Black Lagoon S01E07 - Character development in perfection

BLACK LAGOON
Series 1, Episode 7

What is the perfect thing to sweeten up your day? Right, a new review. This time, I’m back to “Black Lagoon” with episode 7 which kicks off shortly after the Nazi-ship-bloodshed arc and even goes to the lengths of showing us one last shot of the ship with bullets and blood everywhere. Already saying that here, because in order to completely get what E7 is all about you should have watched that last arc or at least have read my review because otherwise this one will you strike you as a “WTF” moment, maybe even multiple ones at that. E7 review, go. (Man, I sure love to say “go” a lot. xD)

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

Porn group watching.

Rock and Revy driving in that sweet dream of a ride and Rock, trying to light the atmosphere with not that good jokes, gets yelled at by the very not so funny Revy. Who he had to take along because Dutch set them up in order that they would sort out their stuff after that particular arc I was talking about already. So, delivery duty for these two, starting with visiting a nice little club which of course is a stripper bar, what else would it be? Funny dude there, should put him in the show more often. Next up on the list is Balalaika who we get to know is not only a bad ass military general but is also a porn cutter. And it’s not as fun as it sounds. And here we are, back in the car, getting to where we started all along, driving the car and Revy yelling at Rock. 

This time, we get introduced to the “Church of Violence” and indeed, that this one is. And thankfully, they will also play a big part in later episodes which is damn awesome because, you know, shooting and drug-selling nuns who are as bad as they come, what can you ask for more?

Now let’s drink some tea with the sister in charge who is also missing one eye, certainly how you’d expect a nun to look like. And you can order everything from them like the Lagoon Company did in this case with a grenade launcher but the sisters want more money. Why this is interesting? Because now we get a look at what is in store for Rock. Recognizing the sort of tea (good one, apparently) he makes the connection to the sisters being the off-chart drug dealers Balalaika and “Hotel Moscow” are looking for. And he gets a sweet deal through thinking strategic here which is quite the good contrast to the otherwise only solution of gun pointing which by the way, Revy does right there, next to him. 

"You are not gonna sleep with me after what happened
with those Nazis on the ship, pervo."

Second part of the episode: street restaurant. And there is what the complete ship arc has been building up, the big outburst that will change the show’s dynamic. Revy vs. Rock. And Revy shoots Rock, yeah, you read right. Rock is done apologizing (and he has every reason for that) but Revy ain’t. And after pointing her gun at him, she really fires at him. But Rock a.k.a. “bastard”, according to Revy, cheats death in such a cool way you just gotta hand it to him, he is not a typical white collar guy. And then, he goes on yelling at Revy – a move that would earn anyone else multiple deaths by her very own hands. But just before Revy really goes ahead to kill Rock which would have been kind of likely despite super-cool and calm Rock giving her a moral lesson once more she surprisingly seems to understand, police is coming around and yes the captain is corrupt but hey, if he would have to clean up the mess itself and cancel all his golf games as it's the case right now, he’s there to protect and serve and therefore asks them to get into the police car.

Here comes the big question: where does Rock stand, on which side is he? And Rock answers in the one way anyone would have, he stands where he stands. Which, if you think about it, actually makes a lot of sense and is also a problematic cause that will influence the show again at some point ([SPOILER (mark to read)] namely, season three a.k.a. the OVAs [/SPOILER]).  The episode ends with Rock lightening Revy’s cigarette (yes, you get to smoke in a police car there, awesome, right?) with his own – love is in the smoke, eh, I mean air. And we go to sleep.

Love is in the smoke, literally.

So, what is there to say about this episode? – While the three-part ship arc left us with a strong feeling something was on the horizon that would shake up the whole show’s dynamic, episode 7 delivers the first answer to that very feeling. Revy’s outburst. 

But, first things first, as always. We finally get to see some other people due to delivery duty and the introduction of the “Church of Violence” (CoV in the following) is something I would not have wanted to miss because while they may seem like normal folks for now like you and me except the whole gun thing and drug smuggling affair, they are completely the opposite. And I wouldn’t even go as far to say that they even pray to God because clearly, in this town, money is your better bet. What also shows that “Black Lagoon” is not only a fun show but also points out some real society problems which I do give credit for. The CoV will also be featured in many more episodes to come and they will get more bad ass, believe me and that delivers some good old-fashioned irony humor which I do miss in new shows. Another plus here: I mean, nuns with guns (which rhymes as I notice just about now), come on, that is bloody hell awesome. 

"Why didn't you go to the mass?"

Besides that, this first half of the episode shows us a Rock of a different kind, a more thinking, a more strategic Rock who shows his qualities as a deal maker now and [SPOILER] as I previously stated this is a side of Rock that will be important for the OVAs who do play with this very element hidden deep inside his soul [/SPOILER]. 

What I like about this first part in particular is the way of giving the show a kind of familiar tone and a serious flow. What that does mean in daily English? It means that the Lagoon Company is finally shown as a company (yeah, you know, from their name) and they do so without forcing anything, without having it feeling weird or something, it just feels right. And what makes it so familiar is that they have to do things everyone has to do from time to time like taxing or collecting money. I mean - how more realistic can they go with that for a pirate crew? On top of that, the scenery shown is really really contributing to the overall atmosphere. 

Now, for the second part which is by far the more important one here: Rock who is now done apologizing gets shot at by Revy. That move, I did not see coming, well of course, the gun pointing, yes, but the other thing, definitely no. But of course, you can’t kill the main character of a show before the very last episode, unless you have multiple ones but that’s another story, so Rock does some slick cool-guy-esque move and bam, with his bare hand he pushes her gun away from his face, resulting in the bullet only grazing his head, but still leaving a nasty blood mark there. For a show that has had far MORE unrealistic things until now, this comes at you like the real thing. Furthermore, this whole outburst with the conversation following is not being played too harsh or even too fast for that matter, it, again feels just about damn right. 

I know, this time I can’t really give you more explanation for those two things than I just did because this episode is a miraculous work of art. The twenty-three minutes were over so damn fast I almost thought this was some sort of short-lengthen bonus episode or something which it despite the feeling isn’t. I spotted no plot holes (given that there was not much room for any, to be fair), not a single forced element and still, the animations rank top. E7 is what you would call the perfect character development episode which I do like, especially when it is done in such a brilliant way. There, I said it: brilliant, perfect. And this is also how this episode ranks among the others, perfect.

"Already going for a score, that can't be good."

5 full stars, not a single (!) negative aspect I could point out except the episode seriously being too short. Ready your Cutlass for more good stuff hopefully coming up.