Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 53 – Determination

In the fifty-third episode of Monster, Tenma takes a huge risk, and Eva relives the past. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Monster. 

This show truly is going to keep me guessing right up until the end, isn’t it? Because at no point did I ever anticipate that I’d be watching Tenma orchestrate a ridiculous complex PRISON BREAK. He is in prison! This plot is genuinely happening! AND IT’S ONLY GETTING WORSE BY THE SECOND.

The Offer

Y’all, the remainder of Roberto’s conversation with Tenma was too much??? I’m still struggling to understand it, especially since I assumed that Roberto and Johan would want Tenma stuck in prison, taking the rap for Johan. But after threatening Eva’s life, Roberto says that Tenma would benefit from Eva’s death, too, then lays out an entire scenario in which Tenma gets out of prison and is free. I just…. what the fuck??? Why? Did he think he could appeal to Tenma’s selfish side? Was this all just to toy with him? ROBERTO TERRIFIES ME.

Milch’s Promise

It took me a moment to realize that Milch was telling Tenma that his escape attempt would be in five days. That being said, I absolutely do not understand the conversation that Milch had with his lawyer, whose name is never said aloud. Whose boss was he referring to? What circumstance is Milch in that he has “people” to “sell out”? What secret is he keeping? Oh my god, who are Helene and Gustav? Does Milch have a family on the outside??? WHY ARE THERE STILL SO MANY SECRETS ON THIS SHOW? 

I’m gonna fight y’all. 

The Confession

I get his motivation now, but even if that’s the case, I love that we see how Tenma’s confession has affected other characters. Initially, yes, I was perplexed. It seemed like such a strange and reckless decision! Actually, it still is, because it’s not like Tenma has any experience ESCAPING FROM PRISON. Still, he’s with someone who has the nickname, “The Escape King.” That feels like a good thing, but the episode ends before we ever see what it is that Milch has planned.

So instead, I want to focus mostly on the other characters. Understandably, Tenma’s confession is completely shocking to literally everyone, including the investigators. And I imagine that Tenma, being so close to all these cases, was able to craft a convincing confession, too. But this act has upended the lives of Dr. Reichwein, who is convinced of Tenma’s innocence, as well as Verdeman. After all the work these two men have done, Tenma just went and confessed to it all? So I get why Dr. Reichwein’s reaction is what it is. None of this makes sense, so Tenma had to have been tortured in order to confess something like that. 

But it’s Verdeman who takes it most personally. This episode gives us confirmation that Tenma’s lawyer DOES believe that he is truly innocent, and I’m guessing that Verdeman is certain that Tenma is so without hope that he’s just confessed to get this over with. That’s my theory based on the breakdown that Verdeman has outside of Eva’s room. We’ve already learned why Verdeman is so motivated as a defense lawyer, and we also know that he’s long struggled with the concept of good and evil. He always wants to believe the best in others specifically because the state refused to offer the same grace and patience to his father. And standing outside of Eva’s room, he has a similar struggle: Is Tenma actually innocent of the crimes he’s accused of? Is it irrational for him to hold out hope for that? Again, Verdeman goes back to his father: his father had to be innocent. Will he ever know for sure? Most likely not, and that’s where faith comes in. This whole job is one giant exercise in faith, and Verdeman is ready to commit to proving that Tenma is innocent, too.

Eva, however, starts at the opposite end before she eventually comes around to changing her mind. Tenma’s confession undoes her in a completely different way. Like Verdeman, she is a character defined by her past. She’s spent so long obsessing over what she no longer has, so much so that she refuses to help Tenma so she can enact a bizarre punishment on him. What “Determination” does so brilliantly is show how Eva constructs an image of Tenma in her mind that often differs from reality. When she tells Verdeman about what kind of person Tenma was, she leaves out a couple damning details about herself. It’s only after the confession that Eva relives the moment and accepts her own cruelty that she relents. 

Perhaps this is the first step in a longer journey, and maybe Eva will be able to come to terms with her own cruelty. It might be too little, too late, but I believe that she finally intends to testify on behalf of Tenma. EXCEPT NOW ROBERTO KNOWS AND IS HEADED STRAIGHT FOR HER. Great. Great!!! Can’t this show just leave me ALONE!!!!

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

Mark Links Stuff

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