Everything begins on board the Advena Avis
This has been posted later than I said it would because... someone uploaded the full series of Parasyte, and I had to, had to, had to read it all in one sitting. My God, what an amazing manga. I hope Del Ray publishes the rest soon (I have the first volume, but I'm not sure where Del Ray is at... I'll be buying the rest of the released manga volumes at the next convention for sure). I wonder how I became so attracted to bloody stories. XD This one is about 10x more gruesome than Baccano!, and may also affect your feelings about people getting killed: the theme of the series deals with how human beings are conceited because they destroy everything that threatens them, even if it's a species that has just as much of a right to live as they do. It really forces you to think hard about how you're living your life.
Anyway, episode seven of Baccano! is a little different than the others--it focuses on only one arc, the events of 1711, with only a short series of flashforwards. However, that isn't meant to suggest that this episode is kept entirely chronological. Oh, hell no. :)
To begin, there's no recap during the OP this time. I missed it, since they reuse the interesting and funny scenes most of the time, and I also enjoy the extended OP song. However, since this episode takes place in 1711, there's no scenes we need to recap. They haven't happened yet. And while the novels apparently include a few events prior to 1711, it doesn't look like they'll make it into these thirteen episodes (though of course I'm hoping for a second season--there's more than enough material to do a second, and even a third, thirteen episode season at this point, and even more as the novel series is ongoing, and likely won't end for quite a while. If it does end, hopefully it will be open ended, because Baccano! can really only end in tragedy. D:
The episode begins with a handy caption informing the viewer that the following events occur in 1711. I can only imagine the shock of a viewer who doesn't watch next episode previews. XD However, as I've already said, the events are not in chronological order, so we have to keep thinking throughout. This first scene, arguably the first death upon the Advena Avis, is a great example--it's actually close to the halfway point if we put all the scenes in order. The scene itself is fairly simple: after a few scenes of the ship to introduce the setting, an unfortunate extra by the name of Pierre is walking alone when he hears an odd sound. The viewers see a cloaked figure hiding and immediately know that things aren't going to go well for the poor guy, but Pierre, who just asks who was there before continuing to look around, does not appear afraid... until he definitely hears something approaching again and he turns around just in time to see his attacker's face as the shadowy figure absorbs him into his hand. His clothes and the lamp he was carrying fall to the floor and the mystery immortal flees the scene.
Title screen! :D "Everything begins on board the Advena Avis". From the first scene, and the scene in episode 1, we can assume that it's the beginning of the liquor of immortality that involves all the as-of-yet unborn characters later on, and also the violence caused by the liquor's creation that affects the lives of the survivors that live on into the 1930s. For those who keep careful track of the characters and how they know each other, we know or suppose that Maiza, Szilard, Huey, and Czeslaw will be making appearances in this episode as well as a few 1700-only characters that either die or don't have parts to play in 1930-32. We know for sure that Maiza will be present due to the scene in episode 1, but as for Szilard, Huey, and Czeslaw, we need to remember certain things and trust intuition. Szilard says to Ennis in episode four that he couldn't understand young people neither in 1930 nor 200 years ago and complains about Maiza, guaranteeing him a spot on the ship. In episode 1, Czeslaw is identified as "Maiza's old friend"; between his 'youth' and Maiza being in his 240s, we can only guess when they first met and how long they've been friends, so it's not out of hand to expect Czes on the ship. Huey is the long shot--all we're told about him is that he gained immortality somehow during Goose's speech in episode two and was arrested for some reason. Since he's been in prison for a while yet has a cult to call his own, and hasn't appeared in the 1930 arc at all, unless there was another immortality outbreak somewhere, he had to be on the ship as well.
"The day before..." (lol, some of these captions are just ridiculous. XD) We are introduced to Gerd Avaro (Maiza's younger brother) and Sylvie Lumiere, his girlfriend, sitting on a bed in a room, talking about what was about to happen on the ship. Sylvie asks Gerd if he's worried about Maiza, and Gerd replies, channeling Jacuzzi Splot, that he's very scared about how they were planning to summon a demon on the ship, because, while they would be getting something in return, there had to be a price to pay for something so taboo. He's unsure that human beings really need immortality in the first place. Sylvie says she doesn't know if it's right or not, but believes that, if it was a step in the direction of creating a cure for all ailments, then she supported the summoning. Gerd shifts on the bed, taking Sylvie's hands in his and tells her that eternal life shouldn't automatically be thought of as a beautiful thing (referenced again in episode one by Gustav Saint Germain's speech about how rainbows might be thought of as a promise of disaster by some), and says that he would be more than happy to live a regular lifespan with Sylvie by his side. Sylvie agrees, and says she could give up eternal life to be with him and not be afraid of death. (lol, the scene cuts out here, so I'm only left with my extremely perverted imagination... D: ... :D)
Onto the next scene. Really, if there's anyone that doesn't not like Szilard at this point, I think episode seven successfully convinces them. :/ In this scene, Szilard is complaining to everyone gathered in the dining area of the Advena Avis about how it was heresy to summon a demon and how he can't believe that everyone is supporting Maiza (even though, as an extra comments, Szilard is the most curious of them all). Fermet, who appears to be taking care of Czeslaw, explains that the elixir of immortality is every alchemist's dream and that summoning a demon would be a small price to pay to change history. Szilard is still convinced that the whole thing is nonsense, but Fermet tells him that if Maiza is successful, he would become famous and stand next to other great alchemists like Synesius and Zosimus in history. Szilard harumps, and Elmer C. Albatross (I'M AN ALBATROSS! XD), who either seriously has ADD or is just so bummed by the heavy conversation that he'd do anything to lighten the mood, suddenly stands up and shouts that everyone should laugh and smile and follows his own advice loudly. XD Don't be fooled--I actually find him very charming as a character. The type of guy that everyone would like to call a friend, really. While Elmer laughs, Fermet comforts an anxious Czeslaw by clapping a hand on his head. It's really weird to see Czeslaw as a child actually the age of his appearance. He changed a lot over the years, from a shy, hesitant child to a semi-evil scheming immortal who's likely going to be asking Ladd to kill people soon in the 1931 arc. Also, even though they don't know the catch about putting hands on peoples heads, yet, the way the exchange is presented is really ominous. I don't think it bodes well for Fermet, who hasn't made an appearance (at least, so far) in the 1930s.
Oh, wait. That scene with Gerd and Sylvie does continue on screen. D: DAMN YOU, HUEY. Their conversation is nonchalantly interrupted by Huey, who apparently has no issues with inviting himself into other people's rooms. XD Unless, of course, he's sharing the room with Gerd, but I doubt that's the case. XD He tells them that there's no reason to be afraid and quotes from the Emerald Tablet, the foundation of alchemy, which Gerd takes over and finishes. The quote is a little over my head, but I think it basically states that everything in the world has a connection, everything is enclosed in a circle, so all things in the world share a common ground. Since all was created by one, everything had a common origin. Using this quote to support his stance, Huey tells them that it would be naive to automatically think of the demon as an evil entity when it was possible that it could share a lot of common ground with humans, and goes on to say that the black magic they would use to summon it was the same way. He's saying that demons could be both good and evil, and black magic could be used in both good and evil ways. Gerd asks Huey if he was afraid, but Huey says no; he's just very interested in how their lives would change with the summoning of the demon and the creation of the Cure-All Elixir, and is looking forward to it. Gerd and Sylvie are a little bewildered by Huey's answer and don't speak, causing Huey to chuckle to himself. Indeed, Huey is the type of person who would rather watch the action unfold than take part in it himself. He's probably having a great time in jail. XD
The scene switches to Maiza carving the alchemic circle into the floor of the ship in a large room beneath the deck with Nile and Beg Garoto in attendance--this is the scene we saw briefly in episode one. Maiza asks them to gather everyone in the room.
We suddenly jump forward in time to when Pierre's clothes are discovered by several other passengers, and they discover that another person, Italo, has disappeared as well. They seem a little confused by what's going on. (Weren't they paying attention to the rules? They aren't very smart, are they?) However, they hear some noise from the deck and see a cloaked figure rush away, and so decide to investigate. One of them climbs halfway up the stairs to look around the deck (What miserable weather. D:), but doesn't see the shadowy figure hiding until it suddenly crawls over to him; creepily amazing, like a spider or a reptile; and grabs his head. Oops. What a time to forget your hat. XD He gets pulled up to the deck as his friends below react in shock. We get a few brief flashes of other characters; Nile, Fermet & Czeslaw, Beg Garoto, Denkro Togo, Huey, and Maiza & Elmer; as they seemingly react to the sudden commotion, but it's too late to save the guy and his clothes flutter back down below deck, seen by a larger gathering of background characters.
