Part One: Captain

The witness flops over like a manatee in heels, hitting the pavement like a fish hitting an equally hard surface. Her body dissolves in moments, a grim reminder that in this city, even a corpse won’t talk for free. I look to my partner, but he’s already moving, that damn loose cannon out chasing our shadowy perp across the rooftops. “Take care of this,” he shouts, like I’m his goddamn desk jockey, not the commanding officer. And then he’s gone, Batmaning away like this is some fucking game.

Well, it is a game – but not like that kind of game. There’s no second chances in this city, and if you don’t play by the rules, it’s Game Over and a quick trip to the electro-helmet morgue. This is Sword Art Online, and if you didn’t know by now, let me tell you – it’s a serious game for grown-ups only. In this game, losing can kill.

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And I’m back for more Sword Art Online. Which I now know will continue to be episodic for a while longer, and continue to not really build on the character of Kirito as presented, and… well, a whole lot of other stuff I shouldn’t necessarily know. You guys are merciless in your comments – I try to be fair to this show and come at it from an honest perspective, but at this point I think it’s gonna seem great just by comparison with the grim spectre you’re all painting in your reflections.

Anyway. Last episode wasn’t good – it basically discarded all the character development of number three, and instead focused on a new vignette that didn’t really amount to anything. As I said at the end of that post, if you’re going to make your show a series of vignettes riding on plot alone, those plots better be goddamn fantastic – you can’t rely on building tension and character focus if nothing’s building and your characters aren’t consistent or deeply articulated. Apparently I’m now entering a two-parter, which I’ve heard actually elaborates on this world’s society in a fairly interesting one. I’m very ready for that – most of this show’s best moments have been when it hinted at the larger world Sword Art Online has become, so a more full exploration of our not-so-artificial society seems like a solid choice. Let’s get to it!

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Alright, back for more SAO. No big preamble this time – I thought the last episode was pretty solid, and I’d like to see them build on it. I mentioned at the start of that episode that I hoped they offered some context for Kirito’s choices, and I mentioned in the middle of the first episode that I wanted him to have more motivation, and last episode went a long way towards answering those complaints – his feeling responsible for Sachi’s death, and her final wish for him to survive and win, seem like pretty solid motivation. I’m guessing he won’t actually swear off human contact, considering both Sachi’s admonishment to not blame himself and the simple fact that a show where Kirito interacts with no one would be pretty damn boring, but I would like to see the show more effectively and meaningfully portray his alleged anxiety. So far, it’s been limited to him looking nervous for a minute or two before proceeding to be charming and commanding for the rest of any given episode, and if it’s actually supposed to be a character flaw, it has to have, you know, meaningful repercussions.

Alright, I guess that’s my Nice Job and Needs Improvement breakdown for last episode. Let’s Sword Art Online!

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