Dr. Stone Episode 24 – Conversations With Dead People

This is the second time I reference my favourite Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode on this blog and it probably won’t be the last. It made a pretty big impact on me and it’s a wonderful title. One that I would not assign to anything unless I judged it worthy.

I sound so full of myself. Like I have a place to judge anything.

Fact is I hesitated a long time for what this final season on of Dr. Stone post should be called. It was between this and “The Kingdom of Science”. In the end, conversation won out through sheer nostalgia and maybe just a touch of melancholy.

What I thought Would Happen

To be honest, I was in a sort of denial about this being the last episode so I tried not to think too hard about it. In broad strokes, I thought they would bait us into the next arc.

By this, I mean I really thought we would see the first stirrings of the kingdom of might. Maybe even watch Tsukasa walk right up to that bridge as snow slowly melts all around him.

I figured it would be a tense action filled episode that would leave fans clamouring for another season. Potentially slightly frustrated at the cliffhanger as well.

What Did Happen

You figure by now I would have learned to stop underestimating this show. Dr. Stone can be naive and oversimplify certain themes but it’s generally very well written. As far as pacing, tension and consistent development goes. And it has had moments of greatness.

Which is why I should have known it would hearken back to that greatness in order to leave things on a bang.

The cellphone isn’t quite completed until they built a second one (I knew it!) but in the meantime they can still use it as an old fashion telephone. This reminds Ruri on one of the 100 tales which ends up leading Senku to a final gift from Byakuya. A simple glass record with a message for his beloved son and a drop of hope for everyone else.

As the villagers got to hear Lillian’s beautiful singing voice to magic and possibility of the future finally became tangible to them and a dream worth fighting for.

In the final moments, we were reminded that Taiju, Yuzu and Senku haven’t seen each other in about a year and it’s high time the old friends met again.

What About the Characters

It’s a great loss to me that I will probably never get to know Byakuya better. He’s a great character and Senku and his father-son relationship seems so healthy and beautiful. Yet there’s a lot of unusual details about it as well. But somehow, that’s secondary. The important part is that even 3 700 years apart, these two just understand each other. How awesome is that.

Very – it’s very awesome. It may not count as direct development. We didn’t in fact learn anything new about either character nor did they grow or change in any way. Both are pretty static characters and I believe that works best in the context of Dr. Stone. It allows to truly explore this fantastic plot. But what it did show us is that Senku has it within him to become a leader. Something that hasn’t been that obvious so far.

He’s been lucky in meeting Chrome and Kohaku who were both sympathetic and won everyone else over through what is the equivalent of magic for them but without Chrome, Kohaku and even Gen, it’s difficult to say if Senku could ever have convinced anyone to follow his lead.

On the other hand Byakuya oozes easy charisma and is very talented at motivating and bringing others together. Something I think Senku could grow into as well. Despite his harsh words, it’s obvious that Senku had a lot of admiration for his father and I do think he would want to emulate him. I’m gonna cry again…

Also I was really happy to hear Taiju and Yuzu. Hadn’t realized I missed them.

What I Liked

Season 1 of Dr Stone was good and it ended on a great episode.

Seeing the space station crew again warmed my heart. Looking at them happily going about creating a record, all full of good cheer and hope was simultaneously delightful and heartbreaking. I wrote delicately wistful in my notes. I may have been in a bit of a mood…

In any case the flashback sequence was beautiful and very fitting for a final episode. The connection to Senku’s dad was both the emotional core of the season and the narrative through-line that help everything together and really elevated the story. I’m really happy they recalled it for the final episode.

Also, for some reason, the notion of a glass record is just super cool to me. I wish I had one. I don’t have a record player but I would buy one if I had a glass record.

OK, everything Senku said about the phone makes more sense now! I knew it couldn’t be that easy and for some reason I’m really happy it isn’t! The science is often simplified in the series but has been generally accurate so far.

Ginro is often the weaker link as he embodies some of the tropes I find more annoying in Shonen characters (loud, overbearing, excitable…) yet his one intervention in this episode was so…smooth. Nicely done.

And so much more. I liked this episode…

What I Liked Less

The fact that the season is over?

Really, I’m going over my notes and I’m coming up empty handed. I even enjoyed watching this weekly instead of binging it which is super unusual for me.

Closing Thoughts

There’s no need to be all coy about it. Season 2 is confirmed!!!! Yay!! Hourray!!! You bet your sweet sweet..uhm… sitzfleisch that I will be watching it. As soon as it airs in fact. Crunchyroll, you better have those licensing contracts all signed.

For those of you who watched this season along with me, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I also hope you’ll watch the second one as well. We can discuss it if you like!

Mood: So Glad I watched this Show