Before we get a continuation of everything going to hell, however, we finally get the scene which starts it all. Maiza has gathered everyone below deck in the large room, and is about to begin the alchemic ritual, with Gerd and Togo having some sort of role to play. As we get various shots of those present, Maiza explains that he does not know if what he is doing is the right thing, but says that he learned of this ritual from someone who had once attended the same school as him, and that man hadn't aged at all for generations. According to Maiza, this was possible because he had summoned a demon that had given him the elixir of immortality 300 years ago (OMGWTF. He's totally talking about Nicholas Flamel! XD), and is probably still alive out there, somewhere, never aging a day. This gets Szilard's undivided attention. Maiza concludes his speech by saying that the creation of a Cure-All Elixir was every alchemist's desire and tells them that he would then summon the demon, saying he believes that obtaining the elixir will bring about more good than evil in the long run, and asks his fellow alchemists to watch over him carefully until it was over. Maiza turns around to face the circle, and gets Gerd, Denkro Togo, and himself to stand within it, and they stare into the fire inside the cauldron for a short time before Maiza begins to recite the words of summoning. In reference to the Emerald Tablet, which states that everything is the same at the core, Maiza chants that the demon is the earth and heavens, day and night, light and dark, etc. etc., until, to everyone's surprise, he is interrupted by a disembodied voice saying that was more than enough. Everyone gets a little freaked out. XD
The fear in the previous scene makes the connection to the fear during the following day. After seeing one of their friends vanish right before their eyes, everyone is running around screaming that there was a monster or a demon rampaging on board the ship (WTF, did they all sleep through the demon's speech we'll get to later on in the episode?). Sylvie learns all of this from the panicking passengers, and immediately becomes worried about Gerd, but the others run away before she could find out from them if he was safe. Suddenly alone with only the creaking of the ship and the rain drowning out the silence, Sylvie looks to the staircase with fear.
After the brief distraction, we're back with the actual demon, who voices his distaste over summoning chants, dismissing them as complaints. Turns out that he could always hear what they're saying and thinking, as the demon explains, appearing as a flickering silhouette on a pillar, cast by the cauldron's flames. They only have to think about him and he is there, "But all right." (Quote is extremely important to remember. ^^) Maiza opens his mouth to speak, but the demon interrupts him again, since he would rather not be referred to by a name, and goes on to complain how they were calling him a demon without him agreeing to it, "But all right." Maiza is suddenly alone in a completely different dimension, as the demon explains that he knows what he's thinking and that he wanted to know everything about eternal youth, and tells him that he would teach only him the method of creating the Cure-All Elixir. Maiza asks why only him, but before the demon answers, Maiza is back in the real world, holding a bucket full of a suspicious liquid. Could it be? It is! The demon tells all present that whomever drank from the pot would have eternal life, but would only explain everything to everyone once everyone had decided whether or not to drink it. Szilard walks up immediately, having gotten over the 'heresy' pretty easily. The demon is amused, and mentions that he wanted to avoid death pretty badly. Szilard just says that he wanted to prove to everyone that it wasn't real, and is the first to drink. However, after drinking, he doesn't feel any different or younger at all, and announces to everyone that it was a lie after all. The demon decides that the only way to convince them all of its authenticity was slice the top of Szilard's head off. What a shame that it was the real thing after all... wait, he has to live on and create Ennis later, so I'll be glad for now. :D Everyone is shocked and horrified... and only become more so when Szilard's head reattaches itself and he gets back up. Poor Gerd got the best seat in the house. XD The demon asks Szilard how he feels now that he had eternal youth (lol ...youth), and everyone else runs up to sample the brew, other than Sylvie, who hangs back, still frightened and unsure. People start to fight over the elixir and the demon tells them all to settle down since there was more than enough for everyone. We get short scenes of everyone on board drinking (why did they let Czeslaw drink it? D: He's not old enough to make a decision like that. D: They should have let him grow up a little more, but now he's prepubescent forever. D:). Gerd and Sylvie, however, hesitate. Gerd looks up to his brother, who meets his eyes and decisively chugs it down, before throwing caution to the wind and drinking from his own cup. Sylvie, who looked like she was a second away from stopping him, sprouts a horrified expression as she lifts the cup to her lips, realizing that, to live with Gred now, she would also have to become immortal.
A few minutes pass with everyone celebrating before the demon decides it was time to explain the rules. For those of them who would eventually grow tired of being immortal, there was only one way to die: to have another immortal consume them by having them place their right hand on your head and wish to eat you. Szilard looks thoughtfully at his wrinkly, twitchy right hand as the demon explains, and we get flashforward recaps of the two animated Advena casualties so far, which pretty much solves the mystery of who's behind it. I would have attempted to make it a little less obvious, and cast suspicion on several of the others, but after seeing Szilard readily eating Barnes, I suppose that no one was surprised. The demon explains that, not only will the eaten person be dead, but all their knowledge and memories would be acquired by the person who had eaten them. We see a scene of Sylvie walking alone through the ship the next day, looking for Gerd, as the demon continues to educate. If there was something an immortal wanted to share some information with another immortal, they could put their right hand on the other's head and transmit it directly (we've seen Szilard do this with Ennis). The last rule was that immortals would be unable to use aliases around each other, since it would be hard to find other immortals without a single clue. The demon almost forgets to say it as he's about to 'leave', but adds that if someone wanted to know how to make the elixir themselves, they just had to ask the one who summoned him. (This is where Maiza goes: Oh, crap, I hope I'm clever enough to make it off this ship alive. EVIL DO--DEMON. I wonder what his reasons are for granting humanity the elixir. Was he just bored enough to want to watch a bunch of humans desperately devouring each other out of paranoia, hunger for power, and/or hunger for knowledge? Or does he hope to get something out of it himself? I heard a rumor that if there ever came a time when there was one immortal left on the earth, the demon would eat them, but I can't be sure if that is true. His reason may also turn out to be surprisingly altruistic, like Maiza's goal that is explained later on. Whatever the case, if someone comes up to you one day with a potion they claim will grant eternal youth, think twice before drinking it. It's probably just poison, but the real thing could be just as bad. After all, a lot of people on the Advena Avis would have lived a heck of a lot longer if they'd never drank it.)
The morning following the summoning, the sky is clear, but we know it won't stay that way for long. Everyone is gathered in the dining area, eating breakfast, when Maiza announces to everyone that he had decided to seal the recipe for the elixir away. Szilard, of all people, voices his outrage, only adding to his unpopularity. Maiza explains that it was a decision he had reached after thinking about it all night long. He thinks it would be wise to stop where they were because it was too dangerous to unleash it upon the rest of the world. Szilard claims that he should share the knowledge because it was dangerous. I guess his argument is that, to stop the elixir from spreading, they would have to know how it was made to stop others from making it, or something. Not a very solid argument, though, IMO. Maiza, forced to answer with a good reason, says he's unable to be as trusting as Szilard, who accuses him of being sarcastic, but Maiza claims it was just the truth. (What. ...Well, it might be true, for a couple more hours, at least, since Szilard did tell Ennis that he lost faith/trust in people thanks to Maiza, and I'm sure Maiza is completely paranoid ATM.) Elmer announces that he kind of agrees with Maiza, and when Szilard prods, explains, looking suspiciously serious, they had acquired eternal youth, but haven't changed at all from the experience. They'll live without changing, and mortal people would also continue to live on like they have been. He says sad things could happen, but fun things could happen, too, but whatever happens, he has a 'vague sense' that it would be better to keep the amount of immortal people on the planet to a minimum. Szilard complains that it wasn't an actual argument that made no sense at all, but Elmer doesn't contest that, only adding that he was sure he wasn't far from the truth. One by one, others begin to stand up in support of Elmer's explanation of Maiza's decision; Denkro Togo, Gerd, and Sylvie. Fermet also agrees, saying that the knowledge could just as easily be shared in the future; it wouldn't be too late to change their minds after living as immortals for a while. Czeslaw says that he agrees because Fermet agrees. Most of the extras also voice their support, but Huey announces that he'll be suspending his vote. He explains that there's not enough information yet to come to a proper decision on such a big problem, and it wasn't a decision that could be decided by a majority vote, anyway. He says he mostly agrees with Fermet and Elmer, but won't settle upon an answer based on vague thoughts and feelings, causing Elmer to smile. Szilard asks when they could expect his answer, then, and Huey says it could be be one or two hundred years before he's satisfied, but even then, it wouldn't be too late for Maiza to change his mind. Maiza thanks all his alchemist buddies, and says that he would keep all the information regarding the Cure-All Elixir in his home for now, which only further angers Szilard.
