Quick Summary of The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7
In The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7, “Episode 7,” Norman explained why he called Mujika the “evil-blooded girl,” proving once again that perspective is everything. After the explanation, Emma felt even more determined to save her friends — human and demon both. Norman’s wounds were just too deep, though, and he prepared to leave to execute his mission. Grabbing his hand, Emma begged him to give her a week to find Mujika and Sonju so they could come up with a better idea. Will Norman go for the idea? If he does, will Cislo, Barbara, and Vincent let him deviate from their plan? Do they even have enough time?
The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7: My Turn to Host!
Welcome to our collaboration review of The Promised Neverland Season 2, Episode 7. Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime and I have teamed up to give you insights and reactions to this episode.
Review of The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7
Introduction
Before we get started, how’re things with you, Irina?
Pretty good. I started Jujutsu Kaisen recently and I am really digging it. I’ve also been on a streak of good manga. It’s wonderful how enjoyable entertainment can just perk up your entire mood.
I will say the last few episodes of Neverland have been a bit of a disappointment. Basically since the time jump it seems the series has lost it footing a bit. Maybe it’s a pacing issue. I feel like things aren’t set up well enough. It’s not horrible by any means I just know for a fact that it can be better.
And again, this episode lacked subtlety. The dialogue was a bit forced and blunt. But it did set up a few very interesting things and that can give a good payoff in the long-run.
The episode had three major pieces this week. First, Emma and Norman’s ideologies collided as Norman described why all demons had to die, and Emma described why no demons had to die. Talk about irreconcilable differences! Then, after Emma and Ray had left, Norman calmly told his new followers what had happened. One of their reactions took me by surprise. Finally, Emma tells the kids back at the temple that she and Ray are heading out to find their two demon friends. She almost has them convinced when one lone voice speaks out against her — for an endearing reason.
Opening Thoughts on The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7
Irina, Any opening thoughts on the episode? Anything you’d like to add?
One of the issues here, for instance, is that we have not established what Norman has been up to in the intervening time. I can imagine that it was bad. At this point in the episode we know nothing about his physical state but he did mention last week that he was in a testing facility and that is never good. It’s horrific in fact. But I’m just inferring here. And what’s more, I’m inferring from a single line in an episode. We didn’t see it.
I’m not saying we need to see it but we also haven’t taken the time to catch up with Norman. We haven’t had quiet scenes of him desperately trying to deal with PTSD or flashbacks of everyone he’s lost since Grace Fields, we are just thrown back with this character and now he seems a little weird and scary. It’s difficult to properly sympathize with him under those circumstances even if he is Norman.
And that makes the narrative lopsided and heavy handed. It needs a touch more nuance here.
It really suffers in that regard when compared to the first season.
Emma and Norman Talk
There was an awful lot of talking in this scene. Some interesting ideas, too! Capture from the Funimation stream.
The opening scene encapsulated what I dislike and like about this season. What I disliked was what the episode didn’t dramatize. Norman described a lot of what had happened in the past, especially about Mujika’s past. It sounds like it might have been epic! Epicly tragic, anyway. But we had to settle for a brief summary. Norman also described Minerva’s end, and how humans, not demons, had killed him. I’m really curious about how that played out! We were wondering back in episode 4 where the human soldiers had come from. There’s so much interesting stuff that I would have liked to have seen!
On the other hand, the closer The Promised Neverland stays to its characters, the better I like it. That first scene put Norman and Emma’s feelings on full display, and both made convincing arguments for their perspectives. Norman pointed out that Minerva’s map was out of date, and the only gate back to the human world was at Grace Field.
By the way, Irina, did you notice Ray’s expression at that revelation? Was he just feeling ironic — they’d escaped only to find they’d been sitting on a gate all along — or had Isabella told him something?
Actually I think that his expression might have something to do with an issue that wasn’t discussed. They burned the place down. Not completely or anything but partially. There’s no reason to believe they did not destroy or at least obscure the entrance in the process.
That makes sense.
Power Corrupts, Even for Demons
Emma’s arguments were appealing. But she didn’t answer Norman’s points. Capture from the Funimation stream.
