© Tower of God 2 Animation Partners
This is one of those episodes that gives us new information that completely redefines everything we’ve seen before this season. So far, it looks like Bam is climbing up the tower to confront Rachel – to avenge her betrayal and attempted murder of him. However, what we are now seeing is much more than that.
Honestly, it’s questionable whether Bam wants revenge. He still wanted to see the best in her. He wants to believe that she has some reason that magically allows her to do what she does, even though it’s obvious that no such reason exists. The truth is, he doesn’t know what he wants to do when it comes to Rachel. However, he was sure of one thing: he didn’t want his friend to die.
FUG discovered this weakness and exploited it to force Bam to do what they wanted. In short, one of his friends from season one would have been killed if he hadn’t climbed the tower or passed the test. This explains why he is so eager not to form a new team: they would be a liability on several levels.
For one thing, they could cause him to fail the test. On the other hand, they might become the FUG’s new hostages to use against him – people who might die if he doesn’t do what the FUG wants. But ultimately, being with him would put them in unnecessary danger. Dilemma.
In Mazzino’s own words, he was one of the strongest men in the tower. At the same time, Bam, who has great potential, couldn’t even beat the examiner on the 20th floor. It’s obvious who should win a fight between them. However, Mazzino is no monster. He sees Bam’s team being tricked into accepting a mission designed to have them killed by his own hands, and is willing to let them go.
Of course, choosing to leave means that Bam’s team will fail the test and one of his friends will die. However, the only other option – choosing to fight Mazzino – could mean the death of Bam and his new friends. And just like that, Bam is forced to make an impossible choice: his only chance of keeping everyone alive is to win an unwinnable battle.
What we get out of all this is a huge conflict of immediate and long-term interests. It also adds more drama, especially now that Wang Nan knows the true stakes of their climb. He feels the weight of other people’s lives on his shoulders and strives to bear it. If Bam somehow wins next week’s battle, that doesn’t resolve the looming tension, and it’s sure to intensify with each new test.
grade:
tower of god Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