That night on board the Advena Avis, as the passengers panic, thinking that a demon was on a rampage (probably blaming yesterday's summoning as the source... and they'd be partially correct), Sylvie, braver than most despite probably being out of her mind in fear, approaches Gerd's room to make sure he's all right. However, just before she is able to reach the doorknob, the cloaked figure descends the stairs and attacks her, pushing her against the door and placing a hand on her head. Sylvie, who had turned around in the process of the attack, stares her assailant in the face, surprised to see who it is. Though its not confirmed for the viewer yet, it's not like we don't already know, right?
We get a brief scene of an unearthly light shining through a key hole. A life has ended.
In a scene that occurs during the same night, but before people on the ship began to disappear, Maiza had invited his brother into his room, admitting that he regretted summoning the demon and obtaining the liquor of immortality, saying that there was knowledge that shouldn't fall into the hands of humans after all. He realizes that what he had done would only create conflict between loved ones. Gerd asks his brother what he's trying to say, and Maiza confides in him that he was having a hard time deciding whether or not to strike against Szilard preemptively. Maiza explains himself to a horrified Gerd: he and Szilard were not very different people, so he was probably thinking similarly. However, Maiza still had a greater goal in mind. Turns out, the reason he summoned the demon was so he could give the elixir to a truly wonderful person who would bring happiness and peace to the world (lol, I think Firo was doomed to become immortal, but Maiza was probably waiting for him to grow up a little more before giving it to him. XD). Only if he was able to do that would he be able to say that the knowledge of how to create the elixir was something humanity required. So, Maiza explains, that was why he wanted to share half of that knowledge with Gerd, astonishing him. If Gerd ever met a person like that, Maiza asks him to come straight to him, but if he has unfortunately died by that time, then Gerd would be able to eventually discover the rest of the recipe on his own. Maiza reaches out with his right hand, but Gerd backs away until his back is to the door, believing it to be a responsibility beyond his ability. However, Maiza tells him that Gerd was the only one he could trust completely on the ship with the knowledge, because he still had a pure heart. We get an ominous shot of a very familiar key hole as Maiza tells him to accept it because it was to be their shared destiny. Gerd still has a great amount of doubt, but Maiza does not wait to hear them, and places his right hand upon his brother's head. Gerd's survival instinct must have been screaming off the charts, but the amount of trust between these two brothers is staggering. Gerd does not try to protect himself from his brother's hand and Maiza only does exactly as he promised. Gerd, now knowing half of the recipe, loses the strength in his legs and is supported by Maiza. We hear Maiza thanking his brother through the door as a cloaked figure, who had been watching and listening through the key hole, straightens up and walks away.
Right after that exchange, however, it appears that Maiza had made up his mind. He leaves his room with Gerd still inside and immediately pays a visit to Szilard's room and stands over the form beneath the sheets. He reaches out with his right hand, but is surprised by Elmer standing in the doorway, pleading for him to stop, because doing things this way wasn't right. It seems Elmer, while usually a hyper person that comes across as unintelligent, is actually something of a genius (at least, compared to the rest of the passengers). He, like Maiza, has realized in advance that the elixir was dangerous, but had also been able to guess how Maiza would respond to limit the violence and death that would ensue. Maiza argues with Elmer, saying he had no doubt that Szilard would be the first to become aggressive against the rest of the immortals, but while Elmer is aware that there would come a time when someone began 'eating', he definitely did not want Maiza to be the one to start it all. Elmer takes Maiza's hand, intending to take him from the room, and once again says that they should laugh and have hope, because even Szilard could change one day (not likely. x_x). Maiza does indeed chuckle a bit at Elmer's antics, but it's short lived, because Maiza has noticed something off. Like, the lack of breathing and shuffling in ones sleep. Maiza breaks away from Elmer and lifts the sheets, exposing the bunched up pillows gathered beneath.
It can't be...! The person seconds away from killing Sylvie is... CZESLAW! *is shot* Okay, fine, it's really Szilard, but geez, how obvious. Why did they even bother to hide the attacker's identity until the final third of the episode? There was a great gathering of suspicious looking people on board the ship, and they didn't even toss out a single red herring to overcome the suspicion surrounding Szilard. If this episode was produced by a seasoned crime drama writer and the episode was the same up to this point, the perpetrator would definitely not be Szilard. In fact, it would have been damn amazing if someone else had been behind it and Szilard just ended up getting blamed for it while the true perpetrator totally got away with it. If that happened, I might have actually felt sorry for him even though he would have moved on to become quite the asshole himself. But, ah, what can you do? Szilard was doomed from the start to be the unredeemable villain of 1711 and 1930. Not to say he isn't well developed as a character. I'm just a little disappointed that he was developed into a complete bastard. Anyway. *checks top of rant* Oh yeah, so we have Sylvie in a pinch, and the assailant is revealed as Szilard because we recognize his voice before we see his face. He is creepily relishing the idea of consuming a young woman, and even more creepily, mentions how he should have lost the capacity for sexual desire a long time ago, but here he was, finding her attractive. Sylvie responds appropriately, crossing her arms over her chest when he starts ogling her (SO CREEPY). Szilard then comes to understand that the 'young lad' had been in love with her. (WHAT. SZILARD, YOU BASTARD!) Sylvie, like the viewers, gets a horrifying notion in her head, but refuses to believe it. She asks Szilard what he meant by that.
In Maiza's room, less than an hour ago, while Maiza walked across the ship to Szilard's room, Szilard had waited for Maiza to leave before entering, and now had Gerd tied to a chair. Why did he bother to tie him up? Good question. Maybe he thought he would try to acquire the knowledge through a slightly more peaceful means before he remembered that immortals were able to eat each other. He may have attempted to torture Gerd into telling him what Maiza had shared with him, which makes me even sadder about this scene. Gerd begs for his life, but Szilard tells him that this was to be Maiza's punishment for keeping such great knowledge from everyone else. Realizing that there would be no way to convince Szilard to stop, Gerd tries to call out for help, but can't summon a voice higher than a whisper.
Back with Szilard and Sylvie, Szilard tells her how much fun he's having, gaining all sorts of experiences, knowledge, and desires all at once, and excitedly proclaims that there was no limit to the things he could learn, and he wanted to learn more and more and eat more and more. After listening to him speak, Sylvie begins to understand what sort of 'demon' was 'rampaging' on the ship, and, though she doesn't particularly wish to hear the answer, asks, in horror, if Szilard had eaten Gerd.
In the room, Szilard tells Gerd, if he was to blame anything for his death, it had been his poor fate to be born as Maiza's brother, and places his right hand on his head.
Szilard tells Sylvie to relax and not fight, since they would soon be one again inside of him, but Sylvie freaks, crying out again to tell her if he had eaten Gerd. Awesome voice work--Sylvie's emotional outbursts tug at my heartstrings. ;_; I think Szilard shows her Gerd's death at this point, because she reacts with shock (but, while he was enough of a bastard to try it, it probably doesn't work, as explained once this scene is lengthened). We unfortunately witness Gerd's death ourselves, which is terrible, because he's such a sweetheart and so in love that he cries out for Sylvie at the end, just before his face deforms as he's eaten.
