“181045” Recap – The Promised Neverland

4 Comments

1. Jay says:

   January 26, 2019 at 11:59 am

   Good to see I wasn’t the only one who watched Release the Spyce last season. Anyway, three quick points:

   1. In regards to the kids (Emma, Ray, Norman) always being right, I think the game of tag showed that not to be the case, right? One capable, physically fit woman was able to capture all but two of the kids and you could argue Krone could/would capture Norman and Ray if there wasn’t a time limit. Kids falling for simple tricks like shapes torn in leaves and just their lack of physical ability holding them back (e.g. Emma having to save the two kids before her chase scene with Krone). I think it’s shown that regardless of what they uncover, at the end of the day, Emma’s idealistic plan will most likely have consequences for the kids.

   2. Building off that, regarding the traitor, it’s at least presumed Gilda is the traitor based on how the frames are stacked with her in them. It seemed to me that you guys were down with that possibility? I mean, let’s assume that to be correct, Andy mentioned that so far the audience and the main 3 are aware of everything, none of them have more knowledge than the other. If the traitor is Gilda, doesn’t that just make scenes more tense in a way? It’s the old bomb under the table trick in screenwriting. We the audience know the circumstances but the kids don’t; it adds tension to every scene Gilda is in and almost every scene in general.

   In the first two episodes, whenever we’re in a scene with some combination of Emma, Ray, & Norman or by themselves, there’s the tension that Mama Isabelle could corner or approach them. There’s two times when there’s reprieves (group scenes with the other kids & when they play tag); but in this episode they took those scenes to breathe away. Sister Krone took away the sanctity the tag scenes had with the kids by invading them and now every group shot with the kids, you’re forced to look around and see if Gilda is in there or not. It’s like in Jaws, the tension is knowing danger is lurking somewhere but these astute kids haven’t figured that out yet.

   3. Regarding Sister Krone’s appearance. I know it was slightly mentioned about her portrayal and as a manga reader, I can say that her appearance has been toned down from her manga illustrations (although she’s meant to be drawn malevolent in the manga so it’s trying to make due with the constraints of its medium). But if I may offer a counterpoint to the feelings on Krone being drawn as an exaggerated black female authority figure. Mainly, I didn’t see a major problem with it because she doesn’t fit the “mammy” tropes that came with the racist stereotypes. The two primary tropes are lack of intelligence, and lack of agency/direction. In her first two scenes of they dispel both; in her scene with Isabella, isabella mentioned that memorizing the kid’s files, “is easier than getting perfect scores every morning.” There’s a clear indication that Krone is intelligent, she even memorized the files and used them when trying to lure Emma out, which illustrates three different levels of intelligence (knowledge, memory, & tactics). In her scene with the doll, Krone sings her plan like a Disney villain which shows she has a plan and a willingness to act upon it, showing she has agency in her own way.

   In terms of her appearance, she fits the tropes of the “brute” character. Large and hulking with a pronounced figure & characteristics, such as Agatha Trunchbull from Matilda as one example. Krone even embodies the character the brute was named for; “et tu Brute?” Just like Brutus stabbed Caesar in the back, Krone has the same end goal in mind. Krone in many ways is drawn to be the exact opposite of Isabelle in appearance and also how the interact and manipulate. Isabelle is described as someone whose undefeated in chess, her game seems to be manipulating through the shadows and through indirect (although sometimes direct) acts that come across as threatening. Krone is far more in your face type of controlling. Krone seems to wear a mask and seems to be able to think similar to Isabella. The one weakness Krone has is that her mask is easily seen through unlike Isabella who conceals her true self much easier. Also, Krone isn’t the only dark skinned character in the show, Don is dark skinned and Steve’s favorite character, Phil is also dark-skinned. While that’s not the best argument, it would be easier to see Krone as being a stereotype is she was the only black face in the crowd. Just figured I’d put those thoughts out to see what you think?

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2. Gurrenprime says:

   January 25, 2019 at 9:19 pm

   Wait, Dylan, did you just say that Release the Spyce handled the traitor reveal well? That was shark jumping moment for me >_>

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   • Dylan Hysen says:

     January 25, 2019 at 9:47 pm

     Yeah maybe not “well” because I do agree somewhat but at least it went in interesting directions and was substantial.

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     • Gurrenprime says:

       January 25, 2019 at 9:50 pm

       Honestly I think that’s still giving them too much credit. Other than the fact that the traitor was the one with the least motivation to do so, everything they did with her felt very predictable and cliched.

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