Chris

Well, that Was Lazarus, People!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime , , , , , , , , , , ,

Lazarus Ep 13 Review

Ladies, gentlemen, and that technicolor rainbow in between, we got him. Just as the doomsday clock was about to hit midnight, Lazarus pulled off their mission. They found Dr. Skinner in time. Yet, I can’t help but find a number of things concerning about the ending to Lazarus the series. Chief among them, the series finale was full of too many contrivances to let me take it seriously.

Schneider’s Stupidity

The series has made it no secret that the reason Dr. Skinner made Hapna a deadly trap is because he lost faith in mankind. The real question, though, is what finally made him crash out. As this and the previous few episodes confirmed, it was because of Schneider. He wanted to turn Hapna into a bioweapon against Skinner’s wishes. And when Skinner tried to blow the whistle, Schneider tried to take the prototype by force, leading to it being unleashed at that airport and killing dozens of people. And when the government tried to cover it up, he had enough. So he forged Hapna into a knife aimed at humanity’s throat, all in an effort to ensure that someone would try to find him. And by doing so, they would learn why he did all this by exposing Schneider’s crimes.

And yes, bioweapons are illegal under international law. Its one of the few things the majority of the world seems to agree on. Yet Schneider tries to justify things to Abel by saying that if the US government didn’t make them, someone else would and use it on them. In reality, the only people who would think of using a weapon capable of destroying the world has to be insane or driven to that point. Schneider’s arguments fall on deaf ears, and he gets hauled off to jail to either rot forever or get the death penalty.

The Final Battle

Meanwhile, we have the final fight between Axel and Souryu. While the fight itself is entertaining enough, it gets undermined by the fact that the show didn’t give us enough time to really get to know Souryu. It does explain how he was part of Project Hundun, this Chinese program to turn kids into emotionless assassins, which is horrifying on a number of levels. However, in the context of the story its being told, Souryu is less important than the actual mission to find Skinner. While we can sympathize with him on some level, he’s ultimately little more than an obstacle standing between Lazarus and Skinner.

Way too Much of a Coincidence

The contrivances dont stop there, though. The finale reveals that, somehow, every member of Lazarus was at that fateful attack. And somehow, they all came back from death thanks to their bodies developing an immunity to Hapna. Its why Axel survived the prototype and why Eleina survived the fever that should’ve killed her.

In hindsight, the show had already hinted that there was a reason why Chris survived the attack, along with Axel’s own immunity. And as improbable as it sounds, it is possible that all the members of Lazarus could have been at that incident at the exact same time. Fate can work in crazy ways, after all. What the show fails to do, though, is come up with a convincing way to make us believe that this was possible. As a result, it seems less like an act of fate and more of an ass-pull by the show writers.

In the end, though, it doesn’t matter. Lazarus makes it to Skinner…and just in the nick of time.

The show doesn’t make it clear how long it takes to mass-produce the cure for Hapna. However, even by the most conservative estimates, hundreds of thousands to even millions of people still end up dying. It doesn’t matter if the show tries to paint this all as a happy ending for the team and the people they’ve met. A lot of people still died! But while Skinner might have made the weapon, Schneider is ultimately the one who is at fault for everything. And sadly, with extinction no longer an imminent threat, world leaders go back to business as usual. It seems like people didn’t learn anything. So what was the point?

Well, that Was Lazarus

Lazarus is meant to be a good look at humanity, warts and all. Its meant to show us that, for all our faults, there can be good in humans. Sadly, it would seem that the ending to Lazarus is hampered by how rushed the overall story was. Thirteen episodes wasn’t enough time to fully tell the story that we wanted to see, and it shows. Even worse, the ending of the series states that the team will continue to work together, going on even more adventures we’ll never get to see. Its frustrating to think about how we could’ve gotten more time to spend with Lazarus, but never did. This might be another Adult Swim original that many people won’t remember by the time the new year rolls around, and that is sad, considering this was made by Shinichiro Watanabe. But it was still fun in the end. Thanks for the memories, Lazarus!

I Give “The World is Yours” a 3/5

The Most John Wick Episode of Lazarus

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , ,

Lazarus Ep 8 Review

Of all the things we could eventually learn about the members of Lazarus, being a former Russian spy was never considered. Yet that is exactly what happens in the latest episode of the series as Chris’ life is put in danger thanks to her past. And with there only being a limited amount of time before things get worse, Lazarus has to put their search for Skinner on hold to mount a John Wick/Jason Bourne/James Bond-style rescue attempt. At the very least, though, this episode does capture the feel of those gritty spy movies fairly well.

Chris Worked for WHAT?!?

At the end of the last episode, Chris was returning from her part in the team’s latest attempt to find Dr. Skinner when she ran into someone who knew her. The next time we see her, she’s held captive on an abandoned oil rig in the Barents Sea by Russians. Apparently, Chris had once been a Russian spy, but after faking her death, she defected to the United States. However, she had to leave her handler/likely lover, Inga, behind, much to her fury. Either ignorant or uncaring of the fact that Chris is trying to help save humanity, Inga goes rogue to get revenge. Thus, Lazarus has to put everything on hold to rescue their teammate.

On the one hand, it feels rather frustrating that the search for Skinner gets put on the back burner for this episode. With less than two weeks left before people start dying, time is not on their side. On the other hand, the fact that all the members agree to this rescue mission demonstrates how tight-knit they’ve become. Even Axel, the most laid-back of the team, immediately wants to rescue Chris. If Axel wants to do that, then that’s a sign that things have gotten serious!

This is Just Like John Wick!

Thankfully, despite being a side-quest in the grand scheme of things, this episode more than makes up for it with the overall plot and action. It feels very much like something out of a modern action movie like John Wick or Jason Bourne. From the way that Chris manipulates her captors to escape on her own to how Lazarus mounts their daring and high-tech rescue, the entire thing feels on point. The fact that they’re up against Russian Special Forces only helps to highlight how much danger they’re in, as the members experience several close calls. Even the ever-lucky Axel could end up dead if he makes one wrong move.

The true highlight of the episode, though, comes during the climax. Just as Chris looks home-free, Inga has her at gunpoint and dead to rights. For a moment, you can’t tell if Chris will make it out in one piece or not, but then she and Inga have a heart-to-heart about her decision to leave so she could keep Inga safe from their leaders. The reveal that they were lovers is played very much for drama, and for a moment, Inga wavers. Tragically, one of her own men then shoots her before being killed by Axel, leading Inga to die in Chris’ arms. It’s a very emotional moment, and one you would never expect from someone like Chris. By the time the oil rig starts going up in flames, you can tell that Chris is emotionally exhausted by what happened, but also grateful that her team came to save her. The fact that Axel says he doesn’t care about her past only serves to emphasize how close they’ve all gotten.

As big a distraction as this rescue op was, this might be the best episode of the series to date. However, the clock is still ticking, and they only have 12 days left before Hapna turns lethal. They need to start getting more leads soon, or things are going to get ugly!

I give “Unforgettable Fire” a 4.5/5