{"id":7517,"date":"2020-04-03T13:00:15","date_gmt":"2020-04-03T20:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7517"},"modified":"2020-03-23T14:27:58","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T21:27:58","slug":"mark-watches-monster-episode-71-the-wrath-of-the-magnificent-steiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2020\/04\/mark-watches-monster-episode-71-the-wrath-of-the-magnificent-steiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Monster’: Episode 71 – The Wrath of the Magnificent Steiner"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the seventy-first episode of Monster<\/i>, the massacre brings out Grimmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true self. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Monster<\/i>.<\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of trauma, nonconsensual medical procedures, grief, death<\/b><\/p>\n

Holy shit.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What the fuck do I say about this? I know I wrote not all that long ago that I was worried about who wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make it out of Johan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s endgame alive, but this story is just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 whew. Crushing. And as action-packed as it is, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a remarkably dense episode, one full of some of the most important moments in the whole series. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m going to try to address everything, but lord, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so much here!<\/p>\n

Reunion<\/b><\/p>\n

I am STILL reeling from Lunge\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s and Tenma\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s reunion. Lunge has spent the majority of this show chasing down what he thought was reality: A surgeon using his kindness, good looks, and popularity to hide in plain sight. The evidence seemed to always<\/i> point towards Dr. Tenma as a serial killer. So I love that the writing takes a turn in this episode, in the sense that Lunge outright begins to admit that he used personal time off to pursue a fiction. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a fascinating insight into how he thinks, since we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d not heard him use these terms before. He often fashioned himself as an immensely objective thinker. So what would happen if he pursued a fantasy? If he let his instinct guide down the path of this story? It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not lost on me that the imagery of storytelling is also all over this show, particularly since that is how Klaus Poppe experimented on children.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What was most striking, though: Lunge saying that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sorry to Tenma. Y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all, if Lunge survives this (and hell, if Tenma<\/i> survives this), I hope that they do get to have that beer together. I think Lunge recognized that he had contributed to the complications of Tenma\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life over the years, when it turned out that Tenma had always been telling the truth.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a start, right?<\/p>\n

Nina<\/b><\/p>\n

Oh, that image of Nina running through the forest toward<\/i> Ruhenheim is haunting enough as it is. BUT WHAT MEMORY RESURFACED FROM HER SUBCONSCIOUS? Why would it worry her if Johan remembered it as well??? Ah, another mystery so close to the end, THIS SHOW IS TEASING ME AT THIS POINT. Also, can we give a shout out to Dr. Guillen, who hands over the keys to his car to save those people who escaped? It basically confirms that he knows he is not leaving Ruhenheim until this is over\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 even if that means he dies during the process. But I feel that way about everyone<\/i> who has willingly traveled there: Nina. Tenma. Lunge. Grimmer.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

But the bulk of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Wrath of the Magnificent Steiner\u00e2\u20ac\u009d traces the final part of the journey of Mr. Grimmer, the man who grew up without a name, who attempted to live as full of a life as possible, even though the trauma he endured left him without human emotions. When the attack on the Hotel Versteck began, I worried. I worried about Grimmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s fate, I worried about his health (both physical and mental), and I worried about everyone else in that building. The onslaught was so much heavier than I expected and indiscriminate. Johan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s people just showered<\/i> that hotel with bullets. And in a shocking procession: we see the victims. The couple who won the lottery are injured. (But not yet dead?) The elderly couple that Johan used used? Murdered. Grimmer himself is shot in the shoulder.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And even then, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not enough to trigger the Magnificent Steiner. Grimmer is still in protective mode, still determined to save as many people as possible, and so, he varies his technique. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s admirable what he attempts here: he tries to reach into the hearts of the people who are doing what was asked of them or what they were manipulated into. He appeals to human emotions. He appeals to empathy. Sympathy. Does it work? No. But it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so damn noble, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also proof that he always<\/i> chooses to believe in the best of humanity, despite that the worst<\/i> was done to him.<\/p>\n

So there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something particularly tragic about how the woman from the restaurant dies in front of Grimmer, too. She was relieved<\/i> to see Grimmer. She had hope that she was going to be okay, and then she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cut down. Senselessly. And it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, I was going to say that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what hits the switch for Grimmer, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not really the case, is it? Based on what he tells Tenma at the end of this episode, none<\/i> of this was due to the Magnificent Steiner. Instead, Grimmer tapped into himself, meaning that this was one of TWO emotions he felt at the very end. There was so much for Grimmer to be angry about: his childhood. His trauma. Everything that was done to him. All the people around the world who harm children for whatever reason. Johan. The men who killed the people of Ruhenheim. The gunman who killed the woman from the restaurant. And Grimmer channels this, and he takes out all four of those with guns who had fired upon the hotel, but not without suffering fatal wounds himself.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was so worn out by the end of the episode that I couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even cope with the death of Grimmer, who dies, by the way, in front<\/i> of Wim and Klaus. Both characters break down over Grimmer\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s body, though for entirely different reasons. Wim has lost someone who was kind to him, who believed<\/i> in him. Klaus, however, has finally seen the results of what he has done. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrifically uncomfortable, and it needs<\/i> to be. Klaus escaped to Ruhenheim to find a peaceful home, but that means he never had to face his past. He never truly came to terms with his actions. And he never saw this<\/i>. He never saw how his work damaged people, how it ruined them so badly that\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 well, take Grimmer. Grimmer did not feel any emotions until the last hour of his life at most<\/i>. He experiences anger, but then sadness. Not at his imminent death, but because finally, after all these years, he can grieve the death of his son.<\/p>\n

I just\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 jesus, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s one of the most intense scenes not just on this show, but like\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 fuck. EVER???\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Johan\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s massacre is STILL GOING, by the way. What the fuck else is gonna happen in these remaining three episodes???\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Wrath of the Magnificent Steiner\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":"