The demon king and nobility made it impossible to use Mujika’s blood as a solution. So, the kids can’t escape to human world, and the demons will remain hungry. That makes a compelling case for Norman’s plan!
Emma was as emotional as Norman was coldly logical. She argued that if there was a slight chance they could defeat the kind and nobility, then make another run at using Mujika’s blood, there was a chance they could coexist. She honestly believed in her argument. Emma made Norman look like he doubted himself, if only for a moment. In the end, he agreed to let her and Ray head off to find Mujika and Sonju.
What kind of impression did that scene leave on you, Irina?
Did we know this? I mean, I didn’t think we were told exactly in this way but somehow it didn’t feel like a surprise.
It’s not a bad set up and leaves the kids an out without going for the full fledge genocide but it felt flat somehow. Again, I just got the feeling that this was old information retold with dramatic music.
Good questions. Norman said the gate to the human world they were heading for had been closed, per Smee. But is that true? It’s just hearsay at this point.
Norman Updates His New Crew
The next section dealt with Norman telling his new crew what had happened with Emma and Ray. To put it simply, they were not happy. Barbara in particular reacted by punching through a glass jar with a demon specimen in it. Irina, I remember in our last review that you said that Barbara was “a bit too unsubtle.” I have to say, I really felt that in this scene. I get she’s dealing with the lingering effects, physical and psychological, of what the demons did to her. Still, it felt unnecessarily blunt.
How did Barbara take the news? Well… Capture from the Funimation stream.
At the same time, Cislo’s reaction was as emotionally compelling as Barbara’s was obvious. You could tell the poor guy was wrestling with his emotions. Finally, turning a terrified expression to Norman, Cislo said, “Their naive nonsense makes me want to hurl, but I get that they’re good kids. They’re your siblings, after all. But, however, you’re still on our side, right, boss?”
That question hit hard. Cislo, Barbara, and Vincent have obviously been through hell. Their bodies are falling apart. Their psychological wounds will never heal, even if they lived to be a hundred. All they had was each other — and their leader, Norman. The thought that they might lose him hit them hard.
Irina, what’d you think of that scene?
Norman’s Crew are Strangers to Us
I did like that scene and I like where it cut. I wish we had not gotten the continuation of it. However, it suffers from the same issue as the first scene. Aside from Norman, all these people are strangers to me and the little I have seen of them felt like caricatures. So their earnest feelings didn’t hit me hard at all.
Maybe you are just better at drawing out characterization, but it seemed like cheap false tension to me that was a lot more about cutting the scene before Norman could answer than about any other characters’ feelings.
And to be clear, I did like that they cut the scene there. I think it could have been done better. Maybe with Norman debating it all by himself. Talking out loud even to show his mental strain and then cutting before he reached a conclusion. That would have been more powerful for me and would have reacquainted me with the character of Norman.
When Emma and Ray returned to the temple, Emma wasted no time in laying out her plan to try to save all demons and humans. The kids, predictably, reacted with utter shock. They’d been onboard with Norman’s “Kill All Demons!” party slogan. Emma asked if they thought her plan was reckless. “Obviously!” came the answer.
Emma, if you have to ask… Capture from the Funimation stream.
Emma Invokes the Power of Friendship
But Emma did the Emma thing — she gave a speech that laid her feelings out for everyone to see. She leaned heavily on the idea that her plan meant they didn’t have to kill their friends Mujika and Sonju. They wouldn’t have to kill old demon folks like Vylk, the old demon dude who sometimes visited the temple. Plus, no demon babies or children in the city had to die! There were smiles all around.
Then Gilda spoke. She couldn’t wrap her mind around that idea that Emma had just proposed they save the very demons who were, at that moment, trying to track them down and turn them into steaks. Or maybe cutlets. Or both. I don’t know what demon equivalent would be.
That was a tense moment.
Until Ray said that of course, Emma was crazy. Then Don spoke up and said they wouldn’t want her any other way. The best part of the scene was when Gilda broke down and said what was really bothering her about Emma’s plan.
“Why do this to yourself?” she asked in a wretched voice.
Gilda’s Performance
Just like Norman’s band, these kinds love and rely on Emma. They have seen her — and the rest of them, too — in too much danger. Gilda argued against the plan because she felt scared for Emma.
