Tower of God – 13 [Tower of God]

Welcome all to the finale of Tower of God! I would say a lot happened this week, but lets be real, very little actually happened. What do I mean? Well strap in and find out!

Right off the bat, lets talk about recaps, because that was this week effectively was. A large portion of the first half, was just running us through events we had already seen. Now yes, they were from Rachel’s perspective and we did get some new scenes we will talk about later. But on the whole I don’t like it. Because Tower of God has cut a lot of content to fit 78 chapters into a single season, a lot of that content being some of my favorite. So for it to then insert a half-episode long recap with Rachel’s voice over just feels wrong to me. We already know how she felt throughout most of that, she isn’t a particularly complex character just yet. If you were going to add stuff like this, I would prefer more reactions from Khun and co. Alas, we got a recap instead.

Moving on new stuff, Tower of God finally reveals what set this all in motion. Rachel did indeed enter the tower first, and actually watched Bam climb in front of her. And as if to spite her, as if to really drive home how weak she is, Hedon offered Bam the exact same test he offered her. And Bam not only accepted it, despite all the same limitations, but passed it. Bam showed that what he wanted in the Tower was worth more than his life, where Rachel showed her desires were just superficial. I have always liked this scene, even back in the webtoon days, because of the clear line it draws between their characters. How Bam is willing to work and fight for what he wants, while Rachel expects it to be handed to her. And what makes it work is that, in the end… she gets it.

To use a line from the webtoon, cut for the anime, Rachel has successfully made herself the Heroine of the story. In our eyes she is the clear antagonist, she “killed” our leader and supplanted him. But for everyone else in Bam’s group, she is now their driving force. She is the last remnant they have of Bam, she is this crippled girl still trying to climb the Tower, despite losing Bam. She has, in effect, taken Bam’s friends and his position, all through one little action. And it makes perfect sense for her character as well, she didn’t need Hedon to make her do it. She has wanted to be, believed herself to be, special from the very beginning. So just like Hoh, seeing Bam pass her and get everything she wants? Well that can’t stand, can it?

As for what was changed, there both big and small changes. On the big side, we have Ghost or Akryung as the Webtoon calls him. This whole bit of being Rachel’s “reset” is completely anime original. He was only ever supposed to be a body guard, to ensure she got through the first test. Rachel doesn’t get stabbed, then not die because of some eldritch pact. She just heals, and it isn’t fatal. So that was a very weird change on the anime’s part. Meanwhile we have small ones like Rak being the one to propose they climb with Rachel. It’s not a big change, as originally that is Hatsu, and it all ends up the same so it really doesn’t matter. Just interesting for who they chose for that.

Additionally, Tower of God also butchered Bam’s final scene in the cave. This whole bit about “finding his own answers” and all of that just sort of… flies in the face for where we know the series goes. Originally, he is far more surprised and still doesn’t quite understand what happened. I really don’t understand what they were going for here. It’s as if they didn’t want to leave a cliffhanger ending, because they aren’t sure they will be getting a 2nd season. But that cliffhanger ending is what sets up the entire rest of the story. I would say I am disappointed, but as far as an “adaptation” goes Tower of God is a failure. As an anime? I guess its alright? All in all though, none of the changes really effected Tower of God to much, just because of how much it has already deviated.

Finally lets talk about setup for future seasons, because there was a fair bit of it. We had Bam in a cave approached by Hwaryun, Khun clearly at odds with Rachel and an end card of a mysterious figure with long hair. I won’t spoil that last one, but astute readers can probably guess who it is. As for the first two, all the anime-onlys really have is speculation at this point. Its obvious that Hwaryun and Hansung are on the same side and that they conspired to get Bam in this situation. What they want him for, and what they will do, are matters left for a future season. As far as Khun goes though, we all know how much of a paranoid boy he is. He never liked Rachel in the first place, and after all of this? Well suffice to say, there might be some infighting.

So, all in all, cryptic hints as to future seasons and me dancing around spoilers aside, how was Tower of God? Ultimately, it eh. Last week was its clear finale, this week just tying up loose ends. This makes sense, the first season was always a prologue of sorts, setting up the rest of the series. Had they done anything other than a 12 minute long recap, I would be a lot more positive on it. But as is, this week largely felt like a waste of time. Simply put, it’s a lackluster final episode to end on and could have been presented loads better. The series as a whole though? Well, you will have to wait for the final review for that. I should have it up by this weekend, or early next week at the latest. Thanks for reading and I will see you then!