Wednesday 17 May 2017

MT Series Scan: Steins;Gate 3

I am a SLOW binge-watcher (and reader). Two hours is about my limit, after which I need processing time. At the same time, I enjoy watching online reviewers, and reactions to things that I’ve previously watched, to see if they’re similar to my own. So, why not take the time during a slow binge to chronicle my own reactions and speculations?


We're now looking at Steins;Gate (Disc 3), having previously looked at Disc 1 and Disc 2. For reference, I know a LOT about the time travel genre, including writing my own serial (Time & Tied). I'll present a quick recap of theories I have from the first twelve episodes first. I've also taken to referencing characters with whatever name stuck for me, since they use more than one. (Let me know if that's confusing, edits are possible.) Looks like this disc is where the extra episode is. (25 doesn’t divide equally by 4.)

Theory 1: One of the characters is John Titor. Maybe Okarin himself.
Theory 2: Microwave timer functionality. Confirmed.
Theory 3: Suzu/PT came back in time to save someone’s life.
Theory 4: Makise/Red’s father was involved with SERN. Nearly confirmed?
Theory 5: The satellite crashing connects to John Titor’s arrival.
Theory 6: Daru is a spy with SERN. (Which may connect to Faris.)
Theory 7: Faris’ mystery message was about saving her dad’s life.
Theory 8: SF/Kiryu is another Reading Steiner.

13 Metaphysics Necrosis


Stream of Consciousness:
-Recapping the shooting. Nice imagery of the watch, incidentally. Suzu returns, knocks people out. Badass. The 42 inch CRT is on, gadget fog, LEAP! That was kickass, didn’t expect it to happen in that way.
-Mayuri's grandmother grave, her pocket watch. “Angel’s Ladder” sunbeams, “you’re my hostage” origin. 2010 time rewind. He cancels the conference, go home. Makise gets it off the phone ring (smart). Kid talks of trains, hmm. Okarin has 3 hours. Mayuri already left. Tries Faris, voicemail. Tells Red/Makise "Run. Tell Daru too.” Runs into Suzu, who just saw her. “Don’t go back to lab.” Catches up with her, party cancelled, she doesn’t get it. (Their exchange works here at least, nice atmosphere to this point.)
-Now he remembers the bomb threat. She runs as ordered, hit by car. Oh, hell. It’s SF/Kiryu again, driving. He runs to the lab to try again. Goes back. “I have intel that Mr. Braun will be storming the place.” (Heh.) Doesn’t care if he sounds suspicious. Calls Ruka this time, stop her. Was going to fix Fukubi’s costume. Says party postponed, not cancelled. Shades guy in car?
-Mayuri’s watch stopped again. “Sorry I’m not very useful.” (Aw, well, she is useful in her own way.) Braun’s kid trips and knocks Mayuri into the path of train?! WTF? (Apparently they need more than 3 hours to shift this world line.) NEXT: Talking to SF/Kiryu and Ruka and others.

Thoughts and Theories:
We’ve entered a bit of a self imposed time loop. (I suppose the intro does mention one.) Definitely NOT where I saw this going. Seems a D-mail is needed, if Okarin can deal with Mayuri being dead for a little while while he sets it up? (Actually, huh, lots of “Necrosis” in the upcoming titles.) In retrospect, Makise/Red’s death was very clever, implying that Mayuri’s death isn’t a necessity of fate, despite appearances. Also, more support for my Daru Theory 6, he knew they wouldn’t be at the lab the second time, diverting SF/Kiryu.

