Takashi wakes up, confronting Section 9 and the Americans. Purin joins the fray, forcing Takashi’s hand.
Episode 22 – “OPERATION STANDOFF / The Battle Begins”
Hmm.
Major Motoko Kusanagi has always been an enigma in Ghost in the Shell, starting from the first movie. What is she thinking, and how much does she know? And how much does she manipulate those around her? She’s Sherlock Holmes, and Section 9 is Watson. Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes was a master of disguise and accents, so he could collect clues in unethical ways. Dr. Watson wasn’t dumb, but he didn’t know everything the private detective did before solving a mystery. Here, we saw that Motoko knew everything about Purin’s resurrection.
I wish Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 was Motoko’s story. Instead, it’s been Togusa’s and Purin’s for two seasons. One theme of Motoko’s world is how technology changes people and society, even creating new worlds to explore. For episodic storytelling, we need fresh eyes looking at these issues because the creators want the audience to use their imaginations to flesh out the details. Motoko’s eyes are cynical and experienced. She beat back a post-human hacking attempt in the first season. There was no way an audience could understand post-human perspectives unless naïve and optimistic minds interacted with them first.
That’s why Purin needed to become a post-human artificial intelligence. And that’s why Togusa let his fatherly perspective influence his decision-making. Ghost in the Shell is building toward accepting a post-human presence in the world. Takashi is forcing ”the singularity” on three million self-proclaimed outcasts. If the story were told through Motoko’s eyes, we would never have seen Room 101. Also, the audience would never have seen her manipulate Tachikomas as Purin did to defeat Suzuka. Major Motoko Kusanagi knows guns, martial arts, and hacking. All those things are the opposite of Takashi’s frictionless society in Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045.
Heh.
Starting from the last Ghost in the Shell episode, the Tachikomas hold off the SEALs, but there are a lot of bullets flying around. Still love when the Tachikomas yell, “Roger!” Purin is on the way, but she’s climbing slowly. Uh oh. Takashi woke up! This is a three-way standoff like Suzuka in the tunnels. The SEALs will throw sleeping gas at Takashi, but that won’t work out in the open. Takashi is kicking the sailors around like rag dolls. Ooh. He can hold an advanced cyborg hostage! Motoko is on the way.
Ha! Purin can break the stalemate in Ghost in the Shell! Whoa. She can fight like Takashi! Throwing stuff around, but only in his mind! I wonder if it looks like chuunibyou running around LARP’ing yelling “lightning bolt!” at each other. Look at the surprise on Takashi’s face! Yup. The Tachikomas can’t tell what the post-humans are doing. Oops. Takashi has real bullets, though. Nice. Purin can catch Takashi’s N attacks and send them back. Uh oh. Takashi hacked Togusa’s Tachikoma. That wrinkle allowed the SEALs to extract their injured buddies’ brain cases. And here comes Motoko and Batou. Now what? There are four sides to the standoff. Purin is on Section 9’s side, but they don’t yet know that.
Ugh. Takashi made his Tachikoma spout Big Brother quotes from 1984. Ghost in the Shell needs to keep bringing that back. Well then. Takashi claims that N has the choice to launch nukes or not. Is it by a democratic vote, or can one guy make it happen? That’s a key phrase for Takashi’s philosophy. “We only wish to live in a world where the friction coefficient is zero.” That’s mecha speak for utopia. Ah. Takashi’s caveat is that N won’t have the authority to press the nuke launch button unless he dies. That’s how to keep N safe and happy. Batou is in the N network! So are some of the SEALs!
Okay, let Ghost in the Shell deal with the Purin situation. What the heck happened to her? Aw. Batou and Purin had a touching reunion. Purin is embarrassed that she came back to life. Ha! Big pout at the Tachikomas! Purin knew they deleted their memories of assembling her personality and manufacturing her Megatech body. Oh! Motoko authorized everything! She knew it from the start! How many other secrets does Motoko keep from Section 9? Motoko didn’t want to lose Purin’s talent and mind. Without a ghost, Purin still feels thankful and happy to be alive. Batou told Purin he already knew her secret. He’s sorry he didn’t recognize her until after she died. Funny way to end the emotional scene.
Standard lived up to his “Clown” nickname. So cruel. That could have been Batou stuck on the floor like that. Ishikawa says the code for the button resembles the virus Togusa had before he disappeared in the first Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 season. Purin noticed a difference between Takashi’s frictionless society and the revolutionaries who came to Old Tokyo. Is Takashi trying to quarantine the dreamers and reactionaries through Room 101?
Wait a minute. Section 9 threw John Smith in cold storage, but they didn’t remove all his spy cameras? Press X to doubt. Aramaki is playing the NSA for fools. Motoko orders Purin and Borma to find a way to stop the Americans from killing three million refugees at Suzuka’s workstation. The rest of the team will capture Takashi. Togusa can’t convince Takashi to disable the N nuke buttons. What will Togusa do in that massive prison cell? Everyone will become N. Come on. That cloaked SEAL thinks he’ll blow up Aramaki’s car. Ghost in the Shell ratchets up the tension before the big finale.
Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 streams on Netflix in multiple languages and subtitles.
