Togusa is in critical condition and many members of
Section 9, especially Batou, want payback.
But the Laughing Man investigation has opened a Pandora’s Box of danger
for the team. They soon find themselves
up against foes that not even their best weapons or Motoko’s skills can defend
against. Who is willing to go so far to
stay under the radar from Section 9?
And, more importantly, can Section 9 adapt in time to defend their
own? The Laughing Man case approaches
its most dangerous act and no one is safe anymore.
Remember last time when I said that Togusa’s injury was
the point of no return for the seasons Stand Alone stories, man was I right
lol. Section 9 faced the wrath of God
this week it felt like and no one was safe from harm, especially Motoko and the
Chief.
The lengths some organizations will go to protect secrets
astounds me sometimes. One small
document, pretty much the biggest clue Section 9 needed to break the Laughing
Man Case wide open, was a virtual atom bomb the brought about the Narcotics
Suppression Squad to kill everyone and anyone in their way of retrieving the
file. And what was this file per
say? It turns out that a successful
vaccine for a lethal cyberbrain virus was kept secret and used by only a small
portion of the rich and powerful, some of whom are government officials. So naturally, the rich live and the not so
rich die as a result. This in turn lead
to the start of the Laughing Man case, which we got a full background story on
this week as a disguised Motoko reenacted the infamous kidnapping that started
it all in order to speak with Ernest Serano, the Laughing Man’s first and most
infamous target.
As for all the fury and action that brought about the
heavy action early one, it was the discovery of the Murai Vaccine file brought
the noise. The Narc Squad may be a bunch
of smart ass thugs but the fact that they were able to go toe to toe with
Section 9 was kind of scary. Seeing
Motoko damaged and nigh defeated is enough to make anyone worry. Actually that ISNT what should make people
worry the most…it’s seeing what she does after she gets back up that’s the
scary bit. The end of Episode 21 shows
Motoko at her most ruthless and most bad ass as she stands over the fallen Narc
Squad leader, Gear, the same guy who put Togusa in the hospital, and empties
the entirety of the clip of Saito’s Sniper rifle into his mech suit. The suit may not have been heavily damaged
but it scared the crap out of Gear and for a moment, it wasn’t hard to imagine
Motoko ending the guys life…but thankfully she didn’t cross that line, not
today anyway.
And as if damaging Motoko wasn’t enough, the Narc Squad
got to Aramaki this week to, using a case against his long lost brother to get
him to lower his guard and end up drugged and captured. His faint cry for Motoko before he passed out
was bone chilling, seeing as Motoko was dealing with another assassin of her
own while she was getting a new (albeit same model) prosthetic body. Luckilly both were saved in the nick of time,
Aramaki by Batou and Ishikawa and Motoko by…the Laughing Man himself? Yep, not so little Aoi we met a while back at
the Aid Center is the infamous and rather foul mouthed cyber hacker
himself. It’s nice how Aoi has turned
out to be less of a terrorist and more of a secret hero after all trying to
expose the truth and his asking Motoko for help and trusting her with his
memories of the Laughing Man history is a bold move, showing faith and
professional courtesy in our favorite cyborg heroine. And again, Motoko and Aramaki got a nice
scene at the end of Episode 22, when she visits him in the hospital. Sure they were caught with their pants down,
but they’re ok and Motoko’s concern for the Chief was great, they really do
have the best relationship of the series.
But I think the biggest takeaway from this week is the
Laughing Man case finally given it’s time in the light of truth and the full
story revealed. With Serano on their
side and ready to give his testimony, it looks like Section 9 could finally see
a victory despite the heavy damage it took in these episodes. A mystery practically cracked, some great
action and the Laughing Man finally visible for Motoko and us to see without
the infamous logo? The season finale is
right upon us, how will they be able to top this?
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