Blade Runner: Black Lotus

Episode 6

Hey, something's finally happening! Woo!

It brings me great pleasure to announce that, at last Blade Runner: Black Lotus appears to be getting somewhere. The past month plus or so have been capable enough, but marred by a lack of originality or sense of unique style. This week we finally see that Black Lotus has something worth discussing.

First off, I won't say it's a total reversal of fortunes. The show's lackluster pacing and inability to retain tension are recurring problems. I think the problem is that the doll hunt being the show's central narrative device is undercut by the fact that it has a sense of “been there done that” already. As the audience we've basically seen this scene in its entirety about four different times now, we know the outcome, and we know the key players. The world barely exists outside of Elle's immediate vicinity, so whenever it is revealed that “there is someone else involved!” we are literally just learning about them in that moment. The show presents the shocking reveal that Dr. M was involved as a big deal but uhhhhh who is Dr. M exactly? Who are any of these people? We meet them, then they die. That doesn't really change here with the head cop and his wife, who we basically just met and they die. So… you know, here we are again. Where things do manage to get exciting though is in some of the fundamentals. The wife saying that Elle is just a doll who wasn't supposed to be able to hurt them or feel anything is the first real sign of poignance in the dialogue. We see that power and those who abuse it comes from a place of dehumanizing others and a sense of invulnerability. This is good! We need more moments like this.

Additionally, the fight choreography improved. Or rather, the staging of this particularly fight between Elle and Marlowe is much better. The fighting has been quite visceral and satisfying overall, but here the inclusion of the piano for rolling/shoving really added a memorable flourish to their back and forth. Additionally, the ending where Elle's katana hits a stove and makes the room explode is – objectively – hilarious. I will be chuckling about that for days, and the unintended comedy certainly made the episode stick out in an otherwise forgettable show.

Hopefully Black Lotus keeps doing more memorable things like impactful dialogue and katana stove explosions.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Blade Runner: Black Lotus is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.