©2023 Keiichi Shigurezawa/KADOKAWA/GGO2 Project
This episode follows how each team deals with the news that one member of each team has been forced to join the Betrayer team. While it’s more than just a comedy, each team reacts differently. Only one man plans to betray the betrayer and help his original team win. The rest reluctantly (or excitedly) accept the rule change. Pitoue wants to fight Ren again, and Eva sees it as a way to test herself against her old team. Meanwhile, the MMTM guy is happy he can shoot a machine gun.
Of course, though, the most important thing to watch is how Lulian reacts to the news that Pitovi has become a traitor. She was more shocked than anyone, so much so that she fell to her knees, unaware of what was going on in the world around her. While this is mostly for comedy, it makes sense that she shuts down so completely.
Lian may have been traumatized. The last time she fought Pitohui, it was a life and death battle. If she makes even one mistake, not only will her friend Pitohui die, but so will her idol Erza Kanzaki. For an average college student, that’s a lot of stress—and it would be even stranger if there were no lasting aftereffects.
Lian almost certainly never bothered to face what happened and how it affected her. She was able to put aside all the stress and fear that came with it because she never thought she would have to fight Pitohui again – and certainly not so quickly or suddenly. Now, however, she’s back with Pitohui shooting at her. Of course, the stakes are off this time – Lian logically knows this – but it probably feels the same as the last time the two fought.
The rest of the episode simply sets up the final arena (a cruise ship) and the immediate dilemma faced by each of the non-betrayer teams. The ship was in the middle of an open area with no cover to speak of. The traitors are already on board, ready to kill anyone who tries to board. Additionally, if any team breaches the ship, it’s possible for the other team to shoot them in the back. So we have a situation where no team wants to be the first to act because that team will bear the vast majority of the risk. Of course, if no one goes first, the water will eventually rise and kill them all.
…Oh, Pitohui decides to start blocking the entrance to the ship because everyone takes too long to take action – so it’s a fun cliffhanger ending!
grade:
Random thoughts:
• It is worth noting that some of the lifeboats did not plug the holes in the hulls, but had stairs leading to them – although these did become choke points where the traitor squads could concentrate their firepower. On the other hand, who says teams need to dig into a hole? I mean, the traitors just gave the remaining team a bunch of boats that they could ride on when the water rose.
• I kind of wonder if Pitohui, or rather Elza Kanzaki, is behind this twist in Squad Jam. I wouldn’t be surprised if she quietly sponsors this event in exchange for this rule – and the stipulation that she or Lian are forced to join the ranks of the Betrayers.
• There is another possibility. Maybe Pitohui is not a traitor. After all, Pitohui didn’t show her screen to anyone else, and she was genuinely surprised when she was able to throw a party and get all the traitors to join. Maybe M is the traitor and is following Pito’s whims. Or Deep Kazlo could cunningly offer to make her a traitor by trading terminals with Pitohui. Or maybe the real traitor is Ren, and combined with her trauma (since she had to fight Pitohui anyway), that’s why she’s so completely shut down – and why she’s so confused to see Pitohui flying in a drone Walk.
• as Leona It’s Erza Kanzaki’s singing voice. I like to imagine that the GGO theme song she sings is the real song in the SAO world that Ren likes to listen to.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the majority shareholder of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