14 Physically Necrosis


Stream of Consciousness:
-He did the leap over and over and she kept dying? Daaaamn. Pause on death visuals for a live death in a taxi. Dark. Refuses to believe it’s fate. Shoos them out, sits in lab. It’s 2:33pm, knows she already left shrine. (So he needs to recruit help?) Sends to SF/Kiryu. Gadget gun; she works Part Time at Arc Rewrite. With “Rounders”, mission to retrieve IBN.
-Gives reasons. SERN knows that much? Her orders are from FB. Are you John Titor? Okarin says no! (Unless not yet?) Says he’ll hand over everything to save Mayuri. (Except they’re not the only ones killing her?) He escapes, back again. He can’t take it. (Wait, why not time leap back from NOW? To have more hours?)
-He spills to Ruka, he’s unhinged. Red/Makise finds, regrets, including making SF/Kiryu member 005. Makise says the time leap machine isn’t safe, could make him not exist. (I suppose that’s a reason not to leap back from now.) Heidegger, humans are “temporal beings”. Makise has theories, but no time to discuss. Wants to help, mimics him. (I like these two.)
-Resets machine for 5 hours back, when it was completed. “If you tell me you’re from the future, I’ll probably believe you ... I know myself.” Heh. Back to 2pm, Mayuri’s there, cosplay talk. “We won’t do it.” Worries too sudden (nice that he’s thinking). Dismissed. She DOESN’T believe. Fork then. (Curse you five hours from now me, hahahaha!) HEY, who was outside??? (Rewound DVD. It’s Suzu. Also, on the board it’s events they have timed.) Okarin notes stopping “Rounders” didn’t help. There’s an underlying CAUSE, why she dies without their involvement. (The watch?!) Could be her lifespan, but Makise doesn’t buy that.

-The cause is something that triggered these events. The machine itself? Dangerous to jump to conclusions. (Yeah, because that’s their only out.) Suzu says Makise is right, tough to solve without machine. They need to overcome the 1% divergence barrier, to reach the “beta world line”. She has a DIVERGENCE METER? (SERIOUSLY?) It’s 0.337187. Okarin is the one who built it!* (Will build...)
-Numerically shows how different current world line is from previous. World lines look like yarn or rope: Seems to be a single piece, but has smaller threads. All independent of each other, but lead to the same end. Need to switch from alpha rope to beta. (This is a seriously cool metaphor, I like this.) “She’s definitely a pro. Of some sort.” (Heh.) Access to a building?
-Normally impossible to move between ropes, not even with D-mails and time leaps. But there are a number of points in time when major events occur, with branching world lines to separate futures. (Offers “1991 Gulf War”, “Year 2000 Y2K” - and 2010 time machine invention.) Only at such branches is it possible to move between lines. How? Makise: Wait, who are you? She shows her time machine, she’s from 2036. SHE’S John Titor. *BOOM*
-NEXT: Mayuri’s not dead yet, and Okarin tells Suzu presumably that she’s told him all this.

Thoughts and Theories:
*Wait, is my Theory 3 correct, but Suzu came back to save Mayuri, requested by Okarin? But then why nearly leave town? A test? (Maybe saving’s a fringe benefit, except Okarin exists in her future to invent the meter. Actually, it makes sense that Mayuri has to die in all these world lines, so that it can lead to Okarin inventing the Meter. To save her. Because time travel.)
So much happened here. Theory 1 now confirmed, essentially. Y2K mention can’t be coincidence, it links to Titor in the other world line (before Makise’s death) and to Okarin being sick in this world line. (Oh, maybe he wasn’t sick in the timeline when Titor was there?) This is good, I was worried we were getting caught in a time loop rut. I’m increasingly invested in this. (Also, the theory is not too dissimilar from lynchpin points in my story.) That said, I’m guessing they don’t know how to answer the question of moving between world lines (hence evasion). I also suspect the “Rounders” try to prevent such movement. New mystery is who is FB. (Daru?)


15 Missing Link Necrosis


Stream of Consciousness:
-Immediately into OP from recap. Alarm sounds. SERN rules in 2036, anyone in opposition killed, Suzuha a member of the resistance. Boarded a time machine left by dad. (Butterfly imagery.) Here to alter the future. Red/Makise has messaged Titor, saying SERN is into research, not governing. (She was ‘Chestnut Rice and Kamehame-ha’?)
-SERN could reshape things, being the only ones with access to 4th dimension. Makise [will have] contributed the most to the development of the machine, seen as “mother of time machines”. (Wait, how? She DIED in Ep 1, have they already jumped world ropes?) Why would I help creeps? (Maybe coerced. Dad?) Okabe is a famous terrorist? Both dead by 2036. She’s now going back to 1975. (That’s random.)
-SERN global monitoring system, first Dmail triggered. (So not Daru?) They need to delete that email from the database. (But I hope not prevent it being sent??) To hack that database requires an IBN 5100. (Connects to SF/Kiryu!) Suzu wasted too much time here looking for Dad, now the machine is broken. Security guard. Okarin says “Level 17” mission to foil Organization. Runs.
-Machine materialized there due to coordinate miscalculation; why broken? The thunderstorm. (Lightning or rain. When Okarin stopped her from leaving.) That’s now more than 48 hours in the past. Mayuri shopping with Daru. Suzu says they need to repair her time machine. So, they’ll leap him back 5 hours again (to 2pm), then from there, back to the 11th. (I *said* they should.) Try to fix Suzu’s machine; if fails, redo two days again. “Not about saving the world, but saving Mayuri.”

