Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 72

Red Riot and Fat Gum take on a crazed brawler and his barrier maker. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, Suneater took center stage against three of the Eight Bullets of the Shie Hassaikai. The three members, Setsuno: Quirk Larceny, steals equipped items; Hojo: Quirk Crystalize, can cover his body in harden crystal; Tabe: Quirk Food, he can eat and quickly digest anything. The three on one strategy kept Amajiki on his toes and very nearly overwhelmed him. He was ultimately able to defeat them, knocking all three out. Way to go, Amajiki, you beautifully socially anxious SOB. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

 

Amajiki down!

We return to Amajiki and the Eight Bullets trio. He explains that he made sure that his tentacles had a highly concentrated form of octopus neurotoxin. Not enough to kill these guys, but enough to keep them unconscious. He breaks off his tentacles and uses them as ropes to restrain them. He tries to follow after his fellow heroes, but passes out by the door. As the lights go out, he muses that those three must have worn him out more than he thought.

 

Back with Izuku and the other heroes, they’re running hard to catch up with Overhaul. Izuku and Kirishima are both nervous for Amajiki. Not too surprising, given that Amajiki is constantly putting himself down, I’d also be nervous for him. Fat Gum tells them that he has confidence in him, which is all Kirishima needed to change his mind on the subject. They note that Mimic doesn’t seem to be altering the halls around them. They believe that this means that his awareness is limited to a specific area. That he’s less within the whole building, and more in the given hall or floor, monitoring specific areas and distorting the area he’s in.

 

As they figure this out, Mimic is in the room where Amajiki fought the trio and is hyper pissed that they only stopped one hero. Imagine how much more annoyed he’d be if he realized Amajiki is a high school senior. On the top floor, Bubble Girl and Centipeder have gotten their guys restrained and are trying to figure out the situation. She is rather shocked to find out that, actually, many of the Shie Hassaikai don’t much care for Overhaul. The goons that they have explain that their boss tried to keep their organization separate from the hero/villain system. They’re fairly disgusted with Chisaki going by Overhaul, and by the Eight Bullets and the other new members of their group that are feverishly loyal to him specifically. Despite their dislike, these guys are fairly confident that Overhaul will get away.

 

Okay, after seeing his Unbreakable form take so much
damage last time, seeing it crack now is legit freaky.

Back with the heroes, Mimic tries to stop the most advanced group. He tries to knock Eraser Head into another lower room, but Fat Gum dives into the way and pushes him aside. Fat Gum lands in a dark room, along with Kirishima whom had also dived to save Eraser Head. They run into another member of the Eight Bullets, a massive man called Rappa. Rappa charges them, hits Kirishima’s hardened arms and almost takes him out, and repeatedly smacks around Fat Gum. Fat Gum tries to take a swing at him, but an energy barrier leaps up around him. This is thanks to Rappa’s partner, Tengai. Tengai notes that both Kirishima and Fat Gum are defensive orientated, while he and Rappa are defensive and offensive. Or, more simply, two shields vs. a spear and shield. Kirishima’s arm’s are pretty badly damaged, it looks like the one punch nearly shattered his bones. Fat Gum tries to motivate him by reminding him that he’s unbreakable.

 

Gotta love a good Odd Couple.

Rappa is excited to keep fighting. The dude is a real battle nut, telling Tengai that he shouldn’t interfere. Tengai tells him that he’s being an idiot and Overhaul paired them for a reason. Annoyed, Rappa attacks him, but Tengai puts another barrier around himself. Rappa doesn’t care what the boss wants, he just wants to enjoy a deathmatch. Tengai lowers the barrier and lets Rappa do his thing. Fat Gum isn’t sure how this’ll pan out. He thinks it’ll come down to if Rappa’s arms or his body give out first. Rappa is SUPER excited to hear this “Oh yeah, you get me, Fatso,” I believe were his exact words. He reminds Tengai to stay out of this and charges.

 

Kirishima is still frozen in place while Fat Gum takes Rappa’s beating. He notes that Rappa is hitting Fat Gum harder and faster. Kirishima calls himself a useless bastard. Tengai claims that Kirishima won’t be a problem, thinking that he’s finished. Kirishima tells himself that nothing changes.

 

Dark Haired Kirishima is weird to look at.

Kirishima flashes back to middle school. A black, limp haired Kirishima tries to help a student that is being bullied into using his Quirk to make counterfeit bills. Kirishima tells them to back off and goes at them, but one of the bullies throws a heavy rock in his face, noting that Kirishima’s quirk just makes his skin a little bit harder and isn’t that impressive. The bullies grab their target and start walking off. Kirishima’s friends tell him that he should just give up. He goes to try and stop the bullies again, as he’s trying to live up to the ideals of having an honorable heart like his hero Crimson Riot talks about. But before he gets there, the bullies run into Mina Ashido. Yeah, the pink skinned girl that shoots acid. They’re far enough away that they can’t hear the interaction, but, somehow, she gets the group of them to do some breakdancing and then everyone walks off, seemingly as friends. Huh, you go, Mina. Kirishima’s friends note that Ashido’s got a pretty great power and solid charisma, so she’ll get into UA and be a hero.

 

I need to stress this. Mina Ashido was the BAKUGO of her school, and Kirishima was an IZUKU. That blew my damn mind when I first saw this.

 

Later on, Kirishima vows to train his body and that his spirit will make up for any deficiency in him. His friends are planning to go to more average schools, but Kirishima’s one and only choice is UA. As Kirishima walks home, he wonders if he’d have the confidence to apply to UA if he had a more impressive power. He’s brought out of his musing by seeing some of his classmates trembling in fear by an enormous, hulking dude that’s asking for directions to a hero agency. He does ask, but it’s quite clear that if he doesn’t get an answer soon, he’ll get mad. He grabs the concrete of the building behind them and cracks it when he asks again. Kirishima wants to help but can’t move his legs. Before he can do anything, Ashido rushes in and gives him an address and directions. The hulking creature thanks her and walks off, saying everything is for his master. Ashido drops to her knees and starts sobbing. Her friends grab her and exposit that the address Ashido gave was to the police station.

 

I like the idea that they've been friends this whole
time, but we didn't see much of it because they're
not POV characters. Yes, I ship them.

Kirishima laments the fact he froze. In his room, Kirishima mentions that he heard about the Bakugo incident with the Sludge Villain, but also remembers hearing about Izuku running in to help. He thinks his spirit isn’t making up for anything. He crosses out UA from his application list in disgust. He mentions that when his Quirk firsts manifested, he cut his eye with his fist and then spent the next few weeks whining and crying about his power. He mentions that he admired Crimson Riot because they had similar powers and he was still able to be a hero. He gets mad and throws some of his memorabilia around. He knocks down one of those hologram projector things, and it plays an interview Crimson Riot had. In the interview, the interviewer asks if he’s afraid when he rushes in to save people. Crimson Riot says of course he is and anyone who isn’t is an idiot. He goes on to tell a story about how when he first got started as a hero, someone who died. He couldn’t have done anything, he knows that, but the look of terror on this person’s face stuck with him, and pushes him to do better. He’s called the chivalrous hero, and to him, chivalry is to have a strong spirit, living a life with not regrets. Hearing this make Kirishima to vow to never freeze up again.

 

Over the next few months, he apologizes to the girls for not helping, trains constantly and pushes his body to the limit, ends up taking the UA entrance exam, and passed. On the first day, presumably while Izuku was nervously walking up to the UA campus, Kirishima meets up with Ashido again. She’s rather shocked to see that he’s dyed his hair and spiked it up with gel. She’s impressed with his new look. She realized that the villain encounter messed him with him more than anyone thought. Because of this, she says she’ll keep his makeover a secret for now, but one day she’ll tell everyone.

