Do you like re-watching scenes that you’ve already seen before? Well, have I got an episode for you!
— We get a real long recap to open this week’s episode. Almost unnecessarily long. It actually does have some new bits, but nothing that significantly changes the tone and tenor of what we learned last week. After Sophie and Martin’s parents died, none of their relatives were willing to take the two kids in. Naturally.
— What’s Queen doing in that container of water? Apparently, that’s how you enter true El Dorado. We also learn that King had ordered Bishop to dispose of Sword’s body, but the latter simply assumed that falling into the vat would do the trick. Man, these villains can never get their shit together.
— We’re now getting quick recaps of the entire series. They’re really drawing this out, which only cements it even further in my mind that Garo – Vanishing Line should’ve just been a one-cour anime series from the start.
— We just keep seeing the same dead bodies over and over. I get it, man. They’re dead, and Martin is partly responsible. Sophie’s speech would be a lot more powerful if it isn’t a carryover from last week’s ending.
— Finally, eight minutes into the episode, Martin breaks free from Sophie’s grasp and runs away.
— We cut to Sword, Gina and Luke. Our hero is resolved to save Sophie at all cost. It’ll redeem him for being unable to save his sister even though her death wasn’t his fault. Unfortunately, Queen just has to get in their way. We all know Knight will rear his ugly mug at some point. Even though Queen should outrank him, she doesn’t even get to be the penultimate boss.
— We also have to be reminded that all of this is happening way out of west, because the government has supposedly just given up on this lawless patch of land. Why? Shrug. I guess they don’t have enough soldiers to subjugate a handful of small towns and a Dubai-wannabe city-state?
— What a gratuitous angle in the middle of an action scene…
— The good guys amusingly rocket-jump their car over the gap. Sword runs on ahead to save Sophie while Luke and Gina stay behind to deal with Queen and help evacuate the city’s remaining human population. I like the trick. It’s the first thing I’ve liked so far in this episode. Let’s hope it’s not the only thing.
— But we’re right back to flashbacks as we learn how Martin got recruited in the first place. Queen literally shows up at his apartment with an evil ring. Wouldn’t you find it odd if your prospective employer wants you to wear some gaudy piece of jewelry?
— Wouldn’t you also find it odd that the chief of security looks like some video game warrior?
— Wouldn’t you find it weird that they keep referring to you as the El Dorado King?
— It also seems like the evil organization could’ve avoided all this trouble if they had just bothered to kidnap Sophie right from the start. Why did they recruit Martin and leave her behind? Considering how critical he was to their overall plans, they should’ve locked her up to use as a bargaining chip.
— Also, the guy plays a huge role in creating true El Dorado, and yet, he didn’t notice any irregularities in the project’s code? Man, programmers are so naive, am I right? They have no idea that technology can be so evil!
— Hm, in one of the flashback scenes, Queen seems annoyed that Martin only cares about helping his sister and others. The true King is lurking in the ring, but Martin is too pure to be corrupted like it. That’s hilarious. Sophie’s wrong about Martin; he hasn’t become a Horror at all! He’s pure-hearted like she is. Sadly, he’s also a blind code monkey who’s been tricked by evildoers.
— Back in the present, Martin at least seems to finally realize that he’s nothing more than a pawn in some sick game. Unfortunately, this is accompanied by more scenes from last week’s episode. Hoo boy, MAPPA is a big fan of recycling.
— Outside, we see Queen wreaking havoc in the city, but eh… the action here is perfunctory at best.
— It’s the same ol’, same ol’. Our villain is super cocky, and it looks like the good guys can do nothing to stop them. But at the very last second, Luke and Gina use a little trickery to get the best of Queen. Is this the last that we’ll see of her? Eh, I doubt it.
— And ironically, Sophie’s rejection of her brother is what triggers his true despair. Finally realizing now that his hands are stained with blood, Martin’s heart weakens enough for the evil ring to finally poison and fracture his mind.
— She finally finds her brother, but it’s too late (again). The ring overtakes his pure-hearted soul, and we finally get to meet the true King…
…are you for fucking real right now, Garo?