It should be illegal to make Gilda cry. At least a misdemeanor. Capture from the Funimation stream.
Emma and Ray wanted to take Don and Gilda with them. Their gesture of trust overwhelmed Gilda. It was also a statement of trust in the rest of the kids that they could take care of themselves for five days.
What’d you think of this scene, Irina?
Gilda was the saving grace of this episode. These are kids and kids are often cruel because they don’t properly conceptualize cruelty. The demons have been murdering their friends and threatening their lives. Of course they want them all gone. It would have made more sense for most of the kids to be openly disappointed that Emma wanted to continue actively putting their lives in dangers for intangible reasons.
I would have been quite disappointed if no one had spoken up so I’m really glad Gilda did, even if she was shut down quickly enough.
Finger on the Trigger
Underlying both arguments is an idea I just can’t shake. If I were presented with the choice of backing Norman or Emma, who would I choose? I would like to think I’d be all moral and say “Save them all!” The thing is, I’m not sure that’s the right call. In human wars, I can rationalize not killing my enemy because, in the end, we are all humans, and we fought for ideology or food or something else we could work together to solve.
I have to admit to a certain sympathy for Norman’s position. Capture from the Funimation stream.
But if demons invaded the Earth and wanted to turn my family into delicacies, would I choose to put my family at elevated risk to save them?
I’m afraid that I’d decide so fast to pull the trigger that Emma would be quite disappointed.
Irina, think I need counseling?
I think I answered that above. Seems fairly consistent with human nature.
Which is itself a cause for serious reflection!
Closing Thoughts about The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7
The show did a good job in this episode of clearly stating the alternatives. Maybe there’s another, and I’m not sure. I respect a show that gives me such an interesting thought experiment, even if it makes me wonder if I’m really who I am!
Any closing thoughts, Irina?
I liked the stuff that happened in the episode but I found the writing super lazy. But unlike some fans, I don’t think that’s been true for the entire season, rather I think they are handling Norman and his group rather poorly. I’m curious to see if that can even itself out.
They have time; it’s certainly possible. I’m going to choose to hope they can pull it off!
Other Posts about The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Yakusoku no Neverland Season 2 – Episode 7 discussion
- RABUJOI: The Promised Neverland – 19 – A Future Without Regret
This Collaboration (I Drink and Watch Anime and Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 1: Episode 1
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 2: Episode 2
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 3: Episode 3
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 4: Episode 4
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 5: Episode 5
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 5.5: Episode 5.5/Guidepost
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 6: Episode 6
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 7: Episode 7
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 8: Episode 8
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 9: Episode 9
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 10: Episode 10
- The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 11: Episode 11
Huh……I kind of felt last week that the anime would adapt this. Problem is this feels kind of “Endgame-y.” And it feels like Norman gave in to Emma a little bit too easily. I kind of expected him to pretend like he gave in to Emma’s request, and then do his own thing. But I guess not.
“And it feels like Norman gave in to Emma a little bit too easily.”
I had the impression he agreed with her to get her out of the way while he strikes. Maybe not — they’re the same characters from the previous series, but I feel like I don’t know them as well. Some of that’s to be expected. But I have no real idea what happened to Norman, so it seems I’ve missed out on important details.
The end twist will be that the birds they’ve been eating will find a way to exterminate all humans AND demons.
Seriously, I never thought season 1 was particularly special. It was a fun suspense show, and it was clear to me from episode 1 of season 1 that they’d eventually humanise the demons (because of the way the demons spoke about how only the top dogs get to eat the quality meat), and I was mildly interested in where this is going, and, well, I was hoping for better, but I’m not really surprised. Season 2 has worse pacing, and there’s a lot about the world building we’re just never shown. So we now can be pretty sure that the human shock troopers were a human faction. I expected that. There have to be humans who survive childhood; I mean where would you get the children from? Or is there a portal trade route? But we know nothing about how that works. If they were serious about exploring the your-are-what-you-eat aspect of the demons, for example, we’d need an important demon character and see their daily life. And not an exception like Mujika; a regular Joe.
