Go somewhere else if you want rote description of this episode’s plot and some speculation about what happens next. Seriously, I’m far more interested in going on another rambling tangent about what this show’s got me thinking about.
And what’s intriguing me, right now, is the way PSYCHO-PASS is potentially subverting the “bad boy” archetype that we can recognize in so much of pop culture. If they are really angling toward that - - if they’re really going to do it - - then I take back all the snickering I did over how such an interesting premise seemed to be saddled with a cast of pouty pretty guys (just look at the promo page on Hulu to see what I mean).
Odds are, you’ve probably read some articles somewhere hypothesizing on the appeal of characters like James Bond and how that appeal might hinge on some sort of biological reaction to anti-social behavior. Without opening that particular can of worms all the way, I’ll say that it’s interesting to see the notion getting more-or-less woven into Tsunemori and Kogami’s budding romance. She’s obviously fascinated with the guy, and it’s intriguing how the logic of the Psycho-Pass seems to encompass the base reasons for that attraction.
Even on a more platonic level, I like how the good cop / bad cop dynamic of your typical buddy comedy has been seemingly factored into these equations, as well. Like, the powers-that-be in this world understand that the best on-site results are found by some combination of impulsiveness and restraint, and that cases are best solved by some combination of by-the-book conformity and reckless intuition, so they consciously try to put those clashing personalities together.
I’m beginning to see how is coming from the same deconstructionist imagination as MADOKA MAGICA…
Watch this episode, "Methuselah's Game” here and decide for yourself, then read my comments on the previous episode here.
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
