PSYCHO-PASS - 18
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PSYCHO-PASS may have taken it easy this episode, but that didn't stop it from delivering a quality dramatic episode.
Before I actually talk about the contents of the episode, I figured we should address the elephant in the room. Evidently this episode of PSYCHO-PASS was the victim of poor animation. So much so, that the director tweeted an apology and promised to re-do the episode. If you, like me, don't have a finer eye for detail in animation, I'm guessing it wasn't a big enough issue. Unfortunately, even someone like me noticed the lower quality of some scenes. In the end, it wasn't enough to thwart my enjoyment of the episode. A different kind of episode for the series.
It was a very sombre days epilogue to the revelations about the Sibyl system. A little understated even, in the way that there were no plot twists or suspense filled action scenes to keep us engaged. PSYCHO-PASS had nothing but is characters to rely upon, which actually came out as a pretty great decision. Each character stepped up in their own right, bringing something more than just drama.
Akane, for one, has come a long way since her initial rookie moe introduction. She's now the rock of the first division, helping out whenever she is needed. Rushing to Ginoza's side in this episode, it's become clear that she no longer needs to be taken care of, and is instead the one looking out for her fellow inspectors and enforcers. This did inspire our favourite loose cannon of an enforcer to go down a rather familiar concept in Western police dramas.
In fact, this whole episode had a resemblance to a police drama from the US or Canada. The rookie has now become dependable, which means her senpai can now walk on the illegal side of things with no regrets. Since it started with the rookie, it had to be all about the rookie and her superior this episode. It only makes sense that they'd make use of the All Alone With You song by egoist in such a way, to highlight the sacrifice. Some might call Akane's "baka" remark as the ongoing moe PSYCHO-PASS denies, but it really was an emotional moment. No doubt a little generic, but nevertheless a sad development for the final arc.
Presumably this move was to set up for what we've been expecting since episode one; Kougami vs Makishima. Certainly one of the more anticipated events of PSYCHO-PASS, this has been in the making for some time now. I'm willing to hypothesize that episode 16 may have left people a little disappointed, but now it's all about the final good vs evil showdown; in this case lighter grey vs darker grey.