Maiza and Oscar return to Maiza's room, only to find Gerd's clothing and some rope laying in a chair. I can't even imagine how awful it would have been to walk inside and see that. I have a younger brother and sister, and it would probably destroy me to be in Maiza's place. D: Maiza, however, is able to hold himself together remarkably. Elmer tries to console him, but it is not needed at the time; Maiza is too angry to be sad. He tells Elmer to help him look for Szilard.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Sylvie DID NOT DRINK THE ELIXIR. :O I was so shocked at this. I thought that she had drank it for sure, because it would have been the only way for her to live happily with Gerd. It would be a stressful relationship if only one of them were to age, after all. She must have either decided to dump him (D:) or was planning to drink it at a later date, once she had determined that was how she would want to live. It would have been easy to hide the container in her room while everyone else was celebrating. Anyway, since she wasn't immortal, she wouldn't have been able to receive information from Szilard's hand, lucky for her. And, awesomely, right after Szilard shouts out that she hadn't drunk it, his arm is suddenly hacked off by a sword. :D Don't worry, Sylvie, the blood isn't going to stain your clothes. Oh, gore, how I missed you, and how great that this is the second time you've paid a visit to Szilard in this episode. XD Nile reveals to the audience that he KICKS ASS. He tells Szilard in a calm voice that he's actually pretty pissed ATM, while Szilard heals, but before he demonstrates that again with violence, says he'll put it into words first, and yells that he was going to kill him. He strikes again alongside his shout, but Szilard is surprisingly agile for a withered old man, and dodges as his arm reattaches itself. Szilard makes a desperate grab for Nile's head, but Nile fends him off with another swipe of his sword and Szilard bounces away and up the stairs like a certified ninja. O-O WTF Szilard? He's also been showcasing his athletic prowess throughout the murder scenes, so is he seriously some kind of retired ninja that is no longer afraid of breaking his back? HE FLIPS OVER NILE'S HEAD, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. XD Anyway, Nile pursues Szilard onto the deck, and Maiza and Elmer catch up, finding Sylvie, who had sunk down to her knees. She says Maiza's name with a mournful edge, revealing to him that she knew what happened to Gerd, but he does not respond, and instead follows after Nile, which was all the confirmation Sylvie needed. Before following Maiza, however, Elmer stops to talk with her for a bit and and gives me the impression that Sylvie was extremely popular among the alchemists. First an angry Nile 'saves' her (though his anger probably has more to do with him possibly being friends with some of the dead. XD) and now Elmer seems to have developed a crush on her judging by the way he talks. He tries to cheer her up when she starts to cry by inviting her to laugh together with him (er, not the best way to console someone who just found out the man she loved had died, Elmer. O-o), but it must have been a slip of the tongue since he says that particular catchphrase too often, because he realizes his mistake when Sylvie just sobs louder. He then tells her that he would go and try to convince Szilard that what he was doing was wrong, and Sylvie stops crying long enough to demand what nonexistent part of Szilard he would be trying to convince. Elmer assures her that it wasn't impossible and follows after Maiza while Sylvie, who is either concerned about Elmer becoming yet another victim or not wanting Szilard to have any chance of redemption (not that he'll take it, anyway), calls out after him, apparently attempting to stop him.
Szilard runs across the outer deck as Nile and another (Beg? Togo? Some random guy? The video quality is so bad, I can't tell, but Beg is usually with Nile, so... I'll definitely be downloading the DVD rips as they're released. ^^;) pursue, cornering him at the bow of the ship. Maiza approaches, passing his two armed friends, who call upon Szilard to surrender. Maiza tells Szilard that he would not hesitate any longer, which means he's fully decided to eat him. Before he can act, however, Elmer stops him again by shouting out to Szilard to listen to him, trying to grab everyone's attention by doing a handstand on the edge of the ship. He tries to flip back up to his feet, but the rain has left the wood slick and he slips, hits his head, and falls into the ocean. XD (Oh, Elmer C. Albatross. XD XD XD This scene is destined to one day be set to audio from a certain scene of Clone High. If no one does it by next summer, I'll force my sister to do it once she moves in with me. XD) I wonder what he had been planning to say to him? Oh, well. I doubt it would have made a difference. Meanwhile, Maiza shouts Elmer's name in shock, and, at the very last second, remembers Szilard was standing behind him. Szilard charges, hand outstretched, but Nile cuts off his arm again, which knocks him off balance. Szilard slips on the slick deck and also falls into the ocean, but luckily off the opposite side Elmer fell from, so they don't encounter each other. Maiza and the others run to where Elmer fell from to save him quickly, just in case.
Elmer slowly sinks deeper and deeper into the ocean, probably suffering from a (brief) concussion. It is here that he unexpectedly has a conversation with the demon Maiza had summoned the day before (who appears as a jellyfish this time? ...LMAO). It seems he was interested in watching how everything would turn out after all. He was surprised and amused with Elmer's attempt to gain Szilard's affection, calls him strange and interesting, and decides to grant him one wish. Elmer reminds him that he's not an Arabian genie, but the demon says it's only one wish, not three. Deciding to go for it, Elmer makes his wish, but we can only guess what that wish was. For Szilard to come to his senses? Hasn't happened for 200 years. For Sylvie to be able to laugh again? A bit more likely. For Sylvie to be pregnant with Gerd's child? OMGWTFBBQ WHAT IF MAIZA IS FIRO'S GREAT GREAT ... GREAT GREAT UNCLE?! XD
Elmer wakes up on board the Advena Avis with everyone gathered around him, and sits up suddenly, emptying the saltwater from his lungs. Sylvie, who has knelt in front of him, asks him if he's okay. Elmer, however, immediately asks what happened to Szilard, and Maiza tells him that he had also fallen into the ocean, though he probably wouldn't be able to return to the ship in his condition. Elmer is disappointed, since he seriously thought he had a chance to reason with him. (To the side, Czeslaw looks up to Fermet, who is silent) Elmer then turns his attention to Sylvie, and says that it was bad timing, but asks her to put a smile on. Sylvie, however, is only able to put on a smile wry smile as she informs him that she hadn't thought he would have had a chance to successfully convince Szilard, gets up, and walks away. Elmer sighs to himself once she's out of hearing range, and says he wouldn't give up yet. Sylvie looks out to the ocean and looks at the vial she holds in her hand: her share of the immortality elixir. (It seems as if Maiza is the one holding it at first, but he's at the middle of the ship while Sylvie walked to the back, and the waves suggest the person holding the vial is at the back of the ship.) Sylvie says Gerd's name as she examines it. Did she keep it or did she throw it into the Atlantic? She might dislike the idea of living for eternity without Gerd, but, at the same time, she might be thinking about getting revenge on Szilard for killing him. Or, maybe, like Maiza, she plans to give it to someone who could have an immense positive effect on the world if they were able to live a much longer than normal life. Geez, this episode was supposed to answer a lot of questions, but I'm left with more questions than before. D:
Up in the crow's nest, it is revealed that Huey had watched the events proceed silently from his position. His disassociation with the rest of the world is a little creepy and amazing. It's like he's a fellow viewer of Baccano! rather than an actual character. XD Once again, the demon Maiza summoned makes an appearance, this time as a shadow on the sails. He mentions that he didn't think it would have started so soon, and even though he admits to being responsible for the situation, remarks that humans were greedy. Huey just demands to know why the demon was talking to him (LOL, he talks like the demon is beneath him. XD). The demon says it was because he was being a spectator just like himself, looking down at the situation from a height, and hopes they could get along. Huey says he's just interested in what is going on, and the demon says that they were the same, "But all right". He makes an odd statement about how he thought "it really would happen this time". Huey asks him what he meant, but the demon just says it was a modest idea of no consequence. As we get a few scenes of the later arcs; Maiza putting the hat on Firo's head (sadly, his last appearance until episode 10), Czeslaw leading Mary under the dining car tables, Beg(?) studying (alchemy?), and Sylvie singing in a bar (does this mean she becomes immortal after all, or was this scene actually just a few months or years later?); Huey mentions that it was like the demon was expecting them to do something, but the demon tells him not to rush things because they were going to be stuck with each other for quite a while. The demon leaves Huey's side, promising that they would meet each other again, and Huey chuckles as he continues to watch what was going on below. It's awful that we probably aren't going to find out what the demon hopes to happen, because he doesn't have much of a part to play (so far?) in the 1930s. SECONDSEASONSECONDSEASONSECONDSEASONPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE
Skipping forward in time to early 1930 (or even earlier), before the full elixir is recreated, Maiza is having a private conversation with Ronny Sukiart, a Martillo family secretary. And this is where I wonder what the heck Maiza was thinking when he joined the Camorra. Did he already sift through all of the more, er, legal professions in his search for a great leader for humanity? Or was he just concerned that Szilard would come after him again one day, and so decided to surround himself with powerful people who don't feel bad about their sometimes violent behavior? Anyway, Maiza says that having the Runorata family as enemies would be troublesome, but believes that there would be no reason to fear Gustavo. Ronny understands, and says that they wouldn't need to act much, other than 'sweeping up the little sparks'. Maiza comments that there should be no problems that way. Once Maiza has gone, however, Ronny says to himself that he can feel Szilard coming around the corner, and wonders if Maiza could feel him coming, too...
