Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 58 – I Hate This Job

In the fifty-eighth episode of Monster, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. If you’re intrigued, then it’s time for Mark to watch Monster.

Trigger Warning: For misogyny, domestic violence

Another curveball? Another new character? Another new plot arc? WHY WON’T MONSTER JUST LEAVE ME ALONE.

We know why. But holy shit, this truly was a surprise of an episode, especially after the cliffhanger in “That Night.” However, this far into the show’s run… I’m in. Truly. If anything, I’ve learned to trust that these tangents rarely end up being tangents. In fact, some of the earlier episodes, back when Tenma was first on the run, felt a little self-contained. But how many of them actually were in the grand scheme of things? 

So, there’s a story to be told in the fate of Eva Heinemann, and I accept that. Do I understand how Martin plays a part in all of this? Oh, absolutely not. I’m glad that we have confirmation that Roberto did not get to Eva in time, but what the hell is the rest of this? The mysterious man with the gray hair and the glasses—who remained unnamed in “I Hate This Job”—summons Eva so that she can do a job for him. That job is to go to parties… to find someone? Why would it be necessary for this man to use Eva just to locate another person? It’s not like that is her speciality. And, if anything, this episode proves that she struggles with blending into the world she used to be a part of. She doesn’t have her own source of income, but she also looks down upon… well, pretty much everything else. 

While there is an exploration of Eva’s belief that she no longer belongs in any world, most of this episode is filtered through Martin’s eyes. He’s not exactly the most pleasant character either. We know that whatever happens on this job gets him involved in a firefight and he is gravely injured. But it’s hard to have sympathy for someone who is so openly misogynistic, who hates everything that is associated with woman. Yes, Eva is a deeply annoying and rude person, but his dislike for her and being her bodyguard stems from something much darker and more violent. Y’all, the dude spent eight years in prison (only eight!!!) for murdering his partner when he caught her cheating on him. Plus, there’s that massive overreaction he has to the man on the train who hits on Eva. He didn’t need to go that far, but it felt like Martin believed that he owned Eva, that he was “protecting” her. (It’s a thing he later confesses is a bad habit, right?) So no, I don’t think we should write off his annoyance with this job as something Eva is responsible. He literally has a personal policy not to do jobs with women. LITERALLY. And combine that with his weird, protective behavior, and I feel like there a deep-seated hatred of women at the core of Martin’s character. 

What is interesting about him is the framing device. Either this story is told as he is dying in the backseat of that car, or he’s telling it to Dr. Tenma. How the fuck does Martin know Tenma??? Does this mean that somehow, Tenma is in Frankfurt as well? Is he working for this mysterious man in the glasses? WHAT IS THE CONNECTION???

It’s harder to write about this episode than most others because so much information is being kept from me. I don’t know who Eva is supposed to find and why they make her nervous. (Roberto? Johan?) I don’t know how we end up with that gunfight. So: off I go to watch the next episode, and I better get some answers! (We all know I probably won’t because, again: Monster doesn’t care about what I want.) 

The video for “I Hate This Job” can be downloaded here for $0.99.

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