-Aug 11th. Suzuha doesn’t know how machine works, they ask Daru (ohh, I’m worried). Two days deadline, promises date with Faris. (Except if he’s working on THIS, he can’t help with the time leap! Gaah.) 1975 is for the IBN, Daru also wants an animation cel from ‘Radical Girl Omit-chan’. Makise will do the time leap device. Mayuri suggests Suzuha’s dad: Barrel Titor was code name. Clue is a badge. (Code name?? It’s Okarin, isn’t it.)
-“I wonder if your dad’s someone close to us.” She never met him, info was in will. Did separate research. (So did Suzu ever meet Okarin?) Daru thinks he can fix machine. Gadget #2, ver 2.67. Copter camera. Red/Makise likes for surveillance, problem is camera footage spins. (Write a program to unspin?) The version number was made up. Gadgets important?
-Daru looks suspicious. Divergence meter: Interesting that it hasn’t changed. She gives it to him. Oh, it needs to reach 1.0000%. Did he give it to her? She’s never met his future self either. (WHELP. She’s his daughter.)
-He founded the resistance group. “That’s pathetic.” It’s not, it’s admirable. Next day: No luck with pin. (OSHM***A) Okabe tries English on dreadlocks guys, hahahaha. Mayuri’s his focus, but he wants to help friends. “Kidnapper was wearing this badge.” (Clever notion, flyer is too cutesy.) Plan “Mayushii Pamphlets”. Run from police. ^_^ (“Run all plans by me first.” Haha.)
-Daru’s got skills. “Don’t judge a book by his cover.” (I’m still suspicious Daru.) Mayuri thinks Daru and Suzu are a good match?? (She is being weird. Wait, crud, is Daru the father? No, the pervert thing is terrible that way.) Suzu says she’s grateful. Era’s more peaceful, but she found it frightening. Now she has friends. “So cool” vendor calls back. (This feels like a setup.)
-NEXT: Okarin does meet the vendor. And Braun. And bad things happen to Suzu (given we see bike).

Thoughts and Theories:
Theory 9: All the gadgets are going to factor into the finale, I think. They set themselves up with the items somehow. Heck, the first one is a TV remote (adapt to “Lifter”?).
Theory 10: Okabe is Suzu’s father. Mentioning she’d never met him OR her father in the same ep might have been a setup, but I think it was hinting.
-I have a bad feeling that when they jump world lines BACK, we’ll be in the situation we were in for Ep 1. With Makise dead. So that she can’t help SERN. Which doesn’t quite explain why she said he’d talked to her way back at the start, in that beta ropeline, though it means he must time travel himself, in Suzu’s machine.
-So not having the IBN must mean they interrupted Suzu going back and leaving it at the Shrine? I’m going to try and untangle some threads here:

Untangling Threads:
-They got the IBN because Suzu knew to get Faris’ father to leave it at the shrine. When they altered via the Faris timeline, Suzu no longer knew to go back and do that (yet). Seems plausible. Now she has to go back to 1975, to bring it directly.
-Once we fix Mayuri’s death, by removing the original Dmail and jumping to the beta ropeline, we’ll be in a future where Makise is dead (and unable to help SERN). Also, Titor will be back in the year 2000, still trying to prevent the dystopia.** Will Okarin find Suzu’s time machine device ten years later in 2010, and travel back to try and save Makise? Does talking to her somehow help them jump the 1% divergence again? (Worse, is the future screwed as long as Makise is alive? Except it was screwed anyway, Titor went back when she was dead.) **Or MAYBE the Makise is dead thread isn’t the beta rope line, it’s merely closer to the 1% divergence, like 0.88?
-There was also the time “FB” told SF/Kiryu that the IBN would be in some alleyway, but it wasn’t there. Is there an Okarin behind the scenes, running interference? (Okarin being FB is a bit far fetched. Is Daru FB, working with the “Rounders”, rather than with SERN?) Guh, my thoughts are starting to spiral uselessly. Onwards.

