Welcome all, to another episode of Undead Murder Farce and the conclusion of the current arc! A lot happened this week, we have a lot to talk about, so lets dive right into it!
Immediate I need to say that this episode was just great. What a fantastic way to end an arc, especially one that initially started so weakly. We got to watch our heroes come together as a group, new members included, marking Sherlock as probably a repeating character. The bad guys got a bunch of characterization, from backstory to just how they interact with our leads and their shared history. On top of that the snappy editing is back, from great effects work such as Jack’s “aura” to imaginative cuts like Tsugaru snapping his suspenders into the camera. Simply put, this episode is everything I’ve wanted from Undead Murder Farce since episode 1. This is the strongest it’s been since its debut, and I am here for it. Hopefully it can do it at least one more time before the end.
Getting into specifics, first up lets talk Moriarty. I really like some of the nods Undead Murder Farce dropped here to the Sherlock canon. The fact this comes after Reichenbach Falls, meaning it fits in cleanly with existing Sherlock canon allowing the story to use his history with Sherlock without breaking anything, is great. It’s entirely possible that Moriarty is dead, that he became some kind of undead monster after the original conclusion of his story. Or he could have survived, and just moved on to his next criminal enterprise. We don’t know! But whatever it is fits just fine into his mythos, and I think that’s cool. Through him we also got some tidbits about Aya’s history as well, such as her creation almost 1000 years ago and how she isn’t exactly pleased with what she’s become. Looking forward to the show expanding on that as we go.
In a similar vein we also learn about Moriarty’s plan, why exactly he’s doing all of this. Simply put, he wants to create a chimera. An amalgamation of various monsters, the perfect being. Piece by piece he’s merging them together, taking Aya’s immortal body that can survive anything, the healing effects of the vampires and the incredible power of the Oni. Bit by bit he’s combining them into one being, Jack, a murderer born a man with the heart of a monster. Naturally I don’t expect he’s doing it out of the goodness of his heart, he probably has some ulterior motive. I suspect he wants to replace Jack’s brain with his own or something, taking the body for himself once it’s complete. Why else have Frankenstein’s monster and Aleister Crowley with him after all? Of course Jack won’t be to happy about that, but that’s a future problem.
Speaking of Jack, his relationship with Tsugaru was interesting. Neither seemed particularly upset or angry with each other. In fact they seemed more like siblings roughhousing, either unable or unwilling to really kill the other. Maybe this is because they were both test subjects under Moriarty and they feel some kind of kinship there? I don’t know but I like it, especially Tsugaru’s reaction to seeing Jack/Moriarty again. He isn’t angry or upset, when pressed on his motives he reveals he isn’t in it for a cure or revenge. If anything he just enjoys spending what time he has left with Aya, traveling and “performing”/messing around with her. It almost feels like he’s trying to make the best of whatever life he has left, and I think that’s pretty interesting of him. Hopefully Undead Murder Farce expands on it a bit before the seasons end.
Finally I want to talk about Carmilla and Shizuku for a moment, because both were more interesting than I expected. Initially I thought Undead Murder Farce would just make both a sort of sex object, what with their designs. But instead Carmilla’s power set and attitude, as well as the tidbits of Shizuku’s lore, were implemented rather well. In her story Carmilla is more of a temptress, luring people in before she kills them, rather than an outright monster like Dracula. She’s really not a combatant at all, mostly getting by with her increased vampire strength and regeneration. Meanwhile with Shizuku we get hints as to her past, a possible lover or perhaps abuser. I’m honestly really curious what sort of story Undead Murder Farce will pull from for her, as basically every other named character comes from one. Hopefully we will learn it before the end!
So yeah, despite the knowledge that Undead Murder Farce won’t end conclusively this season, despite the weak start, despite how every character comes from a novel of some kind, I’m more invested in the show now than I ever was before. The interconnected storylines, the solid implementation of Moriarty and his history with Sherlock, even Tsugaru’s witty recovery of the Diamond at the end harkening back to his days on the street. Everything about this episode was just fun. The only real gripe I have is that, once again, some scenes were to dark to really see what was happening. But in the grand scheme of the episode that complaint is almost irrelevant. It barely come up, and when it did it wasn’t for anything important. So yeah… Good job Undead Murder Farce. Now go do it again, because you have me excited for once.
