{"id":7496,"date":"2020-03-11T05:00:03","date_gmt":"2020-03-11T12:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7496"},"modified":"2020-02-29T08:55:41","modified_gmt":"2020-02-29T16:55:41","slug":"mark-watches-monster-episode-61-the-door-to-memories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/03\/mark-watches-monster-episode-61-the-door-to-memories\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 61 – The Door to Memories"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the sixty-first episode of Monster<\/i>, Nina finally makes a breakthrough with her memories. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Monster<\/i>.<\/p>\n

UGH THIS SHOW IS SO GOOD.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Witnesses<\/b><\/p>\n

The overarching theme of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Door to Memories\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is of memory and trauma. How do our minds protect us? How can they harm us? What sort of decisions do we make that affect such outcomes? So much of the truth of what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s really been happening in Monster<\/i> is buried in the minds of others, covered up or forgotten. Well, not completely<\/i>, and as Vardemann and Detective Suk (!!!!! WHAT A SURPRISE!!!!) interview the five witnesses to Bonaparta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s readings, they discover that some memories are right on the surface. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just that no one has asked the perfect question. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at the heart of Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s complaint about Suk, though I understand completely why Suk was sticking to the book. The guy got just accused of a bunch of horrific crimes; the last thing that he wants to do is go off book and attract more negative attention.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the same time, Suk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s questioning is cold, so much so that he doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really get any meaningful information out of these people Vardemann, on the other hand, asks much more incisive questions, though he does so at the expense of revealing his personal attachment to the case. Yet Monster<\/i> is frequently a show about parallels, and this time, Vardemann directly calls attention to this. Vardemann is trying to prove the innocence of a man accused of a host of horrific crimes\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and now he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been paired with a man who was accused of a host of horrific crimes. (ALL COMMITTED BY THE SAME PERSON, MIND YOU.) That doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t excuse Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s outbreak, of course, which is triggered by a witness revealing that Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father visited the Red Rose Mansion. Again: understandable, just as Suk\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s behavior made sense. Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father is a huge source of the man\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s trauma, and suddenly, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that he did way worse than Vardemann thought he did.<\/p>\n

Except that third witness\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 holy shit. Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father SAVED HIM FROM THE MANSION. Look, we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know his full story, nor do we know how complicit he was in those experiments. But there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s now evidence that Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father not only knew those experiments were horrible, but that he worked to get children to leave. That was clearly an effective technique, too, since that man survived the experience. He chose<\/i> to leave because of what Vardemann\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s father said to him.<\/p>\n

So who are the final two witnesses? One of them can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be Capek, can it? Would he be that bold to show up and face Vardemann and Suk?<\/p>\n

The Memories<\/b><\/p>\n

There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a striking moment in the midst of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Door to Memories\u00e2\u20ac\u009d between Dieter and Nina, and yet again, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an instance where narrative parallels are placed front-and-center. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Dieter who calls attention to their similarities: both characters experienced immense trauma in their lives, and both are haunted by what was done to them. But Dieter, who is not actively trying to resurface old memories, must watch as Nina returns to the Three Frogs and deliberately triggers herself every single day<\/i>. Even then, her memories never fully return to her; only the most upsetting details come forth, and they are terribly painful to relive. So I really loved that there was a moment here where a character basically says, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153HEY, MAYBE WE DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T HAVE TO DO THIS.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true! Granted, Nina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s memories serve a narrative purpose, so I figured we would eventually learn what they were. But Dieter\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concern and kindness changes Nina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s mind, and she decides to take care of herself. She chooses to take herself and Dieter back to Munich, to be with Dr. Reichwein, and to pursue the truth of her memories while under supervised, professional care, instead of returning to the site of an immense trauma. THIS IS GREAT.<\/p>\n

So, let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk about those memories. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still having trouble piecing them all together, but I know that this is intentional. We get some more information from them! That was Capek in one of them, right? And if I understood it correctly, Johan was taken from the family as retaliation for his mother being an anti-government agent? Again: the time and place of this series IS SO DAMN IMPORTANT. But why did Nina get hurt? What was her name before all this started? What happened in that house where she kept repeating, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Welcome back\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? HOW DOES THIS ALL FIT TOGETHER? Why the hell did she refuse to tell Dr. Guillen who she actually<\/i> was?<\/p>\n

I am very afraid of learning the answer to this.<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Door to Memories\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

– You can now pre-order my second YA novel, Each of Us a Desert<\/i>, which will be released on September 15, 2020 from Tor Teen!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>
\n– 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":"