thekingmanx

Genuinely one of the greatest episodes of television to ever exist hands down period. You know exactly what is going to happen, every character knows what's going to happen, and yet there is truly nothing anyone can do to stop it. This episode truly embodies the evil of imperialism and totalitarianism. There is no one that can save you, no one trying to keep you safe, and there is nothing you are anyone can do. By the end of the episode, everyone is left devastated. I really appreciated how they choose to portray Dedra specifically, some point during the middle she says "this is happening with or without us" and I think that perfectly represents the true power of the empire. Everyone is a cog in the great machine, and no one can stop it. And Dedra isn't cold or heartless which is probably the most sadistic part of the whole thing. She is essentially forced to commit genocide and by the end of the episode she struggles not to breakdown, even in private she can't help but try to hold her self together because that is what fascism does. It forces you to be complicit, it forces you to strip yourself of your humanity. You can't feel guilt or pain. Horrifying stuff.

I genuinely did not think they could ever reach the high of Omniman v Invincible back in season 1, the carnage, the stakes, but this is a whole other level. They must have put 80% of the animation budget into this episode alone because the level of detail was astounding. They give Conquest a surprising level of depth to him that I was not expecting at all. I had slowly lost hope that this show would not be able to reach the highs of season 1 again but now I have to slowly lose hope that it will ever reach the high of this fight. Edge of your seat the entire time and you have no idea how Mark can win this.