"But all right."
:O
Anyway, episode seven of Baccano! is a little different than the others--it focuses on only one arc, the events of 1711, with only a short series of flashforwards. However, that isn't meant to suggest that this episode is kept entirely chronological. Oh, hell no. :)
To begin, there's no recap during the OP this time. I missed it, since they reuse the interesting and funny scenes most of the time, and I also enjoy the extended OP song. However, since this episode takes place in 1711, there's no scenes we need to recap. They haven't happened yet. And while the novels apparently include a few events prior to 1711, it doesn't look like they'll make it into these thirteen episodes (though of course I'm hoping for a second season--there's more than enough material to do a second, and even a third, thirteen episode season at this point, and even more as the novel series is ongoing, and likely won't end for quite a while. If it does end, hopefully it will be open ended, because Baccano! can really only end in tragedy. D:
The episode begins with a handy caption informing the viewer that the following events occur in 1711. I can only imagine the shock of a viewer who doesn't watch next episode previews. XD However, as I've already said, the events are not in chronological order, so we have to keep thinking throughout. This first scene, arguably the first death upon the Advena Avis, is a great example--it's actually close to the halfway point if we put all the scenes in order. The scene itself is fairly simple: after a few scenes of the ship to introduce the setting, an unfortunate extra by the name of Pierre is walking alone when he hears an odd sound. The viewers see a cloaked figure hiding and immediately know that things aren't going to go well for the poor guy, but Pierre, who just asks who was there before continuing to look around, does not appear afraid... until he definitely hears something approaching again and he turns around just in time to see his attacker's face as the shadowy figure absorbs him into his hand. His clothes and the lamp he was carrying fall to the floor and the mystery immortal flees the scene.
Title screen! :D "Everything begins on board the Advena Avis". From the first scene, and the scene in episode 1, we can assume that it's the beginning of the liquor of immortality that involves all the as-of-yet unborn characters later on, and also the violence caused by the liquor's creation that affects the lives of the survivors that live on into the 1930s. For those who keep careful track of the characters and how they know each other, we know or suppose that Maiza, Szilard, Huey, and Czeslaw will be making appearances in this episode as well as a few 1700-only characters that either die or don't have parts to play in 1930-32. We know for sure that Maiza will be present due to the scene in episode 1, but as for Szilard, Huey, and Czeslaw, we need to remember certain things and trust intuition. Szilard says to Ennis in episode four that he couldn't understand young people neither in 1930 nor 200 years ago and complains about Maiza, guaranteeing him a spot on the ship. In episode 1, Czeslaw is identified as "Maiza's old friend"; between his 'youth' and Maiza being in his 240s, we can only guess when they first met and how long they've been friends, so it's not out of hand to expect Czes on the ship. Huey is the long shot--all we're told about him is that he gained immortality somehow during Goose's speech in episode two and was arrested for some reason. Since he's been in prison for a while yet has a cult to call his own, and hasn't appeared in the 1930 arc at all, unless there was another immortality outbreak somewhere, he had to be on the ship as well.
"The day before..." (lol, some of these captions are just ridiculous. XD) We are introduced to Gerd Avaro (Maiza's younger brother) and Sylvie Lumiere, his girlfriend, sitting on a bed in a room, talking about what was about to happen on the ship. Sylvie asks Gerd if he's worried about Maiza, and Gerd replies, channeling Jacuzzi Splot, that he's very scared about how they were planning to summon a demon on the ship, because, while they would be getting something in return, there had to be a price to pay for something so taboo. He's unsure that human beings really need immortality in the first place. Sylvie says she doesn't know if it's right or not, but believes that, if it was a step in the direction of creating a cure for all ailments, then she supported the summoning. Gerd shifts on the bed, taking Sylvie's hands in his and tells her that eternal life shouldn't automatically be thought of as a beautiful thing (referenced again in episode one by Gustav Saint Germain's speech about how rainbows might be thought of as a promise of disaster by some), and says that he would be more than happy to live a regular lifespan with Sylvie by his side. Sylvie agrees, and says she could give up eternal life to be with him and not be afraid of death. (lol, the scene cuts out here, so I'm only left with my extremely perverted imagination... D: ... :D)
Onto the next scene. Really, if there's anyone that doesn't not like Szilard at this point, I think episode seven successfully convinces them. :/ In this scene, Szilard is complaining to everyone gathered in the dining area of the Advena Avis about how it was heresy to summon a demon and how he can't believe that everyone is supporting Maiza (even though, as an extra comments, Szilard is the most curious of them all). Fermet, who appears to be taking care of Czeslaw, explains that the elixir of immortality is every alchemist's dream and that summoning a demon would be a small price to pay to change history. Szilard is still convinced that the whole thing is nonsense, but Fermet tells him that if Maiza is successful, he would become famous and stand next to other great alchemists like Synesius and Zosimus in history. Szilard harumps, and Elmer C. Albatross (I'M AN ALBATROSS! XD), who either seriously has ADD or is just so bummed by the heavy conversation that he'd do anything to lighten the mood, suddenly stands up and shouts that everyone should laugh and smile and follows his own advice loudly. XD Don't be fooled--I actually find him very charming as a character. The type of guy that everyone would like to call a friend, really. While Elmer laughs, Fermet comforts an anxious Czeslaw by clapping a hand on his head. It's really weird to see Czeslaw as a child actually the age of his appearance. He changed a lot over the years, from a shy, hesitant child to a semi-evil scheming immortal who's likely going to be asking Ladd to kill people soon in the 1931 arc. Also, even though they don't know the catch about putting hands on peoples heads, yet, the way the exchange is presented is really ominous. I don't think it bodes well for Fermet, who hasn't made an appearance (at least, so far) in the 1930s.
Oh, wait. That scene with Gerd and Sylvie does continue on screen. D: DAMN YOU, HUEY. Their conversation is nonchalantly interrupted by Huey, who apparently has no issues with inviting himself into other people's rooms. XD Unless, of course, he's sharing the room with Gerd, but I doubt that's the case. XD He tells them that there's no reason to be afraid and quotes from the Emerald Tablet, the foundation of alchemy, which Gerd takes over and finishes. The quote is a little over my head, but I think it basically states that everything in the world has a connection, everything is enclosed in a circle, so all things in the world share a common ground. Since all was created by one, everything had a common origin. Using this quote to support his stance, Huey tells them that it would be naive to automatically think of the demon as an evil entity when it was possible that it could share a lot of common ground with humans, and goes on to say that the black magic they would use to summon it was the same way. He's saying that demons could be both good and evil, and black magic could be used in both good and evil ways. Gerd asks Huey if he was afraid, but Huey says no; he's just very interested in how their lives would change with the summoning of the demon and the creation of the Cure-All Elixir, and is looking forward to it. Gerd and Sylvie are a little bewildered by Huey's answer and don't speak, causing Huey to chuckle to himself. Indeed, Huey is the type of person who would rather watch the action unfold than take part in it himself. He's probably having a great time in jail. XD
The scene switches to Maiza carving the alchemic circle into the floor of the ship in a large room beneath the deck with Nile and Beg Garoto in attendance--this is the scene we saw briefly in episode one. Maiza asks them to gather everyone in the room.
We suddenly jump forward in time to when Pierre's clothes are discovered by several other passengers, and they discover that another person, Italo, has disappeared as well. They seem a little confused by what's going on. (Weren't they paying attention to the rules? They aren't very smart, are they?) However, they hear some noise from the deck and see a cloaked figure rush away, and so decide to investigate. One of them climbs halfway up the stairs to look around the deck (What miserable weather. D:), but doesn't see the shadowy figure hiding until it suddenly crawls over to him; creepily amazing, like a spider or a reptile; and grabs his head. Oops. What a time to forget your hat. XD He gets pulled up to the deck as his friends below react in shock. We get a few brief flashes of other characters; Nile, Fermet & Czeslaw, Beg Garoto, Denkro Togo, Huey, and Maiza & Elmer; as they seemingly react to the sudden commotion, but it's too late to save the guy and his clothes flutter back down below deck, seen by a larger gathering of background characters.
