WARNING: Due to the graphic nature of BTOOOM!, discretion is advised.
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Spoilers below.
Have any of you seen Run Lola Run? It’s a German movie that has the main character, Lola, try to help her boyfriend get 100,000 Marks before his boss arrives, expecting the bag with that amount (which was taken by a homeless guy). They go through the day three times, with various changes here and there, showing how a single act can change someone’s life completely. In the end, the boyfriend gets the bag back, the boss gets his money, and Lola has 123,000 Marks of her own she won at a casino.
Why am I bringing this up? Because the latest episode of BTOOOM! seems inspired by Run Lola Run, similar to that of The Simpsons episode Trilogy of Error. Although, it must be said that Trilogy of Error was inspired by two movies: Run Lola Run and Go, a movie about a drug heist shown from three different perspectives. I haven’t seen Go – which is why I’m talking more about Run Lola Run than Go – but, from what I’ve read, both episodes probably lean more towards that than Run Lola Run.
I’d imagine that this episode could have been like that had the developers had the foresight to realize they could pull it off. We probably could have spaced out the ending a bit and got one more episode out of this as well. But, whatever happened during development, we’re stuck with this.
Anyways, we start off with the last few minutes of the previous episode (High Level). Date gives Sakamoto the case, Himiko tries to tell Sakamoto that the case is rigged, and the explosion is shown from Himiko’s point of view. This is nothing new.
However, we start getting the new footage as they show Himiko talking to Shiki as Date and Sakamoto look through the hall. Shiki explains that the only place with medicine is the room that Date finds. And sure enough, Date enters right as she points it out.
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And we can confirm that Shiki never told them his name. In her defense, she probably never thought that Date would have been brought back to the island. In addition, would you care to even mention the name of your worst enemy with someone you just met – while thinking that you would never come across them again?
Whatever the case, they watch Date move as Shiki explains that he’ll try to turn on them soon. And sure enough, they see him hand the case to Sakamoto. Himiko runs off to tell Sakamoto and we see the scene play out once more.
Shiki comes from behind Date, as he celebrates his kill, and stabs him with the scythe. It’s not a killing blow at all but it is enough to slow him down. Not sure why she went with a shallow cut or even why she didn’t go for the neck, like Miyamoto in episode 2 (The Bloody High School Girl). Whatever, we move on.
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So Shiki grabs Himiko as they try to escape the hall. However, Date reveals that he’s planted his Detonators in several spots around the building (well, I’m guessing about 5 spots, since he’s used three bombs so far). He does this by initiating an explosion, trapping Shiki and Himiko.
Shiki decides her chances are better outside in a head-on battle with Date. She has Himiko arm a pair of Crackers and tosses one. With Date cowering and running away, Shiki runs after him. However, Date initiates another Detonator, causing Shiki to fall off the walkway and fall to the ground, losing control of the second Cracker in the process and creating a second explosion.
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Now, I originally had a rant about having a Detonator on the outside. However, after closer inspection, it appears that I was mistaken in the bomb’s placement. It came from inside the building by Shiki. However, it doesn’t really explain how Shiki flew off the building. At most, it would make sense for her to lose her balance and fall off that way.
And aren’t they on the second floor right now? Wasn’t Sakamoto supposed to have been on the second floor searching for the medicine? Wouldn’t he have ran into Date before finding him in the medicine room? Why can’t they be consistent and not leave everything vague?
And yes, I’m still trying to figure out how a little kid can survive a bomb thrown right at his face with no injuries (Best in the World).
So, now that she’s all alone, with Shiki and Sakamoto dead (presumably; Date still has yet to throw one of Sakamoto’s bombs), Himiko has lost her will to fight. She has seen her virtual husband caught in an explosion, as well as the only woman that has been nice to her since the Judgment Flash incident in episode 2. I would’ve hoped to have seen her trying to fight it out but, given how easily she tried to give up before, this result was expected.
However, probably to add insult to injury, Date offers a truce so that they can work together to get off the island. I didn’t buy it, and neither did Himiko. Date tosses a Cracker as Himiko prepares to die, assuring herself that she’ll keep her dignity.
…or not.
The episode rewinds back to the incident as you see Sakamoto throw his gear and try to toss the case out of the window. Unfortunately, he tossed it too low. So, as Date activated the Detonator, Sakamoto dove into a hole in the floor, coming out with a scrap on his head.
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Now, I’ve heard some people argue that it took too long for the explosion to happen. I don’t think that was the case. The explosion happened pretty much right after Date activated the bomb. I will, however, say that there was a clear delay between when Date left to when he hit the remote. If I were Date, I would have activated the bomb right as I left. No time would have been given to escape and Sakamoto would have been dead.
Speaking of Sakamoto, what was the point in tossing his gear? It wasn’t going to go off if he hit the ground hard. And it wasn’t where the bomb was. The only thing they did it for was to have Date gloat holding Sakamoto’s bombs.
