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Episode 2: The Girl of the Pirate Hideout

Impressions:

The second episode was pretty good, but I think the first one was better. The first episode presented a far more interesting story (and more bloodshed!) I’m also quite disappointed at the Marciano’s Sisters’ performance this episode. I hope it’s not one of those shows where the antagonist shows up every episode and loses each time. It’s probably too early to say such things, so I’ll see what happens in the next few episodes. I’ve also noticed that the Sisters act far more like humans than cyborgs. The shock, surprise, anger and other emotions displayed are a sign of excellent engineering – technology must have advanced a lot. The way they move and recoil is also very human. But then again, it depends on what you like to determine whether this is a good or bad thing. Personally, I like it how they are very human – makes me forget they’re cyborgs. The last part, how Mister is saved, is far too convenient. A larger struggle between the Mister’s ship and the 12 Sisters would have done the job – Katana and Bishop exchanging fire more as Mister is falling, maybe some rockets…

Summary:

A red-haired girl is gloomily staring outside the window from her room. She lies down on her bed, staring at a photo of her, Mister and her dad, with a disappointed/sad look on her face. As numerous thoughts are probably going through her head, she lets go of her pendant, letting it dangle from her neck.It’s blue with silver caps, and is the size of her finger.

Madame Marciano is attending her prosecution trial for sending out the 12 Sisters against a single Coyote – Mister. She and seven other guild members have gathered in the room, sitting around a round a large, circular table. They want to know why Madame Marciano sent the Sisters in to capture one man, and what she wants from him.

Angelica Barnes has recruited Chelsea as her assistant. Chelsea has found Mister’s file, which shows his name as Luis Gonzalez, which is obviously false. He had been charged with causing a twenty-five car pile up after crashing his car. He had been drunk at the time. He was sentenced to a year of imprisonment. In the car, Angelica explains that Mister only had 10 days left before the end of his sentence. The reason he had broken out remains unknown, but it means something urgent has come up for him. Back at the conference, Marciano has ordered the 12 Sisters to perform a coup d’état, killing most of the guild members. The remaining guild member tells her that she has forgotten about something. How this ends and whether he is killed or not is not shown.

Elsewhere in some sort of garage, the news reporter is talking about the Graceland Liberation Army yet to respond to the surrender request. Apparently, the planet will be destroyed by explosives in seven days. The channel suddenly changes to a guy who calls himself Super Soul. He starts raving on about random junk until Bishop (one of the guys who freed Mister) unplugs the power cord. Bishop tells Katana (the other guy who saved Mister, and is now working on repairing a large ship) that two hours, fifty-nine minutes and thirty seconds have passed, which means he now has thirty seconds left to finish the repairs. Luckily, Katana only has one last spot to weld and he finishes with two seconds to spare. There had apparently been a bet, as Bishop surrenders his watch.

Upstairs, Mister is shaving his year-old beard. Bishop comes up and tells him they can leave as soon as he’s ready. He also apologizes and tells him that he had been lying when he said that the ‘young lady’ had wanted to talk to him. We later discover that the ‘young lady’ is the girl from the start of the show, as well as from the photo, called Franca. Mister does not get angry. Instead, he grins and says he had thought so. Bishop reminds him that they don’t have any time left, as Graceland will turn to dust in seven days. Distracted by Katana who is still celebrating, he yells at him to keep quiet.

In a bar, a news report is being broadcast regarding Marciano’s recent attack on Sandvil prison. Everyone at the bar knows it’s Mister as they all have some sort of connection with him. They argue about whether he got out or not. Although this argument isn’t the catalyst for the following occurrence, it is the conversation which leads to another, which eventually starts a large brawl. As faces are being smashed, tables destroyed and blood spilled, Franca steps up onto the bar and hits someone on the head with a frying pan. Everyone stops and the room goes silent. Franca says with a commanding voice that she will not forgive anyone who destroys her shop. The guy who she hit with a frying pan comments on how the shop isn’t hers, but actually Mister’s. Someone asks if Mister has tried to contact her yet, which makes her feel sad. Right on cue, Mister steps in, causing a celebration among the people in the bar, who are in fact ‘coyotes’. Franca isn’t too happy though as she walks up to him and slaps him.