 

Fat Gum gets the knock out. That's 5 Bullets down,
1 Occupied, and 2 to go.

Back in the present, Fat Gum is still standing, much to Rappa and his own surprise. Fat Gum mentally lets us know that this isn’t as bleak a situation as we thought. Turns out, his body is able to absorb kinetic force as well as physical objects. Doing so takes energy and burns his fat, so he has been taking more damage with each hit, but this has let him forge a spear to break through the Eight Bullet’s defenses. Rappa takes a break, and Fat Gum tries to move, but the damage slowed him down. Rappa goes to make another hit, but Kirishima dives into the way, arms up and blocks. He takes multiple hits from Rappa, much to everyone’s shock. He vows to never give up, if he cracks, he’ll harden again, and he’ll save people even if it costs him his life. Both he and Rappa swing at each other and almost have their fists collide, but Tengai throws up a barrier again. Rappa is clearly pissed but Tengai doesn’t apologize. He claims that nothing can go through his defenses, and Kirishima’s attack was in vain. Fat Gum catches his student, saying it wasn’t in vain. Rappa wants Tengai to drop the barrier, but he’s confident in his barrier. Fat Gum tells them that everyone made a mistake, and that was underestimating Red Riot and his Chivalrous spirit. Fat Gum’s punch destroyed the barrier and knocks both of them back and into the wall. Fat Gum claims victory for the pair.

 

Alright, I love this episode. I’ve said before that Kirishima is my favorite non-main character in this series, so seeing him get more screen time is phenomenal. I gotta say, I was shocked when I realized that when you do the math, Kirishima has been the Kirishima we know for like six months. That blows my mind. It was interesting to see the origin of his inferiority complex. And, when we see that where he started off with, that feeling that his Quirk wasn’t impressive does seem legit. Part of me kind of wishes we could get the My Hero Academia spin off of his journey, just saying. I also liked the background with Mina Ashido. She’s a fun side character and knowing that she’s kind of always been a chipper girl is great. Not going to lie, after this episode, I ship them. Not apologizing. I also really loved Rappa. The fact he’s just this battle crazed brawler that just wants a good fight is fun. When Fat Gum promised him a good fight, it was like seeing a kid be told they’re getting a PS5. Super jazzed. His dialogue with Tengai is also great. I like the “calm guy, angry guy” dynamic they have. It’s pretty clear that Tengai was partnered with Rappa to make sure that he stayed on task. Fat Gum mostly had to stand there and take damage, which isn’t that fun, but hearing how he basically used Rappa to charge him up with enough power to take them down. Just fun writing. Well, this has been a fun string of episodes. But, I guess it’s time to talk about another big show… April is the month of The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. I’m looking forward to it! 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 71

 Amajiki shows how a balanced diet can help you win fights.

Last time on My Hero Academia, after a few days of investigating, the heroes tracked down Eri. Nighteye had a lucky lead of seeing a Hassaikai member, whom I dubbed Mop-Top, buying a doll and not having an obsessive knowledge about the doll, proving he’s not an adult who likes a kid’s show. The heroes gathered and Izuku and Togeta resolved to save the abused girl, Eri. The raid got screwed up almost immediately when an enormous member of the Hassaikai, Katsukame, charged out and ended up in wrestling match with Ryuku, the dragon hero. Izuku, Togeta and the rest of the heroes rushed in to raid this metaphorical castle. Enough recap, let’s get to it, shall we?

 

I kind of get his inferiority complex now, you know?

We open with a quick memory from Amajiki. He remembers when he transferred into a new school in the third grade, and how he was so painfully awkward and quite that he was sure no one would want to be friends with him. That changed almost immediately when a chipper boy named Mirio Togeta came up to him and the two bonded over a love of heroes. Amajiki remembers thinking that Togeta was so warm and bright, even back then. As he comes back into the moment, he sees Togeta leading the charge into the Hassaikai base and wonders if he can shine as brightly as he does.

 

Ryuku and her crew are still battling Katsukame, and the non-important heroes elect to stay out in the courtyard and battle the grunts while Izuku, Togeta and the rest of the named cast rush in to find the girl. Amajiki wonders if maybe the Shie Hassaikai were tipped off to the raid, but the pros doubt it, as they think the Hassaikai would have a more unified, cohesive counterattack if so. Nighteye sees an alcove that he recognizes from viewing Mop-Top’s future. He quickly hits a series of hidden buttons to open the secret passage. A trio of goons leap out to try to stop them, but Centipeder and Bubble Girl disable them with little trouble. They’ll hold them while the others continue onward.

 

They reach the bottom of the stairs, but hit an immediate dead-end. Togeta puts his head through and sees that the hall continues beyond the wall. It’s at this point we also learn that Togeta’s costume is made of a fiber from his own hair, meaning that it passes through objects with him much more easily than his gym clothes. Meaning that we won’t have to risk seeing his butt at a dramatic moment. Upon hearing the scout report from Togeta, Izuku and Kirishima rush forward and smash through the wall.

 

We cut over to Overhaul’s diminutive general manager Joi Irinaka aka Mimic. He takes an injection of a power stimulating drug. You can tell because it uses the same syringe as the blade guy from Kirishima’s episode. He slips out of his tiny costume and plague mask, revealing he’s at least twice as tall outside of his costume as he was within and then phases into the closest wall. The moment he’s inside, the walls, floor and ceiling all began to churn and writhe, knocking the heroes about. Amajiki notes that this might be Irinaka, as his power lets him slip into in animate objects and manipulate them like they’re part of his own body. It doesn’t seem likely to the pros, at first, because Mimic is supposed to only be able to enter objects about the size of a refrigerator, but then they remember the enhancement drugs. Eraser Head can’t turn off his power, though, as Mimic’s main body isn’t it his line of sight.

 

This image is far scarier than the activities he
performs warrants.

We’re shown Overhaul and Kurono, they have Eri with them and are making a break for it. Amajiki starts falling into a depression spiral, “oh, we’ll never reach them, woe are we,” type stuff. He’s broken out of it by Togeta telling him to not give up, and that so long as the path forward remains, he can still reach it. He races ahead. Mimic isn’t concerned with stopping him, though, as what can a single hero do? Famous villainous overconfidence. To ensure that Togeta is alone, Mimic opens up a pit beneath the heroes and drops them in lower. He keeps the cops on his level to deal with.

 

They’re dropped into a room with three members of the Shie Hassaikia’s Eight Bullets. One is a normal looking dude with a simple mouth covering plague mask, another is wearing a scarecrow mask, and the third is a bald fella in a medical mask. Fat Gum is ready to fight, but Amajiki says he’ll battle them, as the pros should save their strength for Overhaul. He remembers that Togeta once told him that he is only so good because Amajiki believes in him, so he’s trusting in Togeta’s confidence in him. One of the goons tries to do “something” but Eraser stops him with his power. Amajiki quickly wraps the three up in his tentacle fingers, slamming them around. He lists off their names and powers. The blonde in the plague mask is Setsuno and his quirk is called Larceny. The guy in the scarecrow mask is called Tabe and his quirk is Food. And the big guy in the medical mask is Hojo, his quirk is Crystalize. He tosses them aside, gather’s their weapons and crushes them in a crab claw. He tells the others he’ll handle things, so they can go. Before leaving, Eraser stops Setsuno from using his power again and gives Tabe a hard knock on the head. He tells Amajiki to handle them fast and catch up. Amajiki tells Izuku to look after Togeta. Fat Gum believes in Amajiki, claiming that his only weakness is his self-confidence, so if he believes in himself, Fat Gum believes too.

 

Octopus tentacles, great for restraining enemies
and I'm told they're tasty.

