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Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 7 – Quick Summary
In Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun episode 7, “The Cradle of Desire,” we rejoin a much younger Vuelo Eluko, a much more human Wazukyan, and the rest of the Ganja back when they arrived in the sixth level. From the instant they met the Interference Units, things began to go wrong. And from there, things only got worse. Not only were the creatures of surpassing ferocity and cunning, but there was no water to be found. Can they go back up the same way they came down? If they can’t, can they find water? More importantly, can they find water that is safe to drink? And if they can’t, hope do they have of survival?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 7
Two people, clinging together, trying to keep the dark at bay. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
What value is human sentiment in the bowels of the Abyss? Does human love have any healing value, or is it just an emotional accelerant that gives the terror a stronger foothold? I’m going to answer somewhere perpendicular to the axis of those two options.
Which reminds me of the quote from one of Douglas Adams’ works where people wanted to figure out how to fire missiles at right angles to reality. Yes, my mind tried to escape into the world of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. It was that kind of episode.
My favorite quote involves Vuelo Eluko and Irumyuui, who are in many ways the emotional heart of this arc. Vuelo comes into their alcove to find Irumyuui crying. Irumyuui’s emotional wounds still stalk her. In a halting voice, she spoke of how her family, even and especially her mother, had turned their backs on her when they found out she was sterile. Vuelo started to say that she couldn’t replace her mother, but the little one interrupted her.
“Not a replacement… Irumyuui wants Vuelo,” the little one said, still crying (08:50). “Don’t want to be thrown away every again.”
Vuelo hugged the little one as she collapsed against her. Vuleo thought (09:00), “But within the darkness, the thing I finally found and came into contact with was darkness, after all. But what a very warm darkness it was.”
And you know what? That’s one of the brightest, least painful moments in this episode.
Best in Show Moment for Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 7
Vuelo just learned something she would rather not have learned. This is an understatement. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Setup: The Abyss Evokes a Primitive Response
How far down is down? How dark is dark? This episode hit me so hard that my mind went into combat mode. That means I stopped listening to the emotional centers of my brain and started the runtime threat analysis. I think you normal folks might call it “flight or fight.” But this is the Abyss, where neither flight nor fight (at least against the most personal horrors) is possible. I figured I’d come up with a new phrase for it in honor of the show’s achievement.
Seriously, I think HP Lovecraft would watch this and either see a kindred spirit or fly into a jealous rage. Even dead Cthulhu might wake up from his dream, watch this episode, mutter something about, “That’s some messed up stuff,” and go back to sleep. Come to think of it, the insanity that comes with gazing on Cthulhu might be a buffer to the cold, dark horror that lives in the Abyss.
Which is worse? Suspecting or knowing? Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
As soon as Vuelo mentioned the smell of fat, there was a part of my brain that knew exactly what was going on. It was the same part of my brain that emulates characters when I write novels. It even tried to offer a reference from real life: the Donner-Reed party. Party as in expedition, not a fun time. Because it was most definitely not a fun time. But I was in combat mode, so I told myself to shut up.
Then another part of my brain tried to maintain some optimism. “Don’t know how he did it, but Wazukyan came through! Maybe he made an effective wish? Maybe he found another source of food?”
But even that optimism could not survive a nearly delirious Vuelo saying, “Who knew anything could be so delicious?”
Something positive? In the Abyss? Impossible! That was proof they were so screwed…
Delivery: Vuelo’s Unwilling Knowledge
When Vuelo awoke, she walked out onto a ledge. Wazukyan stood there, surveying the sixth level. There was something in the taste that tipped her off. I’m not sure what it could be; I doubt she had eaten anything like it before. But she knew. The knowledge so terrified her that she couldn’t say it out loud.
Wazukyan smiled at her. He freaking smiled. Saying it’s all good, he told her that he’d given everyone some of the stew. Horror absolutely silenced Vuelo. She could only gape when he added (21:58), “I told ya, didn’t I?”
He just saved everyone. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
The picture faded to black.
“That kid saved everyone.”
That’s the kind of emotional punch that hits so hard, my combat mode remained engaged throughout the rest of the day. It’s the kind of moment that makes me love this show for what it is. It’s the kind of moment that guarantees I cannot recommend this show to anyone.
Not only that, but it’s the kind of show that makes me realize I don’t want to write anything like it. Lovecraftian horror, sure. That’s the kind of horror I can experience, set aside, and sleep soundly. I would not mind writing that for readers to enjoy. But horror like Made in Abyss? It sinks into my subconscious and my heart, and it bypasses my defenses. It’s like Dawnstorm said in his comment on episode 4: “this place takes away my very ontological security.” There’s just no place to hide from it. Not even among words and meaning.
And yet, here I sit, looking to the next episode!
What did you think of the idea of living water? What were your favorite moments from the episode? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Made in Abyss – The Golden City of the Scorching Sun Episode 7: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Made in Abyss: Retsujitsu no Ougonkyo – Episode 7 discussion
- RABUJOI: Made in Abyss – S2 07 – A Warm Darkness
- Random Curiosity? Made in Abyss S2 – 07
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
Wazukyan basically fed everybody Irumyuui’s dead children. I can’t think of any other explanation for what had transpired given Wazukyan was adamant that Irumyuui saved everyone.
That’s my interpretation, too. I’ve seen a few other theories, but I think yours makes the most sense.