Guns
With any fantasy world, there’s a threshold for how far one can suspend their disbelief in the wake of fantastical elements. In a bid to try and break that barrier, See delivers a questionable finale, one that completely undermines the world-building and contradicts some of the lore built and explained early on in this season. As guns enter the fray and logic is thrown out the window, See delivers an enjoyable but nonsensical finale that leaves things hanging on for a second season. Jerlamarel greets the kids on the metal bridge and hugs them both. In the remnants of a prison, Jerlamarel tells them about the generator he made to create light before greeting more characters; these people wear shirts and trousers rather than tribal gear the twins are accustomed to. They’re shown around and the culture shock is too much for them, who end up sharing a bed and commenting on how they miss Baba Voss. Meanwhile, the Witchfinder General speaks to Maghra about Queen Kane and tells her anyone could usurp the throne if they find out about what she’s done. He tells her Kane needs to give up the throne willingly though and given she’s her sister, she’s the one who needs to convince her. Kane doesn’t take this news well though, prompting Maghra to offer up an ultimatum before leaving. Believing God is the one who has gifted them sight again, Kofun learns from Jerlamarel that they’ve made this sanctuary as a refuge for the sighted and to bring light back into the world. It’s a compelling narrative but one Kofun doesn’t agree with. As he sneaks through the corridors, he glances at the guns lined up against the wall and hears an incriminating conversation; Jerlamarel intends to sell off Baba Voss’ children. Paris somehow senses this too and awakens in the middle of the night, crying out and awakening Baba Voss. After being knocked out, Kofun awakens in a locked cell and watches on helplessly as an unconscious Haniwa is taken away. Lamenting his choice, a regretful Jerlamarel comments he didn’t see any other way. Queen Kane kills the Witchfinder General midway through abdicating the throne and turns on Maghra as Boots watches on from afar. Queen Kane rallies the troops with Maghra and set out to find Baba Voss and the others under a new pretense – they’re not to be labelled as terrorists. As the ride away, the burn the remnants of the village they’ve come from. Meanwhile Jerlamarel explains to Kofun what he did and how he intends to build an army to take on Queen Kane. He gives one of them a gun to kill Kofun and commands him to be taken out back to meet his demise. Before he can meet a grisly end however, Baba Voss arrives and saves the day, leading to them both working together to take out the guards inside the prison. Baba Voss stalks Jerlamarel and it’s here he tells him he had no choice but to give her up. Given Jerlamarel has the gift of sight, he has the upper-hand as they fight one on one. Eventually Jerlamarel uses a gun and shoots him, explaining it’s an old weapon and surprisingly Baba Voss knows exactly what a gun is. As they continue on, Baba Voss blinds Jerlamarel with his fingers. As the episode closes out, Paris waits for Baba Voss and Kofun on the bridge, who set out to find Haniwa and bring her back. Sensing she’s nearby, the episode and series closes out with the trio overlooking a city and setting out on a new journey. I’ve enjoyed See’s first season and I’m a real sucker when it comes to fantasy anyway, given it’s my favourite genre. I have serious issues with See’s logic though and this week just underlined any concerns I initially had with this. Early on we learn that Baba Voss and the others have no knowledge of our weaponry, including explosives and bombs. However here, Baba Voss seems to know exactly what a gun is which throws serious question marks into the logic here. It doesn’t help either that Jerlamarel genuinely seems to think he didn’t have any other way of stopping the tribal leaders from taking Haniwa. Given he’s held up in an impenetrable fortress with machine guns and walls, I’m not quite sure why he didn’t just shut the doors and gun them all down. If his end-game is to build up a sighted army to take on Queen Kane, surely all he needs to do is gather a few men and the machine guns to win the war. Unfortunately this episode in particular completely broke my suspension of disbelief and I’ve been pretty lenient with the logic this season thus far. While there are intriguing elements at play here, setting things up nicely for a second season, the longer this one goes on, the more I question what’s being presented here. Still, we’ll have to wait and find out what happens next but there’s enough intrigue to keep the more loyal of fans coming back for more.