Amajiki focus on making sure they can’t get up for a while, slamming his tentacles repeatedly into the trio. Setsuno does get up, though, and rushes him with a blade. Hojo covers his body in crystalized armor. Amajiki tries to defend himself with a clam fist, but Setsuno uses his Quirk to pull it out of his hand and into his. Larceny lets him steal anything in his line of sight. He notes that because Amajiki can’t kill them, he’s at a marked disadvantage. He goes on, giving Amajiki a speech about how they’re all trash that Overhaul has lifted up, and even trash has pride.

 

Amajiki remembers a class he had back in the day. At the time, he couldn’t manifest more than a green shoot. Togeta has a similar issue, being unable to pass more than his head through a board. He doesn’t let it get him down, though, as he’ll get it next time or sometime after. Amajiki is envious that his friend is so positive. Togeta repeats the line Amajiki remembered earlier, about how he’s only so good because Amajiki believes in him. He thinks that Amajiki has the better power, but he just needs to get confidence in himself to see it. He tells Amajiki, and us, that he calls Togeta “the sun” but if that’s true, then Amajiki is something more, a light that can consume the sun. A Suneater. Now you know the origin of his name.

 

There are few powers cooler than the "I can mimic
lots of powers" type powers.

Back in the fight, Amajiki takes a punch from Hojo, crushing the crystal fist in his hand. He manifested octopush tentacles in his hand for strength and crab shell for protection, turning his hand into a seafood gauntlet. Hojo manifests thicker crystals and throws him off. Amajiki plans to use his full power, explaining that he’ll be using multiple manifestations at once, picking and choosing the effects he wants. Suneater’s ultimate move, Vast Hybrid: Chimera Kraken. Cool name. In execution, he’s basically manifesting octopus tentacles covered in crab shell for protection. He whips these armored tentacles around, and it looks like that’s the ballgame, but then Tabe wakes up. The man in the scarecrow mask dives at him, opens his jaws wide and takes a massive bite out of Amajiki’s tentacle.

 

Tabe’s Quirk, Food, gives him powerful jaws, massive teeth, and a lightning-fast metabolism makes him the perfect counter to Amajiki. Huh, I guess his digestive system must be 100% efficient, or he’d be crapping his pants. Just saying. Amajiki realizes that Eraser Head must have known about this, and it’s why he specifically targeted Tabe to keep him out of the fight for as long as possible. Now that Tabe is up, it’s three-on-one and they start overwhelming Amajiki. Hojo beats the crap out of him, and Tabe and Setsuno keep him from using his powers effectively. Amajiki manifests more tentacles with hyper concentrated octopus’ neurotoxin in it to hopefully disable Tabe, but Setsuno steals the tentacles. Apparently, he couldn’t take the larger tentacles, but now that he’s manifesting smaller ones, Setsuno can take them.

 

For a group with a pretty kick ass name, one is
tangling outside, and 3 are unconscious. 4 to go.

They get Amajiki pinned up against a wall under Hojo’s massive crystal covered arm. Amajiki points out that their fight is kind of pointless as they’ll be arrested regardless of if they kill him. The Eight Bullet members give him their annotated sob stories, Tabe was “thrown away” by society, Setsuno’s lover left him with massive debts, and Hojo had someone who he trusted try to sell his crystals only to beat the crap out of him when his crystal was determined to be fake. They claim to have no lives, anymore, beyond the life that Overhaul gave them, so they don’t care if they’re arrested. Amajiki decides that if he can’t defeat the group, he’ll break their teamwork. He manifests a chicken foot, grabs a bit of crystal with it and throws it at Setsuno’s face. He has to see things for Larceny to work. Hojo tries to take Amajiki out by slamming a crystal fist into him to take him out. But, Amajiki is able to manifest crystal armor. He swallowed some of the crystals when Hojo wasn’t looking. He supersizes his chicken foot, grabs all three Eight Bullets members and slams them into a wall, knocking them out. He acknowledges that they were more than teammates as the credits roll.

 

This was a solid fight episode. I think that Amajiki’s power is really cool, and seeing how he can use it in combat was interesting. Shows how the Japanese seafood diet is really useful. I liked seeing the history of his relationship with Togeta and see why he seems to idolize his friends. I’m a fan of seeing a two friends relationship that is like the anti-Izuku/Bakugo relationship. One friend idolizes the other, and rather than be a bully, the idol just tries to push his friend to do better. The Eight Bullets as a concept is kinda cool. I read a translation of their name a few years before this season came out, and I think it did have a better name for the group. It called them the Eight Precepts of Death. But I could see that getting to be a bit wordy. Probably why they shortened it to Bullets. They’re a bit basic, I mean it’s a group of insanely loyal to a clearly abusive boss, it’s not ground breaking, but insanely loyal goons make for kick ass fights. Oh, and their backstories are incredibly basic. Debtor, social outcast, and abuse victim, it’s a standard three pack of tragic backgrounds. Despite the genericness of their backgrounds, I liked how Setsuno, Hojo and Tabe’s powers complimented each other, with Setsuno disabling their opponent’s abilities and gear while Hojo beats them and Tabe eating anything too big for Setsuno to steal. They could probably overwhelm a less skilled opponent, but thankfully Amajiki is DAMN good at hero work. Using manifest for Area-of-control effects like when he whipped his tentacles around or more focused like with his octo-crab fist to give him pseudo-superstrength were brilliant. Mimic using his Quirk to break up the cops and the heroes was a fairly good way to trim the pack down, and he’ll do so again next episode to force another hero/student pair into a brawl with an Eight Bullets member. If you noted an inconsistency involving the Hassaikai’s knowledge of the raid, that’ll be explained a bit more later. Suffice to say, the Yakuza group is a bit more complicated than everyone just doing what Overhaul says. But, we’ll get to that next time. Have a good night, everybody. 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 70

 After some investigating and a lucky break, the raid begins!

Last time on My Hero Academia, Nighteye called in heroes to begin discussing his Hassaikai case. After explaining the highlights of the case, seeing the Shie Hassaikai make contact with the League of Villains, the quirk destroying bullet, and Izuku and Togeta meeting the Hassaikai’s leader Kai “Overhaul” Chisaki and his daughter Eri. We then hear the most disturbing part of the situation, that the quirk destroying bullet has blood and other cells in it, and that mixed with Eri covered in bandages makes it clear where THAT came from. Izuku and Togeta vow to save Eri. The heroes are sent out to investigate Shie Hassaikai affiliated buildings to find Eri. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

 

That's certainly disturbing imagery.

We open a few days after the meeting with the heroes. While the investigation is going on, Izuku and his friends are continuing practice. They’ve been told to keep the investigation under wraps, and that is clearly eating at Izuku. The other students note that the work study kids are vastly improved, much to Bakugo’s annoyance.

 

There’s a quick flashback to Aizawa’s conversation with the UA students. He explains that the Big 3 seniors will be given autonomy on par with professional heroes, as Aizawa thinks they have the experience to handle it, but the other UA students will be severely restricted. He actually gives the non-Izuku members the chance to opt out. All three refuse to be left out. Aizawa lets them know that the League of Villains involvement complicates things a little. Because of what they saw at the warehouse, it seems unlikely to them that The League will be involved. IF it turns out to be wrong, he’s going to pull them out immediately.

 

In the present, the stress and anxiety of the situation is clearly eating at Izuku. He wants to talk to someone, but can’t even go to All Might due to the hush-hush nature of the situation. Iida and Todoroki note that Izuku has been depressed and edgy lately. Iida wants to be supportive and tells Izuku to talk to him if he needs to. The same olive branch Izuku extended to him just before the Stain incident. Izuku is moved to tears for the first time in a while. Izuku mutters that a hero shouldn’t cry, but Todoroki thinks that isn’t the case.