During the night as Franca is playing her harmonica on the roof, she is approached by Mister, who she asks why he escaped from prison when he was about to be released 10 days later. She doesn’t expect an answer from him as she already know about the planned annihilation of Graceland, where the ‘treasure’ is. She says that if he doesn’t find the treasure soon, taking care of her up until now would have been a waste. Mister says it’s not the case. He wants to sort Franca’s thoughts out before Graceland is destroyed. Franca’s father was killed by the guild (the one Madame Marciano was in) and he left something behind on that planet. Mister asks Franca if she wants to know what it is. He tells her that if she wants, he’ll take her to see the treasure with him. Franca cannot believe this as she’s always thought Mister only wanted the treasure and didn’t really care for her.

Before anything further can be said, two helicopters pass over them. The 12 Sisters have returned! Their mission is to capture Franca and Mister alive. One of the sisters asks Marciano why she never tried to capture the girl, as it would be easier to just get the location of the treasure from her. Another sister informs her that if this was possible, Mister would have done so already. Both Franca and Mister immediately recognize the danger and are already heading down the stairs. Mister tries to contact Bishop but there’s a high level of interference. As he is running, he falls down a hole in the stairs, prompting Franca to call out ‘Mister!’ She looks down and sees he is perfectly fine. When she gets to the same level as her, Mister says that’s it’s been a while since she called him ‘Mister’, which makes her blush. She then points to a door and says that there are weapons in there for him to use.

In the bar, the coyotes are no match for Marciano’s men, their numbers dwindling very fast. Bishop and Katakana are struggling under the barrage of bullets, forced to hide behind the bar. The few remaining survivors open a cover at the back, allowing Bishop and Katana to escape into the sewers. When they are safely underground, the coyotes leave their safety zone for one final stand (except they get blown to pieces by a rocket straight away).

In Sandvil, Angelica has found out about the guild’s move against Mister. The authorities haven’t done anything about it yet, as they receive benefits from the guild. Chelsea starts to think about this, which causes Angelica to get pissed and asks her if she has anything else apart from her memory and large breasts. Chelsea says it’s useful to have large breasts, as she makes friends easily and gets free food. She shows Angelica her contact book, indicating all the people she’s met. Angelica snatches it away and notices one name in particular – Super Soul!

Back the raid on the bar, Mister is readying his armament as Franca recalls the time her father was killed. It had happened in space – Mister’s ship was attacked and damaged, which resulted Franca’s father’s death. He had spent the last few moments of his life in Mister’s lap. Just before passing away, he had given Mister the pendant which Franca now has. Franca starts talking about how Mister had stopped traveling for her sake. He hadn’t taken the pendant by force, even though he could, as the whereabouts of the treasure is in the pendant.

Mister proceeds outside and manages to overcome the men shooting from down the hall. Before he and Franca can escape, one of the survivors throws a tracking device onto Franca’s skirt. Tracking their movements, a squad of soldiers led by one of the 12 Sister’s ready themselves outside the elevator, which Mister and Franca are meant to be coming down in. However, they are mistaken and discover the tracking device on a rat. The enemy quickly relocates Mister, who is on the roof. Franca tosses a grenade into the helicopter which found them, blowing it apart. The explosion sends both Franca and Mister to the other side of the roof and over the edge. Mister manages to grab her arm, keeping both of them suspended by his other arm.

Madame Marciano reminds the Sisters that they are not allowed to kill them. The connection with them is suddenly lost. It appears that all transmissions are down, which is replaced by Super Soul’s voice. He had done so at Chelsea’s request.

Bishop and Katana make it to the ship they’ve just repaired and leave the garage to search for Mister and Franca. With tears in her eyes, Franca tells Mister to take the pendant and to let her go. She says that he’s been kind to her for long enough. Mister says that it’s her that’s what’s important to him, not the treasure. Mister lets go of the edge of the building, sending both of them plummeting to the ground, just as one of the Sisters arrives at the roof to capture them. They fall for what seems to be quite a long time before being caught by Bishop and Katana. As the ship flies off into the distance, Franca tells Mister that she will go with him to Graceland.

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