Psycho-Pass S2 – 07
Now that’s not a look I’d like to see on a therapist’s face
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This was kind of a breather episode after last week’s mid-season climax, with not a whole lot of things of consequence happening. That’s probably not a bad thing considering how much shit went down last episode. And with just 4 episodes remaining in the season, it’s about time to make that final push, setting up all the various plot points before intertwining them and then knocking them down in the big climax. |
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Sorry for the relatively late post – I’ve been up to my eyeballs with real life duties ranging from raking leaves to analyzing tons of patient data in the lab I currently work in. But now that I’ve got at least some of that sorted out, it’s time to fully focus on this week’s offerings in Psycho-Pass. |
lvlln// Well, it’s not quite accurate to say that not a whole lot happened; many many things were happening, but none of them came to a head, at least until that twist to finish the episode. Then again, it wasn’t really much of a twist, I’d say, given that it’s been hinted at heavily from the beginning that Kirito is a cult leader, someone with overwhelming charisma who has recruited many unsuspecting civilians to his cause. I guess the twist comes from the airplane crash that he was a part of, which certainly was unexpected and not at all hinted at before.
This little twist somewhat reminds me of Fight Club. In that movie (and presumably the source book, though I’ve not read it), the character Tyler Durden forms a sort of anarchist movement/terrorist group/cult whose acts culminate in the bombing of several skyscrapers with the goal of resetting all the banking debt recorded by the companies with offices in those skyscrapers. For this goal, Durden recruits countless common people who have been left behind by society and are dissatisfied with their stations in life. This way, he reaches his tentacles to practically every corner of society, allowing him to remain several steps ahead of the law enforcement agencies and politicians who are after him. We can see that Kirito has somewhat similar goals and methods as Tyler. He wants to undermine the Sibyl system, and to do so, he recruits those that system has left behind, offering them salvation through means that had been denied them in regular society. This way he has someone at every level of society in his pocket, up to and including a major politician. Which allows him to easily outmaneuver our protagonists at the Public Saftey Bureau.
Not that all this matters that much; it was just a connection that formed in my head. From the first season, Psycho-Pass has been open about its influences from Western media, whether it be George Orwell or Phillip K. Dick, so I have to imagine this was probably purposeful. Or perhaps it was drawing upon the Joker from Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight, who, like Durden, tried to create anarchy by recruiting marginalized people from society. This aspect of the Joker’s methods wasn’t explored very much in that movie, though.
Overcooled// Psycho-Pass is now at the point where I’ve given up trying to theorize what will happen next since it’s become so unpredictable. When you’ve got things like organ-transplants to evade Sibyl and a potential army of Kamui followers disguised as dead kids, it’s hard to know what will come next. If the solution to a question is as out there as “we replaced a bunch of organs” then I don’t think any amount of common sense or detective work will get me any closer to figuring things out. It’s just not following a very logical train of thought right now. Instead, this season really seems to be going for visceral reactions.
There’s a lot to be said for a show that can make your jaw drop that much within one episode…and do so consistently almost every week. Psycho-Pass has become reliant on using shock-factor to mask any issues with a steady plot it has. Deep down, I really wish there was a closer attention to detail and that some of the reveals weren’t so dumb. The organ thing just sounds like a terrible Invader Zim episode. I still don’t get how replacing organs would effectively alter Sibyl’s ability to measure one’s mental state, since that’s pretty much entirely dependent on mental stability. I sincerely hope they give us a better explanation than that, because there’s just so much wrong with an organ transplant tricking such a complex system into assuming mental stability and thus a clear Hue.
This series is all about people masquerading as other people, and I’m just waiting for Shou (aka secretly Makishima) to suddenly show up and completely turn the story on its head. Just seeing the guy in normals scenes terrifies me because I have no idea what he’ll do since this show isn’t afraid to go to any extreme in order to make things shocking.
So on one hand, Psycho-Pass is successfully keeping me on the edge of my seat and I really enjoy watching each episode. On the other hand, if you stop and think about it then it starts to fall apart. This episode is ridiculous. Ridiculous! There’s just so much going on that I can barely wrap my head around it. There’s no singular theme to follow because there’s too much happening all at once. It’s messy, it’s full of asspulls, and it’s completely different from season 1. So although I’m fully aware of how the plot could dangerously spiral out of control at this point, I’m still enjoying the ride. I think it’s because Psycho-Pass still makes me feel things consistently that I’m still hooked. I still care about Akane, Ginoza and the rest of the old police force and what happens to them. I’m worried about Akane especially. I’m also just happy to have a show make me feel so much suspense and awe over these bold, dramatic choices to take the story in. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s certainly a fun show. I never thought I’d call something as macabre as Psycho-Pass fun, but there you go. Season 2 really is a strange creature.
