“It’s fake news”
Did they just? I mean, in the context it’s used when defending the idea that Ash is alive and the news report declaring him dead was fake it’s not a entirely wrong statement. It’s just the phrasing, I mean, it would be more proper to say “The news report was a fake.”, I just, I’m not fluent in Japanese so I’m not sure if Eiji actually said “It’s fake news” or if it was just the subtitlers having a little bit of fun but I can only just sigh deeply.
Ash walks in alive and well into the middle of this conversation. Sing admits that Eiji told him everything, but Ash tells him not to tell anyone what really happened with Shorter. For the sake of his men, who would be in danger and probably die if they knew the truth. Eiji chews him out for being too harsh on Sing, but honestly, I have to back Ash here. I mean, if the truth became too wide spread before the proper time with the scope of the conspiracy going on, it would mean that they would be silenced for sure.
He’s just trying to protect Sing and his men. Well even as Sing runs off, it’s nice to see Ash and Eiji reunited, as they embrace up there on the roof I feel really happy. God, so many feelings and this is just before the opening credits.
After the credits, Yut and Golzine have a meeting in which Yut proposes a business partnership of sorts. He offers to kill the remaining five people that tossed Golzine to the curb when it came to the Banana Fish project, in return, Golzine would help him kill his brothers and their families. With exception to the brother that he’s already drugged with Banana Fish. Now i’m starting to get a clear picture of where his character arc is heading.
This partnership will help him achieve his revenge on his family but ultimately lead him to his demise at the hands of Ash. He is already an enemy to Ash and Eiji, but by becoming an associate of Golzine’s he’s all but declaring out right war on the boys.
I also wonder if Sing will catch wind of this and how he’ll feel, knowing now that Banana Fish is what ended Shorters life. I can’t imagine he’ll take well with allying with anyone connected with it, even if he is trying to keep his men alive.
Back with Ash and Eiji, I squeal a lot as they get some really cute moments. I’ll admit, these last two episodes have left me massively starved for Ash/Eiji interactions. From the moment in the apartment where Ash asks for Eiji to remain by his side and he says that even if he sent him back to Japan, he would only worry about him and would rather be able to watch him. To them talking about the United States and Ash’s mother as they rode the ferry together past the statue of liberty.
“If you’re bored, go buy yourself some manga.”, Ash, Eiji is older then you. Don’t be a jerk! Of course, Eiji just grabs the money and says that he will and he’ll go buy a hotdog too. These boys are adorable.
In the background of all of this though, something sinister is brewing. Blanca, who I can only assume is an assassin has been called in out of retirement to take care of Ash. Ash can sense his presence watching him, but he can’t catch him. It makes him jump, uneasy, upset and I can’t blame him.
What’s worse is just as he’s about to get information about Banana Fish from one of the senators involved in all of this, he’s shot by Blanca. All I can tell about him for now is that he is a top notch assassin, and that he taught Ash a lot of what he knows.
As with most new villains in this series, I’m not entirely sure what to think of this one yet. I’ll have to wait to see how his character develops before making any real decisions. All I know right now is that he makes me very uneasy.
This was a good episode, a nice balance of cute moments between our leads. Intrigue as they tried to investigate the chemical components of Banana Fish, and fear as we meet someone incredibly deadly. It all manages to work together well and avoids the trap of mood whiplash that we’ve seen in this show before. Because even during the cute scenes, there is always this sort of looming presence of unease that keeps the tone consistent.
I think a lot of that goes to the fact that this episode seems to be very much from Ash’s point of view. Eiji is blissfully unaware of the looming danger, though I think if Ash keeps acting the way he did during this episode. He’ll pick up on it for sure. Eiji’s prime concern is Yut-Lung and what he’s up too, his main sense of unease comes from him and while Yut-Lung is a major threat and not to be taken lightly. I feel like he’s not the most immediate threat either.
Speaking of Yut-Lung, one more brother down. “I will eliminate all the Lee blood.”, in other words, “I’m going to kill you all and then myself.” basically. I think that’s what his brother failed to understand as he was screaming about Yut-Lung being tainted by their fathers blood as well right before he was shot down by Golzine’s men. Yes, I very much see his end game in all of this now. End his revenge, and then end his own life by facing down Ash at the end of all of this.
We’ll see how that goes for him.