 

Sad Togeta.

Later, we’re shown the heroes investigating each of the Hassaikai buildings that Nighteye noted. Rock Lock (the anime calls him Lock Lock, but that name is silly so I’m sticking with Rock Lock), Ryuku, Fat Gum, and the others are closely monitoring each site. We’re told that the heroes were given three criteria while investigating each facility. 1. Could the facility manufacture bullets? 2. Are people frequently coming in and out of the facility? And 3. If there’s an uptick in drug trafficking in the area. Gran Torino is the one to let us know that half the potential locations they’ve looked into have been crossed off the list. We’re shown that Togeta is incredibly depressed with the situation. In a voice over, Izuku begs the heroes to find Eri as quickly as possible. On screen, we’re shown Nighteye spotting Mop-Top entering a department store. Oo, the plot progresses.

 

Two days later, late at night, Izuku gets the call. He meets up with Uraraka, Kirishima and Tsu, whom also got the call. They, as well as Aizawa, and the Big Three are all prepping for the case. The next morning, everyone else notes that the work study kids were clearly on edge. Once again Izuku was staring intently at his food without eating. Guess it’ll always be easy to figure out when Izuku’s in a funk. They think it’s probably no big deal. … oh, how little the others know.

 

It is weird to see a man so serious next to something
so cutesy.

The heroes gather and Nighteye reveals that Eri is being held at the main headquarters of the Shie Hassaikai. Rock Lock and the others point out that that kind of made their investigation kind of pointless, but Nighteye says that they did learn new information, so the investigation was worth it. When asked how he found Eri, he pulls out a magical girl doll and explains he saw a Hassaikai member, Mop-Top, buying this doll which is currently popular with young girls. Fat Gum points out that really isn’t proof, that maybe Mop-Top just likes sparkly toys, different strokes for different folks. Nighteye explains that he witnessed the guy speaking with a store employee. He clearly only had the vaguest idea what the doll related to, so Nighteye took a chance, touched the guy’s shoulder and made him make eye contact while Nighteye pointed at where to find the toy. The activation requirements met, Nighteye saw the guy’s future, and saw him enter the Hassaikai building, go down a secret entrance and presented the toy to Eri. Rock Lock is clearly pissed that Nighteye ended up using his power, even though Nighteye did say he’d use his power when they had a better idea of their situation. Their stake outs gave them a better idea of the Hassaikia’s members schedules and when they’ll be at the HQ. And because they had prep time, they have a warrant to search the premises and the full backing of the police.

 

Hearing that they’ll have a chance to save Eri, both Izuku and Togeta are fully charged up and ready to go. Nighteye, who is happy to see his protégé is back in better spirits. He hopes that Togeta realizes that because he stuck to listening to Nighteye, that they no have a chance to save Eri and stop the Shie Hassaikai. He says that regret and failure are a part of life, but what’s important is what you learn from it. This bit of wisdom is played over a scene of All Might in the hospital following his battle with All For One, where he touched his mentor and saw how All Might would ultimately die. His power makes him unsure if one can change the future, but he believes that you can change how the past affects you in the present. Everyone suits up and preps for their mission.

 

At the same time, the Hassaikai get a call. Apparently, they have an informant of some kind amongst either the police or heroes and they tipped them off. Overhaul tells his minions to prepare for battle, but he’s going to have to take care of something.

 

At 0800, the heroes and police gather. They’re know that the Hassaikai base has a vast network of tunnels under it, and while they haven’t mapped it out in detail, they believe that through the future he saw, Nighteye has the quickest route to Eri. The police had out a list of Hassaikai members and all of their known quirks. Izuku notes that Gran Torino isn’t present. Aizawa tells him that the older hero is with Tsukauchi, they got a tip that the League of Villains will be moving and that’s their top priority. Aizawa tells Izuku he’s going to keep an eye on him in this mission. Everyone is prepping and told that their operation is going to start at 0830.

 

While this is happening, Overhaul goes to see the head of the Shie Hassaikai, he’s on life support. He apologizes to his boss and says that things are about to get noisy. Oh, yeah, I might not have explained this well. While Overhaul runs the vast majority of the organization, he’s technically the group’s number 2.

 

Okay, so the Shie Hassaikai are playing hardball
got it.

The heroes are gathered outside the Hassaikai base. The plan is to wait for the police to read out the warrant, then storm in and take care of things as quickly and efficiently as possible. This plan is ruined immediately when a massive member of the Shie Hassaikai burst through the wall of the Hassaikai building and rushes the police. Ryuku dives into the wave and transforms into her draconic form. She wrestles the bruiser, Katsukame, to the ground. She tells the other heroes to go on ahead and that she and her interns will handle him. So Uraraka, Tsu, and Hado run over to assist.

 

Police and the other heroes rush in. Lesser members of the Shie Hassaikai try to stop them, but they’re quickly taken out by less important heroes and police. The episode proper ends with Izuku and the others rushing for the door for the building.

 

In a post credit scene, we’re shown Overhaul and his minion Kurono. Kurono senses/hears what going on above. Overhaul knows that their work is too important right now to be interrupted. They have a contingency plan for this situation, though. Overhaul’s special unit, the Eight Bullets. The big bruiser Katsukame is one of them, and we’re shown the other seven in a flash. The plan is to use them to cover their escape, and for Overhaul, Kurono, Eri and the evidence of their experiments to run and regroup. Dastardly plan.

 

Okay, so this was the last build up episode for a bit. I liked that that they made a point of showing both Izuku and Togeta were having major anxiety about this whole thing. Good to see how these two are similar. Though, it seemed more noticeable in Togeta given how his incredibly over the top happy demeanor was gone. I also liked how Nighteye ended up breaking the case, sure, it was convenient as hell, but the fact it came down to observational skills and timing was great. That said, the fact that Nighteye can only use his foresight was a bit too major of a handicap. Like, using a power once a day is just crazy. At least give him a few charges or something. The fact that their raid didn’t last more than 15 seconds before a major brawl broke out is just great. The heroes are going to be in for a real battle here with the eight bullets and Overhaul’s main force. I’ll see you all next time. 

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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero

Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 69

The big meeting before the big raid. 

Last time on My Hero Academia, Kirishima had his debut as Red Riot. While on patrol with Amajiki aka Suneater and their hero mentor Fat Gum. They stop some drug peddling gangsters, but one hidden in the crowd shoots Amajiki with a bullet that disables his power. Kirishima chases him down, but the gangster takes an enhancement drug and nearly slices Kirishima to pieces even in his armored form. He reveals his new ultimate move, Red Riot Unbreakable. He defeats the gangster and sees him arrested. A few days later, Izuku is still musing about failing Eri and resolves to save her. Enough recap, let’s get to it.

 

We open with Izuku meeting with Kirishima, Uraraka and Tsu as the four students head out to their work study. Despite getting on the same train (they usually work in different areas), walking in the same direction and all arriving at the same building, the four of them don’t get that they’re all going to the same place until they see the Big Three. Like, guys, did you not chat at all on the ride over? Oh well, they enter the building and see a bunch of heroes gathered. The only ones I’ll draw attention to are Aizawa, Gran Torino, and a new hero known as Rock Lock. There is way more heroes than those three and the hero work study advisors there, but they’re almost all more or less seat fillers. The kids speak with Aizawa briefly, who reveals he got the call to show up super last minute, before they’re brought into the meeting. And yeah, this is the Shie Hassaikai case.

 

I think I found a worse power than The Blob's
super strength but also massive BMI situation.