16 Sacrificial Necrosis


Stream of Consciousness:
-Guest said “make me please a badge”. (Okarin is a double in this timeline too, that’s gotta be it.) Looked like - a barrel? Barrel Titor? No, didn’t look like Titor (heh). Mayuri’s seen Rai-Net anime, Barrel Monster => Taru. Or balloon? (It’s gotta be Daru then. Okay, weird. Why would he?) Private info contact, and left without an order when told it takes a week. He just needs to go back in time. (Well, that’s complicated. >.< ) OP.
-Okarin went back. Never asked what time guy showed. (Oop.) Yup, it’s Daru, wanted a fake copy. Would feel bad if they never found her father. (It’s Okarin, right? Stop playing these games, anime.) New info about time machine! It only goes BACK in time, not forwards. (Oooooh! Nice.) Haha, Okabe got the cola right this time. Replay. He promises this time, without the phone call, make the world free. (Wait, I’m just now connecting the satellite to the time machine. So yeah, Theory 5 confirmed?)
-Suzu, should I go to Capricorn or Aquarius. Mayuri sees FG204 on machine - the name her dad gave to it. Fond of bicycle, might make it fit. Okay, Mayuri says Daru is her dad. “That’s not a funny joke.” Word play (Barrel Titor) and FG is Future Gadget #204, 2nd ed, v 2.31. (Okay, I’ll give that one to them, well done. It also explains how she thought her dad would be at that SF gathering, then wasn’t because of the Faris-tan convincing. Clever. Touching even, though “was mom cute” kind of messes it up for me.) “See you in 35 years.”
-Our initials on badge? (OSHM***A, that makes sense. I’d never have figured it out.) Divergence meter hasn’t changed. Daru could see his own great grandkids, haha. Knock, “It’s her.” (It’s not her.) It’s Mr. Braun with a letter. Asked to deliver on this day. Died ten years ago, June 13, 2000, keeps repeating “I failed.” Amnesia for 24 years, incomplete repairs. (I still feel like Daru’s implicated.) Wants forgiveness for living a carefree life. Suggestion: Send Dmail to NOT stop Suzuha. (Daamn, that’s a problem, they’ll lose memories.)
-Needs to know how she died. To etch it into his mind. Since “I remember the time we shared together like it was yesterday.” (Clever.) Suicide, hanged herself, mental instability. Mayuri’s upset, it’ll all change, lost memories. (Suzu won’t feel like part of the lab! That’s sad.) NOW where is Hashida Suzu? A disease did her in 10 years ago. Braun lives in her old house, bike’s still there. She was all alone in this timeline. “People’s lives are a cycle of helping and being helped. So some day you’ll need to help someone else yourself.” (Aw, I like her.) Wondered if she changed the number. It’s 0.409431. The trains are running in this divergence. What about Mayuri?? She’s asleep. Has she been saved??? NEXT: Faris. And her father. My Theory 7 confirmed?

Thoughts and Theories:
Once it gets going, the show sure doesn’t get stuck in a rut. I think we’ve got to tackle this in a Timeline One/Two/Three sort of deal below. First a question: What message did Okarin send? Must have been something like ’To save Mayuri, leave Suzu’? Except no, how would he remember about the trains with only that? And why would Suzu bring the bike? Something about talking to Suzu then? But she wouldn’t remember Mayuri. I feel like there’s a plot hole here. Second: Quick pat on my own back for getting bad Suzu vibes last time, even as I wonder if I’m wrong about Daru in Theory 6. What with him being the dad. Final aside: “Necrosis” is no longer in the title, so yeah, Mayuri will be fine. As to Faris - how can we undo what she did? She doesn’t know what she sent. Heck, she didn’t send anything in this world line. (Send a message for her to be more assertive about moe? At least Okarin doesn’t need to set up the all day date in this world line - Daru never worked on the time machine.)

