Summary: It is some time after the end of the previous episode and Ao is still struggling to come to terms with the shocking betrayal he suffered. In the meantime, the Japanese government has made an amazing discovery about the Secrets, but the world is about to be plunged into a deadly crisis

Thoughts: This reminds me a lot of the previous episode, in that a lot of extremely important stuff happens but I find myself struggling to care. Ao’s depression is presumably meant to convey his inner anguish but all it does is make him even less interesting than usual. The scene where Chloe shows up by his bedside is a nice little visual callback but otherwise Ao is pretty anonymous, a worrying sign when the show is named after him.  Elsewhere, the idea that in this short period of time the Japanese have taught the Secret to speak human language severely tests the limits of my suspension of disbelief, as does their continuing laughable security.  The re-emergence of the scub coral is cool but also something that one could easily predict while Blanc sitting at a chair talking to a guy on a screen continues the show’s tradition of powerful, compelling dialogue….not.

As AO continues I’ve realised something extremely worrying about the show – I don’t care about any of these characters at all. None of them have depth, substance or a meaning to me as anything other than plot devices. Whereas the first show thrived on its believably human cast, AO’s characters are paper cutouts in comparison. The reason that the Eureka/Renton plotline is so much more compelling than all the others is they’re characters we have a history with, feelings for and who we want to succeed. After 15 episodes I couldn’t tell you a single unique thing about any other character on this show, and that’s incredibly worrying.

Random Observations

– Gazelle’s assholery reaches new heights  this week as he willingly hands over tons of sleeping pills to a clearly depressed 13 year old. What’s wrong with this picture?

– What’s the lamest possible way we could show a five IFO on massive Secret battle? Have it happen entirely offscreen of course!

– Further examination of the new opening shows a silhouette that looks remarkably like the Nirvash’s final form, complete with floating mini-drones. Only problem is, that form was in the movie, and this seems to be set in the TV series continuity. Triple continuity crossover or epic cockup?

– The new OP has grown on me. It’s still not great.