Darker than Black ep.06

May 11, 2007 | 24 Comments

This episode is amazing and I'm not even talking about the action. I am just amazed at how touching the dialogue and interaction between Hei and Havoc turn out to be. It's been a while since I've seen a one on one conversation which actually interest me. However, their conversation turn out to be really heart-warming and arresting for some reason. Maybe it has something to do with the jazz music that plays on the background or maybe it is because this is the first time I see a Contractor with an unguarded emotion. So far we've seen Hei 'acting' like he has some kind of emotion but I suspect he's actually pretending all of those times. In this one, however, both he and Havoc actually show something resembling true emotion. In fact, it's actually kind of creepy seeing Hei acting like he is in the first few minutes of this episode.

The episode begins with Hei breaking Havoc's finger to force her to tell him what happened to herself, Amber, and his sister the day South America disappeared. He wants to know why only him and Havoc are here now and the whereabouts of the other two. After Hei breaks another one of her fingers, Havoc tells him that she's not Amber's friend and therefore has no idea if she and the others are still alive. She admitted that she was in South America to carry out the command from the organisation. Having said that, Havoc remembers nothing afterwards and when she regains her consciousness, she found herself alone in a Europe countryside. In addition to this, she also lost her ability. Ever since then, she never gets out of the town and simply lived quiet days which didn't involve the organisation or contracts. Hei, however, refuses to believe this, telling Havoc that wasn't what he heard. In response, Havoc tells Hei that in that case, she'd like to know what he'd believe since she doesn't have the information that he wants.

She thinks that as a Contractor, Hei should know that a Contractor only gives priority to him/herself and not to the ideology nor the organisation. She also points out that although Hei wasn't a Contractor, he was ruthless and feared as the Black Shinigami. However, now that he's become a Contractor, he turns like this just because of his sister. For saying this, Havoc gets slapped by Hei and ends up falling to the ground. Havoc, however, can't shut her mouth and tells Hei that he's emotional yet he's mentally stable unlike a Moratorium. On top of this, she hasn't see him paying the price for his power either. Because of this, she wonders if he's a Contractor. At the same time, Misaki can be seen standing around the Shinjuku movie complex, thinking about BK-201, the cursed contractor who brings mysteries and death on the cases that she's encountered thus far. She especially wonders about the kind of organisation he works for.

Her thoughts come to an end when Saitou informs her that they've placed the MI6 people in a hotel and put Matsumoto and Kouno to watch over them. Much to Saitou's dismay, November 11 suddenly appears with April and July, telling them that this seems to be the place that July sensed earlier. Misaki then gets a late call from Matsumoto and Kouno who apologises to her for losing the MI6s. When Misaki turns down his offer to help, November reminds her that her target is a cursed Contractor. Although November has no idea of their enemy's intention, the reality is that the guy has snatched the most dangerous Contractor. Despite her hesitation, Misaki eventually agrees to accept help from the MI6s. Meanwhile, Havoc has a dream of her past where she lived with a family. Havoc is eventually awaken by the sound and smell of Hei's cooking. Hei then places one fried rice bowl in front of Havoc before devouring his own portion.

Upon seeing Hei's healthy appetite, Havoc can't help but comment that he eats a lot as usual. She also wonders if he always cooks for himself. Havoc explains that until she lost her power, she never knew that meals could be enjoyable. Prior to the event, she only eats to maintain her body. She recalls of meeting a woman called Laura and her family and cooking a meal for them. At first the children didn't like her meals but eventually they came around. Ever since then, she came just to see their happy faces. Unfortunately, the price for her contract involves drinking the blood of children. Havoc then tries to eat the bowl of fried rice that Hei had prepared for her. However, she winces in pain when she tries to pick up the spoon. After another failed attempt, Hei decides to spoon-fed the girl. Upon tasting the food, Havoc praises the food for being delicious. Having said that, she remembers that Laura's mother once said that a man who can cook can't be trusted.

In response, Hei eats the portion he's about to offer Havoc himself. After a few seconds, Havoc smiles and tells Hei that she's just joking and wonders if he's angry. Havoc then laughs freely, shocking Hei in the process. She then tells him that he sure has changed but he's not a bad person. Hei replies by telling Havoc that it's strange to see Havoc laughs for the first time. Havoc believes that this experience might also happens to others. She also thinks that maybe just like him and her, the others are still alive somewhere. Because of this, she agrees to co-operate with Hei. She asks him to take her to the gate so that her memories and ability will return. She believes she may be able to find out the whereabouts of his sister. Having said that, she wants Hei to promise her one thing: if she returns to become her old self, Havoc wants Hei to kill her. Meanwhile, both July and Yin manage to find the whereabouts of the two and inform it to their colleagues.

