|
While this episode did a nice job of pulling back the curtain, and further revealing Saki's world (this time focusing on the Education Committee, which definitely seems like one of the most unsavory elements of it), what I find most interesting is all the questions that this episode raised.
Did Saki's parents know of the danger that their daughter was in here? Did they know that Tomiko was going to save Saki if needbe? Or did Saki's father suspect that she was going to be executed, and he went along with that anyway? Saki's parents did seem very concerned in this episode, so I think they knew the grave trouble that Saki was in. I'd like to think that they also knew what Tomiko was planning to do, but I'm not so sure...
Tomiko called the Education Committee's decision to dispose of Mamoru "rash and unwise". This is about the only time that the remarkably pleasant Tomiko has struck me as a bit angry. And one of the Education Committee members literally started shaking (you see this with her eyes) after being confronted by Tomiko. The Education Committee honestly made me think of political criminals getting caught red-handed by a higher-up politician that they fear and respect.
Taking all of the above into consideration, I wonder if this entire situation was a carefully concocted trap designed to ensnare Saki, and lead her into taking actions that the Education Committee could use as pretext for having Saki disposed of. In other words, Mamoru wasn't the true target - Saki was. They hoped to make Saki break more rules by throwing Mamoru's life in danger. And then they'd use that rule-breaking as justification for executing Saki.
My suspicion is that the Education Committee is strongly against the idea of the reins of power shifting from Tomiko to Saki, and so they wanted to eliminate Saki while they had the chance. Tomiko they fear and respect because of her age, experience, seniority, and wisdom. But Saki is likely just an incorrigible rule-breaker in the eyes of the Education Committee.
Tomiko was likely kept assiduously in the dark on the Education Committee's scheme here, but Tomiko managed to undo it anyway. When Tomiko confronted the Education Committee in this episode, I could sense a touch of shame in the words and actions of the Education Committee. In other words, that they were fearful of what Tomiko might do or say upon figuring out their scheme to eliminate Saki.
Some other notes:
1) The two Education Committee members that questioned Saki were both female. Tomiko is female. Saki is female. This begins to paint a possible picture. Is this society an effectively female-ran one?
2) I liked how Tomiko raised the nuclear weapons comparison. But I think that's more for the audience's benefit than it is for Saki's. By Tomiko raising the nuclear weapons comparison, I think this is the narrative's way of reinforcing this world's society, and explaining the rationale behind it. Tomiko clearly explains how the Cantus-using humans of this era are potentially more devastating than even nuclear weapons. Each human in this world is hence akin to a living, walking nuclear weapon, at least when it comes to that human's potential for destruction. Given that, is it any wonder that this society is as strict and severe as it is? That doesn't make the morality of the situation any more palatable, of course, but the sheer pragmatic concerns here are truly overwhelming.
3) I liked how Saki showed hesitancy in essentially ratting out Mamoru.
|