Darker than Black ep.14

July 6, 2007 | 29 Comments

This is definitely the kind of episode that elevates the series to more than just an action espionage series. There are so much emotions poured into Yin's scenes that even though the character herself seems emotionless, one can't help but sympathize with her. Unfortunately even after this episode, the character's past is still not fully explored. It would have been good if the series could deal with her character again in the future. However, due to the 2-episodes arc nature of the series, it'll be a while before we see another Yin-oriented episodes. In a way, this series is kind of similar to Cowboy Bebop when it comes to character-based arcs. In other note, this episode also did a good job in making the villains of the piece, especially Berta, look sympathetic. The only thing that feels off here is the appearance of Gai and Kiko but their appearances are quite limited that they don't detract much from the parts of the story which involve Yin.

The episode begins with a flashback showing Kirsi's mother taking a phone call. Kirsi entered the room and asked her mother if there's something wrong. Kirsi's mother told her that something has happened to the airplane Kirsi's father took. In the present day, Mao asks Hei if he can really kill Yin once they found her. Hei coldly afforms this, telling the cat that Yin is just a doll after all. In response, Mao asks Hei why he saved Yin back then. At the same time, Berta enters the car to meet Itzhak. Itzhak informs Berta that their target have escaped but Berta asks him to entrust things to her. Itzhak wonders if Berta's showy ability could do the job. Berta shrugs off the dismissal, claiming that spectacle makes things interesting. She, however, becomes serious and explains that her power works because each object vibrates. If frequency of waves hit the same object and resonate, the shockwave will become larger and destroy the object.

Unfortunately that explanation proves to be too complicated for Itzhak so Berta simplifies it by telling him that her ability allows her to destroy any objects. Meanwhile, the train that takes Yin, Kastinen, Gai and Kiko stops in front of station so Gai uses the opportunity to purchase some bentou boxes and souvenirs. Kiko then appears, carrying a handful of beers. She asks Gai if she can borrow some money since she'd like to buy some snacks. In response Gai reminds her that she's in the midst of her job and asks her what will happen if she's drunk. Kiko assures him that it'll be okay since she usually sleeps immediately after she gets drunk. Err, I think that's even more problematic. Inside the train, Kastinen questions Yin, asking her why she doesn't want to go back home. He thinks she would have been happy to be able to go back to her own country. In response Yin tells him that she doesn't want to go back although she doesn't know the reason.

Kastinen tells Yin that her present self is very different from her old self. He's heard that people who are like her are increasing in numbers. He thinks her heart is sick and therefore he'd like her to listen to him, to go back together with him. Yin, however, continues to tell Kastinen that she doesn't want to go back so Kastinen puts his finger to her mouth. He then tells her that whenever he goes on an overseas concert, he's always been on the lookout for her. Yin wonders why Kastinen would do this but before he can give an answer, Gai and Kiko already show their face in front of the window, asking if the two if they can borrow some lunch money. Over the road, Itzhak and Berta have to go through police car inspection. Itzhak points out that one of the police is looking for Contractors. Berta uses her power to stop the heartbeat of the police in question. While the other police are occupied with helping the guy, the two Contractors left.

Meanwhile, Hei finds out from Huang that their next order has arrived. Hei wonders if the organization is aware of Yin's location and Huang confirms this. Huang points out again that no one can escape from the organization. He then twist the knife by pointing out that if people like Hei are not in the organization, they'd be nothing more than a group of murderers and criminals. At the same time, Itzhak stops the car in the middle of the road so Berta can throw up the tobacco that she just swallowed. As for their lead, Itzhak can't detect it yet because Yin is in a place far away from water. Upon seeing Berta coughing up the tobacco, Itzhak tells her that her payment is harsh. Berta informs him that the truth is it doesn't have to be tobacco. Her payment involves placing any foreign substances into her mouth. Itzhak guesses that it's her habit when she was still a normal human. When rain starts pouring, Itzhak tells Berta that their luck has changed.

Back to the train, it is now stops in the middle of nowhere for 5 minutes. Yin who looks through her window notices that the spectre that she used to control is now observing her through a puddle on the ground. As soon as she notices this, she decides to run away from the train together with Kastinen. She explains to a confused Kastinen that someone is coming, someone who's been following her. Inside the train, Gai returns from the toilet and is horrified when he realises that Kastinen and Yin are no longer in the seat with Kiko. Kiko herself is still asleep, causing Gai to become angry. He then tells her that they'll stop at the next station so she needs to wake up. Unfortunately a sleepy Kiko starts mumbling some words, asking Gai not to touch her in that place. If that's not bad enough, she also calls him a peeping tom, causing every other passengers to look in Gai's direction. At the same time, Yin and Kastinen stop at an abandoned school.

