[Last Sinner]

I've spoken to people regarding the LN and the VN. I'm now convinced something has changed. This is why.

The second part of the VN coming out later this year will have THREE endings. Thus the anime isn't bound to the LN's ending.

As a result, I believe this is what will happen instead. I dare to say it now why it's still up in the air.

I think the anime's finale will have Lise kill Axmann. Lise is alive and likely uncaptured - everyone expected her to die because that's what happened in the LN. After the confrontation in Episode 9, Theodor rejecting Lise and Pham being killed in the process, Theodor captured Lise and took her back to the rebel base. Lise was interrogated regarding Irisdina's location and the order was given for her to be executed, which Theodor carried out, honoring Lise's words in her final sane moment to 'forget this dog of the Stasi' and put her out of her misery before Katia could intervene.

However...as far as we know, Lise wasn't captured in the final moments of Episode 9. The Werewolves were inbound and Theodor only had time to retrieve Gretel, leaving Lise behind. Which is a clear deviation from the LN as far as I can tell. I can't possibly see Episode 10 starting with some random going 'Hey, look what we picked up during our retreat.' I'm taking this as the anime not taking the path of the LN. I'm taking this as a flag that Lise's fate will now be one of the two alternate endings in the upcoming 2nd part of the VN.

And the other thing is that Axmann was allowed to live in the LN...

Lise has to do something big to justify her survival. People expect Lise to be put out her misery since she is broken beyond repair and killing Pham was the final straw for the 666th. But here's what I think. Since Lise has become one of the most talked about things within the Schwarzesmarken adaptation and because of the VN enabling a different ending, she had to live. There is still something she can do that no one expects her to. What could be better than the person who was thrown into hell, broken and turned into Axmann's dog to be able to take down their insidious master?! For all the inhumanity Axmann enforced on Lise, she gets to return it and then some. Let Lise have her moment. Let it be bloody and for Axmann to have one of the most painful & deserved deaths possible in anime. Let Lise show to whoever survives in the 666th that while she may be broken, she wasn't completely lost. Like how Darth Vader reclaimed himself once more to kill Emperor Palpatine to save Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi. Regardless of whether Lise lives or dies after the fact, just let her have her moment....

And I don't see who else could kill Axmann. From my understanding:

- Gretel will die in Episode 10 after being cut off from the 666th, being severely wounded by Axmann and then burned alive when the Stasi set fire to the building. The reveal of what she finds out about Jurgen should also happen. It is necessary the viewers know this and I'll be disappointed if it doesn't get included.

- Sylvia and Walter die in Episode 11 during the fight with Beatrix.

- Irisdina will die in Episode 12 when she intercepts a gunshot from Axmann that would have killed Katia.

- Katia's time will be spent sending communications to the German people to unite and tear down the Berlin wall. She was also Axmann's target and given the fact she is essentially the one with the 'free pass' for the entirety of the series, it makes no sense for her to do the deed.

- Anett won't do it since she's a side character, even if she's one of the very few who survives to the end.

- Theodor....it just wouldn't fit in. I imagine he's going to be pretty wrecked when he watches Irisdina die in his arms. He tends to be wrecked whenever someone is dead or he hears/sees something he can't comprehend.



As for how this adaptation has played out - I now understand where the LN people are coming from. Clearly the character development has suffered in this adaptation - particularly for characters like Beatrix (hearing her full story really was quite something....) and the moments that would have made the secondary tier characters of the 666th mean more. Pham's death, while tragic, lacked impact. She was sidelined for most of the series being injured while Lise took her place on the front line. We didn't see the moments that explain why Pham was 'big sis' to everyone. To have it mentioned during the rescue in Episode 9 for the first time is way too late...

Regarding the removal of the Stasi backing up the 666th in Episode 2, I feel they did it to make Axmann cop more hate (another thing that builds up the 'Axmann must die' sentiment and opening the path for Lise to kill Axmann). I don't think it led to Beatrix copping hate. But in terms of removing the subtext in the exchanges between Beatrix and Irisdina that would have happened, that was detrimental. But I guess the angle those adapting this title are doing that they're going to keep things about Beatrix out of sight until when Beatrix's fatal showdown with various 666th members happens and her eventual death at Theodor's hands. I think the reveal of Beatrix being Jurgen's lover will happen then. I don't think those make the anime want any sympathy to be given to the Stasi in general. I think they're ensuring only Lise and Beatrix will be getting any. I also feel the reveal of what Gretel finds out about Jurgen in her final moments are required before giving reasons to be sympathetic towards Beatrix.

However, I feel that the change of the timing of revealing Lise's true colours was justified. Having Lise tell Theodor directly that she is a Stasi spy, but that she will fight for the 666th instead in the LN - I never bought that for one second. That Theodor would simply not tell Irisdina....when he knows something that damning...it just makes me want to see him burn. We get he cares for his sister....but if the whole LN was building up this whole thing that Theodor x Irisdina was a thing....but he won't tell Irisdina something that crucial.....it pretty much ruins the whole bond and degrades Theodor as a character so much more. Potentially doing that moreso to Irisdina.

Instead, having it happen at the end of Episode 7 - having that whole episode play out with the slight chance that maybe Lise wasn't a Stasi spy linger. The 666th are fresh off a big defensive battle and things are looking up. When everyone is most vulnerable, the truth comes out and the final moments are what the viewer remembers. That was the talking point for the following week. I've felt that the use of the final minute post-ending credits has been utilised well in this adaptation.

I guess there are more subtleties/differences I need to investigate eventually. But for now, how things will end is what I care about most. And as far as I'm concerned, Lise killing Axmann is the one thing that would justify the adaptation overall.