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Rating: 8/10

Impressions:

The first episode of the final arc of the series starts rather slowly, with much talk, though reveals a lot about the recent past. Apparently, Hei doesn’t develop contractor powers until after the incident in South America. At the same time, his sister, Bai, had contractor powers. Amber apparently needed her power for her plan, and now she need’s Hei. It’s still unclear what this power is, and how it will be used to achieve Amber’s goals. Regardless, things are being put into operation now, with the mobilising of many contractors and dolls in the end. I have little hope in Amber surviving, but I predict that Hei will be relieved of his powers and continue to live his usual life as a human.

The flashbacks involving Hei and Bai are pretty sweet, though Hei putting his hand around Bai’s neck is quite confusing. At first, it seems like he’s checking Bai’s pulse, though when wraps his fingers around her neck, it almost seems as if he is planning to strangle her. He mentions that he was relieved when Bai disappears, which doesn’t add up at all. The details involving Bai’s ultimate disappearance are still unclear, and right now, Hei’s hatred for Amber is seemingly becoming less justified. I do hope Bai makes some sort of reappearance though, even if it isn’t a physical one.

Misaki gets a lot of screen time this episode, and in the end, I’m made to think that her role in the story is the mediator between sides, as well as Hei’s close friend in which he can console. But will she actually discover that Hei is BK201? She seems like the type of person who places emotion before profession, so I’m betting on her siding with Hei if she finds out. At the end of the episode, Hei is effectively ejected from his faction, rendering him a renegade soldier in a battle between nations. The factions are being blurred quite a bit at this point in time, and it seems like the ending will not be the conflict between major sides, but rather between Hei and Amber. Or something.

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