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Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10 – Quick Summary
In Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun episode 10, “All That You Gather,” Belaf released Nanachi and Mitty. But there was a catch. How will Nanachi react to it? How will Mitty? Meanwhile, Reg regained consciousness to find Faputa in the middle of a bloody rampage. Only Riko and a handful of villagers remained standing. Can Reg reason with Faputa? Or has she bought too much into her revenge destiny?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10
Nanachi had to say goodbye to Mitty. Again. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
You’d think by now I’d be immune to the feelings associated with Nanachi saying goodbye to Mitty. But nope. This episodes farewell wasn’t nearly as wrenching as the one back in episode 13. But it still hurt.
Belaf told Nanachi that he released her. She was free to go. But when she started to leave with Mitty, Belaf told her that everything “created inside the village can exist only within the village.” Meaning that as the village collapsed, Mitty would disintegrate.
The Abyss is one cruel place.
Nanachi could not take Mitty with her. She knew that the collapsing village would destroy Mitty. So Nanachi decided that this time, she wouldn’t rely on anyone else, as she had relied on Reg in the first season. She decided that she’d acted selfish enough spending all this time with Mitty when her friends probably needed her.
“I don’t wanna do anything else that Mitty might hate me for,” she said, carrying Mitty in her vase (03:58). “This time, I can see her off by my own hand.”
Did I say the Abyss was cruel? It’s not. It’s simply the Abyss. But that’s more than enough.
Best in Show Moment for Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10
Sometimes, love is not enough. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Setup: Dread of a Thing
Did this episode seem exceptionally bloody to you? I thought it should feel that way to me. But it didn’t. At first, I wondered if I had gone all psychotic and actually loved this kind of thing. But that wasn’t it (thankfully!). Then I wondered if I’d just gotten numb to this level of violence. I’m an American, after all. Nothing should shock me anymore.
But that’s not it, either. I think I finally figured it out: dread of a thing can be more intense than the actuality of a thing. For the last week, my imagination came up with all sorts of Faputa Rage Scenarios (FRSes). It’s not that I imagined anything worse than what we saw. To be honest, what we saw was intensely violent. But my imagination came up with a variety of FRSes, and the series could only give us one.
Faputa was on a murderous rampage. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
I’m kind of glad. The Abyss is tough enough to watch as it is! Still, Faputa’s rage was something to behold, wasn’t it?
That rage drove my favorite moment. I want to stress that it’s my favorite because of its drama and the emotional agony it represents. To achieve that impact, this episode did a great job of restoring Reg’s memories bit by bit. As a narrative device, that allowed us to experience those memories as Reg recalled them. We were right there with him the whole way.
Delivery: Faputa’s Nature
We saw the joy he sparked in the younger Faputa. We experienced his feelings of tenderness towards her. So that when we got to the end, when he had pinned her to the ground, we had hope. Hope that Reg’s affection could get through to her.
But the narrative also prepared us for just how deeply the need for retribution had been embedded in Faputa’s being. It was part of her DNA; it pervaded her. When he leaned over her, his tears dropping onto her face, he spoke of those feelings he remembered in her. Then he played what he hoped was his trump card. Saying he was afraid she would burn herself out, he asked her (23:12), “How can I… possibly stop you?”
The soundtrack, by the way, should be registered as a weapon. Because, damn, he added propellant to the emotional blow that was coming.
Reg tried. He tried to break through to her. He might as well have tried to argue a volcano out of erupting. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Saying that he was so kind, she added, with her closed eyes welling tears (23:20), “But…”
Time slowed. We see his helmet spinning away. We see that she upended him. Her fangs bared, her eyes still welling with tears, she lunged. As her fangs closed in on his skull, the music stopped. And all we heard was Faputa saying (23:32), “But… foolish, sosu!”
I am in awe at the artistic achievement that was that moment.
What did you think of Faputa’s rampage? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Made in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyo – Episode 10 discussion
- RABUJOI: Made in Abyss – S2 10 – The Scorpion and the Frog
- Random Curiosity: Made in Abyss S2 – 10
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 1: The Compass Pointed to the Darkness
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 2: Capital of the Unreturned
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 3: Village of the Hollows
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 4: Friend
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 5: Concealment
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 6: The Luring
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 7: The Cradle of Desire
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 8: The Form the Wish Takes
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 9: The Return
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 10: All That You Gather
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 11: Value
- Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 12: Gold
I’m still wondering whether Faputa will be added to the party. Some scenes this episode seemed to me to point in that direction (Reg’s comments about travelling together in the backstory; her ability to sense the “stone people” – white whistles – would definitely come in handy…), but part of me worries she’s not going to come out of this sane.
Mitty… I feel Mitty was this season’s weakpoint. In the first season she felt like a character in her own right. This season she pretty much did nothing at all but sit in a pot and represent value. I suppose that’s why the Nanachi good-bye seen left me cold. It felt like this instance of Mitty was never real to begin with, but I don’t think that’s what the show was going for (though it might have been). The entire Mitty-subplot felt a little empty to me, to be honest. The concept was sound, but it didn’t feel all that well executed to me. For example, I always felt it was a little odd that Mitty didn’t try to get closer to sleeping Nanachi (literally or figuratively), instead just sitting in her pot like a pop-tart kitten. Mitty was more expressive in season one, than that (unless I misremember).
Curious about how Faputa and Vueko will interact.
I like the dynamic Faputa shares with Reg. But I’m not sure she’d get along with Riko. Especially given how devoted Reg is to Riko. That feels like it could be a really volatile situation.
I share your concern about Faputa’s sanity. Let’s say she kills or seriously injures Reg. I gotta believe that would affect her. And let’s say she succeeds in destroying the village and its inhabitants. Then what? That was her purpose.
I see what you’re saying about Mitty. I even agree that Mitty sitting in a pot really did nothing to suggest Mitty had any kind of will or mind at all! I saw narrative value in Nanachi getting a chance to act on her own, but it seems like there might have been a more dramatic way to accomplish it. Unless they were just running out of time?
I wonder if Faputa and Vueko will have a chance to interact at all! Things are looking grim for a lot of these characters!
This show just keeps getting more intense. This season has been brilliant.
It really has. Those last moments of this episode in particular are right up there with anything else this series has produced — and it’s produced some fine moments!