Before we get a continuation of everything going to hell, however, we finally get the scene which starts it all. Maiza has gathered everyone below deck in the large room, and is about to begin the alchemic ritual, with Gerd and Togo having some sort of role to play. As we get various shots of those present, Maiza explains that he does not know if what he is doing is the right thing, but says that he learned of this ritual from someone who had once attended the same school as him, and that man hadn't aged at all for generations. According to Maiza, this was possible because he had summoned a demon that had given him the elixir of immortality 300 years ago (OMGWTF. He's totally talking about Nicholas Flamel! XD), and is probably still alive out there, somewhere, never aging a day. This gets Szilard's undivided attention. Maiza concludes his speech by saying that the creation of a Cure-All Elixir was every alchemist's desire and tells them that he would then summon the demon, saying he believes that obtaining the elixir will bring about more good than evil in the long run, and asks his fellow alchemists to watch over him carefully until it was over. Maiza turns around to face the circle, and gets Gerd, Denkro Togo, and himself to stand within it, and they stare into the fire inside the cauldron for a short time before Maiza begins to recite the words of summoning. In reference to the Emerald Tablet, which states that everything is the same at the core, Maiza chants that the demon is the earth and heavens, day and night, light and dark, etc. etc., until, to everyone's surprise, he is interrupted by a disembodied voice saying that was more than enough. Everyone gets a little freaked out. XD
The fear in the previous scene makes the connection to the fear during the following day. After seeing one of their friends vanish right before their eyes, everyone is running around screaming that there was a monster or a demon rampaging on board the ship (WTF, did they all sleep through the demon's speech we'll get to later on in the episode?). Sylvie learns all of this from the panicking passengers, and immediately becomes worried about Gerd, but the others run away before she could find out from them if he was safe. Suddenly alone with only the creaking of the ship and the rain drowning out the silence, Sylvie looks to the staircase with fear.
After the brief distraction, we're back with the actual demon, who voices his distaste over summoning chants, dismissing them as complaints. Turns out that he could always hear what they're saying and thinking, as the demon explains, appearing as a flickering silhouette on a pillar, cast by the cauldron's flames. They only have to think about him and he is there, "But all right." (Quote is extremely important to remember. ^^) Maiza opens his mouth to speak, but the demon interrupts him again, since he would rather not be referred to by a name, and goes on to complain how they were calling him a demon without him agreeing to it, "But all right." Maiza is suddenly alone in a completely different dimension, as the demon explains that he knows what he's thinking and that he wanted to know everything about eternal youth, and tells him that he would teach only him the method of creating the Cure-All Elixir. Maiza asks why only him, but before the demon answers, Maiza is back in the real world, holding a bucket full of a suspicious liquid. Could it be? It is! The demon tells all present that whomever drank from the pot would have eternal life, but would only explain everything to everyone once everyone had decided whether or not to drink it. Szilard walks up immediately, having gotten over the 'heresy' pretty easily. The demon is amused, and mentions that he wanted to avoid death pretty badly. Szilard just says that he wanted to prove to everyone that it wasn't real, and is the first to drink. However, after drinking, he doesn't feel any different or younger at all, and announces to everyone that it was a lie after all. The demon decides that the only way to convince them all of its authenticity was slice the top of Szilard's head off. What a shame that it was the real thing after all... wait, he has to live on and create Ennis later, so I'll be glad for now. :D Everyone is shocked and horrified... and only become more so when Szilard's head reattaches itself and he gets back up. Poor Gerd got the best seat in the house. XD The demon asks Szilard how he feels now that he had eternal youth (lol ...youth), and everyone else runs up to sample the brew, other than Sylvie, who hangs back, still frightened and unsure. People start to fight over the elixir and the demon tells them all to settle down since there was more than enough for everyone. We get short scenes of everyone on board drinking (why did they let Czeslaw drink it? D: He's not old enough to make a decision like that. D: They should have let him grow up a little more, but now he's prepubescent forever. D:). Gerd and Sylvie, however, hesitate. Gerd looks up to his brother, who meets his eyes and decisively chugs it down, before throwing caution to the wind and drinking from his own cup. Sylvie, who looked like she was a second away from stopping him, sprouts a horrified expression as she lifts the cup to her lips, realizing that, to live with Gred now, she would also have to become immortal.
A few minutes pass with everyone celebrating before the demon decides it was time to explain the rules. For those of them who would eventually grow tired of being immortal, there was only one way to die: to have another immortal consume them by having them place their right hand on your head and wish to eat you. Szilard looks thoughtfully at his wrinkly, twitchy right hand as the demon explains, and we get flashforward recaps of the two animated Advena casualties so far, which pretty much solves the mystery of who's behind it. I would have attempted to make it a little less obvious, and cast suspicion on several of the others, but after seeing Szilard readily eating Barnes, I suppose that no one was surprised. The demon explains that, not only will the eaten person be dead, but all their knowledge and memories would be acquired by the person who had eaten them. We see a scene of Sylvie walking alone through the ship the next day, looking for Gerd, as the demon continues to educate. If there was something an immortal wanted to share some information with another immortal, they could put their right hand on the other's head and transmit it directly (we've seen Szilard do this with Ennis). The last rule was that immortals would be unable to use aliases around each other, since it would be hard to find other immortals without a single clue. The demon almost forgets to say it as he's about to 'leave', but adds that if someone wanted to know how to make the elixir themselves, they just had to ask the one who summoned him. (This is where Maiza goes: Oh, crap, I hope I'm clever enough to make it off this ship alive. EVIL DO--DEMON. I wonder what his reasons are for granting humanity the elixir. Was he just bored enough to want to watch a bunch of humans desperately devouring each other out of paranoia, hunger for power, and/or hunger for knowledge? Or does he hope to get something out of it himself? I heard a rumor that if there ever came a time when there was one immortal left on the earth, the demon would eat them, but I can't be sure if that is true. His reason may also turn out to be surprisingly altruistic, like Maiza's goal that is explained later on. Whatever the case, if someone comes up to you one day with a potion they claim will grant eternal youth, think twice before drinking it. It's probably just poison, but the real thing could be just as bad. After all, a lot of people on the Advena Avis would have lived a heck of a lot longer if they'd never drank it.)
The morning following the summoning, the sky is clear, but we know it won't stay that way for long. Everyone is gathered in the dining area, eating breakfast, when Maiza announces to everyone that he had decided to seal the recipe for the elixir away. Szilard, of all people, voices his outrage, only adding to his unpopularity. Maiza explains that it was a decision he had reached after thinking about it all night long. He thinks it would be wise to stop where they were because it was too dangerous to unleash it upon the rest of the world. Szilard claims that he should share the knowledge because it was dangerous. I guess his argument is that, to stop the elixir from spreading, they would have to know how it was made to stop others from making it, or something. Not a very solid argument, though, IMO. Maiza, forced to answer with a good reason, says he's unable to be as trusting as Szilard, who accuses him of being sarcastic, but Maiza claims it was just the truth. (What. ...Well, it might be true, for a couple more hours, at least, since Szilard did tell Ennis that he lost faith/trust in people thanks to Maiza, and I'm sure Maiza is completely paranoid ATM.) Elmer announces that he kind of agrees with Maiza, and when Szilard prods, explains, looking suspiciously serious, they had acquired eternal youth, but haven't changed at all from the experience. They'll live without changing, and mortal people would also continue to live on like they have been. He says sad things could happen, but fun things could happen, too, but whatever happens, he has a 'vague sense' that it would be better to keep the amount of immortal people on the planet to a minimum. Szilard complains that it wasn't an actual argument that made no sense at all, but Elmer doesn't contest that, only adding that he was sure he wasn't far from the truth. One by one, others begin to stand up in support of Elmer's explanation of Maiza's decision; Denkro Togo, Gerd, and Sylvie. Fermet also agrees, saying that the knowledge could just as easily be shared in the future; it wouldn't be too late to change their minds after living as immortals for a while. Czeslaw says that he agrees because Fermet agrees. Most of the extras also voice their support, but Huey announces that he'll be suspending his vote. He explains that there's not enough information yet to come to a proper decision on such a big problem, and it wasn't a decision that could be decided by a majority vote, anyway. He says he mostly agrees with Fermet and Elmer, but won't settle upon an answer based on vague thoughts and feelings, causing Elmer to smile. Szilard asks when they could expect his answer, then, and Huey says it could be be one or two hundred years before he's satisfied, but even then, it wouldn't be too late for Maiza to change his mind. Maiza thanks all his alchemist buddies, and says that he would keep all the information regarding the Cure-All Elixir in his home for now, which only further angers Szilard.
