"You said it was romantic and plastic!"
"I said it was romantic and pragmatic!"
FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD
The mystery continues as we pick up right where the last episode left off. Yoroko is dead, Kirito is leaning out a window, and Schmidt is still going crazy. Classic anime.
Though I don't see him going quite as crazy because I just finished watching Chaos;Head today and not too many people are as loony as Takumi, I'll tell ya that much.
Anyway, since we pick up right where that left off, it would only be logical that Kirito immediately spots the killer, going after him, but the killer gets away with a teleport crystal. Darn, I didn't see that coming. It's not like it's a major mechanic in the game or something...
When Kirito returns, he gets filled with teenage angst and punches the wall, and we see that the wall is an "Immortal Object." It has no bearing on the episode, I would just like to point out that there are immortal objects within the game. Just, you know, no reason.
Schmidt continues to believe it's the ghost of Grisalda and for some reason neither Kirito nor Asuna slap him and tell him to shut up. That might be because they're better people than me/ have better patience than me, but hey. Schmidt actually thinks it is definitely Grisalda's ghost since the killer was wearing her cloak. The very generic looking cloak...
Look can I just call this guy Takumi? I mean what the heck, man.
Anyway, Kirito and Asuna decide to go on a dinner break where Asuna hands Kirito some freshly made food that Kirito spoils. Of course.
Besides the moment from last episode where Kirito was simply lounging around on the springtime floor, this is another memorable moment for the two as they are seen just being people and not necessarily worrying about the case. They take their minds off of it and work well off of each other. There's little tension and it's just a nice, quiet moment. Until Kirito drops the sandwich, but people are prone to do that.
The grand death of the sandwich actually allows Kirito a moment of insight and he proclaims he has figured out the case. Is it a heck of a coincidence? Sure. But it's also a coincidence that in The Dark Knight the police came right after the Joker's bus pulled out of the bank, isn't it?
We go over to a gravesite, where Schmidt openly reveals that he played a role in the death of Grisalda, but honestly had no idea that it would result in her death. The apparent ghost of Grisalda and the apparent arrival of Grimlocke force him to pretty much poop his pants, but they take off their hoods and reveal that it's none other than Yoroko and Keinz somehow! There can be but one explanation for this.
Son of a gun...
Nah, it's actually really is Yoroko and Keinz, as is revealed by Kirito back at the bench. I like how the episode bounces back and forth between the grave and the bench as it slowly reveals the mystery to us without flat out revealing it to us. Again, it's like a good mystery story in this way.
Kirito puts together that the spear in Keinz's armor was only damaging the integrity of the armor. When the armor was destroyed, Keinz used a teleport crystal to coincide with the destruction to make it look like he was dead. Since in the game the animations are similar, it would indeed appear to the naked eye that he was indeed impaled and killed.
Though there is the plothole that last episode we saw the spear stabbing through him so I'm pretty sure it wasn't just the armor's integrity that was being damaged and Keinz was probably eating up a whole lot of his HP just to fake his death.
Yoroko's "death" was similar. Since we never saw her back, we never would have seen the knife she had planted there. Since she was wearing a white cloak as her armor, that armor's integrity was being damaged directly, and so when she acted like she was hit with a dagger, all she had to do was time it perfectly with the fall to vanish.
Again, it's a great coincidence and the timing in both incidences is perfect, but you have to give props for the plan. It's a rather ingenious way to provoke whoever the real killer is to come out of hiding. Since that would make three major players of their group now dead, two of which that were of a minority in an argument, it would only make sense that the killer would eventually come out into the open. Both were trying to get to Schmidt, the logical suspect. It's a well thought-out plan and provided for a very excellent mystery, but, there's just one problem that actually makes it a better mystery:
Schmidt wasn't the killer. Hmm. Then who could it be?
As the three try to figure that out, since they deem Schmidt to be innocent, they are attacked by the murder guild Laughing Coffin. This is also the first time we see that player paralysis is a thing, something I'm sure will never come up again.
Again.
Kirito arrives just in time and Laughing Coffin splits. We flashback to a half hour ago (seems kinda stupid but whatever) to a conversation Kirito and Asuna were having about marriage in SAO and how there is a shared storage system. Kirito's plot-driven thinking kicks into gear as he wonders what happens if, in marriage, one of the spouses were to die.
He brings that information to the three members of Golden Apple, and Asuna brings along Grimlocke, all leading to the big reveal that Grimlocke was the killer all along! :O
In hindsight, it makes perfect sense that he would do it, because maybe he's just evil and wanted to the ring. Actually, it had very little to do with the ring at all.
Grimlocke and Grisalda were married in real life, and in real life, Grisalda and Grimlocke led peaceful, quiet lives. But when they were trapped in SAO, Grisalda became brave, she became a warrior, and Grimlocke feared he was losing the quiet woman he loved in the real world. So, before she could change anymore, Grimlocke had her killed so at least he could live with the memory of his wife.
Basically, he was crazy. I'm glad that it does go beyond the ring into a bit of a more in-depth reason as to why he killed Grisalda. It's not a good reason--in fact it's horrible--but at least it adds depth to a character that's been built up as this nice guy who only knew love for his wife. And in the end, he did love his wife. To death.
Grimlocke is taken away by Golden Apple and Kirito and Asuna prepare to head back to the front lines as the sun begins to rise. Similar to the sunset from the first episode, it's some very stunning animation, as it transforms the dark and grey area into a one of orange and purple radiance, even making the dead tree look beautiful. Then, something remarkable happens. I still get some goosebumps when I watch it.
As they are leaving, Kirito and Asuna turn around at the grave to see a vision of Grisalda standing next to it, smiling back at them as if to thank them. Matched with the beautiful, emotional music and the gorgeous animated backgrounds, this is a truly breathtaking moment. It's the first sign of love and humanity transcending the death game, that humanity has defeated the death game in one way.
The vision fades and Kirito and Asuna decide to add each other to their friends lists, ending the episode as they leave the scene.
This is a great episode and a fantastic way to wrap up the pretty intriguing mystery from last episode. It retains things to the rules of the game and has a couple of twists and turns along the way to keep you guessing. The final moments of the episode are the best part, from the Grimlocke break-down all the way through to the cute moment of Kirito and Asuna officially befriending each other. The image of Grisalda by the tree, or just the tree in the radiant sunlight, would become a staple SAO image later on and was a huge moment, in my opinion, in the lives of Kirito and Asuna.
As the end of the first "two-parter" if you will, there can be a lot of hype for when Kirito and Asuna get to work together again and take on more mysteries and challenges and other things. Next episode, though, we change things up a bit. Kirito needs a new sword. Will he get one? Or will he break someone's prized possession? Probably the latter. See you then!
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