Then the whole regression plotline assumes that it’s better to be human than to be anything else. You see, it’s regression: you’re either like humans or… just a brute beast. But demons presumably have other things to eat, too, and they’d become more like that. So how does that work to begin with? I’d imagine, for example, that there’d be people who think that eating only humans isn’t how demons are supposed to be, and to be stuck in that form as a species is… cancerous. So how does demon breeding work? Do they need a similar diet if they’re to have children? How did they ever breed to begin with if they eat each other on sight unless they eat humans? The whole regression plotline renders the you-are-what-you-eat aspect of the demons humanist nonesense. Good enough for a suspense plot, but they’d need to rework this for what the genocide metaphor they’re going for now. (I wonder if there are vegetarian celery demons out there somewhere? Maybe they like being celery-like and don’t want to “regress” either?)
I’m not really saying I think the show’s bad; I’m just saying that Neverland never was a show that would feature a prominent everyman demon who goes to the supermarket buying prepackaged human meat without really thinking it through. But if you don’t include a character like this (or some other element I can’t think of right now), you can’t really make you’re anti-genocide line reference anything but platitudes. You need to face uncomfortable parts head on, and Neverland isn’t really equipped for it. I mean Mujika’s basically the magical mac-guffin that allows you dodge the really tough situation. I mean, I certainly prefer a genocide-is-bad mantra over the the-ugly-races-are-evil plotline so common in fantasy, but Neverland really isn’t asking the tough questions; it’s referencing them.
“The end twist will be that the birds they’ve been eating will find a way to exterminate all humans AND demons.”
Wouldn’t that be a heck of a plot twist?
“The whole regression plotline renders the you-are-what-you-eat aspect of the demons humanist nonesense.”
You’re right.
As soon as I saw it, I had to wonder how demons “rose” to challenge humans. Surely after the first couple of humans got nommed and the resulting demons were really intelligent, the rest of the humans would do what humans do best: start shooting. From an evolutionary perspective, I can’t see it making sense.
I may have to read the manga after the series is complete. Maybe the world there is more robust.
My default is kill ’em all and let God sort it out. Minimum risk. But Emma is pretty smart. If she thinks there is a way not to kill all the demons and for humans to coexist. I’d let her try to convince me.
There’s also the issue of the human soldiers. I don’t know what to do about them.
Doesn’t this remind you of Jews who have escaped a concentration camp? Suppose they discovered a way to kill off every gentile German indiscriminately.
“But wait,” says one. “We really only want to kill the Nazis and the SS and the German leadership. Not the entire country. There are still a lot of innocent people. Think about the babies. Think about Oscar Schindler.”
Another says, “The only good German is a dead German.”
What do you think would happen?
“There’s also the issue of the human soldiers. I don’t know what to do about them.”
In my mind, that’s the biggest variable. How are fully equipped soldiers supported in this region? If they’re cooperating with the demons, then there’s some kind of arrangement between the two parties. I’m guessing it’s based on mutual profit, so if Norman upsets that, will the humans turn their guns on him?
“What do you think would happen?”
Before or after the gunfire?
The idea of justice and the idea of “cruel and unusual” are fluid.
I’d like to think I’d take a measured approach, but it’s tough. “The only good German is a dead German” is clearly hyperbolic. But recreating the state of mind from your scenario, I begin asking questions like, “Well, if they were so innocent, why’d they let all this happen?”
Emma’s fighting a losing battle the way things are now. She might be fighting the right battle on the right side, but that just might not matter.
““The only good German is a dead German” is clearly hyperbolic.”
Uh… not hyperbolic at all. That was the attitude of the US military towards the Native Americans during the Indian Wars. The Nazis would have said the only good Jew was a dead Jew. In Rwanda we had a spell where the only good Tutsi was a dead Tutsi.
Genocide is onlly a small step away for many cutures. The demons don’t even need to be dehumanized first because they aren’t human.
I had meant the scope of my comment about hyperbole to be limited to the specific case we’d referenced. I know enough about history to have seen it play out, and you gave three perfect examples.
It’s one of the reasons I’m adamant about the rule of law. Good will certainly isn’t enough. As we’re seeing, neither is the rule of law. But that’s the only position I can think to take.
I am with you in that it should definitely be a crime to make Gilda cry.