Mao and Huang, however, are shocked when they find out that Hei and Havoc are heading towards the gate. Meanwhile, November 11 and the others are already there, remarking that he feels a strange sensation, a familiar one. He wonders if every Contractors' heart is stirred when they get closer to the gate. November then warns Misaki and the other detectives that if Havoc regains his ability, their sub-machine gun won't be much of a use. Moreover, he wonders what Mr.201 is planning to do since he thought the guy would kill Havoc. Misaki wonders why November believes this so the agent tells her that if Havoc regains her memory, she could reveal th mystery behind the organisation. Having said that, Hei hasn't killed her yet. Moreover, he's taking her to the gate by himself. Because of this, November thinks this is a mystery. While July tries to sense Hei and Havoc's whereabouts again, the two are now seen getting closer to the gate.

All of a sudden, however, Havoc clutches Hei's hand, trembling in fear. Eventually, however, she releases her grip and decides to walk towards the gate. The two eventually arrives in front of the gate, which is surrounded by a large fence. Havoc suddenly starts shaking and judging from her eyes, it seems she has regained her power as well. She, however, looks at her hand in horror, and starts getting flashes of her memory. At the same time, Yin manages to find Hei's whereabouts and informs Huang that Havoc is indeed together with him. Not far from them, Misaki and the others get static noise interference coming out of their headphone. She then gets a phone call from Otsuka of the Astronomy department that Havoc may have regained her power. Because of this, Misaki orders the release of special force but she orders them not to fire until she's gives order. After the phone call, however, she realises that all of the MI6s have disappeared.

Back to Havoc, she now has run away from the fence and asks Hei not to come closer. She explains that she can feel the sensation returns. She was hoping that she could change like him and then maybe it would be okay for her to accept her power once again. Now, however, she doesn't have the ability to do that. Havoc wished she could have met Hei earlier. That way she wouldn't be afraid of the contract and might be able to kill. However, he now asks Hei to kill her, placing his hand on her neck. While Hei hesitates, a strong wind suddenly blows from on top of them. He realises that the MI6 agents are nearby so he takes Havoc away from the area. He tells Havoc that she's no longer a Contractor so she doesn't have to die. Despite their attempt, Havoc trips over due to the terror of the flashback she now sees. Hei tries to calm her down by stroking her face, telling her that if they leave this place, her power won't return and she can't kill anyone.

Unfortunately, several icicles then pierce Havoc, killing her instantly. After placing Havoc aside, Hei confronts the MI6 agents. November ice the ground and manages to freeze Hei's leg. November tells Hei that his mission should have ended with Havoc's death. However, he wants to know the organisation that Hei works for. In response, Hei throws his string and tries to electrocute November. While November evades, Huang throws a fire grenade to melt the ice around Hei's legs, allowing him to run away. In the aftermath, Hei gets into confrontation with Huang for acting on his own. Huang thinks a Contractor should just keep quiet and kills people. Hei doesn't respond but is surprised when Yin suddenly grabs his hand. In response, he shakes her grip off and leaves the area. The episode ends with the head of British's secret intelligent services asking someone on the phone to continue the investigation on BK-201 and the organisation.

Impression:

There are some interesting possibilities implied here. First of all, Havoc seems to think that Hei hasn't been paying for his ability. In fact, she mentioned that his glutton eating habit is just something that he's been doing for a long time. In addition to this, Hei has always been cold and ruthless and strangely now that he's a Contractor, he is far more emotional than he was then. It makes me wonder if Hei actually experienced the same thing as Havoc. What I meant by this is that he probably lost his memory and ability but then returned to the gate and regained it. He, however, managed to cope with the horror and became what he is now. The interesting key here is the event that caused Havoc to lose her memory during a mission in South America. What could have possibly caused the entire South America to disappear and how did Havoc survived the incident? Speaking of Havoc, I kind of feel sorry when she was being tortured by Hei.

I realised that she killed a lot of people as a Contractor but it doesn't make what Hei did any less cruel. I guess Hei is hellbent on finding her sister and this new girl called Amber. It seems they all were part of the organisation once but then the event in South America tored them apart. Speaking of the organisation, the conflict that has been brewing between Hei and Huang finally come to a halt here. Huang has been shown to be hating Contractors and it doesn't help that Hei always works on his own. Despite this, Huang doesn't seem to want to report Hei because he'd also get in trouble for it. The most interesting revelation here is that Yin's hand grabbing gesture. This is probably the first time I saw her showing any kind of emotion. Well, I guess it's hard to call it emotion since her face barely shows any expression. At any rate, I have to wonder if she has feelings for Hei. I mean Chiaki was a doll but she was capable of developing feelings so I won't be surprised if Yin behaves in similar manner.

Preview

On next week's episode: Crack-ilicious episode.

© memento 2003