RIGHT- SO.. Dahlia CLEARLY has made quite a name for himself. He has a reputation. The Heartless Commander. WHAT A TITLE. It’s really telling of what he USED to be like back in the war. We already know that Dahlia was at the right hand of his superior in the war, along with Nightshade- he’s killed hundreds. It’s unsurprising he has gained such a moniker. Veric (the individual Dahlia was interrogating) described Dahlia’s staff as historically deadly.. so that staff is reputable? His main weapon in the war, perhaps?

With things kicking off this episode, Dahlia might have some trouble come his way at some point. The Mockingbirds are most certainly aware of him if they weren't already. He is clearly a force to be reckoned with, which may discourage the rebels from going after him. However, it could also make it all the more important to take him out quickly, as he is a big threat to them.

It IS implied that we will come back to this again, with Dahlia putting tracking sigils on Veric and telling them how to let Dahlia know when they are ready to talk. I really hope we touch upon this again, as Dahlia’s past is still so shrouded in mystery, and I’m curious as to who the leader of The Mockingbirds is.

I’m going to assume that The Mockingbird’s leader is not connected to Nightshade or Willow because, with the way Dahlia describes them, it sounds like he hasn’t seen either of them in a very long time. I'm not saying it's an impossibility, but it wouldn’t make sense for Nightshade to be the leader of this group. I feel like Dahlia would be far more reactive, or maybe even scared, if that were the case.

While I understand his intentions, it was kind of hypocritical of Dahlia to tell Sun they came here with the express purpose of gathering intel and maintaining cover, only to throw it all out the window in under 5 minutes. Looking at it from Dahlia’s POV, the stakes were high, the target was getting away, and they needed to act accordingly and quickly, which is understandable.

However, I feel like Dahlia should’ve been more open with Sun from the start about what this ‘reconnaissance’ mission was actually for. Though Sun may have objected or been concerned, I doubt he would’ve had the same reaction if he had more knowledge of the matter initially.

You could TELL that Dahlia has some unfinished business with this guy- the instant SWITCH from his usual calm and composed tone to the sharp, “get back here, vermin” was PERFECT. It was really interesting to see such a different side of Dahlia that we have yet to witness. Yes, we’ve seen him get a bit shouty during high-stress situations- but this, this was personal.

Also noticed Dahlia’s slight change in voice! I can’t tell if he purposefully changed it or maybe it was a result of him raising his voice a little too much. As we know, Dahlia has previously stated that his throat has sustained damage and can break if he gets too loud. But still, a really nice detail if that's the case!

I think Sun is frustrated by the lack of transparency over the past few months. Firstly, there were thrown into the deep end by being tasked with tracking down a mentally unstable Servant Sun, then having the infection AU dropped on them (to which they knew HARDLY ANYTHING about going in) and now this? I can understand why Sun is a little upset.

Briefly touching upon this tidbit, there was already an implication of Dahlia being aware of Killer Sun. I mean, with his reputation, it’s hard not to have at least heard of the guy. I do think it would be interesting for those two to meet. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if Killer Sun also knew of Dahlia- the Heartless Commander. If Dahlia’s kill count is as high as he says it is, I think Killer Sun most definitely would be aware of him.

Don't know when I became such a yapper, but here I am ig.

Gonna start by saying I LOVE the models and designs of Kiran and Luneria. Meg and Nadine have been COOKING chat. And also Lilth voicing Luneria is RAHHHH- it suits her character so well!

You could tell Dahlia was scared shitless in this episode, like the shakiness in his voice when talking to the gods is just oughhhh-

Don't get me wrong, all four of them seem tense and rightfully so; these are omnipotent beings that could probably erase them from existence without raising a finger. But you could tell Sun and Dahlia were much more nervous, both being overwhelmed by the sheer level of power radiating from Kiran and Luneria.

From my perspective, this arc seems geared more towards Sun and Dahlia; it's more fantastical in nature, heavily involving magic. The infection arc required Moon's wit and scientific expertise, so it'll be interesting to see Sun in more of the driver's seat.

Ok, so the whole thing is clearly affecting both Joy and Mel more than either would like to admit. Joy and Mel were specialised daycare attendants with a difficult job, working in a children’s hospice. It must’ve been difficult for both of them, constantly watching poor souls being taken far too early, even if that’s the care they were programmed for. It makes sense that they used to be close; not just as a Sun and Moon, but to lean on each other, a shoulder to cry on when things get too much or after a particularly hard case.

With us getting a bit of insight into Mel’s side of the story, a few episodes back, in her therapy session with Carmine. Joy has forgiven Mel and seems to long for that strong connection they once had. Mel on the other hand.. she resents Joy. It’s clear that Mel holds a lot of anger and pent-up emotions towards her. Joy saw her die. She thought Mel was dead. Mel said that Joy tried to murder her. There’s definitely not something that’s quite adding up here.. 

Joy talks fondly of Mel, of how she was always so good with the children, a beautiful singer who would hum lullabies to children in their last moments. We hear from Joy that problems started post-Mel’s routine maintenance- she came back irritable, and it only got worse as time went on. Maybe Mel was developing a killcode? Or maybe her code was tampered with? Or even their version of the Vanny Virus? IF Mel is saying that Joy tried to murder her, did she do this of her own volition? Or was Joy being controlled, and that’s why her perspective of said events is so different to Mel’s?

Though there is a clear level of grudge and blame on Mel’s part, I’d theorise that neither of them is at fault per se; it feels like there is something greater at play here that we have yet to discover. Their actions and decisions may have been manipulated without their knowledge. However, it’s still early days, and there’s much of the story still left uncovered. It’ll be interesting to see what direction this goes in!

I’d also like to briefly touch on how Sun acted in this episode. Sun is clearly struggling to separate his own experiences and emotions from those of other individuals, just as Dahlia said. It’s a very natural response which comes from the best intentions of wanting to help Joy and alleviate her pain, but inadvertently ended up being harmful. I agree with Dahlia in that Sun needs to learn when it is best to show empathy and also avoid getting sucked into what other people are experiencing. Yes, they are all Suns but with very different experiences and relationships with their Moons. It’ll be interesting to see the future challenges Sun faces regarding this and how he’ll learn through trial and error.

ALSO, mandatory Dahlia yap as it’s been SO long since I’ve seen him (25 days to be exact), so I feel obligated to do a bit of analysis with him.

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Wouldn’t be surprised if this re-unlocked Dahlia’s PTSD™️, reliving the horrid phantom sensation of having your arms ripped off has to have resurfaced some bad memories.

I wonder why Dahlia was targeted, though? Is it because of their last encounter with Kiran and Luneria? They seemed to enjoy toying with him the most..

Maybe it’s because they presumed that Dahlia is the leader of their group? Which isn’t entirely false- it makes sense for him to take more of a leadership role over Carmine, as this mission is more attuned to Dahlia’s strengths. It’s just a shame he had to pay the price for the whole team’s ‘mistake’.

I wonder if he’ll continue to participate in the mission? While I doubt he’d leave the others to fend for themselves, he really needs some time to recover. He literally just relived one of the most traumatic events in his life-

I can only imagine that must’ve messed up his vocal cords as well.. he said previously they were already damaged during the war. Poor guy got hit with the double whammy of having to relive his arms getting torn off, as well as the agony of his already screwed-up voice box. 😭