Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE

Episode 8

This week's episode starts by rectifying a major misconception we've been under. Senku and the others believed that Dr. Xeno's population was low because he didn't have revival fluid. But now we see, it's actually a matter of control, not ability. Dr. Xeno had a source long before Senku got his hands on Platinum. He could have brought back hundreds, if not thousands, of people.

However, while Senku has largely confined his population to that of Dunbar's Number (to maintain a harmonious, united society where everyone knows everyone else), Xeno has kept his population much smaller. His population is limited mostly to Stanley's special forces squad members and the military-adjacent people around him when they were turned to stone.

Xeno has done this because he cares far more about power than Senku does. He wants to be a dictator with absolute rule so he can do the science he wants when he wants; Xeno wants his freedom at the cost of everyone else's. And to be clear, this population control is a pragmatic play. From what we've seen with Senku's adventures so far, the more people you have, the greater the chance of traitors or greedy opportunists like Hyoga or Magma. By keeping his group to people who know him—or at least to those who know and respect Stanley—Xeno has kept power firmly in his hands.

On the other side of things, Senku has been more than willing to share his power—namely with Ryusui, Gen, Taiju, and Tsukasa. He trusts in the wonder of science to keep his people working toward a common goal. After all, to the natives, science is a life-improving novelty, and to modern humans, it promises to give them back the lives they've all lost..

The other character focus of the episode is Luna. From her introduction, we've seen she's not quite cut out to be the femme fatale she's styled herself to be. She cares far too much for the people around her to play that role correctly. And when it comes down to it, the idea of killing someone—even if she's not the one pulling the trigger—goes against her very nature. But just because she can't kill someone doesn't mean she's a traitor to her group, and so she puts in motion a chain of events that bring both sides' deceptions crashing down.

With Stanley knowing who Senku is and Senku knowing about the sniper, it becomes a race against time for Senku to save himself. And honestly, what keeps Senku alive isn't his powers of science but Stanley and Xeno's humanity. Stanley doesn't want to kill Senku if it means it will break his friend emotionally. Likewise, Xeno and Senku share a bond—and he doesn't want to kill the kid he's mentored for years. While Xeno puts his desire for power above Senku's life in the end, Xeno and Stanley's hesitation to make the call is what gives Senku the time he needs to science up a miracle to save his life.

And while Senku doesn't get out of things unscathed, with the sniping position revealed to all by Stanley's shot, it's unlikely the soldier will get another before he needs to retreat. And while he's doing that… well, Tsukasa and his team might just have the chance to carry out a black op of their very own.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• It was a nice little narrative trick to have Senku's back to Stanley the whole time, so the sniper didn't end up seeing the formula on Senku's shirt.

• I was glad to see that the bullet shattered after going through that much steel and wood.

• I can't decide. Is the whole “you must not fall asleep for 5000 years” to be revived thing true or just misinformation Xeno is using to explain why he's only depetrified a few people?

• Did Xeno end up making paper just so Stanley could roll cigarettes?

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Dr. Stone: Science Future is currently streaming on Crunchyroll on Thursdays.