In the fourth episode of\u00c2\u00a0Serial Experiments Lain<\/i>, Lain begins her transformation. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Serial Experiments Lain<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For mention of suicide, death of a child, stalking.<\/b><\/p>\n
I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d\u00c2\u00a0like<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to say that I have a greater grasp on the material after watching \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Religion,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably smart to just assume that I have no clue what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actually happening. However, this episode provided me with a lot more information \u00e2\u20ac\u201c some of it gleaned from context clues \u00e2\u20ac\u201c than the previous episodes did.<\/p>\n
Which means I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m fairly certain that this show (or Lain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s narration) has been lying to me.<\/p>\n
And maybe that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the wrong way of looking at this. I accept that. Lying by omission isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite the same thing, especially if the show isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t putting certain things on the screen for a reason. I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know something like that at this moment because of the nature of how I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m approaching the show. (Huzzah for being unspoiled!) But Lain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s presence in the Wired is absolutely a thing, so that must mean that she entered it in some way\u00c2\u00a0prior<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to the events in this episode.<\/p>\n
Obviously, she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s using the Pashuke chip to make a fuller transformation than most do, but she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s definitely online, enough that people are already reaching out to her quite frequently. It could easily explain how images of her were seen in \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Girls\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Psyche,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d though I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not going to pretend to understand the mechanisms behind that. Perhaps there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a subconscious attachment that happens once you interact with the Wired, even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s only your first time. It can create a version of yourself that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d\u00c2\u00a0like<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0to be.<\/p>\n
I say that because it felt more clear to me that Lain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s experience\u00c2\u00a0is<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0changing her. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s subtle at first, at least until one of the core group of girls she interacts with points out that Lain already feels different. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s much more open; her shyness hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t completely disappeared, yes, but you can see how much easier it is for her to do something as basic as holding a conversation with another person. She\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s usually so quiet that talking is a challenge for her, which the other characters take for granted. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s easy for them to just be \u00e2\u20ac\u0153normal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d in this sense, so thus, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shocking when Lain becomes more responsibve. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a stretch to suggest that her experience in the Wired is responsible for this. Neither is it a bad thing in and of itself for a person to find social confidence through their time online. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fantastic thing!<\/p>\n
But \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Religion takes us to a much darker place online than this one aspect. (Which is not to say we should ignore the positive parts of it, of course.) Lain might be learning more of herself and gaining a confidence she never had, but the Wired is also a FUCKED UP PLACE. The main focus of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Religion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is on PHANTOMa, an action game (that reminded me of\u00c2\u00a0Doom<\/i>) that is maliciously hacked so that it combines with the world of a game of tag. The act creates a terrifying chaos, one that initially made no sense to me. I thought the opening scene was another reference to the bizarre stalking\/creeper phenomenon that Lain had experienced multiple times thus far. (Though I now wonder if we were supposed to think of that anyway. HMMMMMM.) Instead, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s about two worlds colliding. The action game becomes a psychological thriller because there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a young girl who pursues the men who play it, and she does so\u00c2\u00a0relentlessly<\/i>. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about context: to the men, their game has turned into a horrific nightmare that they cannot stop. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re the next victim. But to the girl who crosses over into PHANTOMa, she thinks it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all part of the hide-and-seek game that\u00c2\u00a0she<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0is playing.<\/p>\n
The tragedy is that the Knights (who were mentioned here again, leading me to believe they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be a bigger thing than I previously thought) are inherently responsible for that young girl\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s death. Is she\u00c2\u00a0really<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0dead in our world??? CAN THE WIRED KILL PEOPLE OUTSIDE OF THE INTERNET? This is so messed up, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! Why are the Knights doing this? Just because they can? Are they aware of how their actions thus far have lead to the death of at least the girl and the first guy. I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m supposed to connect the dots and make the assumption that the student in the opening scene is also the one mentioned later as committing suicide. But what if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just like Chisa? What if another student has found life in the Wired beyond corporeal existence? I suppose anything is possible at this point.<\/p>\n
LIKE LAIN EXPELLING THOSE WEIRD DUDES WITH THE TECHNO-GOGGLES BY JUST\u00c2\u00a0YELLING<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0AT THEM AND SENDING A SOUND WAVE TO DESTROY A PAIR OF SAID GOGGLES. Look, I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know that I\u00c2\u00a0needed<\/i>\u00c2\u00a0confirmation that the Wired can give people abilities and powers that are otherwise impossible, BUT THERE WAS MY CONFIRMATION. So the question of whether or not these kids are dead in the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153real\u00e2\u20ac\u009d world is moot. The Wired can absolutely affect our world, though I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand how.<\/p>\n
EVERYTHING IS MESSED UP.<\/p>\n
The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Religion\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded\u00c2\u00a0here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n – I am now on Patreon<\/a>! There are various levels of support, from $1 up to whatever you want! You’ll get to read a private blog, extra reviews, and other such rewards.<\/b> In the fourth episode of\u00c2\u00a0Serial Experiments Lain, Lain begins her transformation. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch\u00c2\u00a0Serial Experiments Lain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[661],"tags":[662],"class_list":["post-5822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-serial-experiments-lain","tag-mark-watches-serial-experiments-lain"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5822","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5822"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5822\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5822"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5822"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5822"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n– I\u00c2\u00a0will be at numerous conventions in 2016! Check the full list of events on my Tour Dates \/ Appearances page.<\/a>
\n– My Master Schedule<\/a> is updated for the near and distant future for most projects, so please check it often.\u00c2\u00a0My next Double Features for Mark Watches have been announced here.<\/a>
\n<\/b>-\u00c2\u00a0Mark Does Stuff is on Facebook!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0I’ve got a community page up that I’m running. Guaranteed shenanigans!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"