That night on board the Advena Avis, as the passengers panic, thinking that a demon was on a rampage (probably blaming yesterday's summoning as the source... and they'd be partially correct), Sylvie, braver than most despite probably being out of her mind in fear, approaches Gerd's room to make sure he's all right. However, just before she is able to reach the doorknob, the cloaked figure descends the stairs and attacks her, pushing her against the door and placing a hand on her head. Sylvie, who had turned around in the process of the attack, stares her assailant in the face, surprised to see who it is. Though its not confirmed for the viewer yet, it's not like we don't already know, right?
We get a brief scene of an unearthly light shining through a key hole. A life has ended.
In a scene that occurs during the same night, but before people on the ship began to disappear, Maiza had invited his brother into his room, admitting that he regretted summoning the demon and obtaining the liquor of immortality, saying that there was knowledge that shouldn't fall into the hands of humans after all. He realizes that what he had done would only create conflict between loved ones. Gerd asks his brother what he's trying to say, and Maiza confides in him that he was having a hard time deciding whether or not to strike against Szilard preemptively. Maiza explains himself to a horrified Gerd: he and Szilard were not very different people, so he was probably thinking similarly. However, Maiza still had a greater goal in mind. Turns out, the reason he summoned the demon was so he could give the elixir to a truly wonderful person who would bring happiness and peace to the world (lol, I think Firo was doomed to become immortal, but Maiza was probably waiting for him to grow up a little more before giving it to him. XD). Only if he was able to do that would he be able to say that the knowledge of how to create the elixir was something humanity required. So, Maiza explains, that was why he wanted to share half of that knowledge with Gerd, astonishing him. If Gerd ever met a person like that, Maiza asks him to come straight to him, but if he has unfortunately died by that time, then Gerd would be able to eventually discover the rest of the recipe on his own. Maiza reaches out with his right hand, but Gerd backs away until his back is to the door, believing it to be a responsibility beyond his ability. However, Maiza tells him that Gerd was the only one he could trust completely on the ship with the knowledge, because he still had a pure heart. We get an ominous shot of a very familiar key hole as Maiza tells him to accept it because it was to be their shared destiny. Gerd still has a great amount of doubt, but Maiza does not wait to hear them, and places his right hand upon his brother's head. Gerd's survival instinct must have been screaming off the charts, but the amount of trust between these two brothers is staggering. Gerd does not try to protect himself from his brother's hand and Maiza only does exactly as he promised. Gerd, now knowing half of the recipe, loses the strength in his legs and is supported by Maiza. We hear Maiza thanking his brother through the door as a cloaked figure, who had been watching and listening through the key hole, straightens up and walks away.
Right after that exchange, however, it appears that Maiza had made up his mind. He leaves his room with Gerd still inside and immediately pays a visit to Szilard's room and stands over the form beneath the sheets. He reaches out with his right hand, but is surprised by Elmer standing in the doorway, pleading for him to stop, because doing things this way wasn't right. It seems Elmer, while usually a hyper person that comes across as unintelligent, is actually something of a genius (at least, compared to the rest of the passengers). He, like Maiza, has realized in advance that the elixir was dangerous, but had also been able to guess how Maiza would respond to limit the violence and death that would ensue. Maiza argues with Elmer, saying he had no doubt that Szilard would be the first to become aggressive against the rest of the immortals, but while Elmer is aware that there would come a time when someone began 'eating', he definitely did not want Maiza to be the one to start it all. Elmer takes Maiza's hand, intending to take him from the room, and once again says that they should laugh and have hope, because even Szilard could change one day (not likely. x_x). Maiza does indeed chuckle a bit at Elmer's antics, but it's short lived, because Maiza has noticed something off. Like, the lack of breathing and shuffling in ones sleep. Maiza breaks away from Elmer and lifts the sheets, exposing the bunched up pillows gathered beneath.
It can't be...! The person seconds away from killing Sylvie is... CZESLAW! *is shot* Okay, fine, it's really Szilard, but geez, how obvious. Why did they even bother to hide the attacker's identity until the final third of the episode? There was a great gathering of suspicious looking people on board the ship, and they didn't even toss out a single red herring to overcome the suspicion surrounding Szilard. If this episode was produced by a seasoned crime drama writer and the episode was the same up to this point, the perpetrator would definitely not be Szilard. In fact, it would have been damn amazing if someone else had been behind it and Szilard just ended up getting blamed for it while the true perpetrator totally got away with it. If that happened, I might have actually felt sorry for him even though he would have moved on to become quite the asshole himself. But, ah, what can you do? Szilard was doomed from the start to be the unredeemable villain of 1711 and 1930. Not to say he isn't well developed as a character. I'm just a little disappointed that he was developed into a complete bastard. Anyway. *checks top of rant* Oh yeah, so we have Sylvie in a pinch, and the assailant is revealed as Szilard because we recognize his voice before we see his face. He is creepily relishing the idea of consuming a young woman, and even more creepily, mentions how he should have lost the capacity for sexual desire a long time ago, but here he was, finding her attractive. Sylvie responds appropriately, crossing her arms over her chest when he starts ogling her (SO CREEPY). Szilard then comes to understand that the 'young lad' had been in love with her. (WHAT. SZILARD, YOU BASTARD!) Sylvie, like the viewers, gets a horrifying notion in her head, but refuses to believe it. She asks Szilard what he meant by that.
In Maiza's room, less than an hour ago, while Maiza walked across the ship to Szilard's room, Szilard had waited for Maiza to leave before entering, and now had Gerd tied to a chair. Why did he bother to tie him up? Good question. Maybe he thought he would try to acquire the knowledge through a slightly more peaceful means before he remembered that immortals were able to eat each other. He may have attempted to torture Gerd into telling him what Maiza had shared with him, which makes me even sadder about this scene. Gerd begs for his life, but Szilard tells him that this was to be Maiza's punishment for keeping such great knowledge from everyone else. Realizing that there would be no way to convince Szilard to stop, Gerd tries to call out for help, but can't summon a voice higher than a whisper.
Back with Szilard and Sylvie, Szilard tells her how much fun he's having, gaining all sorts of experiences, knowledge, and desires all at once, and excitedly proclaims that there was no limit to the things he could learn, and he wanted to learn more and more and eat more and more. After listening to him speak, Sylvie begins to understand what sort of 'demon' was 'rampaging' on the ship, and, though she doesn't particularly wish to hear the answer, asks, in horror, if Szilard had eaten Gerd.
In the room, Szilard tells Gerd, if he was to blame anything for his death, it had been his poor fate to be born as Maiza's brother, and places his right hand on his head.
Szilard tells Sylvie to relax and not fight, since they would soon be one again inside of him, but Sylvie freaks, crying out again to tell her if he had eaten Gerd. Awesome voice work--Sylvie's emotional outbursts tug at my heartstrings. ;_; I think Szilard shows her Gerd's death at this point, because she reacts with shock (but, while he was enough of a bastard to try it, it probably doesn't work, as explained once this scene is lengthened). We unfortunately witness Gerd's death ourselves, which is terrible, because he's such a sweetheart and so in love that he cries out for Sylvie at the end, just before his face deforms as he's eaten.
Maiza and Oscar return to Maiza's room, only to find Gerd's clothing and some rope laying in a chair. I can't even imagine how awful it would have been to walk inside and see that. I have a younger brother and sister, and it would probably destroy me to be in Maiza's place. D: Maiza, however, is able to hold himself together remarkably. Elmer tries to console him, but it is not needed at the time; Maiza is too angry to be sad. He tells Elmer to help him look for Szilard.
