The very first thing that struck me with this episode was the background music(which is ironic, really..) Pino, Real and Vincent are stuck in the middle of nowhere because the wind suddenly gave up and the BGM just gave this incredible feeling of loneliness and isolation. I was right there with them, with the strange feeling of claustrophobia despite being surrouned by a whole lot of nothingness.

The whole episode is seen from Real’s perspective as she writes in her diary which is quite interesting as we get to see her inner thoughts. It helps wash away her stamp as being the ice queen somewhat although she really is a calculating person. Apart from doing the occassional scouting of their surroundings or taking stock of their supplies she performs experiments with Pino and Vincent to see how they react to various things, all while taking notes in her diary. It’s kind of scary really even though some of the scenes are hilarious, like when Real pushes Vincent from behind to see if he’s right or left handed.

In her boredom (I guess) Real tries to cook some food but fails miserable, spilling the food on the floor and making a mess. It was quite endearing seeing her visibly frustrated for once and again made her look more humane than before. Other character defying quirks she showed this episode was obsessing over various things about Vincent, like when she spotted the hole in his socks or was horrified to notice a strand of beard that he had missed when shaving. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Real so afraid before, I mean the panic was literally in her eyes!

Seeing Real’s shifts in mood was the underlying theme of the episode I think. At first she was being her usual functionalistic self taking in her surroundings and making clinical observations. Gradually she slipped into being bored soon followed by irritation at everything no matter how small. Then came the apathy and quite frankly I think she was going a bit bonkers here. I mean the scene were she was staring at Vincent mumbling to herself was just creepy. I know I wouldn’t have reacted like Vincent did, I would be watching out for a sudden knife in the back.

Then finally Real comes to terms with their sitation and her companions and as she stares to the sky she just smiles to herself. At the same time the background music starts (and only now do I realize there has been no BGM whatsoever during the whole episode, except for that tiny part in the beginning) and this really strong feeling of “we made it through, everything will be alright” just washed over me. Beautiful, just beautiful.

This was easily one of the best episodes of Ergo Proxy so far. Everything from the atmosphere to the interactions between the characters clicked right into place and let’s not forget Pino. How can she be more and more amazing with every single episode? I don’t get it. Her giggles this episode was enchanting though. I’m so happy that Ergo Proxy is back after the long wait!

Posted by Matte on Sunday, August 20th, 2006 at 3:12 pm.