Untangling Threads:
-So, Divergence 0.337187 is terrible. Mayuri dies, Makise ends up working for SERN as Okarin tries to mount resistance, etc.
-Divergence 0.409431 is relatively better. Suzu dies in the past, alone (but presumably gets them an IBN?). Yet they can still potentially influence Suzu, since her past is their future. In this, the “mind leap” isn’t created, no talk of going public, so Mayuri lives (for now).
-Divergence 0.2 (as I make up numbers) is probably where we were when the whole series started. Makise dies, Titor goes back to 2000 (instead of 1975) and it’s presumably a flop there, SERN has all time travel. I assume the Dmail time machine does make things gradually better. UNLESS Ep 1 was Divergence 0.8, and we’re headed there next as that first Dmail is wiped out using the IBN. (Do we get that from Suzu? From Faris?)
-As to next, well, Okarin is likely to find the 1975 time machine and use it at some point. I’m also guessing the 1% will happen if they can get all the initials onto the badge. (Theory 11 & 12)


17 Made in Complex


Stream of Consciousness:
-Aug 14th. (It was a Friday the 13th, that’s cute.) Her watch stops NOW? Thugs? Wait, what? WHAT? Gyyaaaaaahhhhh! *faceplant* (Should I stop trying to predict this thing?)
-Back to the 13th, 5pm. She dies in 2 hours now? Makise, “Must have been hard.” (Wait, how does SHE remember Suzu’s talk of the alpha attractor field??) Undoing the Dmail about Suzu delayed things a day. Maybe undo the Dmails in reverse order? To get the IBN5100 back? Well, it’s a hypothesis, yeah. (Wait, they have the time leap device? But not the IBN?) Says his mind is valuable. He called her Kurisu again.
-UPX Conference building. Rai-Net ABGC matches, Faris won. “The cat’s with a guy in a lab coat.” (Uhhhh.) Guessing this “dark force” is like a cosplay thing, not SERN. (I suppose it’s funny, at least.) Playing “what if”. Once talked to Dad about opening a maid cafe, but he said no. Okarin knows about “May Queen”. At the site — she seems to remember? (Whaaat?) “What happens if you don’t undo it.” Mayuri. Confirmation of Theory 7! (I win.) Okabe is now beaten up by the gamers, car saves them - it’s her dad. Police arrest ringleader.
-Dad thinks he should have been at the tournament, not at work. IBN 5100, broke promise with Suzu, Rumiho/Faris was kidnapped, the IBN was bought for ransom money. (Didn’t see that coming.) Rule ever since to keep promises with his daughter. (OH! We see what Okarin sent: ‘Don’t Follow. Last message a SERN trap.’ That’s not really erasing it then? The message still existed, just has no origin.) Faris is glad Okarin saved her, as a Prince. Worried about Mayuri. Admits ten years ago, on 8th birthday, dad promised to have fun with her, but he had work. Last thing she said to him was hoping he died (oh YIKES). So she sent Dmail message - THE RANSOM MESSAGE (oh my). These ten years have been a dream, but Mayuri’s my friend. Not okay with it, but remembers what happened before and after the change now. All mixed up.
-He’ll consult with Makise again. No, don’t want to burden you, my Prince. Time to wake from the dream. Can I cry for a little bit first. (Sweet.) Will I lose my memories when the world goes back? He thinks she’ll remember, since she remembers now. Faris sends new Dmail message including “See you soon”. (Better last words.) Okarin TRANSLOCATES this time. Back to lab. Faris has lost her cell phone, because Okarin has it. She teases him. “Loved each other in a previous life.” (Heh.)
-So we’re back to when it was stored at Shrine 10 years ago, but after Ruka became a girl, it wasn’t. Gone last year. Building still has satellite damage. NEXT: Talking to Ruka, and possibly her mother.

Thoughts and Theories:
So, we’re in a backtracking set now. Honestly, the Faris stuff feels superfluous. (Presumably it’s here because there was that character in the game.) Maybe it’s simply that I called it so easily, and she’s only been around in the anime for these changing scenes. But it feels like a cheat for her to suddenly “remember” as well.
Also, her sending the ransom demand bears scrutiny. While I can believe it would divert Dad from the path that killed him, past Faris wouldn’t know. I don’t think there was any indication that she’d run away. Was SERN monitoring to the extent that they really DID kidnap her, after seeing the fake message? (That’s creepy.) A related plot issue is Okarin knowing about what the Divergence meter does. We see his Dmail message was ‘Prior message a SERN trap’, which wipes out him bringing back Suzu for the party... but also her entire set of revelations about the time machine. I mean, I can buy Okarin still knowing about Mayuri’s death (seems to be a thing), and maybe SF/Kiryu’s involvement (may still have played out with time leaps). But not the trains running, the bike, the time machine, or the divergence meter (those never happened in the line that stretches to Aug 14th). That bugs me. Anyway, moving on.

