02.21
And the ship sails.
I could swear that the Covers agents are basically the D-Reaper entities but in nice suits. They even have the cord that connects them to the main source. So like the D-Reaper, I’m theorizing that the Life Fibers are like an Old One, in that its terms and morals cannot be comprehended by normal man. Mankind may try to mold life fibers into something palatable like clothing, but that’s only superficial recognition to the monstrous guise beneath. They’re living suits that eat people who can’t defend themselves. It sounds like those dream fevers people have, but then you remember that Old Ones and Elder Gods get their power from the clouds of dreams.
Which ties into how Ryuko was in a coma for the majority of the episode, and she escaped in hellish fury of solitude after waking. She doesn’t see herself as human, and thus cannot act like what she once was. Ragyo’s revelation made her go mad, as mad as the prophets who see Old Ones in the corners of their eyes. She’s been touched by chaos, unable to go back to her previous life now that whatever that remains has either been forced into hiding or covered by the eldritch. But then, her whole life so far has been madness. She’s clinically dead up until being saved by her mad scientist of a father, who turns into an old man just to hide only to get killed by a Lolita with a blade. After all, some origin stories are penned in blood.
So because her life has tumbled down, she’s went full circle in the Go Nagai protagonist scale by transforming from a Kouji Kabuto into a Violence Jack. At first, she could let kids off easily. But now, her eyes are those of a killer. She hasn’t killed yet, but those eyes have seen enough blood to equal a slaughter. By the end, she’ll have someone’s blood on her hands. Someone she cared about. And that’s what shifts Ryuko’s character; she’s become one of the monsters she wished to destroy. And that’s why she can’t ally herself with Senketsu anymore. He reminds her of what she’s become, of what she’s lost, and of what started her turmoil.
And that’s the indirect goal of all Old Ones; to turn their victims into the creatures they fear the most. What was a fighting show has turned into a quest to overcome insanity and rediscover identity. This really made a good shift into the Lovecraftian through the new Life Fiber drones. They play the harps that signal a new era. They turn everyone they absorb into featureless, shrunken faces. Unlike with Honnouji, they’re not going to theatrics or sass to whoever they face. Instead, they’ll just consume and kill. They are the new flesh, praise be to them.
And while Mako’s still wacky, and Aikuro’s still being a tease, the story is shaking. Sides are being scrambled so villains are now out-and-out heroes. It’s like a thread through every stitch. Characters from all over are now uniting against the common enemy, and she’s merely planning as the endgame nears. It’s all reforming for the crescendo in a few weeks, where Satsuki will be dying to wear her new dress. And this rings poorly for Satsuki, who always put herself one step ahead no matter what was taken away from her. She’s being downgraded from king to pawn, and she’s got only a few moves left from delaying that case.