Psycho-Pass 22: "Perfect World"
I think we’ve reached the last episode, y’all.
We left off in the middle of a fight scene, and so the first part here is the rest of the fight scene. We left off with Kogami trying to pry at Makishima’s insecurities, but Makishima ends up turning them right back on Kogami. We left off with some clever banter, and
…well, now we get predatory glares.
There’s not much point in narrating the actual fight scene. Kogami doesn’t underestimate Makishima this time, but Makishima still has the upper hand, until he gets cocky and Kogami gets in a gash across his chest. Like, right over his heart. SYMBOLISM
Then Tsunemori sets off a flash grenade, and Makishima gets away. Because if she can do this without Kogami becoming a killer, she will.
Tsunemori doesn’t trust Kogami with the revolver, but she does trust him not to shoot her with the Dominator and go after Makishima himself. This is the way to make them an effective team at this point, and I’m amused by the subversion of the opening credits now that they’ve swapped guns. But it’s a bold plan, and Tsunemori gets some credit for it.
What follows is one of the more interesting exchanges in the episode, and given that it’s the last episode I think it’s supposed to be one of our takeaways as well.
This is in response to Kogami asking why she cares about a law and system that have failed to judge Makishima—and will continue to do so. Tsunemori’s response shows her ideals: it’s all just people, in the end, and it’s the orderly society that needs to be protected. It’s up to them, the MPPTX, to make sure the law isn’t just empty words.
It’s a good sentiment, lasting even through Tsunemori’s loss of naïveté, but in 2017 America I get a painful twist all through the conversation. The exact words in the screencap above could be said in a measured protest of individual and systemic abuses of power in American police forces.
For once, Makishima isn’t interested in abstract philosophical discussion. Instead, he tries to hit them with a truck.
I’m probably reading too much into it, but Kogami calling her “Akane” rather than “Tsunemori” indicates to me that in this moment his priority is her safety, i.e. he actually cares about her. If it were just about trying to catch Makishima, or frustration that he wouldn’t be able to catch up, he would have gone with “Tsunemori” instead.
Tsunemori, for her part, is going to go on being badass.
The truck flips. Tsunemori’s thrown off. Makishima stumbles out and, um, decides to step on her face.
I took this screencap because of the “us”. What “us”? It took me a bit to figure out he meant him and Kogami, and that “you guys” referred to the rest of the MUIUC getting in the way of their game.
(The “you guys” is a bit unfortunate; in the original line, the subject is left out all together and implied. Alternate translation: “I’d appreciate if we weren’t insulted any more.”)
The wheel of fortune prevails: with the shot to take out the tire, the revolver is out of bullets. Kogami’s on his way, so Makishima leaves Tsunemori where she is and limps off into the fields, perhaps knowing
that Kogami would take the time to take care of her. (Even after the “Akane!” I was surprised by this.)
But it’s not enough, and Makishima realizes this as he stumbles forward, delivering his last lecture on modern society.
Makishima says this as part of his litany of signs that society has obsoleted itself, but the thing is it’s already true. No, I don’t mean that people are fungible, but even if a few people are irreplaceable savants, most of us aren’t. Trying to find value in your life by being the only person with a particular talent is unlikely to work. But that doesn’t mean you aren’t contributing; it doesn’t mean you can’t find connections with other people; it doesn’t mean you aren’t valuable. Most people are like that.
…I’m sorry if I touched on anybody’s anxiety or depression there. I think the point is that Makishima’s nihilism isn’t just the logical conclusion of these observations. Which isn’t even the purpose of this particular speech.
Which is almost a more interesting point, as related to Tsunemori’s morality. She did almost kill him, by flipping the truck. Is that more okay than killing him deliberately?
…well, yes, maybe it is.
In the end, the opening credits come true
and Tsunemori knows Kogami is gone. In more ways than one.
Is Sibyl done with Tsunemori? Ha ha, yeah right.
See, nothing’s changed. Tsunemori’s still useful, even having failed this particular task. And she’s still not going to tell.
Sibyl does bring up a point I hadn’t even thought about: this is a short-term plan.
Of course the current situation is too fragile. Security is good, but nothing is perfect. What they need is to bring society to a place where being ruled by 200 nigh-immortal disembodied asocietal brains is normal…and they’re going to study Tsunemori to do it. After all, her Psycho-Pass is clear. It’s an almost Kogami-vs-Kunizuka-level play when they say
Tsunemori: “You may have won this round. But someday, Sibyl, someday…!”
And, in a move that wouldn’t have worked anywhere but the last episode, the voice of Sibyl laughs maniacally.
Two months later…
Ginoza went over his limit—up to 140. No chance of returning. But on the other hand, he’s finally gotten to put through his character growth, and found some measure of peace. No regrets is a pretty big thing for anxious Ginoza, and visiting his father’s grave without lingering anger is another. It probably helps that his biggest complaint was that everyone leaves him, and now there’s no one left to leave him except possibly Tsunemori.
(The 140 is probably legitimate, but it’s also pretty convenient for Sibyl. The man knew too much.)
A friend pointed out that I glossed over Masaoka’s death last time. It was a shock when it happened—I originally thought he’d have to let Makishima escape, but not that it would then blow up in his face. (I decided Makishima had probably deliberately waited until the fuse had gone down a bit before tossing the explosive in Ginoza’s direction.) What really made an impact was Ginoza’s horrified face.
On some level, though, this wasn’t an unexpected outcome. It was already weird in Episode 20 to see that the entire team was now just four people instead of six (not counting Karanomori). Masaoka was just the next one to fall as the unraveling came to a head.
Ginoza wasn’t just going to sit around in the detention center, though, and what other life does he have? So, as lousy a detective as he is…
It’s nice to see Tsunemori without all of her tension. This is both the most relaxed she’s dressed in a while, and the least stressed she’s been all season. And in the last two months, she and Ginoza have figured out this new relationship where she’s the superior, and they’re comfortable with it.
Wait, what? Has this been foreshadowed the whole time? *throws up hands* WHATEVER I’M NOT GOING BACK TO REWATCH EVERYTHING
And then finally,
I’m a sucker for this kind of Very Direct Parallel But With A Different Character, though I don’t have much to say about it this time. But it’s the last episode, and it’s my blog, so I’m going to screencap the whole rest of it anyway.
Yes. Thank you, Tsunemori. You’ve healed something here.
Oh, and the ending credits say Kogami’s alive too.
And…that’s the Psycho-Pass.
They got Makishima. Ginoza fell into being a latent criminal. Kagari and Masaoka died. Kogami’s hiding out somewhere. Tsunemori…lost a friend. Lost several friends.
And society goes on. And so does Sibyl.
I’ll have one more wrap-up post that talks about themes and philosophy and consequences, and then possibly one more after that based on the Special Challenge I mentioned back in the half-way post (there are 35 of the puzzles). I’m not planning to watch the one-season sequel at the moment, but even if I do it won’t be this style of one-post-per-episode. And wait, there was a movie too?
But it’s been fun. Thanks especially to Lex for recommending the series to begin with, and to Andy as the other main follower and commenter on these posts. See you next time, one last time.