As you could probably tell from the title, just like the previous episode this one is mainly centered on Wolfwood. He’s finally mustered up the courage to do what
he feels needs to be done, but Vash ends up getting in his way. We didn’t get to see the leader of the Bad Lads Gang this time around, but that’s not much of a surprise considering the new direction the story is going in.
The Sandsteamer is heading toward a collision with the “Hopeland Orphanage” where Wolfwood and Livio lived as children. Legato aims to destroy it, and this entire plot is intended to break Wolfwood down. He wants to leave Wolfwood with nothing, in order to make him the “Perfect Believer”.
Vash manages to convince Wolfwood to try and get through to Livio, but it only lasts for a moment. The brainwashing that Livio went through must have been too much, because instead of coming to his senses… he commits suicide. Though it may not be the last we’ve seen of “Livio the Double Fang”, since Legato seems to think he’s still of some use.
The Bad Lads Gang wraps up their raid while all of this is going on, but not before a flashy little photo shoot with Meryl and Roberto. The two of them made their way back and they’ve got a new scoop already. You can tell Robertoisn’t too happy about having to put his life on the line again. Meryl on the other hand has something to prove to herself, so instead of escaping like Roberto suggests, she decides to stick it out with Vash.
One of the new additions to the Sandsteamer is that it has an Ion Cannon attached to it for destroying obstacles. Legato, decides for assurance to fire it up, and destroy the orphanage himself. The majority of the episode consists of Vash and Wolfwood attempting to stop the cannon. At the same time, the Sandsteamer is still heading straight for the orphanage. Things get pretty close to going badly this time, and in both instances, they manage to save the day with little time to spare. Once the cannon was handled, they focused their attention on stopping the vehicle.
Unlike the original adaptation and manga, there was no sign of the young boy named“Kaite” to assist Vash in bringing the Sandsteamer to a halt. This role was
instead given to Wolfwood, and he turns the scorching hot rudder with his bare hands. They just barely stop short of hitting the Hopeland settlement. While Wolfwood pulls the emergency brake Vash seeks out help from a peculiar source. In a scene reminiscent of the original manga chapter, he goes to where
the Sandsteamer’s Plant is kept and begins to interface with it.
It’s not entirely clear whether this played a role in helping to halt the Sandsteamer, but it does help to reveal more about the Plants and his relationship with them. As the episode ends, the others witness Vash interfacing with the Plant (and the strange patterns on his body), so it looks like he has some explaining to do. It’ll be
interesting to see what he’ll tell them after this, and where their journey is going to take them next. One thing for certain is that things are getting a lot more
exciting as the series continues to pick up the pace.
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