Last episode felt explosive. Finally, Elle destroys some of the people who were behind the doll hunt. The Grants are dead and the LAPD lost their chief. Elle also had an encounter with a blade runner named Marlowe who almost killed her. Somehow, she escaped. Episode 7 has to be about the fall out of that scenario. One large thing like this doesn’t happen without something huge about to happen. Or at least one would think. This is a transition episode.
A Look At The Story
This episode really was split in between three important scenes and each of them has some relevancy to the plot itself. The first one involved Joseph and Officer Davis while an injured Elle was hiding in a closet. Finally, we actually get some answers about who Joseph was even though that was rather obvious to us from his encounter with Marlowe. Nothing new there, but Elle did learn what Blade Runners are and Davis showed that her instincts are still pretty incredible and on point. It felt like there would be larger fall out, but this is what we get for now.
The next scene was a meeting from Niander Wallace Jr. and Niander Wallace Sr. at the Wallace corporation. That was a lot of Wallace-ing. Anyway, basic stuff there. Sr wanting to close down the Replication program while Jr obviously having his rebellious phase with his replication work. More fall out of Elle taking out people from the doll hunt. People are trying to sell assets and not put any of that connection on them. Jr, of course, sees something else going on though we don’t know yet. Very slow scene. Lots of natural pauses, but they felt a little too much to drag out more material.
The final scene itself is Elle immediately finding Dr. M, getting captured, having her memories looked at, and then Elle’s discovery of what the Wallace Corporation is actually doing. That was a lot faster then I thought. How is Elle able to just walk around Los Angeles like nothing happened? You would think that security would be on her case more. But the concept behind Elle’s memories were interesting. Especially that incline of what is real and what isn’t. I also like Elle at least leaving that particular nameless doctor alive. For now.
What concerns me about Blade Runner: Black is its sudden jump in pacing. I mean, Elle already killed the people she wanted revenge on for being racist and bigoted assholes. She also knows that the Wallace Corporation is behind making replicants that are subservient even though they are moving stocks to take away the blame. Is this show going to take a while to get there when it feels like Elle can show up and start destroying? What about Marlowe and Joseph? I just don’t think the episode landed with me as much as it did previously.
Some Visual Talk
The visuals of this show are still pretty decent over all. I mean, I think its a lot better then people think it is. So many elements of the anime almost like live action when characters are barely moving. They just haven’t mastered the cg of larger character movements even if the action itself is good and generally well concentrated and directed. It is not exactly in that uncanny valley because it doesn’t blind me, but there are some frustrating from it not working as well as it could. Maybe its getting closer.
Overall Thoughts
I find myself soaking into the atmosphere of Black Lotus in the previous episodes that I didn’t mind the show taking its time in doing what it wanted. It felt like Black Lotus was doing everything intentionally to create something interesting or get the audience absorbed into it just like Blade Runner usually does, but this was the first episode where I felt a lot more padding then I would like despite everything that happens. Maybe in terms of length, this could be a film. Like a two hour one.
This episode in particular felt strange because it felt too slow yet too fast at the same time and I don’t know how a series does that. I do think that important scenes had the gravity they needed to be successful. That’s true. But this is really the first time that I wasn’t sucked into the world of the anime as much as I could be. Hmm. Still a decent episode though, jut the weakest one perhaps.
Mechanical Anime Reviews 