PSYCHO-PASS - 20
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It's safe to say PSYCHO-PASS has hit a speed bump.
These past two episodes have been...okay. Nothing I would consider bad, yet not good enough to register. A huge pity that this late in the game PSYCHO-PASS has plateaued and hasn't stepped up to the next level. It just doesn't feel like it's trying hard enough.
It's back to Akane this episode. As she learns the truth about the Sybil system, she's confronted by her feelings. Her hate for the system allowing Makishima to continue as a presence are conflicted by her liking of the system. It doesn't help that she's been favoured by the system time and time again. In fact we even get to see a scene out of the first chapter of the manga adaptation, in which we see her happy. She doesn't say right then and there if she agrees with the Sybil system or not, but it's hard to believe she'd have a problem with it. A nice scene involving a visit from old ghosts such as Kagari and and Yuki were quite the nice interpretation of her inner struggle. A nice small touch to the episode.
Akane was always going to be the deciding actor during crunch time. With Makishima and Kougami representing the two opposing forces in PSYCHO-PASS, she would be the one to decide the outcome of said fight. It only makes sense that she learns all of this now and is given a decision to make about Makishima's capture. Will she be able to do it at the expense of Kougami's safety? Or the more realistic question: would Kougami let her do it?
All of the plot surrounding Akane was fine and dandy, yet there was something uninteresting about it. This episode is officially where she's in the driving seat, but it's been hinted at several times. Even her sudden display of advanced detective work did nothing to elevate her standing in the series. Putting it bluntly, she didn't need an entire episode to convince us she's the deciding factor of the final arc, and she's no longer the rookie we were introduced to. It really is as if Urobuchi undershot the length of the series and needed a filler episode. Why else would half of it be spent on a close-up of Akane?
Putting aside my negative views on the episode, PSYCHO-PASS has officially reached the showdown. It's these last two episodes where the series can really shine and pull out something exciting. I can imagine many of you have some kind of idea as to what type of ending we could get, and I do to. One thing I'm almost certain of: there will be a death. Let's hope the last episodes make up for past 2 and end PSYCHO-PASS on a high note.