NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a Season 2

Episode 19

I've been amused at the way that NieR:Automata Ver1.1a has been repurposing the titles for the game's various endings as titles for its episodes, even when the chosen pairing has seemed like a bit of a stretch (“aji wo [K]utta?”, for example). I can't think of a better title for Episode 19 than “corru[P]tion” because it delivers exactly what it advertises on the tin: Both A2 and 9S are slowly becoming corrupted with thoughts and emotions they have no idea how to reckon with—though their corruption is leading them down two very different paths.

For 9S' part, his grief and rage are taking him down a road that will be very familiar and predictable to anyone who has ever experienced a DrakeNieR story. This doesn't make it bad by any means but the poor boy's descent into madness is by its very nature a straightforward one. He has been damaged so deeply that all he can think to do is lash out and wreak an equal amount of havoc on the world that has wronged him. It is a childish, self-destructive, and deeply human response. That makes it a sadly perfect fit for the character. It is also, I must admit, my lesser favorite of the story's two current parallel stories, exactly because there's only so much you can invest yourself in a metaphorical slow-motion pileup when the vehicles in question are only just beginning to collide. In my mind, 9S' story at this point feels much more about the destination than the journey, so all we can do is watch as he self-destructs and waits to see where it all ends.

A2's story is equally in keeping with the usual franchise archetypes of having characters question their values and reflect on their prejudices. Still, her journey is one of emotional regeneration rather than degradation. It's easy enough to take an innocent character and break them to the point of becoming an edge-lord-murder-vendor but A2 is currently coming out of the other side of that transformation and being tainted with newfound self-doubt and empathy for her Machine enemies. Stories about this kind of growth and redemption are harder to wring easy and cathartic emotional reactions out of but that makes them more satisfying. Watching A2 navigate her unfamiliar new dynamics with Lily, Pascal, and the poop-obsessed little Robot Villagers is heartwarming and deeply sad because it constantly forces A2 to reckon with everything she has lost along with everything she has taken.

It's good that A2's story is so compelling, too, because we've reached another point where the show's production struggles to keep things together long enough to cross the finish line. Nothing in “corru[p]tion” looks hideous or unfinished, but there's an inconsistency in the character models and a general lack of energy in the direction that is just noticeable enough to be distracting. I suppose that a more transitional episode like this is a better time for NieR to relax its standards than if we were in the middle of a critical and climactic part of the story. Still, I hope that we don't end up with a repeat of the total collapse and endless delays of the first season…

Rating:

Extraneous Code

•This week's puppet show gives Devola and Popola the chance to bust out their lutes and treat us to a very welcome performance of “Song of the Ancients.” You could put “Song of the Ancients” on a repeating loop over muted footage of Madame Web or that awful new Borderlands movie, and I'd probably still give it a 10/10.

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.