[DreamSword]

Episode 20: Utopia

This didn't quite go the way I expected, which is a good thing, but I'm still a bit unsatisfied.

Like, I get what the episode was going for, especially with all the blatant dream symbolism, but this felt overall undercooked to me.

Part of that might be due to the studio knowing that they only have a few episodes left an as such they need to hasten things a little, but unfortunately the writing isn't tight enough to make everything feel as developed as it could be.

Case in point, Sword and his sister, after such a big deal was made about her, really don't get to interact all that much. Sure, Sword does keep his wits about him and assumes that she's a fraud, but it overall feels like little payoff to so much build up throughout the show.

Instead most of the focus is on Martin and Sophie, which while that is somewhat expected, I also found it alot less interesting. Martin continues being a terrible brother/parent in that he's focused only on his wants and needs and using his sister as an excuse to those ends. I get that he's possessed and delusional, but this was all even before Horrors got involved.

Meanwhile with Sophie, I really don't get her internal logic in this one? She has the sense to know that El Dorado is a sham and that it's a feeding ground for Horrors ala The Matrix, and she even instantly pieces together that the ring Martin wears is the problem, but yet come the end of the episode she just goes for the kill option? It seemed way more likely for her to just try grabbing at the ring again while Martin was unconscious.

Well atleast we finally know Half-Naked Makai Lady's' name, which is Queen. Makes sense, given the Chess theme inherent in Knight and Bishop. Also, the quick gaga about Luke trying to carry an unconscious Sword gave me a chuckle.

Safe to say though that while I don't hate her, I think that Sophie is the character I like the least of the main four. What a shame, given that she's arguably the main character at this point.