18 Fractal Androgynous


Stream of Consciousness:
-I suppose the title makes sense, if this is Ruka’s bit. “You really used to be a guy.” For Mayuri’s sake, go back to being a guy... well, that’s a unique pitch. OP Mayuri found out, because Ruka cried. (Red/Makise seems a bit fast to believe Okarin here, given how she acted when he first brought it up.) "Can’t you just quietly undo it?" Doesn’t have pager number. Also, responsibility. Ruka asks him to the shrine. He apologizes. Favour: As an exchange for turning back, be my boyfriend tomorrow. (UHHHHhhhh.)
-Asks Makise for dating advice. Faris, at May Queen, “you chase way too many girls”. (Heh.) What’s this “Special Technique” thing? Daru is listening, offers advice based on 2D characters. Okarin says IQ of 170, same as Newton! Retorts clearly a virgin. So what about you? Makise/Red blurts it out. (This is a ridiculous episode.) No one wears lab coats on dates. (Annoyed beef bowl woman, heh.) Hentai game strategy guide?! Handkerchief colours mean things? (Which they both know, heh.) She’ll covertly follow and text advice. She names it Operation Valkyrie, he asks about Norse this time. (Heh.) Makise is on edge now. (Their interactions are making this bearable.)
-He can’t converse properly. Anniversary of the very first Japanese patent? Mayuri sees them. Flashback, when they first met, he says “makes no difference if you’re a boy or girl”. But now she’s confused. It’s like with Faris and the world lines. (Ugh.) Gives him mom’s pager number, they’ll send “meat meat veggies veggies meat” etc, simulate prank. Mayuri in. “Ruka didn’t have a date with the real me.” He wants to fix that, runs back, they do supernatural sword stuff. (That was a nice twist at least.) Makise decides they’re not needed.
-Revelation that Ruka broke the IBN when cleaning the storehouse at New Years. (It seems silly that it's tied to the gender thing. Just send a Dmail saying don't clean the storehouse.) “El Psy Congroo”? (I still don't get it.) As a boy, I won’t be allowed to like you. Reiterating “none of that matters”. She wants him to remember her as a girl. Divergence implication of 0.52 during the Change? “Do you like me?” “I respect you.” (He’s a dude, yup, okay.) That leaves one more Dmail, SF/Kiryu and the new phone. (But didn’t they have the IBN even after she sent that? Maybe not? Hmm.) NEXT: Police, and maybe the identity of “FB”.

Thoughts and Theories:
-I went back to check my notes, and it’s possible the IBN vanished after SF sent her message, the characters never checked. Clever writers. I think I know what happened now. SF/Kiryu never sent a message about “not buying a phone” it was about the IBN being at the Shrine. We’re now in a world line where the IBN was stolen very recently, not broken, as in Ruka’s world line. (Also in my notes, I’d forgotten about the Loto 6 message. That didn’t change the IBN, but will they need to erase it too? Once they get the IBN?) Anyway, this last ep felt like the weakest one so far, to me. At least Faris had some mystery on her side, with her plot. I'm not invested in Ruka, except maybe a bit of the gender significance stuff, which was treated more as a sidebar.