Meanwhile, it is revealed that Sylvie DID NOT DRINK THE ELIXIR. :O I was so shocked at this. I thought that she had drank it for sure, because it would have been the only way for her to live happily with Gerd. It would be a stressful relationship if only one of them were to age, after all. She must have either decided to dump him (D:) or was planning to drink it at a later date, once she had determined that was how she would want to live. It would have been easy to hide the container in her room while everyone else was celebrating. Anyway, since she wasn't immortal, she wouldn't have been able to receive information from Szilard's hand, lucky for her. And, awesomely, right after Szilard shouts out that she hadn't drunk it, his arm is suddenly hacked off by a sword. :D Don't worry, Sylvie, the blood isn't going to stain your clothes. Oh, gore, how I missed you, and how great that this is the second time you've paid a visit to Szilard in this episode. XD Nile reveals to the audience that he KICKS ASS. He tells Szilard in a calm voice that he's actually pretty pissed ATM, while Szilard heals, but before he demonstrates that again with violence, says he'll put it into words first, and yells that he was going to kill him. He strikes again alongside his shout, but Szilard is surprisingly agile for a withered old man, and dodges as his arm reattaches itself. Szilard makes a desperate grab for Nile's head, but Nile fends him off with another swipe of his sword and Szilard bounces away and up the stairs like a certified ninja. O-O WTF Szilard? He's also been showcasing his athletic prowess throughout the murder scenes, so is he seriously some kind of retired ninja that is no longer afraid of breaking his back? HE FLIPS OVER NILE'S HEAD, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. XD Anyway, Nile pursues Szilard onto the deck, and Maiza and Elmer catch up, finding Sylvie, who had sunk down to her knees. She says Maiza's name with a mournful edge, revealing to him that she knew what happened to Gerd, but he does not respond, and instead follows after Nile, which was all the confirmation Sylvie needed. Before following Maiza, however, Elmer stops to talk with her for a bit and and gives me the impression that Sylvie was extremely popular among the alchemists. First an angry Nile 'saves' her (though his anger probably has more to do with him possibly being friends with some of the dead. XD) and now Elmer seems to have developed a crush on her judging by the way he talks. He tries to cheer her up when she starts to cry by inviting her to laugh together with him (er, not the best way to console someone who just found out the man she loved had died, Elmer. O-o), but it must have been a slip of the tongue since he says that particular catchphrase too often, because he realizes his mistake when Sylvie just sobs louder. He then tells her that he would go and try to convince Szilard that what he was doing was wrong, and Sylvie stops crying long enough to demand what nonexistent part of Szilard he would be trying to convince. Elmer assures her that it wasn't impossible and follows after Maiza while Sylvie, who is either concerned about Elmer becoming yet another victim or not wanting Szilard to have any chance of redemption (not that he'll take it, anyway), calls out after him, apparently attempting to stop him.
Szilard runs across the outer deck as Nile and another (Beg? Togo? Some random guy? The video quality is so bad, I can't tell, but Beg is usually with Nile, so... I'll definitely be downloading the DVD rips as they're released. ^^;) pursue, cornering him at the bow of the ship. Maiza approaches, passing his two armed friends, who call upon Szilard to surrender. Maiza tells Szilard that he would not hesitate any longer, which means he's fully decided to eat him. Before he can act, however, Elmer stops him again by shouting out to Szilard to listen to him, trying to grab everyone's attention by doing a handstand on the edge of the ship. He tries to flip back up to his feet, but the rain has left the wood slick and he slips, hits his head, and falls into the ocean. XD (Oh, Elmer C. Albatross. XD XD XD This scene is destined to one day be set to audio from a certain scene of Clone High. If no one does it by next summer, I'll force my sister to do it once she moves in with me. XD) I wonder what he had been planning to say to him? Oh, well. I doubt it would have made a difference. Meanwhile, Maiza shouts Elmer's name in shock, and, at the very last second, remembers Szilard was standing behind him. Szilard charges, hand outstretched, but Nile cuts off his arm again, which knocks him off balance. Szilard slips on the slick deck and also falls into the ocean, but luckily off the opposite side Elmer fell from, so they don't encounter each other. Maiza and the others run to where Elmer fell from to save him quickly, just in case.
Elmer slowly sinks deeper and deeper into the ocean, probably suffering from a (brief) concussion. It is here that he unexpectedly has a conversation with the demon Maiza had summoned the day before (who appears as a jellyfish this time? ...LMAO). It seems he was interested in watching how everything would turn out after all. He was surprised and amused with Elmer's attempt to gain Szilard's affection, calls him strange and interesting, and decides to grant him one wish. Elmer reminds him that he's not an Arabian genie, but the demon says it's only one wish, not three. Deciding to go for it, Elmer makes his wish, but we can only guess what that wish was. For Szilard to come to his senses? Hasn't happened for 200 years. For Sylvie to be able to laugh again? A bit more likely. For Sylvie to be pregnant with Gerd's child? OMGWTFBBQ WHAT IF MAIZA IS FIRO'S GREAT GREAT ... GREAT GREAT UNCLE?! XD
Elmer wakes up on board the Advena Avis with everyone gathered around him, and sits up suddenly, emptying the saltwater from his lungs. Sylvie, who has knelt in front of him, asks him if he's okay. Elmer, however, immediately asks what happened to Szilard, and Maiza tells him that he had also fallen into the ocean, though he probably wouldn't be able to return to the ship in his condition. Elmer is disappointed, since he seriously thought he had a chance to reason with him. (To the side, Czeslaw looks up to Fermet, who is silent) Elmer then turns his attention to Sylvie, and says that it was bad timing, but asks her to put a smile on. Sylvie, however, is only able to put on a smile wry smile as she informs him that she hadn't thought he would have had a chance to successfully convince Szilard, gets up, and walks away. Elmer sighs to himself once she's out of hearing range, and says he wouldn't give up yet. Sylvie looks out to the ocean and looks at the vial she holds in her hand: her share of the immortality elixir. (It seems as if Maiza is the one holding it at first, but he's at the middle of the ship while Sylvie walked to the back, and the waves suggest the person holding the vial is at the back of the ship.) Sylvie says Gerd's name as she examines it. Did she keep it or did she throw it into the Atlantic? She might dislike the idea of living for eternity without Gerd, but, at the same time, she might be thinking about getting revenge on Szilard for killing him. Or, maybe, like Maiza, she plans to give it to someone who could have an immense positive effect on the world if they were able to live a much longer than normal life. Geez, this episode was supposed to answer a lot of questions, but I'm left with more questions than before. D:
Up in the crow's nest, it is revealed that Huey had watched the events proceed silently from his position. His disassociation with the rest of the world is a little creepy and amazing. It's like he's a fellow viewer of Baccano! rather than an actual character. XD Once again, the demon Maiza summoned makes an appearance, this time as a shadow on the sails. He mentions that he didn't think it would have started so soon, and even though he admits to being responsible for the situation, remarks that humans were greedy. Huey just demands to know why the demon was talking to him (LOL, he talks like the demon is beneath him. XD). The demon says it was because he was being a spectator just like himself, looking down at the situation from a height, and hopes they could get along. Huey says he's just interested in what is going on, and the demon says that they were the same, "But all right". He makes an odd statement about how he thought "it really would happen this time". Huey asks him what he meant, but the demon just says it was a modest idea of no consequence. As we get a few scenes of the later arcs; Maiza putting the hat on Firo's head (sadly, his last appearance until episode 10), Czeslaw leading Mary under the dining car tables, Beg(?) studying (alchemy?), and Sylvie singing in a bar (does this mean she becomes immortal after all, or was this scene actually just a few months or years later?); Huey mentions that it was like the demon was expecting them to do something, but the demon tells him not to rush things because they were going to be stuck with each other for quite a while. The demon leaves Huey's side, promising that they would meet each other again, and Huey chuckles as he continues to watch what was going on below. It's awful that we probably aren't going to find out what the demon hopes to happen, because he doesn't have much of a part to play (so far?) in the 1930s. SECONDSEASONSECONDSEASONSECONDSEASONPLEASEPLEASEPLEASE
Skipping forward in time to early 1930 (or even earlier), before the full elixir is recreated, Maiza is having a private conversation with Ronny Sukiart, a Martillo family secretary. And this is where I wonder what the heck Maiza was thinking when he joined the Camorra. Did he already sift through all of the more, er, legal professions in his search for a great leader for humanity? Or was he just concerned that Szilard would come after him again one day, and so decided to surround himself with powerful people who don't feel bad about their sometimes violent behavior? Anyway, Maiza says that having the Runorata family as enemies would be troublesome, but believes that there would be no reason to fear Gustavo. Ronny understands, and says that they wouldn't need to act much, other than 'sweeping up the little sparks'. Maiza comments that there should be no problems that way. Once Maiza has gone, however, Ronny says to himself that he can feel Szilard coming around the corner, and wonders if Maiza could feel him coming, too...
"But all right."
:O