Here’s where the evil mastermind explains the ins and outs of his plans. When the Field Marshall confronts Tommy, the latter reveals that he also wants Londinium to regain its supremacy. So… just what? World domination? Not exactly. That would be too simple. Too boring. This is where Purple Haze comes in. Tommy wants to destroy the self and have everyone come together as one consciousness. Wha…? Why? Where did this come from? How did we go from getting rid of the earless to some sort of human instrumentality dealio? I dunno, I just feel like the story is so rushed. I have no clue what could possibly motivate Tommy to want this, but when he’spressed, he just says that he’s nothing more than a mirror. He simply reflects the ambitions of others, so we’re still left in the dark.
— Tommy then takes out a gun and executes the Field Marshal for apparently conspiring with Denka and the Countryless King. When did this happen? Offscreen, I guess. Shrug. Sally isn’t too pleased here, so I’m guessing that she’ll end up betraying Tommy in the end. We’ll see, though.
— Nir eventually gets freed from prison by one of Ritchie’s friends. Echo, however, doesn’t get the same luck. She wants to leave him in there until she gets her revenge on Mu. So what does our hero do? He gets one of his wrenches and frees himself. C’mon, man, why didn’t you try that in the first place?
— Since Nir is busying trying to get her Equipment back, Echo gets to Mu first. Unfortunately, our heroine doesn’t even react to his presence. So Tommy shows up and we get a mini-confrontation. The bad guy goes on and on about how Mu chose this path on her own. Echo argues, however, that the Earless isn’t the true enemy. I mean, I wanna sympathize with him, but I don’t know what to think. We still don’t know what exactly happened during Project Freedom. And most of all, we don’t know exactly why the Earless are attacking random people. So yeah…
— Well, Nir crashes the party, but she’s clearly outmatched. We thus see more glimpses of the original Project Freedom. When Jimi touched hands with the Earless in the gate, even more Earless poured on through. Judging by the tears in Jimi’s eyes, this didn’t seem like what he had in mind. Then before long, the schlera in his eyes turn black just like what we saw with Mu. What does this mean? I dunno! No clue!
— A cold Mu doesn’t recognize Echo, so she starts to attack him. Nir thus jumps in the way to shield the blow. She ends off hurtling from the tower, but eh… no body means no confirmed death. She’s probably fine.
— Before anything worse can happen, Marshall shows up and tosses Echo into a garbage chute. With that, the kid gives up again. He just lays there as a train carries the garbage and him off to destinations unknown. I have to imagine he would end up back in Liverchester eventually, but I can’t really tell from the previews for next week’s episode. At the very least, he’ll meet a new face.