Bege started the episode by setting the stakes of this meeting. Once finished there will either be an alliance or a fight to the death. But instead of being too serious, this episode gave us a lot of everything.
Firstly, I'd like to talk about Pekom’s loyalty. Despite the fact that Big Mom killed one of his big brother figures, and was the reason for Pedro’s eye loss and life steal, he's constantly talked about as somebody who is loyal. He is grateful enough to make decisions off personal volition but has nonetheless kept that characterization. Even now the fishmen are lying to Pekoms as he tries to warn Mom about the assassination plot. And his relationship with Mom is one that definitely interests me. We know that he was a delinquent who looked up to Pedro and Zepo, but unless I forget, it is unclear how he ended up under Mom to begin with, and further while comparable to Senor Pink, there's something distinctly different here. Doflamingo’s rule was so scary because it was appealing, while conditional, he created a real sense of family, acceptance and belonging. Mom clearly doesn't seem to do the same. All of this also means that our good friend Pekoms could very well become an enemy if he learns of the assassination plot.
Chiffon is another interesting character, one which has an ambiguous set of values and motivations. Chiffon has shown that she is fine with cold-blooded murder, and she will prioritize Bege; he and her son are all the family she’s got. This is somewhat similar to Pekoms, and continuing with the comparison, Chiffon cried tears of joy, grateful that Nami saved Lola. We now have another character who feels grateful for a party which they may be ordered to act against. In that case it may be a decision to go against her husband or her sister’s saviors. These kinds of characters that feel hard to pin down are plentiful and make this arc feel alive. Pudding is another example I have gone into great detail over, and although different, I feel similar about Germa 66 with the nuance you can read alongside them.
With some help from Chiffon and some Carrot fanservice, we learned more of Mom’s goals and history, and Lola’s involvement. This conversation linked everything together, Lola was supposed to marry the king of Elbaf, Mom already had rocky relations with the giants and thought that this would mend their relationship, giving her control of the strongest army in the world. As we have already heard and seen, Lola ran! This only made the giants and Big Mom’s relationship even more strained. This goes to explain why Mom is so angry at Lola, and her sore spot with the giants. It also goes on to explain her research with Caesar, without being able to control the giants she wanted to create them- according to Chiffon at least. This conversation also explained why Lola would give Nami a vivre card to get Mom’s help when it could have gotten her killed! Chiffon at least suggested it was due to Lola not realizing how much anger she has caused Mom, not truly realizing she wants her dead. Lastly, it also showed why Chiffon wants to help kill Mom, she has been horribly abusive to her ever since the day Lola ran simply because she looks like Lola. And who said bath scenes can’t be meaningful!?
Before meeting Bege, the Straw Hats played by his tune, he has taken full control over their actions, making them dress up as fly as ever and clean before even interacting with him, and then making them wait for him. I respect the amount of control he is exerting! He really feels like the boss man. It made for some cute moments. Luffy having reunited with Sanji no longer needed the reminder of their fallout and therefore regrew his tooth with milk, and stuff like the joke where Luffy seriously asked everybody if they are Bege had me losing my mind. Vito, Chiffon, even Pez! Luffy is so cute and funny sometimes. Speaking of cute and funny, uncharacteristically that is how Bege’s top brass seem. Gotti is a big sweet boy who deeply cares about his friends, and Vito is a weirdo fanboy of Germa. I like these guys a lot!!!!! |