Trese Part 2 Episodes 4-6

For some time now, Alexandra Trese has been receiving ominous warnings of an oncoming storm that will shatter the fragile peace between Humans and the Monsters of the Underworld.  Enemies from Trese’s past combine forces and soon all of Manila is under attack.  When one near fatal encounter hits too close to home, Trese finds herself thrown into the greatest battle of her life.  Between betrayals and revelations and in desperate need to call in every favor she has, will Alexandra live up to the expectations of her families lineage?  Or will all out war consume her city and possibly the world?

 
In many ways, I wish Trese was a series longer than 6 episodes and I wonder if more is planned in the future.  If not, the second half of the series definitely amps up the action and intensity and offers plenty of chilling and disgusting dark imagery to satisfy the action/horror fandom.  Sadly, little of this and the continued expansion of the amazing world of Filipino Folklore helps make the lead heroine any more likeable than last time.  Sure, some actual emotion does shine through from time to time but those moments are fleeing as Trese remains in one mode 24/7, “Ready.  Always Ready.”
 
Before we got down to the nitty gritty of the two part series finale, we got one more stand alone episode to shine a light on the MVP character of Trese, Captain Guerro.  In many ways, he’s the father figure that Alexandra still has in her life and acts more like a human being than she does.  Guerro is a stern boss but a kind man and looks out for his men, both good and not so good, and seeks to amend the wrongs the police of his city has committed, some under his watch.  Guerro can also look at the insanity that Trese deals with on a nightly basis and handle it with ease and good quips.  But best of all, Episode 4 turns into a nod to Resident Evil as Guerro and his men find themselves fending off Zombies at their Police HQ while Trese tries to find the source of the outbreak.  Bullets and juicy headshots are aplenty, complete with a heartfelt plea from Guerro to the prisoner who set it all in motion…while Trese stands in the background trying to comprehend this emotion called “compassion”.
 
Ok, I know I’ve ragged on Alexandra Trese for her lack of any sense of emotion other than extreme commitment to her duty.  She’s lost her parents and has a pretty big responsibility on her shoulders, that would mess anyone up, especially someone her age.  The problem is that we rarely see anything in Trese’s life that doesn’t revolve around her job.  Everyone else in her life has social activities or hobbies: Hank runs a bar on the side, Crispin and Basillo go on dates with hot Wind Spirits.  I think the only outside of supernatural investigation activities we ever see of Trese is her hitting a punching bag…that’s all.  In short, I can always respect a bad ass female protagonist but Trese…she isn’t fun and rarely ever engaging in a world that if far more so.  Once she learns the truth of her destiny, Trese acts appropriately shocked, same goes for when one of her supporting cast dies before her very eyes, but that’s quickly swept under the rug and she’s back to “Ready” mode.  Emotion makes any character for me, more than quips sometimes and Trese lacked just that and more.
 
As for the Series Finale, there’s a lot thrown at us at once and it’s both too much and yet not enough.  We basically learn the entire Trese family history and the truth of Alexandra’s existence in a ten minute spiel from Steve Blum himself, voicing the big bad Alexandra and her Father once locked away in a series of flashbacks that have opened and popped up throughout each episode prior.  It’s a lot to take in and 6 episodes is not enough to let it all digest properly.  Maybe if this were ten episodes and these revelations were thrown our way at about the 3/4ths point, it’d be better.  We could see Trese wrestle with what she’s learned, maybe see her doubt herself and find the resolve to fight on (maybe even grown on the emotional spectrum a bit too).  As it is, Trese processes everything within minutes before leading us to the final battle that lasts less than half as long as the exposition dump that came before it.  I say “exposition dump” but it is actually kind of interesting and another good example of the world building around this series as a whole.  This world has been wonderous and downright scary to explore and I wanted to see more of what hid in the Underworlds ranks.  Couldve gotten that in a 8-10 episode run rather than 6, just sayin.
 
This was always gonna be a short pair of reviews so might as well wrap things up here.  Trese has an amazing world that I’m glad has been brought to the attention of the general nerd and Otaku public.  The mythology, the creatures, the magical lore, all of it is top notch and stood out in the series more than the graphic violence and imagery.  It certainly was more of a draw than the lead who was one note about 97% of the time.  Alexandra Trese has a great character design and an aptitude for kicking Monster ass.  But there’s little in her character to like because she’s never expanded upon beyond her job.  Her supporting cast provided much of the fun and heart that Trese herself lacked and I’m glad a couple of them got episodes to stand out and shine.  Animation wise, Trese isn’t as good looking as Castlevania but it’s got plenty of dark and nightmarish imagery for a very adult Anime oozing with gore and supernatural terror.  At 6 episodes though, I kind of feel like, just as with Castlevania Season 1, Trese feels more like a proof of concept season at times, plodding through some good stand alones before rushing to deliver a compelling finale that doesn’t quite hit the mark.  Will we see more?  Maybe.  Would I want to see more? Absolutely.  Can Trese learn how to laugh or be a smart ass and not an emotionless stone of a character…man I hope so cause I want to like her, I do.
 
Trese gets a 7.5/10