SAC_2045, Ep 04: On the Road Again

The Major and GHOST begin Smith’s operation as Togusa and the Tachikoma work to find their teammates.

ep 04 – “SACRIFICIAL PAWN – Emissary from the Divide”

Hmm.

SAC_2045 did a great job of showing Togusa’s reunion with the Tachikoma. They worked so well together. I loved seeing how the Tachikoma AI could only go so far in finding John Smith before Togusa used his human creativity to finish the job. The nostalgia was strong seeing the most purely human of the old Section 9 working with the most purely artificial. I also can’t get enough of the Tachikoma’s cute banter.

Most of the SAC_2045 episode fit into the action genre well. We had car chases, subterfuge, and plots within plots starting to unravel. Why does Smith want to kidnap Steve Jobs, er, Howard Hughes, I mean, Patrick Huge? How is Togusa going to rescue GHOST? What leverage can Smith use on the Major if he knows who she is? Those answers will come later during the peculiar mission and its aftermath. SAC_2045 did make a nice twist on revealing the mission to GHOST. The original task for Motoko and her team was to prevent the Gated City from a terrorist attack. Now they need to infiltrate and attack its most famous resident. That’s irony for you.

Heh.

Togusa and the Tachikoma, together again! Their first mission for SAC_2045: rescue Motoko, Batou, and the rest. If they can’t find John Smith, they’ll make him find them. Ha. Tachikoma takes idioms literally. What does a hornet’s nest have to do with the sunglasses guy? Hohoho! Togusa is just spraying the Internet with Smith’s face! Togusa impressed them and they’re having fun too. Remember our drinking game? Roger! Drink! Bring on the car chase! I expected this as soon SAC_2045 showed us a muscle car on the screen that we were going to get a Bullitt-style pursuit action sequence.

Eh, I feel like I’m watching a replay of Forza Motorsport. Oh well, at least SAC_2045 has excellent sound effects and editing. That Camaro really growls! I appreciate the action happening on the real freeways and streets of downtown Los Angeles too. So many bad things happen in parking garages in American movies… Togusa can handle these Agency types. Aargh. There goes the security deposit on that rental. Tachikoma Fu! Successful counterintelligence operation too. John Smith appeared quickly.

John Smith smokes Lucky Strike. SAC_2045 uses his conversation with Togusa for some world-building. According to him, Sustainable War is analogous to the Cold War, except it isn’t two superpowers on different sides of the battlefield. There are just customers and suppliers vying for market share. John Smith implies that he didn’t know who made up the GHOST team, but Togusa’s presence gave him clues. Let’s save that info for later. Aramaki told Togusa not to worry so much about that. Plots and machinations!

Tachikoma randomly humming to itself. I love these guys! Oh, Motoko and those other guys in SAC_2045. What are they up to? Batou sounds like their team could have escaped Smith’s crew any time they wanted, but they’re just following the Major’s lead because she’s having a “flight of fancy.”

Togusa says the Tachikoma are a tighter fit than he remembered. Are the Tachikoma showing tact that their redesigns are for cyborg bodies and not mentioning Togusa gained weight? SAC_2045 showing the progression of time on Togusa’s dad bod. Oh, it’s those lovely ladies of the evening again. How did the Tachikoma negotiate space next to the “Lovely Girls House?” Aw. The olive drab Tachikoma is happy to see Togusa too. Why is it pointing out the cute girls? And giggling about it? Is it trying to upsell their business? Maybe it’s just friendly that way. I’m curious how these Tachikoma are making money to buy parts for the injured one.

Aramaki has his own minister ways of springing GHOST from the Americans. Like, just asking. It was worth a shot. At least Aramaki received confirmation that he’ll need to get creative to get Motoko and the rest back to Japan alive. This Ada Byron character is a homage to the daughter of Lord Byron, the Lady Ada Lovelace. She published an algorithm for Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine, which made her the first computer programmer. SAC_2045 implies some wistful history between the character and Aramaki.

Look at the smirk on Smith’s face. He’s flying GHOST all over America. Aramaki is going all the way up to the Japanese prime minister for the old Section 9 team. What a strange connection SAC_2045 made here. The prime minister only asked Aramaki to form a cybercrimes unit because the Americans asked him to, and now the members Japan wants for this unit are already working for the Americans. So tangled! Aramaki still has his diplomatic political skills. Prime Minister Teito will try some things too.

That’s enough setup. It’s time for SAC_2045 to show us this impossible mission. Smith calls the target a rescue. I’m thinking more like an abduction. They’re really making a big deal of Smith knowing Motoko’s name. May as well flash a sign on the screen for 5 seconds saying, “Pay Attention!” Nice. GHOST counts as hostile forces in the military that’s supposed to be supporting them. Ah. They just discovered their target is inside the Gated City they were supposed to protect when Smith captured them.

Their target is Patrick Huge, robotics industry titan, and not coincidentally the owner of the house that the drone missile struck, because he’s the symbol of Sustainable War. Hilarious. SAC_2045 thinks that TIME magazine is still going to be around 25 years from now. Huh? The Nomads got their weapons from the same guy they attacked? Stuff is getting convoluted. Don’t think about it too much. Just listen to the rock and roll action soundtrack. What matters is that the Tachikoma know where Motoko is. Roger! Drink! It’s Go Time! The injured Tachikoma is okay. Yay! Log in Togusa! Launch!

SAC_2045 Tachikoma “Roger!” count — 2. One “Aye, Sir!” gets you a toast and a sip.

Ghost in the Shell: SAC_2045 is streaming on Netflix.