{"id":7445,"date":"2019-11-25T13:00:34","date_gmt":"2019-11-25T21:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7445"},"modified":"2019-11-15T21:03:03","modified_gmt":"2019-11-16T05:03:03","slug":"mark-watches-monster-episode-30-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/11\/mark-watches-monster-episode-30-decision\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 30 – Decision"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the thirtieth episode of Monster<\/i>, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t breathe. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Monster<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For mentions of suicide and alcoholism<\/b><\/p>\n

Hey, fuck this show, I CAN BARELY BELIEVE WHAT JUST UNFOLDED. I really enjoyed that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Decision\u00e2\u20ac\u009d focused entirely on Dr. Reichwein\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s point of view from beginning to end; that made this such a compelling story. The audience knows things that Reichwein and Dr. Gillen do not, and these things only exacerbate the tragedy unfolding on screen. But the things we recognize as a tragedy are what make Gillen and Reichwein think that something is deeply wrong here. Braun was about to see his daughter for the first time in ages; he seemed to have a healthy grip on himself and was adjusting so well to therapy that Dr. Reichwein thought he was healthier than he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever been. So why had he suddenly relapsed? Why at that<\/i> point in his life?<\/p>\n

But we<\/i> know that something much more terrible and insidious has happened, that Jovan manipulated Braun into drinking and made it look like Braun had committed suicide. He did this most DEFINITELY because Braun figured out the truth, and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sure it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also part of his fucked up game that he plays with everyone around him. Thus, the audience is given a story that automatically has tension: if Johan came for Braun and eliminated him, how long will it be before Johan comes for Dr. Gillen and Dr. Reichwein? Is he watching them as he watched Braun, waiting for the right time to strike and take him out?<\/p>\n

That made Dr. Reichwein\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s investigation of Braun\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death a billion times more tense! Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, he knew something was off, but even then, he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite<\/i> get the confirmation he needed. The bit with the bottle of whiskey was certainly a huge clue, but was that enough? It was enough for Reichwein, sure; combined with all the other evidence he had on Johan, this had to have been overwhelming. But at the same time, no one has ever been able to collect enough ACTIONABLE evidence. Johan is still free, he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still terrorizing people all over Germany, and none of these people aside from Dr. Tenma have ever really discussed what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d do with Johan if they actually caught. And hell, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re still left with the big question: Can Dr. Tenma actually kill Johan if he gets the chance? (Of note, though, is the fact that he does<\/i> fire that gun he bought. Finally!!!)\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While this is all happening, though, I was trapped. I FELT RIGHT INTO IT. I still can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figure this shit out. Oh my god, the open window. The unlocked door. HOW MANY TIMES HAD ROBERTO COME INSIDE? Was he spying on Dr. Reichwein so that he could pretend to be that woman\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s husband? That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where my mind went, but now I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m thinking\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 WHAT IF HE\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOT FAKING. Look, Roberto definitely<\/i> hired those two men to try and murder Dr. Reichman, so I feel the obvious solution here is that Roberto will do anything to protect Johan. However, does that mean this episode\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s implication is that Johan and Roberto are working a lot closer together than I ever realized? Is Johan directing him to do these things, or is he operating independently of Johan? HOW AWARE OF HIM IS JOHAN?<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, though, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always remember this specific episode of Monster<\/i> because of those last five minutes. They are agonizing. Brilliant. Heart-stopping. I knew something was wrong when they wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t show Hesse\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face, and when it panned up to Roberto, I thought my soul would be forever ejected from my corporeal body. FOREVER. It is so astounding to me that this show built up Roberto as they did because the pay-off here is monumental. I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fucking breathe<\/i> as soon as Roberto made that reference to Johan and Dr. Reichwein put two-and-two together. A nightmare, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, AN UNENDING NIGHTMARE. The look on Roberto\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face is of murderous certainty here, because he knows that Dr. Reichwein is trapped, and he knows that he has the advantage. But this is also a show that disposes of characters quite rapidly; I know for certain that pretty much no one is safe here. No one! So I thought this was it; Dr. Reichwein would be executed because he got too close.<\/p>\n

EXCEPT THEN DR. TENMA SAVES HIM AND OF COURSE THIS IS WHERE THE EPISODE ENDS BECAUSE IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S UNFAIR TO SPECIFICALLY ME. Finally! These two plots are colliding, and yes, it gave me a fright, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m so excited to see where this is going to go. AHHHHHHHH WILL TENMA SEE DR. GILLEN TOO???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Decision\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now OUT!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"