Psycho Pass Part 2 Episodes 5-8

When a series of grotesque art pieces which utilize dead young girls surface across the city, CID Unit One finds itself facing the return of a ghost from three years ago.  Either the killer or a copycat is preying on students from a Girls boarding school and the number of victims is rising.  As the team works to find the killer, Kogame is benched by Gino.  During their last run with this kind of crime, Kogame lost his Enforcer partner and his own status as an Investigator.  Kogame’s been trying to get justice for his friend for three years and now he has his chance.  Will Akane follow his lead or will she be forced to take extreme measures again to keep the Wolf like Enforcer in check?

Whew, this is not a series for the feint of heart or those with bad stomachs.  Psycho Pass’ second week dialed up the intensity ten fold, especially in the second big case of the season.  Much like Kakegurui, the darkness that is presented in this twisted utopia of a future can be really hard to watch.  Unlike Kakegurui though, this isn’t played for laughs.  This is serious stuff and it can make for good drama.  Just know what you’ve signed up for because Psycho Pass isn’t letting up on the grim any time soon, if ever.

I will say, for all the “eh-ness” I got from the Avatar case last week, the wrap up that kicked off this week was pretty well done.  This is probably because, much like other moments this week, it benefited from seeing the CID Unit One team fully insync with theories and their investigative powers.  For all of Gino’s boasting that Enforcers aren’t human beings, he seemed alright with following Kogame’s lead and through that trust, they found the perp responsible for all the Avatar killings and got involved in an exciting chase involving psychotropic holograms, a bottle of booze and a lighter.  It was kind of scary to think of the real life social commentary that comes from such a case: not knowing that the avatars your speaking with are the true people who made them.  Are they fakes, can they be trusted?  Such is the risk we all take on the net and such risk is highlighted here.

Things got especially darker with the return of the “Specimen Case”.  I hope viewers have strong stomachs when wandering into this little section of the series cause the “art pieces” on display are truly terrifying.  It’s really hard to believe such darkness is capable of existing.  It’s worse to think that it can be appretiated or even nurtured.  But that’s what we get when Shogo Makashima makes his grander appearance in this weeks set.  I will say, the man does have a way with words, even if he does like to hear himself talk.  They often say the most dangerous adversaries are the ones who both believe what theyre doing is right and are also the ones who make the most sense.  Makashima is definitely both of those as he saw guiding Rikako’s twisted talents as a way of liberating her true self.  It’s hard to tell who was scarier between the two during this small arc, Makashima for his calm zen-ness, or Rikako who smiled while slashing up her classmates…probably the latter so I had no problem seeing Makashima double cross her and leave her to die via another one of his allies with a big ass rifle.

Through the Specimen Case we also got backstory on Kogame from all across the unit.  Kagari trying to get Akane drunk before spilling what he knew about Kou’s past was fun, as was Yayoi’s dead pan reaction to seeing the Specimen Case artwork (maybe I could grow to like her after all, especially when she comforted a student at the end of a case).  But, of course, the biggest surprise was Gino discretely sending Akane Kogame’s file to look into.  Though they’re no longer partners of equal standing, Gino does still have a level of trust in Kogame’s abilities, though he still blames himself for Kogame’s Psycho Pass getting as bad as it did.  The question is, for all of Kogame’s Zen wisdom and ability to ravage Cyborgs in training (without a shirt, which is problematic for poor Akane), what is it going to take for him to snap now that Makashima’s back on the scene?  Kogame says he’s still trying to get justice for his dead partner.  But we all know that’s bound to end in trouble for the Wolf Enforcer (im just gonna occasionally call him that from now on).

I do wonder if we’re going to get anymore stand alone cases now with Makashima on the board.  Granted, he could slink back into the darkness for a bit.  Personally, this world is sick, twisted and dark as hell.  The unique cases and the comraderie of the main cast keeps things interesting and even a bit lighthearted at times.  Im not saying focusing on one bigger case for the rest of the season could eliminate those pros.  Diversity in storytelling and case investigation isn’t a bad thing either.  Whatever the case, Psycho Pass is proving one scary but addictive show to watch.  We’ll continue down this dark rabbit hole next week.  See ya then.