「絶望の罪人」 (Zetsubo no Tsumibito)
“Sinner’s Despair”

And so, thanks to an untimely intervention on Link’s part, the Earl ends up taking the remnants of the Third Exorcists to cap off a definitive victory on the part of the latter. Walker is imprisoned despite attempts to do the right thing, and the Black Order demonstrates once again how skewered their priorities really are. When push comes to shove, the truth only matters if it fits or results in the narrative they want, and the Cardinal’s actions at the episode’s conclusion merely emphasize how the place Allen called home may now be anything but. Granted, they don’t really tell us as to what’s actually being done to him, but with the previews hinting at an inability to use Innocence and the immediate reactions after the fact, let’s just say it can’t be good.

Curiously enough, it’s exactly this chain of events that could make the Earl (and Road) his best chance of survival, which would be the ultimate of ironic twists. The question is how readily the Noah would even participate in a rescue if their current lives ended up at risk as a result, and arguably the biggest surprises of the episode come from the revelation that the Earl told the Noah to sacrifice themselves to protect the Fourteenth and the fact that some of the Noah’s individual members are now acting behind his back in order to try and understand what’s going on. Of course, it’s extremely unlikely they’d betray the Earl when it’s all said and done given their ties, but the fact there’s even some dissension in the first place is surprising, and it goes to show just how illogical the Earl becomes when it comes to matters relating to the Fourteenth.

With that in mind, the captured Bookman’s memories suddenly become the most important piece of the short-term puzzle, and with a sudden offhand mention of “the Heart,” things are certainly advancing quicker than one would ever have expected. The mention of a lost Bookman successor merely adds to the intrigue, and it’s times like this where you realize how Bookman’s neutral stance as an observer also means that he likely knows much more than everyone else about what’s going on and how things ended up the way they did. Subsequently, one can argue that he did nothing despite the fact that this additional knowledge could’ve influenced prior events, and it’s interesting how looking at him with a different lens changes him into someone who’s potentially just as bad as those behind the Black Order in some respects.

Either way, the last few episodes are at hand, and it looks like the series will go off with a bang suitable for its current run. Here’s looking forward to how things go from here.

 

Preview

6 Comments

  1. This is one of those stories where you just can’t tell who’s the right side of the conflict, when one side is down right maniacal due to their exaggerated and frankly selfish sense of self-righteousness, whereas the other one was driven by their desperation into becoming unapologetically devious. And the problem is, you can’t easily bring yourself to just trust the “good guys” when they use such underhanded methods that caused agony to many of your brethren (Lenalee before, Kanda now, and especially Alma and his third exorcist recipients). I can’t imagine how Allen must feel being a part of both of these ugly sides, especially because it was completely out of his hands how he became like that. I sometimes can’t decide whether he or Subaru from RE:Zero is the most suffering main anime character of this season. And now he’s gotta deal with WHATEVER THE HELL THIS IS?!!
    https://randomc.net/image/D.Gray-man/D.Gray-man%20HALLOW%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
    Too much suffering, too much pitying, not much payback. I wonder if there is even more darkness for D.Gray-Man than this.

    This new freaky assailant said something about the Heart being worried about Allen. That means he must be associated with Innocence somehow. That wouldn’t surprise me given how vicious Innocence was shown to be in the latest episodes.

    1. This entire arc is so silly because it tries to sell you on the idea that there is some moral gray in the conflict of DGM, but no matter how you slice it, the Order is ultimately for humanity’s survival. The Noahs, on the other hand, are a sadistic bunch of loons who want to usher in the apocalypse.

      That doesn’t make the Second or Third Exorcist program a-okay, but when the fate of the human race is at stake because you’re under attack, it’s no surprise to see them pulling out all of the stops.

      As for darkness, well, we are dealing with some Biblical stuff here. There’s always room for more suffering.

      Gelgoogle
      1. This entire arc is so silly because it tries to sell you on the idea that there is some moral gray in the conflict of DGM, but no matter how you slice it, the Order is ultimately for humanity’s survival.

        It doesn’t. Even Kanda said it himself that the people of the Order just wants to protect the ones they love and as Renny Epstein said, if it hadn’t been because of the Earl, they’d have never done that

        NamelessVoid
      2. As I’ve been discussing this matter in the AnimeSuki forums, in the Alma Karma arc the Noah forced the issue with Allen leaving the Order by exposing the scandals with the Second Exorcists plan, but magnifying that issue as if the Order was and is the sum of all evils in the world.

        Granted the Order deviated too drastically from whatever morality or principles they had at the beginning of their foundation, but who is to say that they overstepped their moral boundaries just to win the war at all costs?

        Maybe, because the Earl from era to era has been steadily pushing the shit button into apocalyptic levels the Order had no choices left but to do what they did the Second and Third Exorcists plans.

        Yes, even child Yuu realized at the time he spent with Marie that the Order were trying or accomplishing to protect their loved ones, although he cannot forgive them for what they did to him and Alma. Nevertheless, I do not feel from Yuu that he considers the Order all of the world’s evils.

        Guido
      3. >] “This entire arc is so silly because it tries to sell you on the idea that there is some moral gray in the conflict of DGM, but no matter how you slice it, the Order is ultimately for humanity’s survival. The Noahs, on the other hand, are a sadistic bunch of loons who want to usher in the apocalypse.

        With all respect, you would seem to be trying to simplify DGM‘s conflict for its own sake. You say that the Noah are trying to usher in the “apocalypse”, but their overarching mission and vengeance is pointedly towards God and the Innocence, not against humanity itself. In fact, the Millennium Earl himself said in the the Alma Karma Arc that he isn’t allowed to stop until he’s done so, inferring that there are greater forces at work here.

        As for the Black Order, I’ll only say that just because one’s apparently fighting for humanity’s survival doesn’t necessarily mean that one’s fighting for humanity’s interest. What, exactly, do the “three days of darkness” that Wisley spoke of mean and how does that bode for humanity? We don’t know yet.

        Being all that in mind, my point is is that there are still too many unanswered questions to be presuming who’s in the right and who isn’t.

        Ryan Ashfyre

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