Hello all and welcome to another episode of Serial Experiments Lain! Apologies for the lateness and brevity on this one, was/am feeling rather sick as this week wrapped up. Oddly enough, the addled state of mind may have helped me understand Lain better. As this week we get a lot of answers, the Knights become more active and the line between Reality and Wired gets even thinner. Lets dive in!
Starting once again with Production, Lain did a lot of interesting things this week. Not that Lain isn’t interesting normally, but it got really experimental with it this week. Specifically, I am talking about the homeless man and his VR headset. Lain tried a lot of different filters to this, experimenting with odd changes to the footage. Whether it be taking real life footage and applying some kind of filter over it or just screwing with reality. It was a lot of fun to look at, and I really enjoyed the homeless man, even if he wasn’t a lead character. Basically, we got to see a lot of the tech/Wired aspect of the show, and I thought that was good. Now though, onto the actual story content of the episode.
This week, Lain showed us a whole lot about the Knights. We got a look into some of its members, how they join and what they do. Maybe even a little bit about what they plan. I found that whole side-bit to be fascinating myself. Following the old man was interesting, but more so was seeing the 3 different Knights members. Showing they can come from all walks of life, all working towards a similar goal. Testing and judging prospective members, and how Lain fits in. That last one is very important, and I will get to Lain in a moment. Really though, this was the first time we have gotten a look into the Knights and their organization/function. There isn’t enough to really come to any conclusions yet, but that it exists at all, and matches modern day Anonymous so much, is fascinating to me.
It was as if the Wired Lain was leading him towards his death the entire time. Really driving a wedge between her and our real Lain. The series actually did a lot with that this episode, having Lain herself finally see the difference. Forcing her to see her own image acting on its own in the Wired. This makes it clear the two are separate entities, or personalities, seemingly fighting for control. I say fighting because Lain’s reaction after learning all of this was of 2 extremes. Freaking out, before Wired Lain took control, and basically asking “what are you gonna do about it?”. To me, this struggle between the two is representative of the larger conflict of merging the Wired and Reality. Once the two Lain’s become one, so to will the two worlds so to speak. With the Men in Black fighting against said merging.
Speaking of the Men in Black, we got more information on them this week as well. Learning they directly oppose the Knights, and are trying to either get Lain on their side, or get her to chill out. Even testing her on her technology by having her finish a computer that is completely different from the ones she normally uses. My favorite bit for the Men in Black though was easily the fact that they lazer eyes could be taken off. I fully expected them to be some kind of weird cyborg or something. Eternally jacked into the Wired. Instead, the technology is just a tool to them, able to be removed at will. They are not enamored or controlled by the technology, unlike the Homeless man who was all but grafting it onto himself. It makes them much more human than we previously saw.
So, all in all, how was this weeks Lain? Well between my sickness and the weirdness, i’d say it was my favorite yet. We got some real progress here. Questions were answered, conflict was raised, and Lain is now aware of her struggle. Even Lain’s virtually fake family was called out this week by the Men in Black. Pointing out that Lain knew nothing about them. Like she didn’t belong with them at all. Whether that means they were constructed for her, or by her, is unknown. But it makes her home situation much… not clearer, but more defined I suppose. I am glad for all of this, as series like Lain often have an issue with scope. Always introducing new things, without ever consolidating the old. It looks Like Lain is planned out though and is ready to start consolidating and that makes me look forward to the ending.
