#triorange

Episode 3 helped a ton. It was seriously a treat. Not only was it great with character acting and the Leonof campyness, but it had some of the best fight choreography in the series proper. Like there are few instances of triorange taking advantage of the medium save for maybe the finale and a few choice sequences in season 1 but this fight was littered with effective camera shots and creative fights. I particularly like how much this fight finally showed off Vash's prowess. Hes such a defensive character that he never goes all out and things are constantly interrupting him before he can get clever on villains. But his ricochet shot, using the gas. Using the gravity, showing off his unique advantages w durability and strength, his understanding of his setting (im sorry he was raised in that ship) the non-human aspect of the fodder enemy removing certain barriers-- he ripped off a robots arm and used it as a shield as he impaled other robots. I love him. It's wild to think that trigun hasn't had the opportunity until now to show vash fight fight. Like I feel like I finally understand who Vash is on his own. Its great. It really helped me view the first 2 episodes as the stepping stones they are.

There are so many angles you can take the Eriks era &it took a 2nd watch to understand oh. ohhhhh they have to approach this era this way bc the crime is so significantly different. In the manga, julai doesnt cause him to Eriks. 5th moon does. And vash blowing a hole in the moon against his will causing him to go into hiding is very different than a hero having a mental break bc he fucked up so bad in Julai, like he literally didn't succeed at anything during that finale, it is in retrospect, the higgest failure of a protagonist in recent memory (i mean he "kills" Nai and stops the ultimate ohase of his plan but he might as well've let Nai love with the damage he caused) . Sure he did the same thing manga Vash did w thr city, but he blocked his memory of the tragedy if im recalling correctly in the manga while the trauma is fresh and very much not blocked in the anime (any memory loss is either an act, a temporary disconnect or lack of communication by symptom of mental break down). This era is gonna have to linger a little while longer because he is not okay at all.

Rewatching episode 2 I realized the trigger that "woke" Vash up wasn't the soft, heartwarming reminder of the people who love him (like Lina or Meryl or wolfwood). We expect this because it is a trope in a hero lowest moment blue screen of death. We expected this because of the manga. So it bothered me when Vash snapped out of it for a seeming no reason. But like, vash is in that state because of his guilt over the innocent blood on his hands. And while his body moved without thinking to save Jessica (think s1ep10) it was Hoppered threatening his own death, that had Vash wake up, because the catatonic state was the result of Julai &Nais death playing over and over (same note in a piano), so the thought of more senseless death at his hand was the trigger for his mind to wake up and reject the situation for his own mental protection. Instead of love reminding Vash who he is, hoppered traumatized Vash out of his trauma coma. Sounds simple but the expectations were warring with my interpretation. When I finally saw it for what it was, Vash's curse of suffering, then I could easily accept the changes and see them for the gems they are. It's a really effective narrative beat and currently Vash isn't back yet. But he's close.

I also have to say that the Hoppered tragedy is really sad but ultimately simple. Hoppered gained meaning caring for his love Eriks. Hes an outcast. He was rejected in every way and could have easily been yoinked and manipulated by the Eye. It's never confirmed, so Hoppered is nevered confirmed to have any connection to Knives influence so he is genuinely a product of the aggressive environment of the planet and human nature. When his love dies he immediately is face with Vash in the exact same state of need as her. He may have not connected the dots initially that it was Vash but regardless Hoppered felt the same purpose draw him into caring for Vash bc of the void left by his dead love. Even as the understanding of Vash's role in her death is clear, Hoppered's war is over his own sense of purpose and the emotions tied with his time with his love or revenge for her death. In a similar dream or delusion as Eriks-Vash, Hoppered was suspending any logical thought for the easy, life preserving choice. Care for vash. Call him Eriks. Pretend she's not dead. It's the only reason you're alive. Jessica's arrival means the gig is up and Hoppered accepts death while simultaneously reaching for the revenge option that's been at his finger tips for 2.5 years. Bc he was gonna die either way.

This framing allows me to accept him making Vash pull the trigger so much more. I was getting bogged down with the same agony of " but Vash's first kill!" But first of all, just like julai, the kill is not on purpose or by his direct will it serves as a means to empathize how out of control Vash is to the death around him. But also, Hoppered was going to die by his hand regardless. Bc Hoppered couldn't live without the illusion of purpose given to him by his wife and Vash. Vash leaving was going to kill him no matter what. So why not make that crystal clear? Oh I think we'll still get Vash's first kill. In fact it'll be paralleled with this scene.

OK im finishing up. I am now officially hyped for the next episode beyond belief bc i am convinced we are gonna get Vash freshened up and debuting his new self. That means getting his clothes back, getting his new(?) Arm (probably off screen...) getting his gun and his hair cut. Transformative things. I got my money on either Meryl or luida cutying Vash's hair. With the comfort luida gave Vash at the end of 3. I think there's a good chance its gonna be Meryl mainly because we gotta address the black hair. Like its gotta be made obvious to the audience that isn't catching on. And its gonna be Meryl bc all that "haircutting is intimate and gentle" and Meryl is the heart of the cast (&not bc vashmeryl is dear to my heart im such a Meryl fan stahhhp) bit also because it a plot point that has to reach the crew somehow. It could be luida since she could exposition about it but it seems too early to reveal what it actually means.

Im hopefully for some crew shenanigans or banter. They didn't get the time to breathe thier dynamic in this episode and that's okay. We got Vash's puppy dog eyes at ww and the "awkward run to hug but hesitated" thing with Meryl. We got moments that mattered but now we need to embrace a little humor and sunshine. Meanwhile the stage set for the next movement of characters, they find direction and set off. The villains start making thier move. We understand why the episode is titled "from order to chaos". I anticipate something low key but I want nothing more than that.