January 28th, 2020
Babylon and its ending
Anime Relations: Babylon
When the final episode of Babylon aired, some people were kinda disappointed with its conclusion and dismissed the whole series as a failure. The ending was pretty disliked, being called anticlimactic and inconclusive. And I wasn't sure where I stood either,but the more time I think about it, the better gets. So I wrote the following comment in the ep. 12 discussion and now here it is again, enjoy:
To be honest I didn't think the ending was anticlimactic. I really didn't have any expectations to how the series would end. In my opinion the people that were disappointed, should have seen it coming. The whole problem that people might have with Babylon is that the questions which it's posing, don't have a satisfying answer. And trying to answer such questions won't lead you to a satisfying conclusion. This show revolves around the philosophy of good and evil, and suicide good or suicide bad. The main conflict lies in those questions. Whereas other shows which explore these type of questions, have them grounded in a (relatively) smaller conflict. Example: Two characters on opposing sides, who both have good and evil sides. In the end when the conflict is solved, the conclusion lies in a more foreseable and obtainable goal (good guy kills bad guy type of situation). But throughout Babylon these goals are mostly vague, because the main character Zen doesn't have a clear ideal he is aiming for. He also has some shortcomings as well, like how work obsessed (or inconsiderate) he is. When Ai Magase is introduced, she is just a mysterious character in this thriller and then becomes the main source of conflict in ep. 7. There is no clear "villain" at the start of the show (which also due to it being a mystery/thriller).
In the first half of the show the main conflict is revealed to be the suicide law, which in my opinion was handled very well. We as the viewers are shown the perspective of Zen and the politicians against the new law. I personally had difficulties thinking of good arguments in favor of the suicide law (and I'm sure many people had too) and was curious how the writers and directors would portrait Itsuki Kaika as a fierce foe for the protagonists, but they outdid themselves. You know you've done a good job at writing an opposing side, when it manages to divide the audience. I went in thinking that the anti-suicide side were at a clear advantage, but by the end of the episode I wasn't so sure where I stood anymore. This is also helped by the fact that our main protagonist Zen, doesn't have a clear stance on the matter, he's just doing his job. And as he devised the kidnapping plan, I wasn't so sure if he was doing the right thing or not. When all the shit goes down in ep. 7, Ai Magase is introduced as the clear "evil", which our "justice" Zen has to face. So as a quick recap: At the end of this arc, we the viewers are left with no clear right or wrong (suicide law), a questionable "justice" (a work in progress) and new setup/villain.
After the 3 week wait, the effects of the shock that ep. 7 delivered had worn of, but the curiosity and the hype were still there, so when the show decided to introduce a new character (Alex Wood), people had their complaints. And I understand, the pacing felt a bit off and the shift in tone between ep. 7 and ep. 8 didn't help either. "But hey" I told myself " it's a new set-up". Now this is where I think most of peoples problems originated. Babylon went from suicide good, suicide bad (oversimplification) to what is "good" and what is "evil". Now anyone who tries to answer such questions is in for rough ride. "Oh you were skeptical about the whole suicide law thingy, well buckle up buckeroo cause take that times a hundred". As the show drew closer to its conclusion I had absolutely no idea how anyone could answer such philosophical question and give me a satisfying answer. Alex Wood becomes the clear "right" side as the ''Thinker", so we as the viewer now have him as the moral compass and expect him to give us the solutions to the story's conflicts. So when "good" and "evil" are associated with "continuation' and "end", I'll admit that the payoff does feel a bit small in comparison to the setup. So now with all the pieces present, we just need to arrange them somehow. Here comes our traumatized Zen who's idea of justice still isn't clear and the conflicts left unsolved are between him and Magase and this new suicidal girl and the president. The conclusion is not so simple. In the end main boy Zen is faced with a dilemma: Without a way to stop the president from killing himself (over-exaggeration) he decides to sacrifice both the presidents and his life in order to, one could argue, save/prolong the suicidal girls life and also prevent this "glorification" of suicide from happening (glorification as in Alex killing himself as the answer to the eternal question). Now I understand if you think "Well couldn't he have just shot him in he leg etc.", and I initially thought that as well, but this "inconvenience" is just what the show needs to reach its conclusion. After seeing a few images of the presidents and Zens family flash before us, Alex gets shot and we see the justice Zen chose, which aligns with the previously defined "evil" = end. First conflict resolved, second follows. After that Ai Magase shows up to confront Zen who now has clearer ideals (good/evil). The shows ends with him pointing a gun at her and her pointing a finger gun at him. Screen turns black, we hear a bang and credits start rolling. Credits finished rolling, boom we see Zen's son together with a woman who is then revealed to be Magase.