The meeting begins with Nighteye’s sidekicks Bubblegirl and Centipeder (yes, his head is a giant centipede) explaining the situation. Basically, they started investigating the Shie Hassaikai after the incident with a gang calling themselves the Reservoir Dogs. Remember, they’re the crew that stole an entire cash register counter, were seemed to be brutally killed, but were then shown to be fine later and were arrested. They also found the abandon building that the League and Hassaikai met up in, you know, because of the big freaking hole. When the League was shown to be involved, they got Gran Torino and Detective Tsukauchi involved. Gran Torino apologizes for not bring Izuku into the loop, but obviously this thing was super hush hush. Kirishima is impressed with Izuku’s connections.

 

This is Rock Lock. Do not judge him too harshly
for being a dick.

The one new hero I mentioned, Rock Lock, asks the obvious question as to why a bunch of high schoolers are here. Fat Gum reveals his students are there to pass on information. Fat Gum explains the situation that happened with them, how Amajiki was shot with something that blocked his powers, and Kirishima was also hit but the bullet bounced off. Aizawa takes over, as the expert on stopping powers. He explains that his vision basically blocks the use of quirk genes, the bullet, in contrast, literally damaged Amajiki’s genes. He’s recovered, but the effect was worrying nonetheless. They recovered the bullets that bounced off Kirishima and they found something incredibly disturbing, analysis shows that the bullets have human blood and cells in them. Those words seem to freak out Izuku and Togeta, but they haven’t completely gotten it yet.

 

Fat Gum mentions that while they haven’t found a direct connection, the enhancement drug that the blade guy used went through a middle man group with ties to Shie Hassaikai. Ryuku pipes in and mentions that one of the giants from the fight that she and her group stopped also used the enhancement drug and had ties to Hassaikai. Some of the other heroes are convinced, as they feel that Nighteye and the others are making vague ties as evidence that Shie Hassaikai is involved. Then they bring up the piece that makes the Shie Hassaikai connection fit more than circumstantial. Kai Chisaki, aka Overhaul, his power allows him to break down or reassemble anything he touches. Izuku and Togeta get the implications of this just as Nighteye explains it. Chisaki has a daughter named Eri, she has no birth certificate or any record of her birth, and children often develop powers similar to their parents. Kirishima doesn’t get it, so an annoyed Rock Lock spells it out, they think that Overhaul is using his daughter to make these bullets.

 

Is... is this a vision? An artistic rendering?
I have no idea.

Nighteye thinks that the bullets aren’t perfected yet, but Shie Hassaikai is handing out samples for different criminal groups to use. Everyone is clearly horrified at the idea of a perfected Quirk destroying bullet. Cat’s and dogs living together, MASS HYSTERIA! Rock Lock makes a fairly dickish comment that this would be easier if Izuku and Togeta had just taken the girl when they had the chance. Nighteye deflects some of the blame on himself, as their superior. Izuku and Togeta are clearly pissed and they jump to their feet, vowing to save Eri. Rock Lock tells them that they need to be more realistic. Nighteye tells the group that due to the importance of stopping these Quirk destroying bullets is so high, their initial strike has to be perfect. He shows a list of Shie Hassaikai bases and wants each of the heroes present to investigate them. Fat Gum wants them to just rush in and take these guys out, but Nighteye preaches caution, knowing that if they botch this mission it might just serve as another rallying point for villains like what happened with Stain.

 

Aizawa asks the obvious question, why Nighteye doesn’t use Foresight to figure out where they go. Nighteye explains that his power is very limited, in that he can only use it once a day, and even when he does the perspective is tight on the person that he uses it on. He describes the vision like looking at a film strip in his mind, one where he views his target in a pretty extreme close up. He seems hesitant to use his ability for any substantial look forward, presumably he’s still gun-shy after seeing All Might’s death. Rock Lock demands that Nighteye use his power on him anyway, but Nighteye refuses. He’ll only use it if he’s certain. After an awkward pause, Ryuku gets things going again.

 

Aizawa gotta make sure the youngest heroes in
Japan don't bite off more than they can chew.

Sometime later, the UA students get together and Izuku and Togeta talk about what happened when they met Eri and Overhaul. Their friends empathize with them. Aizawa joins the students, and tells them to call him Eraser out of school. He admits that he was going to suspend the students’ internships when he heard about this joint taskforce, but has decided against it. Mostly to keep an eye on Izuku and keep him from doing reckless and stupid on his own. He tells Izuku that he still needs to earn back his trust. Izuku agrees to doing what he can to regain Aizawa’s trust.

 

Meanwhile, Gran Torino has a meeting with Nighteye. The younger hero figured out that Torino sent Izuku to him as part of a scheme to get Nighteye and All Might to start talking again. Torino does admit it, as he’s an old man and old men like to meddle. He asks what Nighteye thinks of Izuku, and he does say that Izuku and All Might are similar. They have the same madness in their eyes. I believe he means the burning desire to help people, but I guess that’s a kind of madness.

 

In a post credit scene, we’re shown Eri in her room. She’s joined by one of Overhaul’s subordinates. I can’t find a name for him, so I’ll just call him Mop-Top. Mop-Top tells Eri that he’s going to be the one in charge of her from now on. He complains that she hasn’t touched any of the toy’s he got for her, and scold her, since if she isn’t happy her dad is going to murder him. He leaves her. ON the walk out, he remembers Overhaul telling him that he needs to be someone that Eri can trust and confide in… Overhaul, at least get subordinate with kids to do this. You know, someone that might have some insight into seven-year-olds? Mop-Top decide he’ll buy her a magical girl doll to see if that’ll get her to like him. In her room, Eri is crying, remembering Izuku and actually felt safe when he hugged her. Well, that’s depressing.

 

Okay, so this was mostly an exposition episode. We’re introduced to the concept of the next few episodes, the investigation into and ultimately the raid on the Shie Hassaikai. I enjoyed seeing how their investigation developed pretty much from a random incident into a full-on drug plot that could completely destroy life as they know it. The revelation about how Eri fits into the plot was particularly disturbing. Like, you expect things to be bad for her, but not her father to literally be harvesting her flesh for profit. Like, that’s freaking ghoulish! I especially liked how they drew Izuku and Togeta’s reactions to their realization. They’re clearly mortified that the kid they had the chance to save is now being used as genetic experimentation. Creepy. I ask that you don’t judge Rock Lock too harshly. Yeah, he’s a dick in this, and most off his following episodes, but I promise that he’s got reasons to be hyper critical of kids. The Shie Hassaikai arc is one of the best in this franchise, so I’m excited to get to talk more about it soon. Have a good night, everybody. 

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Viewer Log: My Hero Academia ep 68

Red Riot makes his debut.

Last time on My Hero Academia, Izuku “Deku” Midoriya went on his first patrol as a work study student. Things were largely uneventful at first with his fellow student Mirio “Lemillion” Togeta, until a little girl in rags and bandages ran into him. Her father came up a moment later, Kai “Overhaul” Chisaki. He’s the head of a Yakuza (Japanese mafia), the Shie Hassaikai, and the focus of the investigation of Izuku and Togeta’s boss, Sir Nighteye. Eri ends up going with her father, once it was clear Overhaul was seconds away from killing them. Eri is clearly being experimented on back at their compound. Izuku also discovers that All Might’s health is deteriorating, and probably won’t have much time left. Izuku is able to get All Might to swear that he won’t give up and last long enough to see Izuku to announce that He is here. And finally, we see Shigaraki arrive at the Shie Hassaikai compound, he’s willing to deal.

 

Big fan of energy based powers and ones that let
you fly. I'd be a Nejire-Chan fan after her debut.

