In the eleventh episode of Baccano!, I don’t even know how to summarize this anymore. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Baccano!
“Chane Laforet Remains Silent in the Face of Two Mysterious People”
- I still don’t fully understand everything about this show, and THE WRITERS ARE STILL INTRODUCING MORE MYSTERIES. Who was that person in Czeslaw’s flashbacks?????
- I’m also really, really interested in seeing how the events in the first episode come about, and I know there are a few things we still haven’t seen. How does Ladd’s arm get shredded? Why does Jacuzzi exit the train in near-tears? How does Ennis end up with Firo and Maiza? Why is Chane separated from everyone? Why am I not friends with Isaac and Miria?
- I mean, let’s just acknowledge that Isaac and Miria find a way to get themselves invited to a mafia party. This is their lives. This is what they do.
- Obviously, at some point, Maiza gives Firo the elixir, since we know from the first episode that Firo is immortal. But who else becomes immortal beyond the initial group? Anyway, I’m just going to have to wait to find that out. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the way that the show has built up Maiza and Firo’s relationship. It wasn’t until Maiza’s confrontation with Szilard later in this episode that I realized that Firo probably is the closest thing that Maiza has had to a son since Gretto died. WHOMP WHOMP, SAD THOUGHTS.
- But the bulk of this episode focuses on the surreal, philosophy-heavy conversation that Claire and Ladd have. While Chane and Ladd fight, Claire surprises them both, leading to one of the strangest confrontations in the whole series. Seriously, that image of Chane standing between Ladd and Claire is just so… GOD I CAN’T WRAP MY MIND AROUND IT. How did I draw the parallels between Ladd and Claire? I MISSED THE MARK SO BADLY.
- Both men are terrifying, straight up. And what’s so scary about them is how they both murder according to their own moral code. I suppose saying that Ladd has a “moral” code is strange, since I think his personal philosophy is all about a lack of morals. His apathy manifests in a complete disinterest in human life unless it involves suffering. Claire, however, has a strangely strict code about who he kills, though that doesn’t absolve him of what he does. It’s not like he’s killing people who deserve to die, like Dexter Morgan of Dexter. He’s a hired assassin. But he puts forth an argument here that contradicts Ladd’s desire to kill everyone. Mercy, he claims, is the sign of someone who is physically superior. The ability to spare a life is a sign of true power.
- I have a confession: I totally thought that while Ladd and Claire argued about this, Chane would quietly slip away unnoticed. That would have been hilarious. She just thinks to herself, “Well, I’ll let these two weirdos talk,” and slides off the side of the train and into a window.
- The whole thing is still super complicated anyway, since the Lemures are also hunting down Chane, and we’ve also got all of the scenes where Claire torments Czeslaw.
- WHICH AREN’T OKAY. Like, why. WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME.
- Because the show is cruel. I’ve accepted this.
- BUT HOLY SHIT. Who is the person Czeslaw lived with who tortured him??? Why is Claire so obsessed with causing Czeslaw pain? I had this striking realization during that scene that Claire really wasn’t that much different than Ladd. Both men take joy in causing the suffering of people who are certain that they’re safe. Hell, Czeslaw even gave a little speech about how Claire couldn’t really cause him any true pain. AND THEN HE DID. HELP ME.
- Meanwhile, shit is SO GODDAMN REAL back in 1930. Holy shit, I’m not even kidding, when Ennis and Firo were talking out in the alley, I thought, “God, does Maiza even know how close Szilard is to him?” NO, HE DOESN’T, BECAUSE SZILARD WAS IN THE GODDAMN SPEAKEASY.
- WAS HE THERE IN THE PREVIOUS EPISODE? JESUS CHRIST.
- Szilard scares me, y’all. He’s TERRIFYING.
- But the scene gave us confirmation of how Firo found out about immortality: from Ennis. It’s also the first huge step towards explaining why Ennis was with Firo and Maiza at the train station in 1932! Do they become friends? Does she reveal what she knows to Firo and Maiza? SOMETHING HUGE IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THAT SPEAKEASY, I KNOW IT.
- But y’all. Y’ALL. WHERE THE FUCK IS DALLAS GENOARD? He confronts Firo and Ennis in 1930 as an immortal, but we know that both Firo and Ennis are alive in 1932. So… how? What am I missing? And in 1932, Don Runorata is asking for Dallas as if Dallas is still alive. So where the fuck is Dallas??? Does the Martillo family have him? The Gandors? I AM BEING PERPETUALLY TEASED BY THIS PLOTLINE.
- Oh my god, just the title of the next episode alone is destroying me. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE???
The video for Episode 11 can be downloaded here for $0.99.
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