After placing some woods into the fireplace, Kastinen asks Yin to practice the piano inside one of the room. While this happens, Berta tells Itzhak that she used to have a daughter, a little baby. Back then, although she was a singer, she's also a heavy smoker. She stopped during the pregnancy but her habit didn't end there. One day, however, she accidentally put a cigarette into the baby's mouth. When she noticed it, the baby was already choking. Ever since then she's had many nights where she'd cry non-stop and before she realised it, the night sky had changed. Meanwhile, Hei is inside another train, recalling what Mao asked him earlier about why he saved Yin from the falling debris. Hei's mind then remembers the time when Yin warned him about the incoming guards when he was inside the Hell's gate. Another flashback shows Yin attending her father's funeral along with her mother. Her mother, however, couldn't cope with the stress and fell unconscious.

Later on, Kirsi's mother ended up getting close to Kastinen but Kirsi caught them making eyes at each other under the moonlight. Upset by this development, Kirsi ran out of the house and almost got hit by a truck if her mother didn't push her out of the way. In exchange, her mother was the one who got hit by the truck. In the present, Yin remembers how she once cried in front of her mother's body. She suddenly stops playing the piano and quietly says "Mama". Kastinen realises that Kirsi has regained the memory of that night and thinks that she doesn't want to come back because the sad memories still remain. Yin, however, claims that it's not sadness. Despite this, she tells Kastinen that if she didn't run out back then, her mother wouldn't have died. Ever since then the silver light that she used to see disappeared. At the same time, Berta mentions how when the children who live on the ground commit a sin, the light of the moon is spoiled.

Itzhak is confused to hear this and wonders whose words that could be. Unfortunately Berta is not sure either but thinks it's probably the first section of an Aria which refers to lunar eclipse as a symbol of atonement. Upon hearing this, Itzhak wonders if the fact that they lose the moon now means they are in a period of eternal atonement. Meanwhile Hei ends up running into Gai on his way to find Yin. Gai, who recognizes Hei thinks that Hei is Yin's stalker. Hei denies this but Gai wants to know what Hei did to make Yin silent and emotionless like a doll. Hei tries to ignore Gai but Gai grabs his collar and tells him that Yin cries on the inside. Hei has no choice but to give Gai a light electric shock and leave the guy on the side road. Meanwhile, Hei arrives at the abandoned school and is confronted by Kastinen. Hei asks Kastinen why he took Yin but Yin comes out and tells Hei that is not true. Hei realises that Yin ran away on her own initiative.

As for the reason, Yin claims that she thinks her heart started to move. Kastinen wonders if Yin follows Hei and if he's her companion in doing suspicious work. Hei admits that he is indeed Yin's companion. This statement causes Yin to look at Hei but before anyone can say anything else, a powerful sound shockwave attack the building, tearing it apart to pieces. Yin and Kastinen manage to escape while Hei jumps out and tries to confront Berta. However, Berta manages to stop his hearbeat using her voice. Before he passes out, Hei uses his last power to give electric jolt to his heart. When Berta gets closer, Hei throws his cable around her neck and electrocutes the woman. Itzhak tries to run away upon seeing this but someone snipes his with a gun. That someone turns out to be Huang. Itzhak starts to glow and unleashes all of the spectres that he captured earlier, including Yin's own. The spectres soon turn into a giant vortex in the sky.

Preview:

In her dying breath, Berta asks Itzhak what kind of light it is in the sky since she can't see well anymore. Itzhak tells Berta that it's the moonlight. It seeks the dark night and buries the sadness. Yin starts to cry upon seeing the light, causing Huang to be unable to shoot her. Later on, he goes to a bar to drown his sorrow and to meet another man. The man tells Huang not to worry because there's no harm done. He also reveals that Berta and Itzhak were contracted to the FSB (Russian Federal Security Service). Therefore, Huang's neck would have been on the chopping block if the information had been leaked. He orders Huang to hand over the doll for a reset but Huang defies the order, claimng that they're starting to know how to use her. The man agrees but warns Huang not to get his emotion get the better of him. In the aftermath, Yin returns to the tobacco shop. Back then, Hei told her it was her decision to return or not and Yin chose to return.

Impression:

The end was actually sort of depressing since Yin returns to her life of nothingness. I supposed one can say that at least she chose that with her own will as opposed to letting others decide for her. Oh well, at least Hei and Mao will look after her. As for Huang, his change of heart feels a bit abrupt considering how he badmouthed the Contractors earlier in the episode. Having said that, maybe he was startled when he saw Yin cries after seeing the moonlight since technically dolls are not supposed to be able to do that. Moving along, Berta and Itzhak turn out to be very sympathetic Contractors. It's ironic that Berta's payment is pretty much similar to how she accidentally killed her own daughter. I wonder if the payment of each contractor is related to their previous sins. In that case, Hei's payment reflects whatever sin he used to have. In a way, the payment is a constant reminder of the sin that these Contractors used to commit.

© memento 2003