「Pazuzu」

Okay, I admit it. After watching that episode, I had half a thought to just not bother with this post. I mean, what the heck. How exactly are you supposed to be sane enough to write up a discussion after getting such a spectacular episode?

In any case, the limelight shifts over to William Nelson (a.k.a. Wile E. Coyote) this week… and needless to say, this episode exceeded all my expectations. But when you have a guy who’s so skilled that he uses the bombs made by others back against them, loves to destroy buildings despite the fact he’s an architecture major in a family full of em’, and intentionally shaves his head a certain way to balance out his hairstyle… guess it makes sense, heh.

Regardless, despite the fact that the episode was clearly focused on him for the most part, the episode still manages to also shed some light on the other members of the cast and how they got together. Really gotta hand it to the author… he knows how to mix and match things with the best of em. It’s hard enough properly getting through one person’s past and getting out in a way that actually makes us pay attention (and care), but not only does this series do this, it does this with multiple characters at the same time… and even utilizes real life historical events too!

The Gulf War… really brings back memories. I still remember seeing some of the combat footage on TV like it was yesterday… Can’t believe it’s already been so long since then though. Makes me feel old, but alas, that’s another story for another day. Shifting back to the series, we get some nice glances into the original meet up between Lehm, Echo, and Nelson, who make their first acquaintances during the Gulf War in 91′ (Gotta love em’ A-10 Thunderbolts!) in an operation to take down a chemical weapons factory. And well, I’d like to say that this is especially intriguing to me because of two reasons.

  • First, the notion that such a thing existed in Iraq in the first place. I’m not quite sure exactly the statistics regarding chemical weapons during the Gulf War… but I’m pretty sure there wasn’t anything that actually materialized regarding this end, so it makes me wonder if this was something intentionally done as a kind of commentary on that respect. Hmm…
  • And second, I can’t help but think that the whole thing was an intentional test of Nelson’s capabilities by Lehm, as well as an intentional ploy to get him interested in doing something else other than what he was. The whole aspect about not bringing enough explosives… as well as just randomly picking him to go on the mission (as well as knowing all about him before then)… just seems too planned to be just mere coincidence to me.
  • Moving on though, perhaps the greatest thing about this episode was the great mixture of humorous events within everything. It’s something the series has been known for for awhile now… but it really made its mark this week, as I found myself laughing out loud multiple times during it all. Some of my favs below:

  • Jonah putting a dent into Nelson’s whole reminiscence by dumbing it down into merely a story about how he got his haircut…
  • The whole internal monologue where Nelson fears Jonah won’t ever attend his classes again because of how crazy he gets with bombs… while Jonah’s busy thinking the opposite on the side…
  • All the bits about using the bombs made by others back on them… and especially the part where they used the Excalibur group’s President as the human bomb against them instead.
  • The need for HCLI to build an elementary school for better PR.
  • The priceless faces on the Excalibur people as they got fired by Koko.
  • The list goes on. Just hilarious moments overall, despite the brutal nature of some of em. Whole lotta laughs to say the least.

    In the end, there’s just so much to talk about here. There’s the whole reference of Wile E. Coyote to an old cartoon way back when (you’ll notice the cunning and generally silent personality matches Nelson right on the dot)… the potential commentary on PMC’s via Excalibur (you’ll remember some of the controversy with Blackwater years back)… etc. etc. But now’s a good a time to stop than anywhere, lest I continue for hours. Looking forward into next week, looks like we’ll be in for a treat, as HCLI unveils their “Hek-GG” (why does it feel like the GG was inserted intentionally?) system (and presumably its true purpose too). Gonna be an action packed ride from now on to say the least.

    Author’s Note: Happy Early Thanksgivin’ to ya guys who celebrate it. 😀 Also, apologies for releasing this slightly later than the norm, darn exams were takin’ up most of my time this week.

     

    Preview

    33 Comments

    1. I burst out laughing at Jonah’s closing remark — “better not miss the language class”,
      and Wile thinking that he scared Jonah so bad that he’ll never come to his class again!

      This is great story telling with a great dose of action.

      Ah… Another week of waiting…

      mac65
    2. That Wile is… That Wile is… Watch out folks, we got a badass over here~!

      Geez, I have to seriously reconsider my “strongest character poll of Jormungand”. I still say Chiquita is the strongest overall character, but Wile can blow her and Lehm together in a smoke if he sets his mind with his bombs. And I mean I knew that Wile was a badass as I already read this part in manga, but seeing it on anime was quite something else!

      The dude is like a Heath Ledger Joker, in terms of twisted psychotic bouts with his sinister laughs.

      deathtogenericshows
      1. BTW, damn it! They CUT out Chiquita’s ONE LINE (or was it two, I forget as it’s been a while since I read the manga) in the flashback scene!! Admittedly she was more of a cameo during the flashback scene, but now we get TWO measly frame of her in this episode. ugh~~.

        deathtogenericshows
    3. The bit about a chemical weapons factory is plausible given the flashbacks time frame. Iraq used chemical attacks extensively during the Iran – Iraq war and on Kurdish civilians. After the Gulf War the UN destroyed most, if not all, the factories and stockpiles between ’91 and ’98.

      Cracked1
      1. You have to remember to make the distinction between the 1st and 2nd Gulf war. The 2nd was fairly bogus in terms of the ‘intelligence’ but they sure did used to have them, as the Iranians and kurds can testify.

        Scruffy
    4. Ah, the A-10 is the Thunderbolt II not the Thunderbird. The original was the P-47 fighter that was used in WWII for ground attack. Both could take massive punishment.

      The twist with Jonah being afraid to not go to Wile’s language classes was a real laugh.

      Bear
    5. Another superb episode , which reiterates and reminds me why I love Jormungand . Its like the Anime version of Lord of War, only better since Jormungand has eye candy like Koko and Valmet.

      Renegade_Saber
    6. I can’t help but think that the whole thing was an intentional test of Nelson’s capabilities by Lehm, as well as an intentional ploy to get him interested in doing something else other than what he was. The whole aspect about not bringing enough explosives… as well as just randomly picking him to go on the mission (as well as knowing all about him before then)… just seems too planned to be just mere coincidence to me.

      Nah, I don’t think that Lehm was already recruiting men for HCLI in 1991.
      He didn’t pick Wiley at random. They needed a demolition expert, he was the best available.
      And they just couldn’t bring enough explosives between the five of them.

      Son Gohan
    7. flashback showing wiley’s past from meeting with lehm to do some explosion mission during gulf days to make kaboom sink a building.

      also mention that during wiley working with koko so much kaboom yea no wonder on fbi most wanted that spooked johan.

      cue now koko & crew doing truck shipment riding til mercenary try to attack cue headshot, wiley’s bombs hack, & kaboom with johan really not want to skip any of wiley’s classes.

      W.E.C
    8. Amazing episode as usual. You rarely ever hear about paramilitary contractors and their general lawlessness in the news. They’re convenient b/c they’re private and thus not accountable. Sad that you have to resort to cartoons to see this. Stories in real life are usually not happy endings, though.

      anon

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