I think im me?

Case #7: Murder by Proxy

An interesting start to the district. Feels like it coasts on the twist of Ripley’s death last case more than building something up on its own however. Still, some fun characters are introduced, and we got a good ol’ horrible person as the victim. Fuck Adam Hassan. Me and all my homies hate Adam Hassan.

Case #8: Death in the Desert

Meh. I enjoy Benjamin’s introduction and Jonah’s character development, but the rest of this case feels like pretty disposable filler. I don’t like how this case implies that being at unrest over foreign companies negatively impacting your land and culture is something bad. If the Sword wasn’t responsible for two deaths at this point, I think they would be firmly an anti-hero, rather than a straight villain. Who knows, I might just be too woke.

Case #9: Killing Spring

Benjamin x Elliot? Maybe. The Benjamin stuff, Omar being a conniving bastard and dunking on Fox “News” is pretty much the only stuff I like here. I mean, we get the first mention of SOMBRA, which is kinda cool, but it also comes with the reveal that The Sword’s plan is to stroke the flames of rebellion in the public. And call me insane but… Good? Like from what we’ve seen, the power that is being rebelled against has been negligent at best and downright hostile at worst. It’s just kinda weird to hear how evil this guy must be, while he’s also on the side that’s been mentioned is trying to create a better life for the future generation is just some major whiplash. But then again, it’s probably because of the current political climate that the United States finds itself in, while this case came out in… 2015. Holy shit it’s more than 10 years old.

Case #10: I Spy a Mummy

Okay, lets ignore the Asal sized elephant in the room. This case really picks up the pace here. It addresses an issue I’ve had with The Sword so far, with him seemingly being on the good side of the rebels, by making it clear that he doesn’t have their best interests really in mind, and that he’s just doing this so he can have power over them to create a cell for SOMBRA. Oh yeah, SOMBRA got explained here! I enjoy tying it back to the Promethans, really making it feel like if that was just one cell of SOMBRA, then the whole thing must be huge. As for the elephant, it was 2015, the Palestine and Israel conflict wouldn’t be something a facebook game would factor in, but still, it paints Asal pretty bad in a modern light.

Case #11: The Parting Shot

This is the Criminal Case I love, fun location with interesting suspects and an exciting way that it connects to the overarching plot of the district and season as a whole. Jack is not beating the bi allegations, and the more Jonah we get the better. The reveal that the clues that led us on the trail for The Sword was all just one big trap is a fun way to go into the district finale. I don’t really have much to say, just a good case altogether.

Case #12: Die by the Sword

After a district that struggled at the beginning, I think this is a strong finish. A lot of the major storylines finish up here, with Omar getting a better send off than Gilchrist did, and Omar didn’t even get a trial. I’m glad Benjamin got a hopeful ending, and that Jonah is now a part of the team. Asal also proves definitively that she is not to be trusted. I fully thought the reveal would be Jack was sleeping with her, not that she straight up poisoned him. Ripley being alive is a fun twist that does allow Pretty Simple to have its cake and eat it too, killing off a major character early while still having them around for the dynamic. I enjoy it. Lastly, we’re already going to get a more character centric district with Marina and her mother seemingly already going to play a major part of Eurasia!

Case rankings, worst to best:

#6 - Death in the Desert

#5 - Killing Spring

#4 - Murder by Proxy

#3 - I Spy a Mummy

#2 - Die by the Sword

#1 - The Parting Shot

For Save the World (aka World Edition) I will be doing small sections for each case and then a ranking of worst to best cases at the end of the post. As always, if you have any specific questions for me regarding any of these cases, feel free to send me asks!

Case #1: God Save the Prince

Really good intro case, both to Europe as a district and to the season as a whole. Obvious that overarching stories are already going to be important, with the attacks across Europe and the Promethean cult seemingly playing a part.

Case #2: Off with Their Heads

Already a large escalation and a brutal murder. Wish the killer had a better motive though. Prometheans are explained a bit more here but they aren’t exactly at center stage just yet. Also love the theme of politics and the far right being bad.

Case #3: Auf Wieder-Slain

Best case so far. I love Schnee so much and I find the motive here to be really fascinating, especially with the additions of the Prometheans telling him to do it, and Hans actually being the one to kill his brother. Klaus is a fun reoccurring villain/mouthpiece of the Prometheans, really makes them feel real as the tensions rise.

Case #4: Murder’s Cheap

Definitely a bit of a lull during the main chapters compared to the cases before. But at least the Additional Investigation has a lot of fun with learning that the Prometheans are tied to the United Europe in some way. Just feels like a small bit of filler altogether though.

Case #5: When Shadows Fall

A great build-up to the climax. Klaus being a pre-district finale killer is a fun twist in a way, and his immolation in prison only ramps up the tension. The Promethean’s plat to bomb across the continent to scare people into voting for an united Europe makes a lot of sense considering what we learned before, and gives such a great and clear goal for the Bureau to focus on coming into the end here.

Case #6: The Impossible Dream

A hell of a way to close out the district, both the main story and the Additional Investigation! But it’s not exactly perfect… Starting with Dupont being a suspect. Let’s be so real, even if I didn’t know what the story had in store for him, the minimal development he had gotten so far makes it evident that this is not where Dupont’s arc ends. I still think it’s an amazing twist that he’s a suspect in the first place, but that doesn’t mean it still doesn’t remove some tension. Then there’s Gilchrist’s behavior after the arrest. I just so hoped he would get this villain monologue, considering how big the Prometheans have been since case 1, but nope, we just get him explaining how he did the murder and then him being like “It’s too late! We shall take over!” Disappointing considering how built up he was. Chief Ripley getting poisoned, however, is a great way to finish off Europe as a whole. Something I’ve always wanted was a bit more of a through line for WHY we go from district to district and a big jaw dropping moment like that one is perfect to usher us into the Sahara Region!

Alright, here’s a ranking of the Europe cases from worst to best!

#6 - Murder’s Cheap

#5 - Off with Their Heads

#4 - God Save the Prince

#3 - When Shadows Fall

#2 - The Impossible Dream

#1 - Auf Wieder-Slain