Now I personally liked this ending. I think it's pretty interesting. Main boy Zen was called a "good man" by Alex and a "bad boy" by Magase, so by not killing Ai he proved her wrong by leaning more towards the "good", but (probably) ends up killing himself for it. Now, I think that was a really smart resolution of conflict and a good conclusion to the show. But wait, that's not all. The post-credit scene has Magase calling Zen's son a "good boy" after dropping off a bus together. Now this scene is open for interpretation. I personally found it very sinister and chilling. The shock value which it deliver helps the show become that much more memorable than it already is and it probably stirred up some discussion around it.
For me this series was pretty refreshing, because you don't often see anime, which explore such topics and concepts so thoroughly. It has its problems and I won't deny that: the whole suicide law situation left unresolved (even though you could say that one could draw his/her own conclusions based on the ending), and the pacing feeling a bit off at points. I saw some people asking for an explanation for Magases powers, but I think that if you were left with such questions, maybe this series wasn't for you, because these questions aren't really relevant to the story Babylon was trying to tell/ they're beside the point it tries to make. You can compare it to Paranoia Agent which starts of as a detective mystery and then goes bat shit crazy with the supernatural. Some conveniences have to exist in order to tell certain stories.
Babylon certainly isn't a show for everyone, but it succeeds majorly in telling the story it wanted to tell. And even though unlikely, there is still the possibility of a sequel so I'll just stay optimistic about it.
Thanks for reading.
To be honest I didn't think the ending was anticlimactic. I really didn't have any expectations to how the series would end. In my opinion the people that were disappointed, should have seen it coming. The whole problem that people might have with Babylon is that the questions which it's posing, don't have a satisfying answer. And trying to answer such questions won't lead you to a satisfying conclusion. This show revolves around the philosophy of good and evil, and suicide good or suicide bad. The main conflict lies in those questions. Whereas other shows which explore these type of questions, have them grounded in a (relatively) smaller conflict. Example: Two characters on opposing sides, who both have good and evil sides. In the end when the conflict is solved, the conclusion lies in a more foreseable and obtainable goal (good guy kills bad guy type of situation). But throughout Babylon these goals are mostly vague, because the main character Zen doesn't have a clear ideal he is aiming for. He also has some shortcomings as well, like how work obsessed (or inconsiderate) he is. When Ai Magase is introduced, she is just a mysterious character in this thriller and then becomes the main source of conflict in ep. 7. There is no clear "villain" at the start of the show (which also due to it being a mystery/thriller).
In the first half of the show the main conflict is revealed to be the suicide law, which in my opinion was handled very well. We as the viewers are shown the perspective of Zen and the politicians against the new law. I personally had difficulties thinking of good arguments in favor of the suicide law (and I'm sure many people had too) and was curious how the writers and directors would portrait Itsuki Kaika as a fierce foe for the protagonists, but they outdid themselves. You know you've done a good job at writing an opposing side, when it manages to divide the audience. I went in thinking that the anti-suicide side were at a clear advantage, but by the end of the episode I wasn't so sure where I stood anymore. This is also helped by the fact that our main protagonist Zen, doesn't have a clear stance on the matter, he's just doing his job. And as he devised the kidnapping plan, I wasn't so sure if he was doing the right thing or not. When all the shit goes down in ep. 7, Ai Magase is introduced as the clear "evil", which our "justice" Zen has to face. So as a quick recap: At the end of this arc, we the viewers are left with no clear right or wrong (suicide law), a questionable "justice" (a work in progress) and new setup/villain.
