Steins;Gate - Episode 19 Discussion / Poll

[Pellissier]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Steins;Gate, Episode 19.

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[Midonin]

S;G 19 - We know that living in the here and now is the one and only way to go into the future and beyond

Clouds are rolling in. The weather is a great foreshadower of events to come. But every cloud has a silver lining. Moeka's D-Mail isn't even about Moeka herself. It's about FB. Fuñ whatever FB stands for. 19 episodes in and I still don't know. But I get the feeling that I will before long.

The themes of this episode and the resolution of Moeka's arc have already been made clear. "No matter what timeline you're in, you're not alone." The Lab, run down as it may be, is a family. Moeka belongs there, and not just because the main characters are there. She's looking for a purpose, and that's where it can be found. I'm looking forward to see where it going.

Now, I must break from the style of the above two paragraphs to comment on one scene. At this forum, there must be some dormant issues or something with the people here, because they seem to celebrate when they see women hurt, or express a desire to hurt them. It's unsettling. Deeply, deeply unsettling. And in this episode, Moeka was being stubborn, yes, but Rintaro beat up someone who had yet to do anything, nor was she suspected of doing anything. In other worlds, yes, but in this timeline, aside from taking the IBN (which, as Rukako proves, can become unavailable due to other reasons), she hadn't done anything worthy of that punch. I will leave it at that.

Onward, towards FB. Onward, towards the silver lining. Onward, towards another future.

[wandering-dreamer]

Wow, I wasn't expecting them to be able to fix Moeka's d-mail in just one episode but they kept me guessing the entire time here, especially with the reveal that they got the IBN back at the end. Now they don't need to go back and undo more d-mails but it seems like they will to try and have Moeka have a happier life, my theory is that Okabe is going to try and get a hold of FB's phone and send Moeka a d-mail to go out and make friends.

[Kopi]

Okabe was so badass this episode.

Time seems to have stopped when Okabe tried to send the last D-mail.

One thing I'm confused about is the part on the changing of Moeka's phone. How did she send another D-mail? Thanks in advance.

[GDB]

Poor Kurisu. She sounded quite traumatized seeing Mayuri die and having to tell Okabe about it.

Originally Posted by Kopi

Time seems to have stopped when Okabe tried to send the last D-mail.

I noticed that too. Rather odd, since Mayuri should've still been downstairs.

One thing I'm confused about is the part on the changing of Moeka's phone. How did she send another D-mail? Thanks in advance.

Because she's SHINING FINGER!

[Riga92]

This...fucking...episode.

Okabe was very alpha in this episode, even if his beating of Moeka was a bit wrong.

In Moeka's past, it seems that she was lonely. No friends, and maybe even no family. It seems she lived her life with no purpose. This led her to almost committing suicide, until FB contacted her and recruited her into the Rounders.

So despite many tries, Okabe fails in undoing Moeka's D-mail as of now. He figures out that the in order to undo the D-mail, he needs to aquire FB's phone and send a D-mail from that phone to Moeka's.

Just as he was about to leave to find FB, Moeka tells him the location of the IBM5100.

Shit just got real again.

[gecd]

awesome episode this week!!
our maddo scientisto is MAD ( Kamijo Syndrome )
and our moeka is MOE

[LKK]

I didn't think it was possible for S;G to make me feel sorry for Moeka. But hang it all, that's exactly what it did. Her anguish when she realized that what Okarin said about FB was all true was almost too hard to watch.

[Klashikari]

Originally Posted by Riga92

This...fucking...episode.

Okabe was very alpha in this episode, even if his beating of Moeka was a bit wrong.

In Moeka's past, it seems that she was lonely. No friends, and maybe even no family. It seems she lived her life with no purpose. This led her to almost committing suicide, until FB contacted her and recruited her into the Rounders.

"Wrong" would be quite subjective here. I personally felt that Okabe could even lynch her, but restrained himself with a mere punch.
Honestly, I would be lying if I pretend I didn't enjoy that part, not because it is plain violence whatsoever, but at least "some retribution". That being said, what actually was more meaningful than that punch was how Okabe knocked some sense to her: Moeka's loyalty towards FB was nothing but disturbing to be honest. Sure, she didn't got a happy-go-lucky-past whatsoever, but she has a large responsibility in her actions, and it is doubtful FB could literally brainwash her with mere short messages and the likes.

Suffice to say, she isn't completely a lost cause, but I have trouble to sympathize with her and she definitely doesn't need that I guess.

[Aqua Knight]

Serious mindf*** by Okabe and a FALCON PUNCH!

