There are more annoyances in this mini arc that got to me this time. I did further thinking on the fact that everyone here seems so one dimensional except conveniently for Sabo. But, it should be noted his life was bad so even if he was told the Gray Terminal residents were trash, he still went to see them. They didn't use him like his family did. His father tossed him down the stairs and locked him in a basement for not being useful to him. Whereas the Gray Terminal people had fun telling a kid stories, treating him like a kid. They may not have been perfect but they are relatively far better than those of High Town. As always I'd prefer Sabo to not be the core exception but at least the daughter of the king wondered why the people they were burning weren't human showing that in the children there is a stage in where they haven't been fully indoctrinated.
Yet the thing that got to me was how dumb Bluejam was. He hates the nobles because he wishes he could be them. He hates how they look down on the people of Gray Terminal and uses them to their benefit, kind of like he does to the residents of Gray Terminal too showing some hypocrisy but that's besides the point. He knows how horrible they can be but in a lapse of judgement he believed the king wouldn't set him up. We can say Bluejam was a brute and made a poor choice due to his dream of being a noble being so close. He may have gotten antsy. But, to have him randomly put his faith in the king in this moment comes off as either boring writing or him being absolutely dumb, at least to me. I however did like how he tried to get the money from Ace. His ship burned and he has nothing, he was lied to, and the only way he can redeem himself is by getting Ace's money and using it to build himself back up. He feels this is the last thing he can do. I do want to mention how comical the gun shooting sound effect cliffhanger was though, we know Ace can't die!!!
I did like that confrontation past that too. Ace slipping up and saying what's important is 'your' life before correcting it to 'our' lives was a nice touch. Ace at this point until the end of his life wondered if he should have been alive at all, of course he wouldn't value his own life which may contribute to how easily reckless he is. Ace probably used Haki which is yet again being used to save someone who should die which I'm not sure how to feel about. It’s still a huge plot device and we haven't seen the villains ever properly be saved with it which makes it feel like main character plot armor. Yet, as always, I'll wait, I've been disappointed and that disappointment has been redeemed by Oda before. And finally, Dadan has to have shown up. Ever since Bluejam was introduced I've been waiting for the moment she fought Bluejam for her babies.
This was one dark episode. Someone in a prior thread said it is as if this arc is about adults abusing children, Bluejam toying with, manipulating, and threatening Ace and Luffy, and Sabo's father literally abusing him in the worst way and all the guards knocking him out with their guns are clear examples of this. But, alongside that we have tough love in Garp and Dadan who don't show their love clearly but have strong intentions for their children, I would argue Naguri also falls into this category as he trained them and taught Ace some life lessons. Even if Naguri isn't so much tough love but instead mentor love, it fits with the different influences adults can have on children.
Last point I want to make is that Dragon saved Sabo. Sabo's lines were kinda moving, that the town stinks more than Gray Terminal because it's rotten to its core. I feel there was some foreshadowing there too, as Sabo showed exactly what Dragon seems to believe too, this kind of tragedy is what he probably fights to prevent. This is why he's overthrowing the government, things like this. Due to their similarities maybe this will go somewhere. Perhaps Sabo disappears and that's why Luffy doesn't call him his brother any more, maybe Ace and Luffy think he never came out of the noble world to be a pirate again, because in reality, Dragon took him along. I'm sure Dragon wouldn't want to keep Sabo alongside the people who made him so pained, the problem with this being that I can't imagine Sabo would leave his brothers behind. I wonder if Dragon even knows Luffy is in the fire because, if not for my expectations for Dadan to come, I would imagine he would save Luffy. |