19 Endless Apoptosis


Stream of Consciousness:
-SF/Kiryu, roof, stormy. OP. Okay. Apr 15th. Doesn’t he need to go back? Mayuri’s going to a crowded convention, Comima. “It happens tomorrow.” (She still dies?) “How many times have I explained this to you.” (Yeah, that’s gotta suck.) He’s going to watch her die to determine the precise time. (Oh, Okarin.) He says he knows the message Kiryu sent. (I’m suspicious.) Makise will go, and contact him. “Whatever world line you’re on, you’re not alone. I’m there.” (Well, THAT'S horribly foreboding.)
-Okarin found where Kiryu works, ArcRewrite. She worked a couple days, then quit? He has her address, “Heights White 202”. She committed suicide in this timeline, last night. Body to the hospital, can’t find any relatives. (Was it really suicide? Aha, he’s immediately thinking like me.) Will time leap to before SF dies. Makise phones. Mayuri dies at 7:52pm. Leap!
-Back to Aug 11th. The pudding eating time. (Damn, that's early. Gives them almost a week.) “You’re right, Kurisu.” gets them into just did time leap. Goes to SF/Kiryu’s address. She’s on about “FB” not answering. (Probably now that he has the IBN, he doesn’t care about her?) “Did what you asked” and no new orders.
-Okarin pulls away her phone. (Ooooh, she be crazy.) “Never forgive her”, punches her out, stole the phone. Set to go? (Send: ‘Get new phone before they sell out.’) It didn’t work. No world line change. (So yeah, stole the IBN.) The effects greatly depend on who is receiving it. (Say the message came from FB?) NOW he realizes she didn’t change her phone. Sent different message at last second. Checks for it.
-She’s FRANTIC. Opens door, slams her down. “What’s going on in there?” Makes like they’re kissing. (Oh brother. Did we need this?) She bites him. “What can I do to make you give it back?” Got strange message? Tell me what it said. IBN and Rounders? “I can’t betray.” Orders come from FB. “How nice and loyal of you.” Betrayal, she explains “FB saved me”. FB is like a mother. “Work I can do?” (Maybe she’s not a Reading Steiner, just got this texting handicap.) No job, no skills. He pushes her, with the suicide and silence. (Come on, break through.)
-Tries to check her phone, apologizing. “Is FB a woman?” Thinks so, but never met. Thinks FB would hate her if they met, wanted to belong. Found Message: “The retro PC is stored...” Makise was worried, aw. (Undo: Shrine is a trap, don’t go, not there.) NOPE. Kiryu of past didn’t believe? “There’s only one person she’ll listen to.” Okarin will go to look for FB; she admits she’d kill if FB told her to. Even if she knew she was being used? “The world has set your death in stone ... I’m going to fight the world.” (Good lines, glad something got through at the end.) Coin locker in front of the Dai building. NEXT: Phone handover, still motion shots. Can’t be good.

Thoughts and Theories:
Getting the IBN isn’t going to be enough, they need to erase the Dmail. Not so much for SERN but because SF/Kiryu is seriously CRAY-CRAY unless they befriend her in the lab. Also, she’s obviously not a Reading Steiner, she’s just text obsessed (a bit of a shut in?). And Daru isn’t working for SERN, his plot thread was limited to the Suzuha thing and we now have other Dmails which didn’t work, so this is all Kiryu. Meaning Theories 1-8 (and 10) are all dealt with now (I’ll summarize next post). There is a bit of a wrinkle though: When they erase the Dmail, SF/Kiryu will know they have the IBN a week previous to where we are in the narrative. Why not tell? What went on during that week that Okarin will now have to figure out?? (Maybe the Dmail will tell her the IBN is in that alleyway, sent ‘from FB’? And they hide the real one from her?)
The real trouble is going to come when they erase the Dmail, and it improves the Divergence Meter but doesn’t jump the World Lines to 1%, only kills off Makise. Meaning Okarin will have to somehow prevent that. (Time machine from 1975? It makes sense that all this had to happen, even though to everyone else Makise died two weeks ago, so that he can literally go back and change it.) He’s going to find it rough without her support though, particularly if Mayuri still dies too. Who is FB, THAT’S the biggest mystery that I can’t even theorize on at this point. It HAS to be someone we’ve seen or heard about. (Makise’s father? Or could B stand for ‘Braun’? I don’t even know, but I like that last one. In particular now that they’ve implied FB is a woman.)


***
That ends Disc 3. I can see why they added the extra episode here, it makes sense to include it in the "Undo" arc (maybe they could have put Ep 13 on Disc 2 instead, but the titles synch up here). A bit of this felt like filler, a bit of this blew me away. I love the Divergence idea, and the analogies. Suzuha is my second favourite female character now, after Makise. And while some of this feels very telegraphed to me (like Faris' father), they strung me out quite well in other places, like with my false Daru theories (even after I fingered him as the Barrel). I'm looking forward to seeing how it all dovetails together. I even had a time travel dream last night.

Do you have any thoughts, from when you watched this series? Or if you haven't, is this style of recap of any interest? Feel free to clue me in with a comment. Thanks for reading this far down!

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