Metallic Rouge – Ep. 3

Still giving Metallic Rouge a tryout. I admit that this episode irked me at times so I might reach a final decision depending on how Episode 4 goes.

At Wellstown, Rouge and Naomi meet with a handler to hand in Viola’s ID (which takes the form of a core) and receive Naomi’s new Twitter account. They then receive a message from Gene Junghardt, the leader of Alethia and Rouge’s older brother. This explicitly confirms that our main duo is working for Alethia. I’m not sure how exactly Rouge is related to Gene, like if they’re both Neans or if their tie is more surrogate in nature. Regardless, Rouge appears to speak fondly and informally of her big brother.

Rouge and Naomi’s next scene is where I feel the writing fumbles big time. To Naomi’s chagrin, Rouge decides she needs to first buy some more chocolate before the two of them discuss their next move. This somehow spirals into a discussion of Rouge’s humanity and free will and culminates in Naomi blurting out that Rouge is nothing more than a tool for Aletheia. There’s a couple things wrong with this scene. One, the catalyst is just stupid. The two girls fight because Rouge just wants some chocolate. Two, the scene creates a huge tonal whiplash. Within the span of a minute, we go from these two being buddies to Naomi treating Rouge as inhuman. The first two episodes didn’t elaborate on Naomi’s views on Neans so her comments here feels out of the blue. Three, it’s difficult to take Naomi’s side. Yes, Rouge is very immature here but as soon as Naomi starts acting like a bigot, she’s instantly unlikable and you automatically want to take Rouge’s side. Obviously, the show will have Naomi rectify her mistake but if this is the setup, I’m a little hesitant to see the resolution.

After ditching Naomi, Rouge coincidentally bumps into Dr. Afdal, who helps her enter Wellstown’s isolated Nean settlement, which is the presumed location of her next target. As one might expect, the settlement is a slum, so much so that you almost forget that it’s in the same town as the bustling urban hub shown earlier in the episode. I really dig the art direction here. The dim lighting, muted coloring, and the nearly identical series of houses do a great job conveying the Neans’ dire living conditions.

Dr. Afdal appears to be very jaded about the situation. Like, he does his job and he tries to treat his patients as best as he can but he also thinks he’s only delaying the inevitable: a violent clash between the Neans and the humans. Definitely the most telling sign is when the Afdal’s Nean friend wishes he could learn how to treat Neans and the doctor bleakly says it won’t matter, implying that one extra medic won’t help with the bloodshed that’s about to arise. This also contrasts nicely with Rouge, who appears to be taken aback by everything she sees in the settlement. That makes me wonder if Rouge has lived a sheltered life or if she’s actually a lot younger than she appears and she’s still learning in general (the latter would certainly explain her immaturity).

At some point, a Nean Rouge and Naomi met on the bus ride to Wellstown introduces Rouge to Juval, the leader of a civil rights organization called the Council of Free Neans. Somehow, Juval knows that Rouge is actually a nean and he asks her to be a symbol of hope for the Neans. It’s a bit contrived that Juval simply knows of Rouge’s true nature but he does raise a good point. Other than the Immortal Nine, Rouge looks the most humanlike out of any of the Neans we’ve seen in the series. So long as she isn’t caught recharging with Nectar, she blends in perfectly among the humans and that’s something most Neans can only dream of doing.

Oddly enough, Juval gets the axe at the end of the episode. One of council’s members, Dumas (who may or may not be Rouge’s target), convinces his peers to cover up the murder to prevent human authorities from meddling in the council’s affairs. I think it’s a bit of a waste to kill Juval off so quickly. I really like the contrast between his youthful appearance and his adult perspective. His intended purpose is to be an adopted son for someone and through all the various “parents” that he’s had, he’s seen the good, the bad, and the ugly that Neans regularly deal with. His appearance belies his years of experience and at the same time, it conveys his optimism. It could’ve been interesting to see if he’d stick to his morals or if he’d devolve into taking more extreme measures to save his kind. Killing him off now kind of feels like an excuse to get the ball rolling. That said, it could be interesting seeing how this organization develop without its leader, especially if the apparently criminal Immortal Nine are getting involved.

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