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Final Thoughts
I wish I had more to say, but, again, this wasn’t the most eventful of episodes. There do seem to be a lot of little stuff bubbling under the surface. I’m curious as to why Hinakawa seems to be getting so much attention all of a sudden, with his depression -> holo engineer back story, calling Akane “onee-chan” (moe~~~~! And also extremely unprofessional), and even getting a moment in the cold open gunning down a suspect. Tougane’s story is still developing at a slow and steady pace, with Mika’s discovery that he had partnered with Inspectors in the past whose hues have all become clouded to the point of being executed. It seems too simple to think that he’s just a sadist who likes corrupting people, so I hope there’s more to be revealed. Mika herself is as frustrating as ever, with her role in the massacre of episode 4 seemingly not having shaken her faith in Sibyl at all. And the Chief is confusing me with her (their) denial of Kirito as a problem. If she (they) are so smart, surely she (they) must have developed some contingency plans for dealing with actors such as him. Well, one of the strengths of this season has been its staying on point from the very beginning, never letting the story stray too far from its core, so I’m sure we’ll see many of these issues resolved in the final 4 episodes
There’s really not much more to say other than “wow.” We were hit with a lot of plot progression this week to set-up Kamui’s next big plan, and how the police will work as a team (or not) to fight against it. It’s clear that relations are kind of breaking down with Mika being stubborn and Tougane being the new bad-guy-in-the-running. Even Shou comes off as a potential threat to me. There’s a lot brewing and some of it is really cool, such as Kamui leading an army of sheep who could be wearing the Holo mask of a dead child at any time. The organ thing still irks me, though. So it’s a mixed bag of both good and bad, with the good mostly outweighing the bad for me. Just get rid of Mika and we’re golden!
Poor Mika never gets in on all the fun
About Tag Team
We live, laugh, enjoy and strictly believe on "more the merrier". When together, we usually come up with very chatty, conversation-based episodics and interesting posts.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Did anyone’s heart sink at how daunting the reveal of Kamui’s reach is? Akane and the rest of the gang have just lost a lot of ground if the enemy has been hiding among them in plain sight. The kicker was that he was also masquerading as Ginoza’s therapist. Now it doesn’t seem out there on how he got into Akane’s room and marked “WC?” on the wall. Also meaning Kamui’s been roaming around even when Makishima was running amok causing mayhem.
I’d say enough happened based on exposition. Given that this has no manga counterpart, I appreciate the show’s unpredictability. Makes for genuine surprises when they come around. The more things roll, the more I feel a cliffhanger finale is inevitability. The one development most believed in my mind to occur is Akane finally killing someone. That’s what appears to be heading towards. Between this season and the first, though reluctant, she’s pointed a gun twice and Chief Kasei practically told her killing Kamui was deemed acceptable. The story really wants to test her ideals.
Another mystery is Tougane. Assigned as an Enforcer eighteen years ago when he was 23 years old. That would make him 41 now. Not to mention all the Inspectors he worked with became latent criminals, got executed, the incident buried from the MWPSB and he’s linked to a pharmaceutical company… The last part is definitely connection.
How nice of the creators to remind us on Shion and Yayoi being a pair. Doing so the only guaranteed effective way they know how. 😀
8000! That’s 8000 comments to the master! Another thousand and I can use that iconic DBZ catchphrase! 😉 I seem to be picking up speed again, huh, OC. My last milestone was on your third Tokyo Ghoul post and that wasn’t very long ago.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
That was a really cool twist. I had already guessed his reach was pretty vast, but to know that he had actually been putting his plan into motion all the way back in the first season? That’s just evil right there, I have to give the guy his props.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
If only Kirito was clear on his motives earlier in the series coupled along with his prowess, he’d be receiving Makishima level admiration from the viewers. Don’t get me wrong, he is getting admiration but it should be higher than it actually is right now.