We open with a pair of criminals with gigantification quirks, which means two giant idiots are messing up a downtown area. Heroes are called in, and we get introduced to Nejire Hado of the Big Three in her hero gear. Her code name is “Nejire-Chan” which is… odd. Remember, -chan is a cutesy Japanese honorific mostly used for young children, girls, and cute things. It’s the same thing as Izuku referring Bakugo as Ka-chan. But whatever. She uses her power, called Wave Motion in the comics but mistakenly called “Surge” to blast the two giants with spiral bolts of energy. She then calls in back up, in the form of Ochako “Uravity” Uraraka and Tsuyu “Froppy” Asui. They use their powers together to pelt the giants with debris, defeating them. After the giants are arrested, we learn that all three girls are working with the hero Ryuku, the #9 hero in Japan and who can turn into a giant Dragon. Automatically making her my #1 hero. Ryuku thanks them for their help and offers to take Uraraka and Tsu with her on a joint case she’s doing with Nighteye’s agency. The Shie Hassaikai case, and mentions that the League of Villains are involved.

 

Don't offer these guys a stick of gum.

We then cut to the Shia Hassaikai base where Shigaraki is in the process of making a deal. Well, first he complains about the circuitous route that they took to get there, (it’s complicated to help facilitate escapes) but then they get down to business. Shigaraki is willing to work with Overhaul, but not FOR him. They’d be independent contractors, working with the Shie Hassaikai but not under them. And, as it is a partnership, he wants to know what the big plan is, he reaches into his pocket for something, but is stopped by two of Overhaul’s guards, Kurono and Mimic. Overhaul calls them off, and Shigaraki pulls out a bullet that looks like a tiny syringe.

 

We shift our attention over to Kirishima, who is on patrol with Big Three senior student Tamaki “Suneater” Amajiki and their Hero mentor, Fat Gum. Amajiki is kinda of depressed and anxious about the situation, but then, that’s kind of his thing. We’re shown that Kirishima kinda forced Amajiki into introducing him to Fat Gum in a flashback. Positivity and attention aren’t his strong suit. Kirishima, on the other hand, is super positive about the work study experience, as he feels it’ll close the gap between him and some of his friends. Their patrol is interrupted by a group of criminals running by, they were selling drugs in someone else territory, I believe. Fat Gum catches most of them by jumping in front of them and bear hugging them into his torso. One is able to slip out of his grip, but he’s caught by Amajiki, who hits him with a mass of tentacles, slaps him with a clamshell hand, and then pins him under a chicken foot. We get an explanation of his powers. It’s called Manifest, he’s able to take on aspects of the things he eats. Yes, Octopus balls, called Takoyaki, is a big part of the Japanese diet. People chear on Amajiki, but he seems not super comfortable with the attention. Like, kid, you should really probably consider what kind of work you’re getting into. Another member of the gang is watching in the crowd. He wants to help his guys, so he pulls a gun and shoots.

 

I've heard you are what you eat, but this is
ridiculous.

We cut back to Shigaraki and Overhaul. Shigaraki figured out that the bullet is the reason why Mr. Compress temporary lost his powers and the reason why he lost his arm. Overhaul claims that the bullet is how he’ll break the system. His people are developing these power-suppressing bullets and distributing them to the criminal underworld.

 

Jumping back to Kirishima. Amajiki was hit with one of the power suppressing bullets, but Kirishima hardened his body and the bullet aimed at him bounced out. The shooter runs, Kirishima follows, and Amajiki tried to grab the shooter with his tentacles, but his tentacles won’t manifest more than an inch or two from his hand. Fat Gum starts following Kirishima, but freezes when he hears Amajiki can’t use his powers.

 

Kind of amazed Kirishima's costume is still so
intact.

Kirishima is able to corner the thug in an alley. The thug tries to slice Kirishima with blades he manifests on his forearm. Kirishima’s armored form is tough enough for the blade to bounce off, and knocks the gangster on his ass. He starts whining about how crappy his power is, he can only grow blades the length of a box cutter or so. Kirishima helps the guy to his feet in and tries to empathize with him a bit, but it’s revealed the gangster’s whining was just to buy time for him to slip out a syringe and inject himself in the neck. This chemical seems to supercharge the gangster’s blade power and he starts manifesting blades feet long from all over his body.

 

Back with Amajiki, they’ve got the rest of the gang arrested. He wants to know what he was hit with, but they aren’t talking.

 

The lone gangster slices into the buildings around him with his extra-long blades. Kirishima tells everyone to run just before the gangster hits him with a rain of blades. The new blades are extra sharp and are even slicing through his stone skin. The dude is clearly tripping on his power boost, and comes at Kirishima again.

 

Kirishima has another flashback and remembers All Might telling him to use his power to become a bulldozer. We’re shown him musing with some of the other students sometime after that comment, complaining that his powers aren’t particularly flashy and how he wishes it was more impressive. Bakugo gives him some encouragement, telling him to remember the Cavalry battle and All Might at Kamino ward proved, that standing up makes you strong.

 

Unbreakable mode is kick ass, but I'd so be worried
about slicing my tongue on those teeth!

He focuses, digs deep, and puts his power into overdrive. He announces that this is his ultimate move, Red Riot: Unbreakable. He’s basically turned his whole body, even his eyes, into a stonelike form that makes him look like he’s chiseled from rock. He can only hold this form for about 40 seconds, but while in it, he’s indestructible. He’s able to force the gangster’s blades to hit him and he’s able to take it this time. He gets in close and hits the gangster with “red gauntlet” a gut punch to drop him. Thankfully, the dude’s enhancement seems to run out at the same time that Unbreakable ends. He starts whining again, Kirishima lets his guard down, and the guy tries to make a break for it. Fat Gum dives in front of him and grabs him. We get the explanation of his power, Fat Absorbtion. Basically, his body works a bit like a semi-liquid body, he can capture people in his body fat and hold them. Neat.

 

A crowd gathers and they start praising Fat Gum and his new sidekick, Red Riot. Kirishima seems psyched with their praise. Internally, he remembers “something” that happened in his past, something that involves Mina Ashido (the pink, horned girl) some other girls and a hulking looking villain. He asks why he didn’t help then, and hope can be a hero now.

 

Fat Gum, whom I guess used to work a lot of DEA cases, exposits that enhancement drugs are illegal in Japan, and this guy must have gotten a black-market version because it only lasted a few minutes. Apparently, we in the US have versions that last up to an hour. The cops have the pieces of the gun, it was broken in the confrontation, and they’re going to try to examine it. Amajiki still can’t access his powers. Fat Gum is going to take them to the hospital to check them out. He’s clearly freaked out that there could be a drug to take away his powers.

 

In an after credit scene, damn it, a few days later we’re shown how the students are reacting to their work studies. Obviously, everyone except Bakugo is jazzed that Kirishima, Uraraka and Tsu are in the news. Bakugo is pissed, also obviously. Izuku is less jazzed, as he’s still ruminating on All Might and Nighteye’s metaphorical break up and his feeling of guilt on leaving Eri. Well, that’s a depressing note to end on.

 

This was a great episode for Kirishima. He’s been one of my favorite tertiary characters in the series, so seeing him start to get more of him in this arc is great. Yeah, while Bakugo and Todoroki are benched due to their lack of licenses, and Iida not being mentored along with a Big Three member, Kirishima is getting a chance up to bat as the not-Izuku hero in training guy we’re going to spend a lot of time on. Tsu is also going to get a fair amount of attention alongside Uraraka, but that’s not as new a thing. I liked his dynamic with Amajiki as the bright one to his gloomy self, and his general energy at getting to do this hero work study. I also liked that they gave resolution to Kaminari feeling like his power is inadequate. I mean, he complained about it all the way back in episode nine or so that his power wasn’t flash enough and a general feeling of being second rate seems to have followed him throughout the series. I don’t know about you, but I loved the look of Red Riot: Unbreakable. It’s intense. If that flashback that he had involving Ashido felt odd, don’t worry, we will get the context of that one. Just know now, that those two have known each other a while. I also liked how they set up the League of Villains and the Shie Hassaikai team up, and how sinister they’re making the power disabling bullets seem. In a world where a massive percentage of people have some kind of power, I have to imagine losing it has got to make them incredibly nervous. But we’ll get more into that as this plot develops. Have a goodnight, everybody.  

