©Nishio Restoration/Kodansha/Anipu
Most of the episode consists of long conversations between Nadeshiko and Onoki. The two discuss what has happened so far – namely, Nadeshiko’s two past selves were captured, while Onoki was dismembered by the other two. Nadeshiko and Onoki then feared the worst – that Mick Nadeshiko would ascend to godhood due to her proximity to Nadeshiko God, leaving them to face the two gods. Yet, from all the clues, this feels like a red hearing: a setup for a climax that never happens.
All of Nadeshiko and Onoki’s plans and fears are based on the assumption that God Nadeshiko is behind the scenes. But what if the puppet master was Mick Nadko? Suddenly, a lot of things made sense. To Nadeshiko, everything is a series of traps. Instead of being forced to strip naked, Mick Nadeshiko gave the clothes to the flirtatious Nadeshiko and sent her to school, capturing the current Nadeshiko with her charm. If that doesn’t work, Mick Nadeshiko runs around topless and lures Nadeshiko to Araragi’s house, where an angry Nadeshiko will be waiting. Then, as an understudy, she changed into a bathing suit to appear as defenseless as possible without technically being in crisis—using herself as bait so that God Nadeshiko could lay hands on Nadeshiko.
In other words, Mick Nadko is using her perceived helplessness as both a weapon and a shield. She manipulates herself and our heroes by appearing not to be a threat. After all, she is, at the end of the day, the core of Nadeshiko: all others (including now Nadeshiko) originate from her. It makes sense that she’s the one who knows best how to deceive herself on the most basic level – especially since the longest time between them was only a year.
The current Nadeshiko might have realized this if she hadn’t been caught off guard by an angry Nadeshiko’s words about her current dream. In trying to get rid of one obsession – namely Araragi – Nadeshiko simply replaces it with another. But more importantly, going all-in on becoming a cartoonist was (at least in part) her way of escaping her past actions. Deep down she knows this and worries that she’s working so hard not out of passion for her art, but because she can’t accept the past and move on.
With that said, what separates the current Nadko from Mick Nadko and others is one thing: She has learned from her past mistakes. That’s why she was able to defeat them. She knew what was wrong with them and how to exploit it. Hopefully, that’ll still be enough as she pursues the final two next week.
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Story Series: OFF & MONSTER Season Currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
