D.Gray-man / First Impressions

Summary:
Still wondering why the Akuma suddenly stopped attacking, Allen and Lenalee return to Miranda’s apartment. When they enter, she is freaking out about what happened until the key she wears around her neck accidentally falls off. Lenalee figures out that the key is for winding the nearby clock, so Miranda explains the story behind it. It seems that ever since she was young, she’s been one of those people who can’t do anything right. As an adult, she got fired from her job for being clumsy and useless. One day, she found an old clock outside an antique shop that didn’t work. When the owner gave her the key to try winding it, the clock seemed to magically start up. This is the same clock that Miranda now has in her home.
Having heard all this, Allen fills Miranda in about the Innocence, the Akuma, and the Exorcists. He tries to get Miranda to help them, so she walks them through her normal day. It’s not until the clock strikes midnight that something strange begins to happen: Miranda suddenly goes to bed and immediately falls asleep. Her room and the entire town become covered with clock faces as the clock’s hand starts moving backwards. The clock then sucks in all of the clock faces and nearly drags Allen and Lenalee in too. When it’s all over, it has become morning again, and Miranda wakes up like normal. Inspecting the clock, Allen finds that he and Lenalee can’t actually touch the clock – the only person who can do that is Miranda.
Allen believes that this is the Innocence at work, and Lenalee asks Miranda to remember what happened on October 28th. Miranda recalls that that was the day she was fired for the 100th time and had wished that tomorrow would never come. Lenalee realizes that Miranda could be the one compatible with the Innocence and they eventually decides that the only way to change the repetition in the town is for Miranda to get a job so that she’ll become more positive. Allen finds work with Miranda selling performance tickets, a job which seems to go well at first. During a break, Allen reveals to Lenalee that he’s good at performing because he used to be a clown and his foster parents were street performers.
Lenalee in turn reveals that her parents were killed by Akuma and she was taken away when she was found to be compatible with the Dark Boots. Separated from her older brother and not allowed to go anywhere on her own, it felt like a prison to her. Lenalee kept wanting to go home, but finally Komui arrived at her side. He had joined the Black Order as part of the science group just for her, and for that reason, she’s now fighting for her brother. It is at this point that Road suddenly appears and inquires about tickets, so Allen leads her to Miranda. However, Miranda has apparently allowed the sales money to be stolen and is being yelled at by their employer.
Allen and Lenalee take off after the thief, leaving Miranda alone with Road. After this employer also calls her useless, a despaired Miranda wonders aloud why the clock is her Innocence. This is how Road finds out. The two Exorcists meanwhile manage to catch the thief, who is actually an Akuma. It reveals that Road has taken Miranda, and surrounds them with ice. More Akuma are summoned and Allen quickly gets knocked out. When he wakes up, he’s in a different place, unable to move because his arm is nailed to the wall. Nearby are Miranda chained to her clock and a lifeless Lenalee sitting as a doll beside Road. Using his eye, Allen sees that Road isn’t an Akuma, and she reveals that she’s actually a human who is friends with the Akuma. Road calls the Millennium Earl her brother and refers to her group as the chosen ones. They are the true apostles chosen by God: Noah’s family.

Preview

I’m so glad they included Lenalee’s past. That was the most touching part of the whole episode, and really conveys how close Lenalee and Komui are as siblings. As for Miranda, she’s as crazy and neurotic this episode as ever. We see how failure has shaped her and that was what lead to her revealing the Innocence information to Road. Maybe that could have been avoided if one of the Exorcists stayed with her instead of both of them chasing the thief, though on the other hand, Road and her Akuma managed to capture all of them anyway, so it probably wouldn’t have helped that much.
I’m looking forward to next week with Miranda losing that bun hair style, and Lenalee kicking ass in that dress.

27 Comments

  22. I guess they can’t help sensoring (though i missed Road scratch and licking the akuma’s blood *___*) since i believe is an early evening show. Either way the episodes are moving faster (thank God) we will be able to see more of the character’s coughRabicoughbookmancough. 😀

    Emperess
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