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To Your Eternity 2 ep. 17- From Bad to Worse

Irina

We play a lot of war games. It’s a thing people have always done. So sometimes, it makes us think that war is a win/fail sort of affair. You just need to meet the conditions and trigger enough flags and there you go, you win. If time runs out, too bad, so sad.

But that’s not the way it goes, is it? Most wars just sort of wear one side down, using up resources and morale until it crumbles under its own weight. Often, if you take a step back and a really good look, it’s very hard to tell who won, or if anyone won at all. War is just as much about outwaiting the enemy as it is about outgunning them. And that long slog is what really gets to you. It’s getting to Fushi, that’s for sure!

I thought it was clever how they delayed Fushi’s realization that he can bring March back. She’s already back so even if he makes a second body, there’s nothing to fill it with. This does seem to indicate that To Your Eternity is adopting a fairly traditional view of souls or something of the kind. And we have confirmation of that later on in the episode.

That’s o.k. but it’s a little boring, no? Part of the appeal of To Your Eternity, for me at least, is that it kind of bucked convention while seeming fairly classical at first glance. It played with character archetypes and distorted morality. But this, this is just so straightforward. One soul, one body, no mixing, and matching… Why didn’t any of the souls take up residence in discarded bodies that didn’t match their original one? Why didn’t Tonari take Marcch’s extra little body? I have a feeling we’ll never get an answer to that and disappointingly it’s because I have a feeling the author figured no one would ask that particular question.

This is more of a general gripe with the rules that are getting established and not a complaint about this particular episode. They are in the middle of a very difficult and long-winded battle. I’m glad Fushi didn’t start some huge introspection right then and there.

I have to say they are doing a great job in making us feel Fushi’s desperation and exhaustion. It was downright palpable and it made the episode hard to watch at times. Fushi is slowly sacrificing everything in the name of victory and he can feel it. The notions of the greater good wrapped themselves around his judgment and personal beliefs and twisting everything. It’s one thing when a person loses themselves to a cause larger than life, it’s another when they can see it as it happens. There’s something very uncomfortable in watching Fushi willingly go down a road he knows he might not like the destination. And I did like this aspect of the episode.

It’s strange to go into so much detail about how unpleasant something is only to turn around and declare it enjoyable. Enjoyable is not the right word here. More like, enticing. It was an interesting notion and some decent writing. To Your Eternity has been too uneven this season to really make these moments shine like they should, unfortunately, but this particular aspect is something the show does pretty well.

This was the part I liked less. Not that it was bad. Fortunately, it was also handled with a very light touch so I really shouldn’t be complaining. Here’s my issue, I don’t think To Your Eternity should comment on organized religion. At least not in the theological sense. It was one thing when the Church of Bennett was used as a symbol of power and political influence. That’s fine. But now we have an actual in-universe acknowledgment of the concept of heaven.

And not just “a heaven”. Bon talks about the princess having gone UP to heaven and therefore her soul no longer being earthbound and able to return to her body. That is a very Christian-sounding description there. Not only that but it’s both accepted and more importantly understood by everyone in earshot. Souls, heaven, and the fact that it is somehow up and cannot be returned from, all seem to be notions that are basically known and considered true by the characters in To Your Eternity. And that makes things a little messy.

They might very well answer all of my questions eventually. In fact, I’m almost sure that they will. Still, the idea of a generally Christian-like heaven makes me wonder about what the Man in Black is. Are we talking devil? That could be fun. Or do they have a traditional heaven but decided to create a very untraditional deity figure? Less fun but I guess I can take it. Or is this an alien invasion story?

It’s not that any of these are particularly bad. I think I could have fun with any one of these story paths. But for some reason, the fact that the question comes up now and so bluntly annoys me a little. There’s a lack of care put into this revelation and it makes me worry about how it will all be resolved.

So we knew Kohaku was going nuts. I am surprised at just how effective an antagonist he is. I was genuinely unnerved by the character this week. One way r another, Hayase’s blood will always get you! But this also brought up a lot of questions.

The series of events was clear enough but there are some parts up for interpretation. My personal take, and the one the show seems to be pushing, is that the nokker in Kohaku’s arm has slowly been driving him to madness. Of course, you could just as easily think that Kohaku has always been a little mad, independently of the nokker, and is just blaming his declining state on the parasite. All of that is fine. Slightly creepy good guy does a heel turn at the worst possible moment is pretty standard plot construction and I’m happy to accept it without too much explanation.

What threw me off was that last scene. A shockingly good display of body horror I might add! Kohaku trying to cling to Fushi touches him causing the nokker inside him to start absorbing all of Fushi’s forms. Visually this was stunning if gross. But despite the shocking imagery, all I could think about was….Kohaku has touched Fushi tons of times. We’ve seen it. Why is this reaction happening now? Sure, the nokker might be able to control it and that’s why it didn’t happen before but why. What’s the logic of waiting all this time and potentially losing his host along the way and squandering the opportunity. Is it because Fushi is weakened and that gives him a realistic chance to absorb all of his forms before he can fight back? Has the nokker gotten stronger somehow? Is it because Kohaku was restrained up until recently creating a sense of urgency for the nokker that now sees that he might lose access to Fushi at any time and he must act while he still can? Or is it because the drama needed to be escalated and the only way to do that in such a dire situation was to go all out?

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