POWUH: 400-499 with 445 comments
My guess on the organ transplant is that sibyl evaluates the organs that are affected with mental health and use that as a way to analyze a person’s psycho pass, probably cross checking them with records they already have of you. If the organs they are checking are of different origins, they cant exactly cross check the data they are getting and make an estimate of your psycho pass, which im guessing why it would be difficult to make that assessment. That’s the best logical explanation i can surmise. It’s like the system keeps cross checking various data; data that presumably does not belong to the person of who they are scanning (For example, sibyl is like, “check kirito kamui’s heartrate in relation to the amount of cortisteroids being activated due to the symphatic system and the hypothalamus, then pull up the default file on this person’s heart so we can make a judgment about his state of being”…sibyl begins to check and then their like “oh crap, this heart doesnt belong kirito kamui; how can we have a baseline to judge his psycho-pass with if this info does not fit) and therefore, when they try to put it all together, an error occurs
POWUH: 900-999 with 915 comments
Is the organ transplant a factor on the clearing of hues? I really thought that was something still to be explained, and the organ transplant was only for Sybil to recognize a person as another.
Oh, well. Now I can finally sit back and enjoy the opening sequence and Ling Tosite Sigure’s awesome voice without guilt.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
What’s there to be guilty about? Their tracks are awesome. Whether it’s the first OP for S1, the OP for Tokyo Ghoul or the OP for Psycho-Pass 2.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
This was a really great episode. I know this season is getting crucified a lot because it’s going a different path from the first season and is not so much into the philosophical as it is the suspense and twists. But I’m really liking it. Kirito Kamui has proved as godly as his namesake and has added expert pharmacist onto his list of the many, many talents that he can do. And he seems to somehow have gotten a huge amount of followers some way or another. I’m really interested in what he’s going to do next and can’t wait to the next episode to see how he messes with the police. It’s kind of sad that I think Akane’s team is the only one the bureau has left. 🙁
As for Togane, he’s pretty evil. Some people translated his chart info that Mika found. Apparently this guy had a CC of 769 by the age of 10. To put this in perspective, Rikako’s from last season, was only 472. The guy drove 5 inspectors to death by dominator in total. This guy is a monster, and Sybil’s been covering for him. The question is why? Or is he actually already a part of Sybil and we’re just seeing an android body?
Actually, I kind of guessed that way back when it was first mentioned in episode 1. The first thing they should have done was check a connection with the airplane crash, he used a holo of a victim from that tragedy for a reason. I was actually incredibly surprised that they didn’t guess the connection sooner.
Totally agree, I’m just waiting for him to get up, slick his hair back, and say, “Well, that was fun.” before starting up a computer virus that destroys all presence and evidence of what he had been doing, picks up his hidden book from out of a drawer and calmly walks out of the building, all the while the holo he’s been using flickers off to show us his true, quite familiar form. That Kirito was really one of his “projects” and served as a distraction from whatever he was really doing. That would just be sooo cool. 😀
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Never underestimate the name “Kirito”. Sword Art Online has taught us that and continues to teach us. Whether it’s willingly or by force.
Are you kidding me? Here I thought Rikako was the highest on record before hearing about Togane and she was as refined and composed as they come. That android theory might be plausible. If you recall the OP’s visuals, as Togane was putting his Dominator in the front of his face, half his body turned black with a red eye.
They were so busy being run ragged by Kirito that particular detail became so miniscule it got overlooked. Inspectors (especially Aoyanagi) dying left and right, one of them going rogue while desperately trying to maintain and stablize stress areas would definitely keep someone occupied. Not to mention, no one, not even Ginoza, Yayoi and Shion who’ve been with her the most were willing to believe Akane’s assumptions until the body count started climbing and Akane finally getting a face to put to her target’s name. If anything, they maybe thought it was a one time gimmick until more similarities popped up.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Is this so much of a shock? 😉 Some therapists can be twisted just for the hell of it. Take Jonathan Crane/Scarecrow for example.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-z2YzmeT3g
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Psycho-Pass Film’s Full Trailer, Story, More of Cast Unveiled
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
You know, as much as I want to see this movie, I’m also kind of pissed off that it kind of undermines the second season of the show. I wish they would have waited a season or even a year after the second series before putting the movie out.
I mean, just reading the cast of the thing tells us spoilers for this season and kind of takes all the tension out of it.
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I just, I wish that this season didn’t feel so undercut by what the movie was doing, like the second season doesn’t even matter. 🙁
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
The problem with that lies in the schedule. Everything was already planned out from beginning. The re-edit of the first season for Summer 2014, the second season for Fall and the movie for January 2015. The first season began airing Fall 2012. That’s already two years of time. I guess the creators felt it necessary to wrap everything up back to back instead of it dragging on and facing a dwindling fan base. “Strike it while the iron is hot”.