In the second episode of Baccano!, we learn how many of the characters came to be on the Flying Pussyfoot and get a hint at what caused the terrible events there. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Baccano!
“Setting the Old Woman’s Qualms Aside, the Flying Pussyfoot Departs”
- So, this second episode is a lot more straightforward than the first one, but there’s still a concerted effort to convey just how complex this is. I love it. It’s clear now that nearly everyone is on this train for their own reasons. These people didn’t know one another before boarding, and they each have unique motivations for boarding the Flying Pussyfoot. I imagine, then, that they get wrapped up in the mayhem through sheer luck, right?
- Will we ever see the old woman who has a correct premonition about the train? I’m guessing no.
- BUT SERIOUSLY, ISAAC AND MIRIA. Oh my god, oh my god. I don’t know that I have ever seen characters like these two ever. They are so sincere that it hurts, and goddamn it, they’re already so much fun! The reason they got on the train?
- Well, that is a complicated logical journey, y’all, one marked by so much optimism and flawed reasoning that I can’t help but adore them. Their logic is absolutely terrible, and yet neither one is aware of how skewed their thought process is. They’re… naïve? I don’t know how to properly describe them, but they don’t appear to ever be upset by anything, not even spending NINE MONTHS IN A FUCKING CAVE LOOKING FOR GOLD. And somehow a letter from their friend Ennis gets to them? How the hell did Ennis address her letter to them??? “Isaac Dian and Miria Harvent, Their Cave, Somewhere in California.” Yes, I’m accepting this as canon now.
- I can’t get over this. They were in that cave for NINE MONTHS.
- And then Ennis mentions something about being “created,” which is EXTREMELY SUSPICIOUS TO ME, and Isaac wrongly interprets this all (through some particularly cloudy judgment) to mean that Ennis wants a younger sibling, which Isaac and Miria can’t provide, so they reason that a really expensive gift will suffice, which they can’t afford, so they reason that they should just totally rob a bank to buy Ennis a gift.
- HOW THE FUCK ARE THESE TWO CREATURES REAL? OH MY GOD, HOW HAVE YOU SURVIVED ALL THESE YEARS.
- I WANT TO BE BEST FRIENDS WITH THEM.
- So, it’s with this that we watch the Flying Pussyfoot boarded. A group of “musicians,” who are obviously not musicians at all, get on board and split up, some staying within the luggage room. It’s through this that Jacuzzi reveals that he, Nice, and their companions are there to steal something on board.
- We also find out that Ladd and his cronies are there to… beat up rich people? I didn’t quite understand his purpose, but he obviously hates rich folk, and he wants to crush them. So is Lua a prisoner? She doesn’t want to be there. Or is she just a reluctant participant?
- OH, HEY, SENATOR BERIAM IS REALLY TERRIBLE. So, okay, this is the bomb/weapon mentioned in the previous episode. I understand this! And Beriam has the weapon transported on the train, but is willing to let the train explode and kill everyone on it, including his wife and daughter, because HE’S CLEARLY HORRIBLE. Holy shit, what the hell???
- (That’s operating under the assumption that it really is a bomb, and I could be so wrong, so yeah. Just allow me to be wrong.)
- Okay, I have a soft spot for Jacuzzi Splot after just one episode. The man is a nervous mess all of the time, and he just wants things to be nice and he wants friends and he wants to be liked and I JUST LIKE JACUZZI A LOT.
- You ever see one of those posts on Tumblr go around asking which fictional character you’d want to pull out of the narrative and just hug and have tea with them and eat cookies? I vote Jacuzzi right now. He’s not gonna like this. IT’S ALL AWFUL AFTER THIS.
- And it’s so sad to me that he actually has a good time meeting Isaac and Miria, who adoringly invite Jacuzzi to dine with them and socialize! Even the bartender notices that Jacuzzi hasn’t ever been so calm in recent memory.
- It’s at this point that the episode goes from being adorable and amusing to DOWNRIGHT FUCKING HORRIFYING.
- Oh my god, I was so ready for Isaac and Miria to tell this super funny and obviously fake story about the Rail Tracer, the monster who follows trains and eats all the souls of the people on board, and then the new train conductor is telling the same story, and the other conductor is confirming it, and THIS ISN’T FUNNY ANYMORE.
- It doesn’t matter that the story cuts back to Isaac and Miria, who comically reveal that they don’t actually know how to stop the Rail Tracer. BECAUSE THERE ARE MONSTERS ON THIS TRAIN, AREN’T THERE?
- Oh my god, I’m actually in awe at how quickly this episode goes from being amusing and humorous to terrifying. It’s quite amazing.
- So, the other conductor was clearly working with the musicians in black suits, who are revealed to be Lemures. Who are “ghosts.” BECAUSE THEY’RE IMMORTAL??? oh god, that whole bit about not having blood ties… holy shit. So they’re like immortal soldiers? But what are they doing???And clearly Czeslaw knows that immortals are real and worries that there are some onboard. How have the immortals co-opted the Rail Tracer tale? Or did they create it? The only reason I ask that is because Czeslaw draws a connection between the two so readily that he must know that the Rail Tracer is actually immortals.
- Y’all, WHO THE FUCK IS THE LEADER? How is this ritual going to help the Lemures’ leader??? I mean, we know from the first episode that there’s some sort of pentagram involved in this, so this is obviously some dark shit. I mean, the leader on the train believes that taking hostages will give them leverage to get their leader released, but I don’t see how the ritual fits in. I’M FRIGHTENED.
- This is so messed up already!!! What the hell?!?!?! I DON’T UNDERSTAND.
The video for Episode 2 can be downloaded here for $0.99.
Mark Links Stuff
– If you would like to support this website and keep Mark Does Stuff running, I’ve put up a detailed post explaining how you can!
– Please check out the MarkDoesStuff.com. All Mark Watches videos for past shows/season are now archived there!
– My Master Schedule is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often. My next three Double Features will be: Baccano!, The Middleman, and Band of Brothers.
– I will be at quite a few conventions and will be hosting events throughout the US, Canada, and Europe in 2014, so check my Tour Dates / Appearances page often to see if I’m coming to your city!
– Inspired by last year’s impromptu event in London, I am taking Mark in the Park on the road! You can see all currently planned dates and pitch your own city here.