After the 3 week wait, the effects of the shock that ep. 7 delivered had worn of, but the curiosity and the hype were still there, so when the show decided to introduce a new character (Alex Wood), people had their complaints. And I understand, the pacing felt a bit off and the shift in tone between ep. 7 and ep. 8 didn't help either. "But hey" I told myself " it's a new set-up". Now this is where I think most of peoples problems originated. Babylon went from suicide good, suicide bad (oversimplification) to what is "good" and what is "evil". Now anyone who tries to answer such questions is in for rough ride. "Oh you were skeptical about the whole suicide law thingy, well buckle up buckeroo cause take that times a hundred". As the show drew closer to its conclusion I had absolutely no idea how anyone could answer such philosophical question and give me a satisfying answer. Alex Wood becomes the clear "right" side as the ''Thinker", so we as the viewer now have him as the moral compass and expect him to give us the solutions to the story's conflicts. So when "good" and "evil" are associated with "continuation' and "end", I'll admit that the payoff does feel a bit small in comparison to the setup. So now with all the pieces present, we just need to arrange them somehow. Here comes our traumatized Zen who's idea of justice still isn't clear and the conflicts left unsolved are between him and Magase and this new suicidal girl and the president. The conclusion is not so simple. In the end main boy Zen is faced with a dilemma: Without a way to stop the president from killing himself (over-exaggeration) he decides to sacrifice both the presidents and his life in order to, one could argue, save/prolong the suicidal girls life and also prevent this "glorification" of suicide from happening (glorification as in Alex killing himself as the answer to the eternal question). Now I understand if you think "Well couldn't he have just shot him in he leg etc.", and I initially thought that as well, but this "inconvenience" is just what the show needs to reach its conclusion. After seeing a few images of the presidents and Zens family flash before us, Alex gets shot and we see the justice Zen chose, which aligns with the previously defined "evil" = end. First conflict resolved, second follows. After that Ai Magase shows up to confront Zen who now has clearer ideals (good/evil). The shows ends with him pointing a gun at her and her pointing a finger gun at him. Screen turns black, we hear a bang and credits start rolling. Credits finished rolling, boom we see Zen's son together with a woman who is then revealed to be Magase.
Now I personally liked this ending. I think it's pretty interesting. Main boy Zen was called a "good man" by Alex and a "bad boy" by Magase, so by not killing Ai he proved her wrong by leaning more towards the "good", but (probably) ends up killing himself for it. Now, I think that was a really smart resolution of conflict and a good conclusion to the show. But wait, that's not all. The post-credit scene has Magase calling Zen's son a "good boy" after dropping off a bus together. Now this scene is open for interpretation. I personally found it very sinister and chilling. The shock value which it deliver helps the show become that much more memorable than it already is and it probably stirred up some discussion around it.
For me this series was pretty refreshing, because you don't often see anime, which explore such topics and concepts so thoroughly. It has its problems and I won't deny that: the whole suicide law situation left unresolved (even though you could say that one could draw his/her own conclusions based on the ending), and the pacing feeling a bit off at points. I saw some people asking for an explanation for Magases powers, but I think that if you were left with such questions, maybe this series wasn't for you, because these questions aren't really relevant to the story Babylon was trying to tell/ they're beside the point it tries to make. You can compare it to Paranoia Agent which starts of as a detective mystery and then goes bat shit crazy with the supernatural. Some conveniences have to exist in order to tell certain stories.
Babylon certainly isn't a show for everyone, but it succeeds majorly in telling the story it wanted to tell. And even though unlikely, there is still the possibility of a sequel so I'll just stay optimistic about it.
Thanks for reading.
Posted by pavkata | Jan 28, 2020 4:04 PM | 0 comments