As predicted last week, YoStar Pictures has seemingly saved the best fight animation for the end, as Arknights treated viewers to the first true battle of the season. It's the moment where the tower-defense influences truly dominate the screen in a way that feels huge, but also incredibly natural.
When we left Rhodes Island, they were reeling from Misha having been kidnapped by Reunion, specifically Skullshatterer, an operative with a keen interest in Misha. This week, it's revealed that Skullshatterer's true name is Alex and that he and Misha are siblings, complicating an already complex situation for these characters as it approaches the endgame.
A Friendly Face?
After several episodes of great character designs surrounded by faceless henchmen in white masks, it was surprising to see a random guard so full of character, greeting Misha. Ivan is set apart from other Reunion guards by a characteristically more damaged mask, but they're the nicest seeming member of the organization yet.
And like any attempt to treat Reunion as a remotely sympathetic organization, Ivan quickly departs from the screen. Misha and Alex bond in this episode - or more accurately, Alex tries to "Kylo Ren" her into believing Reunion's cause, meaning they try to give off Darth Vader vibes but come off as a child because they are one.
Alex tries to justify Reunion's crimes as an "eye for an eye" and doesn't really offer anything new to the debate to try and sway Misha. The only thing warming her up to him is the relief to know that her brother is still alive, which is acted very effectively. They even bond a bit at a shooting range, where there's a warmth between them that is comfortable, if fleeting.
Th episode brought up way more questions than anticipated this late into a fairly straightforward series. Misha tries to counter Alex's gripes about Rhodes Island by saying that they don't kill, which just seems unlikely in the grand scheme of things. At first, maybe it's believable considering that Ace's team mostly used melee weapons and nonlethal grenades.
However, Rhodes Island's allies most certainly kill, often in the presence of - and under the command of - Rhodes Island. Exusiai uses a full-auto SMG, Liskarm uses a pistol, several characters use swords, and all of them clearly kill members of Reunion in combat or self-defense. Unless this series is operating on Sengoku Basara logic where no one really dies until the plot deems it necessary, it feels contradictory.
Then there is the scene at the firing range, where Alex teaches Misha that she can detonate the shells from the grenade launcher with Arts. Does this imply that bullets are filled with Originium and that therefore they aren't effective unless in the hands of an Arts user? Furthermore, does that mean that (magic) bullets can be non-lethal, thus explaining the apparent pacifism?
Regardless, the series seems to imply that Rhodes Island themselves don't kill but that their allies do, which wouldn't be too much of a reach if the Doctor wasn't literally commanding them. By the end of the episode, the established pacifism isn't the problem; it's the contrived reactions when Rhodes Island does kill.
The Doctor Cannot Die
The battle of this episode was well constructed and featured lots of short but sweet engagements between the allies and Reunion's versatile onslaught of soldiers that were a pleasant mix-up. The animation puts the characters in focus a lot more and the choreography and camera work were at their best of the whole season.
Just as the first episodes constructed mobile-game-esque encounters within the story in a dietetic fashion, Episode 8 did the same thing but on a much larger scale. It's a smart approach to adaptation, but it also very powerfully reminds the viewer that the season is almost over and the Doctor has not been explored in the slightest.
Understandably, the protagonists of these mobile game adaptations are a bit weak because they are typically player stand-ins. However, even a guy like Fujimaru Ritsuka from Fate/Grand Order feels a lot more alive than the Doctor from Arknights. Earlier episodes made it seem like there was more to be discovered about their backstory, but fast-forward to now and a lot of those implications have been completely forgotten.
It's especially noticeable because the dramatic crux of this episode hinges on the enemy specifically targeting the Doctor. And when that happens, Amiya, the pacifist leader of Rhodes Island, desperately reaches out only to tap into her hidden powers. What results is her killing Alex, much to the dismay of Misha.
And if it was just Amiya realizing that she killed them or Misha being sad that her brother died, that would be one thing. But the conclusion implies that Misha feels betrayed by Amiya, which in context, makes Misha look incredibly stupid, considering Alex was about to suicide bomb the Doctor.
This episode, in several ways, was a redemption for the animation and direction of this series, but it was also a reminder of the drawbacks of this story and its characters. With one episode remaining, it's hard to imagine the show rising above its flaws, but perhaps it can still surprise with its storytelling like it did this week with its animation.