NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Season 2

Episode 18

Now that NieR:Automata Ver1.1a has taken the time to chronicle the downfall of the Androids and to remind us of how A2 became the Queen Bitch of Machine Murder that she is today, “chil[D]hood's end” sees the story taking a necessary step back to allow A2 the chance to reflect and recalibrate. She doesn't necessarily want to do any reflection or recalibration, mind you, but being rendered immobile by a combination of faulty parts and pure, spiteful stubbornness tends to limit one's options. Thus, after spending decades with nothing more than the slaughter of her enemies as her motivating focus, A2 is forced to be taken in by Pascal's Machine villagers and their many awkward attempts to make friends with her. It is adorable.

So far as episodes go, this is hardly one of NieR:Automata's most thrilling or shocking chapters, but it operates within that sweet spot of fairy-tale philosophizing that is so characteristic of a Yokō Tarō story. Is there anything at all that is particularly surprising about how A2 is slowly starting to recognize the (for lack of a better term) “humanity” of her hated Machine enemies? Of course not. It is an arc of development that would only be more obvious if the anime installed a giant, blinking neon sign above A2's head that reads “SOON SHE, TOO, WILL LEARN THAT KILLING INDISCRIMINATELY IS AN EVIL AND CORRUPTING ACT THAT HAS TAINTED THE HISTORY OF MANKIND FOR MILLENIA!!!” Still, the thing about fairy tales, even the weird ones starring sexy maid murder-waifus and their floating machine-gun friends, is that the obviousness of their morals is merely a component of their power. A2 has been warped into a weapon of shockingly efficient violence because of the trauma she endured as a soldier in this eternal war, so you can bet your bottom dollar that NieR is going to find a way for her to confront the flaws of her perspective while also reckoning with the overwhelming power of the systems that put her in this position, to begin with. That's, like, NieR's whole thing, and it does a damn good job of it.

Plus, if we're talking about pure entertainment value, here, who in their right mind would turn down the opportunity to watch A2's hilariously ineffective attempts to stave off the Machine's efforts to befriend and cure her? I know Pod 042 can't smirk mischievously, but you just know that's what he was doing somewhere in his code when he nonchalantly refused to intervene with A2's incoming dose of “medicine” from her new little caretakers.

Another thing I appreciated about this episode was how it clarified for me the reason for including Lily as the new face of the Resistance in the Ver1.1a story. Since we're going to be losing a lot of the background details and casual storytelling that happens during A2's gameplay sections, it makes a lot of sense that we'd need to find a way to forge a bond between her and the audience. Since we've spent the better part of a season-and-a-half with Lily as a constant and likable presence in the story, her reunion with A2 holds a lot of emotional weight, connecting the naïve and trusting girl that A2 used to be with the hardened machine that might show some ever-so-slight signs of opening back up again.

9S is also around, dealing with his soul-consuming anguish, and I have to wonder if it would have been more effective if the show followed the game's structure of swapping back and forth between the two competing protagonists after each of them had time to complete a significant “chunk” of their path. I'm not about to blame 9S for losing himself to his rage or whatever but it tends to come across a little strong when all you get are brief snippets of him swearing vengeance and/or crying screaming about his deep need for said vengeance. Then again, maybe it will be for the best that the show never lets us stray too far from 9S side of the story since his path and A2's are bound to converge sooner or later…

Rating:

Extraneous Code

• This week's puppet show features Puppet Pascal and his Puppet Villagers responding to a letter about the “machine boxes” scattered around the land, which is great, though I am now wondering if the “vending machine” save terminals from the game have even shown up in the anime? I feel like they must have, at some point, but I don't want to have to rewatch seventeen weeks' worth of old episodes to find out…

• It looks like we're on a recap break, next week. I am crossing all of my fingers and praying to the Anime Gods that this is not a horrible portent of production issues to come.

NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.