We have another solid slow-burning episode this week, which is… Goddamnit ACCA, you just can’t do that at this late in the game, especially when the last two episodes had raised the stakes extremely well. This is the stage where the climax starts to kick in, but instead we still stuck in the building-up stage of Jean continuing to audit other districts and the coming coup is… well, still coming. It feels like you’re having a second course dish and then revert back to have an entree again. No, I’m not settled for only this. The main development of this episode is of course the (near) assassination of Lotta, which actually pull lots of supporting characters into the motion now, and all of them shine in their own ways. First, Prince Schwan proves everyone (including us) that he’s far more ruthless and calculated than us credit him for. He actually manipulated the first princess to send assassins to kill the siblings without touching his hands in any of this. Quite impressive I must say. But Magie, in even more-awesome move, decides to seek help from his sandwich bread buddy (further demonstrate that friends who share the same enthusiasm will go a long way, in this case, bread and blonde girl).
Rail, takes this rare chance to be with Lotta and acts like her bodyguard, which failed miserably. But never mind. Not only he’s able to share many heart-throbbing moments with Lotta (those moments to die for), but also now they share a secret together. Lotta, in the meantime, being wide eyes from the entirety of the chase and still wondering what the hell is going on (what big eyes she got), but when she hears the secret, she takes the news surprisingly well just like her brother (must run in their blood, huh?). I am completely taken aback by how incompetent bunch the assassins are, not only they spilled cheap “exposition”, which they have no right to know to begin with; they made the chase as obvious to the public eyes as ever; and moreover couldn’t do their goddamn job right. But this strange turn of events of Chief Owl suddenly appear to save Lotta a day further reaffirm my suspicion of him being Abend (like hell he just happened to run into that car). Put aside the practical fact that his age suited Abend’s actual age the most, his position as chief of ACCA allow him to be close enough to watch over Jean and Lotta, and his conditions that make him just stay in one place is so convenient for both him to stay within the shadow, and for Jean to go by himself to the districts for auditing. Now, he’s gotten more active roles into this story so it’s interesting to see if he’s truly the one pulling Nino from behind the scene.
And talking about pulling behind the scene, we got a twist that none of us see coming, which change the tides of the situation considerably. Yep, I’m talking about Grossular is being manipulated Lilium, which my guess for now it has to do with the train wreck that killed Jean’s parents. Before that though, Grossular put his cards on the table in his 5 ACCA chiefs meeting- he created the rumors, put Jean into the middle of it to see the reactions of each district towards the creating the coup and now deciding that it’s time for the freaking coup. Now we have an idea of the significance of the cigarettes Jean received from each district, it’s the unofficial “vote” to support Jean as the coup leader. But how much of what he said is true? The direction Lilium and Grossular want the others to head in is the battle between ACCA and the coming royal authority (after all the Prince make himself crystal clear to destroy ACCA as soon as he’s in charge). Those conflicts really put Jean into an interesting position now. He knows exactly the situation he’s currently in; but which ship will he be on and what decision will he make remain a fascinating question. Will he be a leader of the expected coup and take the reign? Will he put behind all the nonsense to do his own thing? Where will Mauve fit in in this big picture? One thing we know for sure though, no matter which road he make, it will be a game-changer.
On last notes, the two districts Jean visited this time are again brimming with personalities and unique details. The port district Peshi was also responsible for the train accidents along with Rokkosu, and it was the place where Jean’s mother “supposedly” drowned here. Looking at the second princess statue that look over the port, I can really feel the sadness from Jean now that he knows the story behind it all. Yakkara, the most healthy district, is Las Vegas-inspired with casino in sight and neon-lighting and night life. I still wish the show have some time to explore more about each district. But to rub salt into the wound, the show temporarily abandoned many of its better variations in service for the plot. I mean, where the hell are the hot breads and desserts this week? Where the heck is Nino? I know he goes hiding from Jean but that doesn’t mean he needs to go hiding from us too. All the events move up quite steady and the big picture starts to form now, but I am still a bit disappointed, especially after the extravaganza from the last two weeks I won’t settle for this slow burn anymore.