Motoko and Section 9 do everything they can to stop the American preemptive attack against Old Tokyo.
Episode 23 – “DOOMSDAY / The Moon over the Ruined Castle”
Hmm.
Purin’s argument with Takashi needs an explanation. Takashi’s attack resembled his earlier one in Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045, but it was not a fight. The young post-human blasted Purin with his reasons for N. How did he convince her? How long was the debate? It could have been several hours’ worth of back and forth, but to post-humans, it happened in the blink of an eye. Takashi yanked Purin out of Suzuka’s chair as she was about to attack the incoming B-2 bombers. Why did Takashi need them to complete their mission? Whatever the reason, Purin reluctantly agreed to help. After that moment, no one at Geo City, or the audience, could trust their senses.
What did Ghost in the Shell show us? Each scene was an individual Room 101 scenario for Section 9. The lighting changed, making the contrast stronger and the depth flatter. It was the first time in two seasons of SAC_2045 that it used the atmospheric settings on the game world to mark a change in perspective. During Takashi’s fever dream flashback, SAC_2045 played the events straight. It made us think we watched actual events. But paratroopers invading a school were ludicrous enough for the audience to question reality. Here, the harsh lighting and ridiculous objects clued the audience to what we were watching. Where would Takashi get cranium calipers? And why would an old-fashioned rotary phone be aboard a 2045 naval vessel? I would have preferred a vignette filter to the scenes and audio effects to make it more obvious. Still, Ghost in the Shell improved its storytelling.
Heh.
Uh oh. A stealth bomber takes off. The B-2 carries nuclear missiles! What weapons of mass destruction does it hold in Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045? Takashi slowly turns Motoko’s team into N citizens. What can Purin do from Suzuka’s awesome gaming chair? Oh, how about hacking the Pentagon? Brute force incursion. The Pentagon’s defenses can’t match Code 1A84. Ouch. Purin needs to flex her muscles. Yuck. The weapon of mass destruction aboard the B-2 is “smart-gas.” Section 9 must warn Prime Minister Tate, but Motoko can’t report to Aramaki. Tate contacts them first with the news about Aramaki’s car bombing. If N learns of the smart-gas attack, they’ll launch the nukes aboard the submarine! Of course. Chris Tate faces a coup before he can talk to the American president.
Purin can hack the bombers. Why not? Ouch again! Who knocked Purin out of her chair? Ack. Borma got smacked too. But Purin can reboot! Ghost in the Shell gave Purin two reboot scenes mere hours after waking up. Whoa! Somebody took Borma’s brain out of his prosthetic body! Gross. What are you doing, Takashi? He keeps collecting Tachikomas. What? Purin decided to help Takashi create his frictionless world! She doesn’t look happy about it, though.
Ha! Togusa found the submarine! Geez, there’s too much happening in Ghost in the Shell! Tachikomas stormed the Prime Minister’s office to stop a rebellion. Yeah! Aramaki jumps out of one of them! Who’s committing treason now, Mr. More Japanese than Chris Tate? That’s why Aramaki left Smith’s spy cams in place. To catch this inadvertent American colluder. The Americans needed to jam up P.M. Tate to stop a diplomatic solution to mutually assured destruction.
There’s too much happening in front of Motoko too. Tachikomas are compromised. Borma is missing his brain. And now Purin is arguing to let Takashi have his way. The Ghost in the Shell scene reminds me of Takashi’s fever dream of soldiers invading his school and how none of that happened. With post-humans around and several of Motoko’s team already inside the N network, who can trust what we see?
Ugh. What else will Togusa find inside that nuclear submarine? Gross. Suzuka’s android clone has rust and mold growing on it. That’s too much decay for the timeline of a couple of days since Section 9 heard about the submarine. Unless the sub was captured before Togusa disappeared! That puts the Ghost in the Shell timeline on two months, and Japan only recently heard about the missing vessel. Ack! That thing is still active! Can Togusa handle the android? It has been rotting and needs maintenance. A fire ax and big gun evened the odds. The android’s keening is eerie and disturbing. I’m watching a zombie movie now. There go the red glasses. She’s down for the count. Guh. Togusa needs to make sure the zombie stays down! See? I don’t trust anything the compromised characters see. We know Togusa is inside N. So why would an unconnected rotary phone have a spotlight on a nuclear submarine in 2045?
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 moves from a zombie movie to a ghost movie. Ishikawa sees the shadow of Purin, but she’s not there! He realized he was inside N too. Ishikawa tried to frag Purin, but we know that won’t work. Purin is also carrying the same calipers that Takashi has. Whose brain will she extract? Motoko’s team all becomes N. This is all illusion now. Purin compares her scene with Batou to giving him a cup of pudding. Are all these final scenes for Motoko’s team how they resolve the trial of Room 101?
Finally, it’s Motoko and Takashi. This feels like the season finale for Ghost in the Shell. The lighting on the 3D CGI models’ faces is oversaturated. Artistic choice or error? Too late! Motoko didn’t need to kill Takashi because Togusa had already disabled the nuclear missiles. Again, we know this is all fake. As smart-gas falls on N, they launch nuclear missiles at America. The Suzuka android still worked! See how the rotary phone isn’t there anymore? Motoko asked Takashi if destroying the world was his plan all along. If this is her Room 101, that was Major Kusanagi’s greatest fear.
The End. Yeah, right! We’ll get all the explanations in the season finale next time.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 streams on Netflix in multiple languages and subtitles.
