Hell’s Paradise – Episode 09

Episode Synopsis:

Unwilling to wait while his compatriots try and piece together the island’s mysteries, Gabimaru sets out at night to claim the Elixir of Life before more threats emerge. He ends up in desperate fight against one of the Tensen, which escalates as both combatants look for an edge. Only Mei’s intervention saves the shinobi from certain death.

The next day, Sagiri and her companions set out to find Gabimaru and reach the center of the island, learning more of its structure and history as they approach. Beyond the gates leading to the island’s core, the Tensen meet to discuss what will be done about the intruders, and we learn that more of the criminals and their minders have survived than expected.

Episode Review:

While not as strong or heartfelt as the previous episode, this one offers a brutal battle and a nice distillation of the island’s mysteries. Gabimaru is the main focus, as he finally decides that he can’t wait for his weaker companions to solve every puzzle they come across and heads off alone to find the elixir. We’ve watched his impatience grow over the last several episodes, and so far nothing on the island has truly tested his skills, so it makes sense that he would rush off on the assumption that haste is more valuable than knowledge by this point.

Having seen what the Tensen are capable of, and knowing that they guard the elixir, we can tell that this is a bone-headed move right from the jump, and it almost immediately puts him in danger when the same being that killed Tenza surprises him.

The surprise turns out to be mutual, as this is the first time Gabimaru or the Tensen have faces someone equally un-killable. This leads to an exceptionally violent, drawn-out fight that devolves into a bloody slugfest. It lacks the emotional weight of Tenza’s last stand, but it’s still a tense experience as both fighters are pushed to their limits and beyond, proving that neither the monstrous Tensen nor the shinobi are unbeatable. After seeing Gabimaru handily wipe out most threats and survive deadly blows, it’s an effective raising of the stakes that demonstrates how he can’t rely on himself alone to win. Whether this actually overcomes his stubborn nature remains to be seen.

Once the fight is finished, the rest of the episode reveals much more about the island and its inhabitants, including Hōko and the fate of his fellow hermits. More critically, we learn that the Tensen are not simply powerful individuals, but elements of the same being. This neatly sets up how the upcoming fight could escalate – not only are the Tensen incredibly dangerous on their own, they possess greater powers that drain their essence and require the elixir to recover.

I appreciate that the show is explaining itself as it goes, and making the stakes very clear as new threats emerge. It may not be the deepest answer to the mysteries we’ve been exposed to since the beginning, but it allows the show to focus more on how the characters respond to these revelations and prepare us for the coming struggles.

Overall, this was a very solid episode that gave us a nice balance of action and information, while shaking up the status quo and shuffling around the composition of our protagonists’ parties. With most of our questions answered, I’m ready to see how our heroes, antiheroes, and straight-up villains approach the oncoming fight for the magical Macguffin.