Finally! A series actually went ahead and did it. There have been
countless times when a show, or comic, has teased about showing how boring
things would be if the heroes actually defeated all the villains. They never go
ahead with it, of course - - precisely because it’d be boring - -
and that’s one of the most basic conceits of all this stuff.
So, to pile another comparison point from superhero comics, this
portion weirdly enough makes me think of the chapter appendices in
WATCHMEN. Specifically, the excerpt from the retired Nite Owl’s biography:
wherein he reminisces about when, as a teenager, he saw his boss commit suicide
after learning his wife had an affair.
I always thought the point of putting
such a lengthy piece of prose on that particular subject into a sprawling superhero
epic was to make a comment on the banality of evil. Like, that was a horrible injustice that didn’t involve super-villains, bank robberies or any attempts at
world domination. Wasn’t it dramatic enough that a normal man would kill
himself after some other normal people broke his heart?
While Hidenori’s constant texting has generally been played for laughs - - the
SAMURAI FLAMENCO equivalent of a Canadian girlfriend, perhaps - - there
always did seem to be something fishy about it. Now that the secret’s been
revealed, it’s proven to be probably the most realistic part of this whole
series.
If you’ve ever dealt with anybody who’s gotten caught engaging in
outlandishly depressive behavior like this, it’s always a shock because they do
such a good job of hiding it. There are no clues in the rest of their life that
make them look like anything but sensible, well-adjusted people. Is such a seemingly small, unresolved problem a worst threat than anything Samumenco's dealt with, so far? Well, maybe
that’s the point.
Of course, the show fesses up to how it can’t run with banality - -
evil or otherwise - - for too long. Call me crazy, but I suspect the explosion
at the cliffhanger means we’ll be seeing a return to real superheroics next
time.
Watch “The Quiet
Life” and decide for yourself, then read my comments about the previous
episode.
About the Author
 | Tom Pinchuk’s a writer and personality with a large number of comics, videos and features like this to his credit. Visit his website - - tompinchuk.com - - and follow his Twitter: @tompinchuk |
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