Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 3 – A Murder

In the third episode of Monster, the fallout from Dr. Tenma’s decision becomes even stranger. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Monster. 

I still don’t know what this show is, but I at least have a sense of why it’s titled as it is. Just kidding, I DON’T GET THAT EITHER. What the fuck???

A Murder

So, this show is about.. what? I’m still not sure! It’s clear that Dr. Tenma’s fateful decision to operate on Johan Liebert will have ramifications that’ll forever alter his life, and that’s one of the cool things about “A Murder.” This did not go as I expected, both in terms of the character growth for Dr. Tenma and the plot/timeline. As I said on video, Dr. Tenma made a moral choice to operate on the person who arrived at the hospital first, rather than listen to the Director. In saving Johan’s life, he knocked over a domino which led to his blacklisting and THEN the mysterious death of the Director and two of the top surgeons. At the start of “A Murder,” we discover that all three men died at the same time, which obviously makes this INCREDIBLY FUCKING STRANGE, and then, the Liebert twins disappeared as well. It’s not until two Inspectors—Weisbach and Lunge—discuss the case, some of it with Dr. Tenma, that a thread of a theory presents itself.

Right now, I think there’s some sense to the theory that the Liebert family were targeted after defecting from East Germany. It’s possible that all four members of the family were supposed to die, and when the kids didn’t, someone sent a box of poisoned candy to Johan’s room. We already watched the Director steal candy from Johan in the previous episode, and we know he handed it out to the others. So, that feels pretty direct, right? The Lieberts did something that got the attention of the wrong people, and someone tried to finish off the twins. It doesn’t explain where Johan and Anna went, though, as they’re still missing. Maybe someone got them?

A Twist of Fate

I’m super into the fact that even in just three short episodes, we’re shown character growth on the part of Dr. Tenma. He is an intensely moral character, though circumstances forced him into an uncomfortable and harmful situation where he was retaliated against for being moral. He lost everything: his career path, the respect of his colleagues, and his fiancée. Like Inspector Lunge, I also can’t ignore that with the death of Heinemann, Oppenheim, and Boyer, Dr. Tenma is suddenly in a wonderful situation. I absolutely do not think he caused it; he was too deep in despair and too believable for me to think he was behind any of this. The man was ready to be stuck in that hospital without the possibility of promotion for the rest of his life! Instead, vacancies are left behind, and he suddenly finds himself Chief of Surgery again.

That’s… interesting.

Nine Years Later

I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS FUCKING TIME JUMP. In doing so, the writers made me A BILLION times more interested in the story. And as I learned, this meant that the murder case was never solved, the Liebert twins were never located, and Dr. Tenma is living his best life! He’s still single (and he rejected Eva prior to the time jump), he’s thriving in his position, and he’s a deeply respected surgeon, so much so that when a witness is struck by a car, the BKA inspectors seek out Dr. Tenma. (I feel like Inspector Lunge’s incredible memory is going to be significant to the story, y’all.) I don’t know how Adolph Junkers is attached to any of this yet. Someone is killing middle-aged couples without children, and Junkers probably picked the locks? So who does he work for?

The more important element of this story isn’t how it communicates Dr. Tenma’s reputation, or the fact that Inspector Lunge feels like Tenma is connected to the triple murder at Heisler. Those are vital parts of the story! But Tenma’s successful surgery on Junkers leads to a deeply disturbing moment when Junkers regains consciousness and, much like Anna Liebert, begins to repeat something. This time, though, it’s worse. WHO THE FUCK IS THE MONSTER? Why are they coming? Is that who was chasing Junkers in the alley before they were hit by a car? Oh my god, what the hell is this show???

The video for “A Murder” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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About Mark Oshiro

Perpetually unprepared since '09.
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