May 1, 2016
So the show has been fairly standard. Nothing particularly great or terrible comes to mind. The plot was intriguing, and the characters are developed enough that I can partially invest myself.
Up until this point there have been hints of something sinister and nefarious running in the background, driving the plot. We've had some build up in tension, and we get a boat-fight as the climax of each episode. Doesn't really break conventions at all, but it doesn't drive us away. The third episode ends with a ray of hope that the protagonists might have some external allies
And then episode 4 rolls out. We start the
...
episode by completely dissolving all the dramatic tension. We are alerted that the school, where they can hopefully solve the conflict, is only 26 hours of sailing away. Just over a day's journey. That leaves a large window for something to go wrong, but gives the impression that they are close to success.
And then the entire crew falls into disarray because they're out of spare toilet paper. Further dialogue suggests that they are not right out, indicating that there is likely some in the bathrooms currently. They suddenly break into worry over their dwindling supplies, and there is talk about stopping in a nearby town to restock, despite the current ban on their ship from entering all ports other than the schools. This is the premise of the episode
On its own, the shopping subplot isn't terrible. What makes it so, is that they just affirmed with the audience that they'll arrive at the school (where the ship would normally restock) in 26 hours time. That means that at this time tomorrow, the girls will be 2 hours away from salvation.
Why on earth would they go on a shopping excursion!? Surely they have enough toilet paper to last them a day if they all choose to be as conservative as possible. They already indicated they have plenty of food, and even if they didn't, 26 hours is less than the 30 hour famine that many people take on in support of starving communities! If they'll be at the school soon, why would they risk stalling their journey for another couple hours just so that they can wipe with as much as they want?
The first five minutes of episode 4 just absolutely shatter the suspension of disbelief. There is no reason why these girls would make such a stupid decision. I can't even finish the episode now, but I'm fairly certain that attempting this risky excursion gets them caught, they enter into another sea battle (as that seems to be how every episode ends) to fend off the pursuers who found them, and the entire sequence makes it harder to return to the school (because solving a conflict before the end of cour would illustrate just how little content there is).
If this is how they're going to try and keep things dramatic, it's not something I can watch. There is nothing more to keep me invested in the series, unless I just want to watch cute girls pilot a ship.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