Very entertaining episode!

[Saturn Beaver]

Wow, after the last few episodes being more laid-back, this episode is really intense. I like the further development of Okarin and Kurisu relationship - really, without her Okabe will definitely not reach this point, due to more ways than one. The Moeka suicide twist really throws me for a loop, and we can see there just how much stress Okabe is going through because of all the things that are happening. The part where Mayuri is dead is really sad, but more than the shock of Mayuri's death, but Okabe's grim acceptance and lack of shock of that is what makes it more depressing.

But the climax is definitely at the apartment room scene, emotions are really running wild there. And about the punch - well, to be honest, from where I am, comfortably sitting in a chair in front ofmy laptop, it's easy to be rational and say it's undeserved as that's a different version of her, but I don't think Okabe's capable of much rational thought there. We can clearly see he's not exactly in the right state of mind thanks to all the things happening, and in the heat of the moment...that is to say, it's probably not justified, but fully understandable.

Still, again, that's a different Moeka, hopefully this Moeka can be not blindly by FB and learn to help Okabe. The main question now is FB, who seems to be the mastermind of it all, I wonder who he or she really is...

[Midonin]

The violence against a woman who had, in this timeline done nothing, isn't really admirable. It does make Rintaro a flawed character (and characters do need to be flawed), but I feel he shouldn't be admired for his use of violence. His greatest strength is one that he's been showing long before this episode; long before the Mayuri thing even began - his heroic qualities and desire to make the lives of his friends the best they can be. And Moeka's still a lab member.

That's manlier - nay, it makes him a better person overall - than any punch.

[sikvod00]

^Why do you keep signaling out violence against women, anyways? No one here is advocating beating women or people in general, but the rage against what a specific person --Moeka-- has and would do (she admitted it herself) is understandable. That was raw, irrational emotions he was acting out on, and something that a lot of people can relate too.

[Klashikari]

Okabe's qualities didn't exactly fade away even while facing Moeka you know: He wasn't really enjoying saying that FB abandoned her, and it was obvious it was quite a burden to tell her that she will kill herself. Hell, he even apologized after telling her the truth.

Okabe is the one who has the most reasons to hate Moeka with a burning passion (hell, I'm surprised he could keep a relative sense of cool head, considering the number of loops he went through), yet it isn't like he lashed on her or anything.

[Gohan78]

You are being too harsh towards Okarin. How would you feel if you got face to face with the person who killed your best friend time and time again? It's easy to say that this Moeka still hasn't done anything wrong but will you be able to keep your composure, knowing what Okarin knows? I doubt it.

Furthermore, Moeka wasn't going to yield her phone and he needed it to save Mayuri. Drastic times call for drastic measures.

[Midonin]

These thoughts have been building in my mind because of activity and comments in threads related to other shows (BakaTest Ni and Hanasaku Iroha are the ones that come to mind), and I strongly prefer lauding emotions and talking things out over violence. Now in the case of the former show I mentioned, the issue is mostly played for comedy, but in the latter and this one... something about it just rubs me as wrong. I don't believe anyone is really a bad person, and that there's some good core in people that can be gotten to without punching them.

It has to do with my ethics, for short.

I understand why he did it, but I don't think it should be applauded.

[Klashikari]

Frankly, if you were to discuss about violence, what Okabe did was nearly nothing close to what he could potentially have done in term of "violence".
What's even more important to note was his punch was dealt in the heat of action and a sheer amount of bottled feelings surging at the same time.
What could he have done? tickling her so she drop her cell phone? Asking her to lend her phone, while it is obviously impossible?
While exchanging words would be the best mean in any situation, it is arguably not the most practical way, especially when the person in front of you is "your enemy" literally. Even more so when that person is definitely not cooperative.

I would understand quite well if Okabe would go over the top, like kicking her while she is moping on the ground or anything, but that punch is hardly something "unethical", especially with the situation given there.

[yuzen003]

In a way isn't Okabe saving her life by punching her? He knows if you're going to die at a certain time you will die at that time no matter what unless the world line changes, so she will die in this timeline 4 days from then unless he takes the phone. It's not really what he was thinking, but he'd still be saving her be punching her and taking the phone if it had allowed him to undo the previous d-mail.

[Sheba]

I would compare Okarin's act to Sarah Connor's in T2 against that engineer. He has that simmering anger toward the one he judged as responsible, if not just partially, responsible for the death of his childhood's friend. So punching Moeka is cathartic (sp?). Gender means jackshit in that curcumstance.

[Midonin]

Two wrongs don't make a right, though.