WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. Overall, I liked this episode. We got to see more of Zack’s past, which was well done and transitioned well from the last episode. The way the show handled Zack turning on Rachel was very tense. I liked that we had a showdown with Cathy. I thought the showdown was well done and really focused on teamwork and Rachel and Zack complementing each other.
I also am glad we are also learning more of Rachel’s character. We are getting clues like crazy that Rachel is hiding a dark secret and may not be so pure and righteous after all. It is interesting to see that Rachel is willing to kill someone to protect Zack, and interesting that she had a gun with her. In addition, the fact that she has been called a criminal and a sinner by Cathy, that she mocked Cathy before shooting her, that she lied to Zack, that she assumed she was the sinner instead of Zack also allude to the idea that she is not so pure. I also suspect that she did not tell Zack all the details behind why she was in this place. She said she witnessed a terrible murder, but I am wondering if she is actually the murder.
It is quite intriguing and also largely emotional that the show is chipping away at Rachel’s morally pure image that it spent many episodes building up. Part of this could be that she was never morally pure in the first place and part could be the trials and morally difficult situations taking a toll on her. This could also help explain Rachel’s cold personality and her desire to die: she has a blank expression because her wrongful actions have made her cold emotionally and she wants to die out of guilt for what she did wrongfully. I am really curious to see how this all plays out.
As for Zack, he is definitely being tested emotionally in the show. He is clearly growing fonder of Rachel, and he may be beginning to love her. This is intriguing because Zack does not seem to have ever known much love and friendship. How he handles this is likely to be a major factor in the show’s plot going forward.
There is one major drawback I will say so far, and that is that despite this being a psychological-horror show, it is not super scary. There are some scary scenes, but most of the show does not feel horrifying. Hopefully, the show will up the horror factor as it goes along.
Angels of Death. Funimation, 2018. Web.