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Viewer Log: WandaVision ep 9

Heroes aren't born, they're forged.

Before we get started, I’ll point out that I’m going to do a few more posts this month, but I’ll be doing My Hero Academia. I kind of prefer getting all these episode posts in a single month if I can. And before you ask, I’ll probably do the Snyder Cut of the Justice League eventually, but, and I need to stress this, I don’t really like Snyder’s work so I’m not rushing to do it. I don’t want to make you feel bad if you like it, that’s good for you, I’m just not a fan. Got it? Good.

 

Last time on WandaVision, we got a brief history of Wanda Maximoff, curtsy of Agatha trying to uncover how Wanda made the Hex. We saw how her parents were killed, how she first got her powers, how she bonded with Vision and ultimately how she formed the Hex after being shown the corpse of her love. Agatha then reveals to Wanda that she’s the Scarlet Witch while holding a pair of nooses around Billy and Tommy’s necks. Let’s get to it, shall we.

 

We open on Agatha strangling Tommy and Billy. Wanda, not being a fan of seeing her son’s threatened, blasts Agatha back, freeing them. She tells the boys to go to their room, and while they initially object, Tommy does finally high speed then back to said room. Wanda blasts Agatha again, only to notice that Agatha seems to draw in her red energy with each hit. Agatha comments that she takes power from the undeserving. The drain also causes Wanda’s hands to shrivel and rot. Agatha tells Wanda to surrender her magic and she’ll leave Wanda this little corner of the world. Wanda then uses her magic to hit her with a car. Try absorbing kinetic force, hunny! Wanda goes to check on her and only sees a pair of boots.

You know, I've seen worse reunions.

 

And that’s when things get really complicated, when the new White Vision lands. Wanda goes to her reanimated love, and they have what might have been a tender moment that’s ruined when White Vision’s face cupping gesture turns into a skull crushing gesture. Vision flies in, henceforth referred to as Hex Vision, and knocks his albino counterpart into an RV. He turns to his wife and asks if their boys are okay. Wanda confirms they are and apologizes for not telling Hex Vision about what happened when she figured out what happened. He accepts the apology just as Agatha returns. She mocks the situation of Wanda being metaphorically at a party with her new guy and her ex. Hex Vision says that this is their home, they should fight for it. Hex Vision flies off after White Vision and Wanda goes after Agatha. Monica sees them fly off from her prison, Fietro’s attic mancave. She tries to leave but he superspeeds over and knocks her back.

 

Hex Vision tries to converse with his White counterpart, wanting to discuss things like rational synthoids, but White Vision’s directive is to destroy him and Wanda. The two synthoids wrestle in the air, using their phasing powers to wrestle and crash into the ground. Hex Vision tries to fly off, but White Vision grabs him and the fight continues.

 

Outside the Hex, Hayward’s team has captured Jim Woo and are monitoring the brawl. Jim points out that this is a hell of a thing to cover up, all to cover up him grabbing a cellphone. Hayward is rather smug about the whole thing, claiming that since Wanda isn’t broadcasting any more, there’s no proof that White Vision isn’t the only Vision, and he’ll blame the whole thing on Wanda. Jim tells Hayward that he’d go along with this, but his friends at Quantico will be arriving within the hour and they won’t be cool with all this. He has Jim taken away and put into a makeshift prison. Once he’s alone, Jim uses his close-up magic skills to get out of the cuffs, calls his friend at Quantico and asks if they can be there within the hour. Because, you know, you have to deliver on a threat when you can.

 

Wanda lands in the downtown area, and looks around a bit before Agatha pops in. She hits Wanda with a magic blast and complains that Wanda doesn’t realize how important she is. She explains that there’s a whole chapter on the Scarlet Witch in the Darkhold, her book of magic. She reads an exerpt from it that claims the Scarlet Witch is more powerful than even the Sorcerer Supreme. Bet Stephen Strange is feeling personally attacked. Wanda continues to deny that she’s a witch, so Agatha decides to give her a lesson on how witchy she is, by breaking Dottie out of her trance. Dottie, real name Sarah Proctor, begs Wanda to at least let her daughter out of her room. Apparently, one side effect of Wanda’s Hex that Vision commented on but wasn’t really elaborated on, the lack of children in Westview, was because Wanda had them sequester in their rooms. That’s fairly messed up. Agatha releases more of the towns folk and they start surrounding Wanda.

 

She's clearly had it up to here with Fietro.

Back at the attic, Fietro is making a smoothie and seems to be pretty chill about holding Monica. She sees some bills and a head shot and it’s revealed that this man is actually named Ralph Bohner. Huh, so he was probably the Ralph that Agatha was referring to in her Agnes disguise. Yes, this is disappointing. Anyway, Monica tries to make a break for it, but this time when Ralph tries to stop her, she flips him onto his back and pins him to the ground. Using her new vision, she’s able to see a magical aura around this necklace Ralph is wearing. She rips it off, breaking Agatha’s control and presumably stripping him of his powers.

 

The Visions continues to fight, while Tommy and Billy watch from their window. Billy senses that Wanda is in danger and the twins race off to save her.

 

The towns folk are gathered around Wanda, revealing what her control has done to them. Some of them are clearly in need of psychological counselling, as Wanda has accidentally poured her nightmares into them and, you know, puppet mastered them for an indeterminate amount of time. Wanda gets overwhelmed and begins magically strangling them. She stops almost right away, with Mrs. Hart, aka Sharon Davis, begs Wanda to kill them if she’s not going to let them go. Wanda says she’ll let them go, and Agatha encourages her to do it right now. Wanda unleashes her power and starts bringing the walls down, telling the towns folk to run. Which they do. Outside, seeing a widening gap, Hayward has his team move into the Hex.

 

Hex and White Vision are still battling, but as the cracks widen, Hex Vision starts weakening and falling apart. He takes a hard hit and crashes into the ground near Wanda. They boys arrive too, and they’re also falling apart. Agatha reveals that they’re so tied to Wanda’s Hex, that they can’t exist without it. Wanda stops trying to end the Hex, and the walls close again, restoring Hex Vision and the boys. Outside, Jim Woo’s FBI team arrives.

 

I know what'll solve this, a philosophical debate!

The Maximoff’s gather. Wanda protects her boys from a blast from Agatha, whom further drains her of magic. The SWORD Team arrives and pulls guns on them. Hex Vision admits to his sons that they weren’t prepared for this, but Wanda thinks they were made for it. Hex Vision flies off to do battle with White Vision again. They fly into a library and Hex Vision gets White Vision into a headlock. White Vision reveals his directive is to destroy the Vision and Wanda Maximoff. And that’s when Hex Vision reveals that he isn’t THE Vision, but a conditional Vision. White Vision breaks free and it looks like they’re going to fight some more, but he then requests elaboration from his other self.

 

Agnes tries to kill the SWORD team, lifting them off their feet, musing how they’re the modern witch burners before dropping them to the ground. Wanda stops them from hitting the concrete. She tells boys to handle the military while she goes after Agnes. The boys do incredibly well, with Billy freezing the soldiers in place while Tommy zooms around, taking their guns and one dude’s hat and sunglasses. They high five right as Hayward gets out and pulls his gun on them. Thankfully, Monica had just run up and seen Hayward getting out, she dives in front of the bullets. What would normally be a pretty fatal shooting turns into not a big deal as we learn that Monica’s powers include things besides magic vision.  Her body seems to transform into an energy field as the bullets hit her, her body stripping them of inertia and them falling out of her back as they pass through. Billy stops the one that went by her and they compliment each other on their tricks. Hayward tries to get away, but Darcy hits his truck with the Funnel Cake truck before he can, telling him to have fun in prison.

