Mark Watches ‘Steins;Gate’: Episode 3 – Parallel Process Paranoia

In the third episode of Steins;Gate, Okabe invites a new member to the lab, and Daru makes a significant breakthrough. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Steins;Gate. 

Okay, so this is really happening, isn’t it? There is another world line that intersected or “erased” the current one, and somehow, Okabe is the only person who is able to remember it. That is happening simultaneous to what’s occurring in the present time at the Future Gadget Laboratory, which is where this episode picks up. Kurisu’s presence is shocking to Okabe and Daru, and the two of them spend more time insulting her and being sexist than actually communicating with her. I imagine that at least in the case of Okabe, he felt threatened by Kurisu, which is why he focuses so much on trying to make “genius” sound pejorative when he refers to her.

Yet she is ultimately recruited by Okabe to be a part of this mystery, and that’s how I discovered how that mysterious email was sent to the past. As I understand it, it was only while the PhoneWave was operating and Daru’s phone was connected to it that Okabe’s message about Kurisu’s death was sent to the past, and then the world line was altered. Was it altered because of the message? Is that why the Doctor’s seminar was cancelled and Kusiru’s was in its place? Maybe, but that PhoneWave does something to their cell phones, and it allows messages to be sent five days back. As to why it turns bananas to gel… I don’t know. But it absolutely returned that banana to the bunch because that’s where the banana was five days ago. 

It makes sense, then, that Kurisu left that lab in a panic. She just gave a seminar on why time travel was impossible, and she witnessed proof that her theory was wrong. They sent a message five days into the past. What now???

Well, now I understand that SERN is the same as CERN in our world, and that the organization—is that who Okabe is referring to when he mentions THE Organization???—is possibly responsible for what’s happening. I am deeply curious if we’re ever going to meet John Titor, and I imagine after their online call to talk with people, it’s something we’ll get to see onscreen. But Titor’s insistence that they’re trying to stop some sort of dystopia is so fascinating to me! There’s some apparent terrible future, and then there’s the bizarre present time mystery, and the two feel like they’re going to collide sooner rather than later. Is Titor responsible for the world lines changing? Are they sending stuff to the past?

Anyway, more on SERN at the end. I feel slightly vindicated in finding out that Suzuha is important to the plot because of the IBN 5100. YES. I GUESSED A THING RIGHT. I am also gonna guess now that she’s going to be added as the fifth member of the lab; Moeka is probably number six at this point. She knows something, too! Her interest in the same computer that Titor needs HAS to be vital. 

But one moment that I wanted to discuss in “Parallel Process Paranoia” is perhaps the most quiet one in the episode. Mayuri is an adorable, sweet character, and I don’t feel like she has a cynical cell in her body. I still can’t tell if she feels an affection for Okabe beyond friendship, but it’s clear that these two characters are undoubtedly close. The moment they share while trading food is cute, and it made me wonder about their history. I mean, we see Mayuri bring Daru and Okabe snacks during Daru’s hacking binge. How long has she supported them? It feels like it’s been a long time, you know?

Anyway, let’s talk about that final reveal, because WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON. Apparently, humans died during some mini-black hole experiments??? Daru doesn’t even have admin access, so what other secrets is SERN hiding? I’m still uncertain how this connects to what is happening with Okabe, but it is a creepy and disturbing reveal regardless. John Titor is probably right, y’all. WHAT THE HELL.

The video for “Parallel Process Paranoia” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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