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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online Episode 20, “The Showdown”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
One of the greatest strengths of the second season ofSword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online—for the sake of brevity, let’s call it GGO from now on—is its ability to surprise the audience. Introducing a highly dynamic map in episode 1, turning everybody against the main characters in episode 2 only totake away the attention and focus on some minor charactersin episode 3, and introducing a shocking rule that elevates the risk and excitement of the tournament in episodes 4 and 5.
There’s always something fresh happening in every episode. Something new that caught the viewers off guard. Not many series can do such a thing. And as you might expect, they also did the same thing in this episode. This episode is filled to the brim with twist upon twist upon twist. While this is certainly exciting, however, we do have some concerns over the trajectory of the story.
Pitohui Leading the Charge
Before we discuss the risk, let’s talk about some of the great things about this episode first, namely Pitohui’s character alignment and the twists. This section will focus on Pitohui, and the next one will beabout the two major twists.
Did You Forget Who I Am?
As one of the most well-known players in the game, everybody knows how ruthless Pitohui can be. After all, every player saw the nasty yet effective tactics that she used in the previous Squad Jam tournaments. So, while many admire her abilities as a player, they also can’t help but be wary of what she’ll do next.
Needless to say, everybody in Team Betrayals feels the same thing. But as they engage in battle, they realize that following Pito’s direction is their best chance of winning the tournament. Yes, her decision can be quite odd at times, but it always works out in their favor in the end. So naturally, they started to trust Pito. That turns out to be their biggest mistake. Spoiler alert, in this episode,Pito kills two of his teammates.For a moment there, they forget who Pitohui is and how ruthless she can be.
“I just sent him to be with his friends at the bottom of the ocean, that’s all.”
—Pitohui, Episode 7
Pitohui’s Character Alignment
InDungeons and Dragons,there’s a nifty tool called Character Alignment. This tool can help both writers and players alike to quickly identify the moral alignment of any character, which in turn can explain the thoughts behind their actions and decisions. In the Character Alignment chart, characters can be separated into nine categories—we won’t dive into each one, but you should look it up because it is quite interesting. Pitohui belongs to a group known as Chaotic Neutral.
A Chaotic Neutral character follows their own sense of value and puts their own freedom above everything else. They are free-spirited and can be either good or evil, depending on which one interests them the most at the time, which makes them highly unpredictable. Pito is the embodiment of these traits. That is also why she is the most interesting character in GGO.
There’s an Impostor Among Us
This episode has two major twists,both of which have to do with Pitohui. The first one is her shocking decision to kill her own teammates. The second one is about Pito’s true identity. As it turns out, she is not a member of the Betrayal Team. This means there is an impostor both in Team Betrayal and Team LPFM.
A Twist Upon a Twist
GGO is no stranger to twists. In fact, Season 2 islittered with twistssince the very first episode. Unlike the previous twists, however, the one in this episode is actually something that is carefully set up by Pitohui herself. you’re able to even say that the twists were part of her plan all along.
The moment she heard about the new rules, Pito immediately formulated a plan to infiltrate the betrayal team with the sole purpose of taking them out one by one. Thus far, her plan works as intended and she is only a few steps away from achieving her true objective, which is to have a no-holds-barred fight against Llenn.
Never Let Them Know Your Next Move
In this day and age, it’s difficult to present something new that can surprise the viewers. We’ve consumed so much content every day to the point that we can guess what would likely happen in a story. Yet GGO managed to surprise us a couple of times in the same episode. It seems GGO really takes “never let them know your next move” as the mantra for this season. Thanks to this, we can watch every new episode with great anticipation and excitement, wonderingwhat kinds of surprises they will have in store next.
It’s Good, But…
As we’ve said for the millionth time, GGO has been nothing but spectacular this season. Every episode is fantastic and there’s no reason not to watch this series every week. However, there are some concerns that need to be addressed. Mind you, it’s nota major weakness or shortcomingor anything like that. These are merely a concern.
It’s Been Dragging On For a While, No?
The first concern is about the current tournament arc. Make no mistake, it’s been great and so much exciting stuff happened, but it’s been seven episodes now and we are merely in the middle part of the final phase of the tournament. If things continue like this, we can expect the Third Squad Jam tournament to end on episode 10 or even 11. It begs the question; don’t you thinkit’s been dragging out for a while now?
Sure, presenting new and surprising things keeps the story fresh and the viewers excited to see every new episode. But it also means straying from the main topic, which inevitably prolongs the tournament. There’s a danger in overstaying one’s welcome. At the very least, people will get tired and abandon what was once so exciting and loved. Will this happen to GGO? Only time can tell. Hopefully not though.
Is This it?
The second concern is still related to the tournament. Or rather the fact that this season only has the tournament. One of the best things about the first season was indeed the Squad Jam tournament, there’s no question about that. Another undeniable fact is the tournament in Season 2 is an improvement in all fronts over the first season.
However, the first season has something that we haven’t seen in the second season thus far; Variety. In the first one, we saw Llenn spend time in the real world, interacting with her friends and talking about her worries and insecurities. We saw her in GGO outside of the tournament. She took on missions, exploring the bleak city, and even shopping around to find the best weapons for her.None of these exists in the second season.Yes, the tournament is awesome, but is this it? Hopefully not.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale OnlineS2 is available to stream onCrunchyroll.
