Hibikase said:I'll be honest, not my favorite episode, but still good overall. Before you bring out the torches and pitchforks, let me explain.
First things first, I'll state the obvious, this show's visual presentation, imo, has only gotten better and better with each episode, and this episode was no exception. That one scene with Violet leaping over the pond for Oliver was both touching and visually breathtaking. The incredible stereoscopic shot, the water animation, and the overall emotion packed into that scene combined with the perfectly suited soundtrack made my jaw drop. It could possibly be one of the most stimulating/dynamic shots out of any anime that I have seen, and I say that without exaggeration.
However, one incredible moment in the episode does not account for how a lot of this episode's drama just fell flat for me. Don't get me wrong, I did feel quite emotional at parts, but parts of it felt a little...forced. This is the first time I have felt this while watching this show, and I am honestly quite surprised. Every other episode handled its drama extremely well. I felt the main reason why the drama didn't strike the right chords for me was because of just how rushed Oliver's story was adapted. It felt more of a plot device to further Violet's character than actually giving us some more insight to Oliver and his past relationship/trauma with her daughter. The ending for his arc also felt super abrupt, and certain parts felt distinctly ham-fisted to squeeze as much stuff in.
I believe Oliver could have been very intriguing character with a compelling backstory that could've been explored to a greater extent to make him seem more rounded, and he deserved at least one whole episode to himself (without the OP and ED cutting the runtime). I mean seriously. This episode barely had 16 minutes to tell the entirety of his story, and it just felt like wasted potential imo. We literally learned NOTHING about the type of person Olivia (Oliver's daughter) was like other than very brief flashbacks. I also felt a lot of Oliver's character development and details of his backstory/current life were left out or cut short, so we are left with little to sympathize with other than the surface level: oh this guy's daughter died, so now he is depressed and an alcholic. Let's feel sorry for him :'(
They could've spent all 23 minutes of the episode runtime dedicated to Oliver's arc, and then spend the beginning of the next episode exploring Violet's development deeper and her reflection on her past of murder in the war. I just don't understand why they had to force that whole "big reveal" in the end of the episode just to end with a cliffhanger. It just felt wrong, as now there are so many new plot threads left hanging without resolution, making the episode feel ultimately unsatisfying.
One thing I can praise this show for is for gradually showing us Violet's development as a character from an emotionless weapon of war to someone actually capable of showing emotions like smiling/crying and impacting other's lives in a positive way. This episode showcases the important development of all: Violet being able to reflect on her own actions and admitting to her wrongdoings. The scene where she broke down after realizing that the the act of mindlessly killing the soldiers in war "prevented them from keeping promises of their own" was such a great character moment for her, and I can't help but feel proud of how far she has come.
tldr; presentation was phenomenal, but that doesn't not make up for the drama feeling forced and even a little undeserved. Oliver get a short end of the stick for his story, and deserved better. Overall, the pacing, especially towards the end, was rushed and unsatisfying.
Still looking forward to the next episode.