Platinum End episode 18 brings the candidates one step closer to deciding on who will end up becoming God. With all but one candidate to include in the discussion, there is some conflict to be had regarding who takes the divine mantle. Let’s talk about what went down this week in a spoiler-filled discussion!
Escape from the government
Platinum End episode 18 kicks off with an escape sequence from the government stronghold. Yuri Temari, who’s been kept in the stronghold for some time now, decides with some help to escape from it. The resulting sequence is one that is admittedly, kinda lame.
The escape sequence relies on Temari pulling off two feats of tactical outmaneuvering to fool an entire battalion of trained government agents. That they fell for both her pretending to not be okay in her cell and the bait and switch with the other agent really makes these people in the government feel so incompetent.
Sure, you could argue that it’s hard to appear competent when facing off against supernatural powers such as the red arrow. And this whole breakout segment doesn’t have to be the best part of the show or anything. However, it does feel like an opportunity where the show could have given viewers something substantial and thrilling. Something like this could have been used to highlight Temari’s competent qualities, or to give viewers an actually good action sequence.
Instead, it ends in a way where viewers just have to roll with what happened, regardless of how contrived the event might have been. And given how mediocre the rest of the show has been thus far, it feels like a real missed opportunity.
We live in a democracy
The midpoint of this episode allows viewers to get to witness the God candidates interact with each other. In a safe location, Mirai and the others discuss who they think should become God. This actually provides some genuine conflict between the characters and feels like a much more organic source of tension than Metropoliman’s crazy antics.
Between Temari’s flip-floppy nature and Nakaumi’s desolate and drab demeanor, there’s a lot of clashing that goes on in the discussion that has nothing to do with the candidates coming to physical blows. An attempt to provide a discussion on the morality of being God also adds to what this moment provides viewers, giving them a substantial event that they can really chew in on.
Add to that, some very subtle moments that hint at bigger things going on in the background too, and you get quite a lot from this moment. For example, the way the angels react to the discussion between the candidates may hint that there’s an unrevealed reward for the angel whose partner becomes God. There’s quite a bit to enjoy at this moment and sets the final act of this show up perfectly moving forward.
An ultimatum
Platinum End episode 18 ends with the five candidates facing the angel of destruction above a fearful crowd. The angel holds them to an ultimatum; they must explain what each of them would do as God, and only then would the final candidate reveal himself to them. Unbeknownst to Mirai, the final candidate is keeping a close eye on this event as well, eager to see what they will do.
The danger of the situation shoots into the stratosphere when attack helicopters show up on the scene, ready to apprehend the unmasked candidates. However, before anything drastic can happen, the final candidate makes a call. Gaku Yoneda, who has close ties to the prime minister, orders them to stand down, with the claim that the government needs to trust him. The episode ends on his ominous claim that this trust will be proven right in 24 hours.
Gaku Yoneda seems like a very interesting character. There’s a dark aura surrounding him, and yet he also comes off as highly intelligent and calculating. The character is voiced by Kenjiro Tsuda, who has voiced characters such as Overhaul from My Hero Academia, Nanami Kento from Jujutsu Kaisen, and Hannes in Attack on Titan (in season 2 after Fujiwara went on hiatus). That kinda just adds to how compelling the character comes off, especially when we take some of these characters’ personalities into account.
With the tension at an all-time high, it should be prime time for Platinum End to explode into action. Hopefully, it does sooner rather than later.
Platinum End is streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation. Episode 19 will air on February 18th, 2022.
© Tsugumi Ohba, Takeshi Obata/Shueisha, Platinum End Production Committee
