FULL EPISODE SPOILERS
Personally, I think this episode could have just been renamed "Kirito vs. Sinon" and it would have been a much better title than what we got. Or maybe something having to do with both of our characters coming to grips with the reality that they are, essentially, the same person that are now trapped in this game to deal with trauma of the past. Well, not trapped. More like locked in this journey, yeah that's better.
I found myself very emotionally invested in this episode a second time around rather than the first. I think part of that comes with riding the shock of Death Gun being a member of Laughing Coffin as well as the fact that we get a flashback to look into Aincrad at a rather horrifying event that I'm glad was saved for now and not shown in the previous season. It was, again, a character rather than plot-based episode that worked really well to further both characters as well as their relationship. The episode does a good job of relating the feelings of them to the viewer. You feel the destruction within Kirito, you feel the anxiety rising up in Sinon. The rage, the sadness, it's all there and it's all very plain for us to see.
The episode starts in typical SAO fashion where it reminds us of what happened at the end of the previous episode (in this case, it's the reveal) and then continuing on for a few minutes to show us the effect that the ending had on the character. It would be a well-run-dry but the show does it often in such good ways that I can't really knock it. Plus, if you're binge-watching it, you have to remember that these shows do come out weekly. Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix all don't just magically spring these shows out of the ground like Dwarf women.
One of you got that reference.
Kirito does suffer some serious trauma from realizing this, and in a weird way, it's good to see it. We've never really seen Kirito under such duress. There have been many moments where things dawn on him, but he's never been quite so shaken. We've never seen him stripped down like this, so to see another side of him, a weaker side of him arguably, is helpful to the character. Seeing him at his weakest will show him to us at his strongest.
He recalls an event from a while ago back in Aincrad where he aided a party against several members from Laughing Coffin, heading to their secret headquarters. I believe it is Schmidt (from way back in Season 1) that is leading the advance, and I think this takes place in between that mission and the one where Kirito aided Lisbeth, because he's not being all lovey-dovey with Asuna, but he's still with the advance squad.
The members from all the high guilds launch their attack only to realize that their plans have been leaked and they are trapped. Three of the members manage to corner a LC member before the LC cuts them down. Almost everything around Kirito begins to fall apart, and in a fit of rage, he cuts down the LC member. The battle, apparently, was a complete nightmare, and two people were killed by Kirito's hand, meaning that his eventual kill-count in SAO was a total of 3.
He speculates that Death Gun--oh, yeah, he wises up and realizes Death Gun is the one he talked to, by recognizing his voice (it's a new season, I'll let it slide...)--is one of the surviving LC members from that night, even wondering if Death Gun is really a ghost of one of the two members he killed. That wouldn't make any sense, so he just figures it's a survivor.
Well, now we sort of know Death Gun's backstory. It makes you wonder if the other two men he killed were SAO survivors too, or if they were like Sinon in that they were so strong that they got in Death Gun's way. He's clearly competing in the tournament to probably kill Sinon, but, he may also be doing it to show that he is the strongest player in GGO. With Kirito entering the field now, it would make sense that he targets Kirito. Not only does Kirito as a player prove a major power threat, but he would be able to avenge his guild-mates.
It's also interesting that, with the knowledge of Death Gun's true alliance set, Death Gun is so calm in this game. In SAO, there were no sane members of Laughing Coffin. They were all malicious, sadistic, and most of them crazy. To see him so composed, and to have a mask on him, makes him all the more threatening. You can't read his expression, you can't predict any movements based off of facial gestures. The cloak and the mask hide everything about him, and he probably has a voice changer in the mask, too.
I'm telling you, man, Death Gun is cool beans.
Sinon comes by and in a weird way tries to pump him up, but Kirito asks her not to leave, then is teleported to his next match. Really makes you realize what bad timing all of this is. Kirito could probably care less about the tournament itself, but, if he loses, he loses his chance at taking on Death Gun and figuring things out once and for all. Sinon realizes that Kirito, in this broken state, is just like her. During her next match, where she pretty much has it won from the get-go, she slips up when thinking about how she and Kirito are similar in their trauma. However, this is Sinon we're talking about here, so she manages to recover by blasting the guy through the window of a moving car. Nice.
Kirito, in his match, stands still while his opponent tries to gun him down, only one bullet hitting him. In a montage, we see Kirito, super enraged, cut down all of his opponents, contrasting the emotion we were seeing earlier. Without the subtle explanation at the end of the episode, though, this doesn't make much sense.
Of course, the final match of their block is Kirito versus Sinon. Sinon finds a suitable spot to take down Kirito, and when she spots him, she begins to lose her cool as he simply walks down the street with a blank face. Sinon begins to ramble many thoughts about why he would do this--such as he thinks he is better than her, he doesn't really want to fight her--and as a result, her aim goes awry and she can't hit him, despite being pretty darn close to him from where she is. She runs out to meet him and expresses her thoughts, beginning to cry because she feels Kirito isn't taking this seriously at all. Kirito, though, says he wouldn't normally, but it's her passion for the game that makes him realize that this single round is indeed important.
Thus, they decide to have a duel: Kirito will use his sword and Sinon her gun, and when the bullet Kirito throws hits the ground, they will begin. Kirito and Sinon both take the stances we're used to seeing them in, and then, the bullet hits. Sinon fires and Kirito cuts it in half, then prepares to attack Sinon but stops halfway, keeping her steady. He reveals that he saw Sinon's eye through her scope look right at where she wanted, so with his great reactive ability he was able to stop the bullet.
The two have a pretty emotional strength about what strength and skill are in the game and in real life, Kirito lamenting that he has no real strength because of what he's done in the past. Sinon believes now that they really are alike. It's a good talk that once again highlights the similarities between the two characters. Yeah the situations of their past aren't exactly the same but they're both now living with the trauma of having murdered someone in the past and are forced to face their path within the game. Honestly the only real way for them to confront it would be for them to confront one another in the game as they are. It makes it so it really isn't Kirito and Sinon talking, but more Kazuto and Shino. It makes it more personal, more interesting.
Sinon gets a little embarrassed that Kirito is holding her so close and pushes him off, surrendering the match to him since it really doesn't matter--they're both in the battle royal the next day anyway. Everyone back in the qualifying area is in shock, all but one member: Death Gun, who silently watches the events unfold before him, his mask hiding his features and his true intentions, ending the episode.
Getting to see Kirito and Sinon interact has been a real treat this season but getting them to develop their characters together was really something else. It brought a real emotional focus to this season, telling us that while the action will be cool, the true intention is going to be a character dive into these two to sort of break them down and show us everything. Kirito has been a rather stoic character, he's been the great, unstoppable hero. Every time he falls he gets up. Now, we see how he reacts when he can't get up, when the weight of the past crashes down on him. Shino is a broken girl, while Sinon is a powerful warrior. But now, the two girls are colliding, and it seems we're getting a truly morphed character from it. It's development and it is great.
Tomorrow, will this continue? There's only one day left (in the show) until the grand Bullet of Bullets, so be sure to keep it locked here for more fun times! See you then.
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