 

Hex Vision debates White Vision with the Ship of Theseus Thought experiment. The experiment is fairly simple, it describes a museum that has the ship of the acclaimed Greek Hero Theseus. The ship, over the centuries, starts to rot, and as it does so, the museum caretakers replace the wood. The experiment then asks, once the last piece of wood is removed with a new plank, is it really the ship of Theseus? Later philosophers then ask the question, if you took the old planks, removed the rot and then rebuilt the ship, is that the Ship of Theseus? White Vision states the paradox of the thought experiment and their existence, both and yet neither of them are the ship of Theseus aka The Vision. Hex Vision points out that White used to be, but White doesn’t have the Mind Stone. And, while Hex Vision has the Mind Stone, not one molecule of him is an original piece of their body. He suggests, that the ship of Theseus is the made the ship by the experiences, the rot and all, the wood that Theseus himself touched. White Vision claims he doesn’t have memories, even if he has the data. Hex Vision then, using the powers he has here in the Hex, touches his counterpart’s forehead stone and unlocks the memories. White Vision remembers his entire life, up until and possibly beyond his second death. His eyes change from a creepy neon blue to their original color. He states that he is the Vision, and flies off. Probably to figure out what that means now.

 

Outside, Wanda is able to sneak up behind Agatha and traps her in an illusion. Wanda takes Agatha to one of her worsts moments, that time when she killed everyone she knew. I think she was going for the psychological tactic, but that backfires when the corpses get up and start denouncing the Scarlet Witch. Wanda gets put onto the stake and Agatha rather snarkily remarks that power was never Wanda’s issue, but knowledge is. Wanda manifests this crown thing as Agatha talks, the villainous villainess tells Wanda that if she just surrenders, Agatha will correct her spell and leave her in Westview. Wanda is able to break free and out of the illusion. The two witches take off, battling into the sky. Hex Vision tries to follow Wanda, but she holds him back with magic. He lets her do her thing.

 

Elizabeth Olsen is a master of the Girlboss look.

The two battle, with Wanda lobbing balls of red energy at Agatha, missing about as often a hitting her. Outside the Hex, Jim and his crew can see the explosions as the energy spheres hit. The energy that hits, Agatha absorbs. Wanda visibly ages with each hit, rotting away. Agatha absorbs another big chunk of Wanda’s magic, and then starts gloating. She reveals that when a spell is cast, there’s no changing it, this world will always be broken, just like Wanda, and laughs maniacally. She goes to finish Wanda off… but nothing happens. Wanda begins recovering, and the smoke clears around them, revealing that her wild blasts were actually very accurate. She was carving Anti-Magic runes into the walls of the Hex, blocking Agatha from her powers. Wanda re-absorbs her stolen power, and gives herself some fancy new duds in the process.

 

They land, with Agatha claiming that Wanda has no idea what she’s done. Wanda, not wanting to kill someone that might have information for her, elects to stick Agatha into the role she chose for herself. She uses her powers to force Agatha back into Agnes, confident she’ll always know where to find her. The smile she has looks painful now. The Maximoffs reunite, but it’s not entirely happy, as Vision knows she’s going to make things right… just not for them. The family return home. While it’s night outside the Hex, Wanda makes it evening as they walk back to the house. As the Hex shrinks, they put the boys to bed. Wanda and Vision tell their sons that they love them. She tells them that family is forever and that real family can never truly leave each other. As they go, she thanks her sons for choosing her to be their mom.

 

MCU, she's had to watch him die THREE times.
No more!

In their living room, Wanda tries to turn off the lights, but Vision clicks them back on, saying that he heard it is bad luck to say goodbye in the dark. This is BS and Wanda calls him on it, and he admits he just wants to see her before he goes. As the walls of the Hex close in, he asks what he is. Wanda cups his face and tells him that he’s a physical manifestation of the piece of the Mind Stone within her. He’s her sadness, her hope, and most of all her love. They kiss one more time. Vision points out that he’s been a voice with no body, a body but not human, and a memory made real, who knows what he might be next. As he disintegrates, he points out that they’ve “said goodbye before, so it stands to reason,” and Wanda finishes “we’ll say hello again.” And he vanishes.

 

Wand is left standing in the foundation of her daydream. She walks back downtown to say goodbye to Monica. It’s a little awkward, but I think they leave on good terms. At least, Monica admits that given the same power Wanda had, she’d bring back her mom. Wanda apologizes for the pain she’s caused, promises that she’ll better understand her power in the future. She flies off in costume.

 

The credit’s roll, but in classic MCU fashion, that’s not the end of the story. We’re first shown Monica seeing Jim Woo organizing the relief effort. They enjoy seeing Hayward being dragged away in cuffs. An agent comes up to Monica and tells her she’s wanted at the theater for a debrief. She goes in, only to discover that her guide is a Skrull in disguise. The Skrull tells Monica that she’d been sent by an old friend of her mothers whom had heard she was grounded, and wants to correct that. Monica’s smile is a strong indicator of how up for this she is.

 

Her mama sense is tingling.

In post credit scene two, we’re shown Wanda having tea in a mountain side cabin. What seems like a pretty domestic moment is revealed to be much more than that, as while her body is drinking tea, she’s doing that high-speed astral projection study thing that Doctor Strange did while training. But she’s doing it while her body is awake. She’s reading the Darkhold, but is distracted suddenly. Why? She hears her boys crying out to her. Dun dun duaahhhhh!

 

Okay, that was a good finale. Not a great finale, but a solid ending. I liked the battles between Agatha and Wanda and the two Visions. Like, Vision defeating his other self with a logic puzzle is just so… Vision. It’s not completely clear in the episode, but the showrunners have revealed that while White Vision now has all of Hex Vision’s memories, it’s like Hex Vision’s memories of pre-Westview, it’s like remembering a story he’s been told. He’s got the data but not the emotional attachments. So, he’s got to figure things out. Hopefully, when he and Wanda meet again, it’ll be a good occasion. Wanda fighting with Agatha is a bit more straightforward, but the reveal that she carved giant Runes into the sides of the walls to stop her was brilliant. And the tease of her hearing her boys and probably setting up Dr. Strange 2 was just brilliant. For those who don’t know, Wanda is going to have a big role in that sequel, and given the title “Multiverse of Madness,” there’s some crazy stuff on the way. And showing her do something like Dr. Strange’s astral projection trick, but better with her doing it while awake is a good indicator of how powerful she’s grown in what seems to be a really short amount of time. I’d say my only real complaints are the reveal of Ralph Bohner and Hayward’s plan. Like, I know all the stuff about Fake Pietro was mostly the internet speculating, but you get the actor who played Quicksilver in another franchise and then just have it end on a dick joke? Seriously? And Hayward, what was your plan, exactly? It really seems like he was just making this up as he went. And he jumped really far from framing a woman for reactivating Vision to attempted child murderer. Like, seriously, dude, da hell. Monica’s end wasn’t perfect, either, as it seemed like her part in the plot pretty much stopped when Ralph grabbed her, and she just reinserted herself at the end… because. She’s going to appear again in Captain Marvel 2, so her story isn’t over, it just kinda fizzled out. Overall, I liked this series and enjoyed the finale. I’m excited to see more of what the MCU’s Disney Plus shows have to offer. But we’ll get into that next month with The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.

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