PSYCHO-PASS 3 – 05 - Random Curiosity

Posted by Pancakes on November 22, 2019 November 22, 2019 First Impressions / PSYCHO-PASS

「Agamemnon’s Offering」

Well looks like the pieces are slowly but surely coming together for Psycho Pass. We may still be dancing around the edges of this season’s main conflict (not to mention bringing in yet more characters), but between the quiet name drops and links emerging it’s not long before this black box is blown wide open. Or you know set on fire, one of the two.

Considering the religious bent of this episode the surprise for me (in hindsight) is that Psycho Pass has never actually given thought to this aspect before. Religion is the one thing you’d imagine would never be allowed under such a totalitarian system given its faith-based foundation and subservience to a being/force Sibyl can neither see nor judge. After all, if Sibyl is the only allowable judge and jury of the human condition, the existence of competing morals and arguments is anathema to it if the goal is a homogenous societal order. What we have here though is not only the allowance of religions, but their active encouragement. Strange right? Only at first glance. As Arata briefly stated, religion provides (among several other important things) a glue—i.e. moral framework—which can bring together and unite a heterogenous community. By co-opting the religious structure and turning it into the veritable worship and praise of the psychological condition, Sibyl reinforces its position by reaching those who would otherwise be unconvinced by arguments of utopia and “scientifically proven” happiness. Normal Japanese in this brave new world may not need such a system, but for the immigrants arriving en masse it can provide the environment needed to properly adapt (in the Sibyl approved way) to their new home.

Of course theological debates and wholesale deity replacement isn’t all that fun by itself, so Psycho Pass also decided to spice that up with a little murder mystery and some unforeseen links. It’s probably unsurprising for example that Arata’s father knew our Sister, or that one (if not all three) of the religious leaders have some form of link with Bifrost. Maybe not enough to be part of the foxes oh so conveniently discussed here (that would be too easy), but definitely involved with whatever Bifrost’s endgame is. Then there’s the Foreign Affairs Bureau popping back up for a little more curious inter-agency competition just when key players are starting to disappear and bombs are going off. Did I also mention the death flags fluttering high above Kei’s wife? Because surgically implanted bombs and unaccompanied wife under the knife sure don’t breed too many happy thoughts. And that’s even before getting to Arata’s own personal demons which are clearly waiting for their time to shine.

It might be unclear just where and when Psycho Pass this season is going to blow it all up, but it’s time to start placing those bets boys and girls. This ride is ready to start flying down off the summit.

Random Tidbits

Some interesting Latin phrases popped up this week. The pocket watch was engraved with aut viam inveniam aut faciam, roughly translated as “I will find a way or make one”, while our first bomber yelled audi nos, or “listen to us.” Pretty easy to guess what those refer to in this episode’s context.