Xebek’s Blog

Asch’s past comes to light and the group returns to the Outer Lands.

Impressions:

I really enjoyed this episode just due to how important it was for the characters. The aftermath of Akzeriuth is continuing in terms of effects on the world and on the characters. This episode did a nice job letting us in on Asch’s past and just how the events have shaped him. Honestly it’s not a pleasant thing for anyone to have gone through. Seems like he escaped from that prison he was being held in or maybe Van let him out. Doing that just to send the message that he can’t go back to being Luke and that part of his life is over. Also paints a pretty vibrant picture as to why Asch dislikes Luke to such a high degree. Going back home to seeing this fake having everyone caring about him while your left in the cold. Not to mention the whole kidnapping experience was a hellish overall. He can share the experience of Luke of being betrayed by someone he trusted. Of course now he would never call Van “Master” even if it meant his life. Not sure what Van was thinking believing Asch would act as he wanted. Of course he didn’t really trust Asch not giving him much information about what his true plans were.

Found it interesting though how people are dealing with the Asch=Old Luke situation. Guy and Natalia are two that knew Luke before the kidnapping and after. It’s something to look at their behaviours and how they split on the issue. Guy had a stronger connection with the new Luke and that’s who he is sticking with. Maybe he got closer to the new Luke because he wasn’t really that close to Luke before the kidnapping. The opposite in this case seems to be true for Natalia. Even when she was with the current Luke she was looking for the old one. Her attempts to try and restart his memory reflect who was more important to her. So not a shock she would care more about Asch who is as close to the Old Luke as you can get. The problem there is a difficult one though. Asch doesn’t see himself as Luke anymore. From his point of view that name and life was stolen from him and all he is are the embers that remain. Not sure if he is thinking that he can’t be closer to Natalia because he isn’t Luke. Though obviously he cares about her and remembers plenty of things with that scene near the end of the episode. It’ll really come down to Asch and what he decides to do.

Episode had some important developments overall though. Get to meet Spinoza who was part of the kidnapping and replicating process. A question brought up is about Van’s “preservation project.” Whatever that thing is if it involves dropping parts of the outer lands it can’t be good for people. Also a major question is what Van is planning with the data of the people of Hod. It would seem that he only needed to make a replica that he could control to destroy the passage rings. But now its clear there is a lot more that the guy is planning than just widespread disaster. Though the affect is still here since a lot more than Akzeriuth is falling. That Sephiroth tree was supporting Southern Rugnica which means a lot more people will be in danger if they hadn’t evacuated. At least the series has made clear who the enemy is for now. Until its revealed why Van is doing that we can’t fully judge it. Still it does mean that Van has to be stopped especially if St.Binah is being targeted next.

At least Jade’s connection with all of this is starting to become clearer. Some hints that he knew about things, but now revealed he was the man who invented fomicry. Of course he didn’t want it used later on. But still a question to be answered as to why he invented it and then didn’t want anyone to use it. Obviously something major went down there, but that probably won’t be revealed for a while yet.

Good to see Luke is finally moving again. A disaster like that is horrifying and should keep him from getting a big head again. I understand Tear’s position that he can’t just act on what others are telling him. But at the same time a person can’t just do what they are thinking. People need input in order to grow and make steps forward. At any rate the guy will have a hard road from here on out. First he’ll still have those deaths weighing down on him. Sure he was being tricked and others took responsibility for how his personality grew to that point. Still it doesn’t change the fact that he played a part in the deaths of thousands. A person is a mixture of their environment and how they react to things. The symbolic cutting of the hair will hopefully help the guy find a direction. For now stopping Van seems to the main target to focus on.

Definitely was a great episode. Really enjoyed seeing things falling into place and yet more mysteries still hanging in the air. There is also still more to discover about the past of the main characters. Can’t wait to see the next episode when it comes out.