#honestly this ship should have been called 'smoking kills' instead of the one with caesar | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

neverwatchedonepiece · 6 years ago

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620-622: "A Critical Situation! Punk Hazard Explodes!", "Capture Caesar! General Cannon Blasts!" and "A Touching Reunion! Momonosuke and Kinemon!"

Watched three in a row because Doflamingo was teased. He is currently air-leaping over the sea from Dressrosa, so, to be fair, that might take some time. Meanwhile, a whole lot of stuff happened during the wind-up phase of Punk Hazard.

The biggest twist was Caesar accidentally stabbing Monet in the heart. That was brutal and a genuine shock. Doubt he’ll care unless Doflamingo chews him out for it. The second biggest twist was the whole Kaidou thing. The third biggest was Kinemon returning from the “dead” (more on that later).

There is a fair bit to unpack, so I’ll get down to it.

The Ol’ Switcheroo

They really have to start labeling these things. Nametags, people! One of the first things you learn at school. A permanent marker. That’s all you need. Scrawl some initials on that box. Boom! There’s your protection from switcheroos. Job done.

The scene was great, though. I liked the disorientating switch between Caesar outside and Monet inside. It meant you didn’t really know what was truly happening until the action switched back to the escaping Strawhats.

At the start of 620, Caesar lay flat out, clutching that blade, fully intent on taking Smoker down with him.

Inside, Monet was still on the DDM to Doflamingo, fully prepared to sacrifice herself to clean up Punk Hazard. Her feathery appendage hovered over the Big Red Button. “The Strawhats. Trafalgar Law. G5. Those pitiable children. Everyone will disappear along with me.” Back in Dressrosa, Doflamingo perched on that window seat.

Then there was a big, confusing KABOOM and a slicing sound. Monet’s eyes widened. I had no idea what was going on. Neither did Doflamingo. He must have heard the explosion and wondered aloud why the DDM connection hadn’t cut out.

The explanation came from Law. The boom that rocked Punk Hazard came from the SAD room.

So what had happened to Monet? She slumped to the floor, bleeding. Then the action switched back to Caesar. A vicious grin stretched his face and that shard of blade was buried deep in that heart.

Yup. Caesar stabbed Monet in the heart BY ACCIDENT. Caesar killed Monet.

How had he managed to screw up so badly?

Law played the ol’ switcheroo. In a flashback, it was revealed that Law had already returned Smoker’s heart. Smoker was puzzled because his heart had been handed to Caesar by Law as a “thoughtful gift.” How had Law clawed it back?

To obtain Caesar’s trust in the first place, Law exchanged hearts. Law’s for Monet’s. That had been the deal. But when Law took Smoker’s heart later on, he now had two identical-looking hearts. Just before he handed over the “thoughtful gift” Law pocketed Caesar’s and handed over Monet’s instead. As Law said, “When you do something good, something good will happen to you”, right?

A genius move but a risky gamble, Law, you absolute madman. :D

Naturally, Doflamingo realised something was up. Monet did not answer. A horrific explosion had not cut the line. He grabbed his jacket. I cannot lie, he looked grim. Some little kid ran about looking for him. The Elders said Doflamingo would be in his room but the kid said she’d looked there. Oh well, the Elders said. Doflamingo had just left without taking any subordinates again. (I like that. Doflamingo is obviously confident he can take care of this mess himself.)

And sure enough, Doflamingo boosted across the sea, on the line with Baby 5 and Buffalo. Was Punk Hazard still intact? Yes. But an “Iron Security Guard” stood in their way.

“Make sure you kill him,” Doflamingo said. “I’m on my way now.”

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Things are hotting up again. I mean, RIP, Monet, but I won’t miss you too much. Sure, you said the children were pitiable but you went along with the blood-curdling experimentation because Doflamingo asked you to so...

Come to think of it, it was probably a good thing that Caesar screwed up.

Doflamingo just assumed Baby 5 and Buffalo would easily take care of retrieving Caesar. He didn’t contact them for an update until he was leaping across the sea. If Monet had pushed that button, everyone would have been killed in the explosion - including Caesar. (Probably. I’m assuming the gas fruit wouldn’t protect Caesar from that. If that’s wrong, then Doflamingo made a good call.)

Artists Taking the Michael Here, I Think

While Doflamingo was in transit, Baby 5 and Buffalo were having a hard time against Franky. Got to say that Franky is lovably eccentric. He sings these theme songs for himself while he’s fighting, “I am the Iron Pirate and I don’t take care of the seeeeeeeea... I am an invincible Iron Pirate!” He’s hilarious.

The weapons/air battle was cool. That’s why Franky is such a useful character. He can inject a bit of variety into any fight. For a while, it switched from a pirate series into an air battle mecha fest! Baby 5 transformed into revolvers, gatling guns, flame throwers, sickles and spinning tops (super lame!) But Franky held out against them all.

It was interesting that she said, “Even a Pacifista would have taken damage from that!” Does that imply that Franky has improved upon Vegapunk’s designs?? :D

At any rate, Franky had it all under control. “I praise you for penetrating my armour but this is like a mantis going up against a warship.” That was a good line! Franky revealed the Sunny’s secret weapon: the Gaon Cannon.

It was only when the smoke cleared that Franky finally noticed Caesar lying flat out. Then Baby 5 yelled, “In the name of Joker, we will recover Caesar no matter what!”

The penny finally dropped. They weren’t after his cola.

Oh, Franky.

Punk Hazard Survivors’ Team Photo

In the tunnel, the big explosm from the SAD Room made life difficult for the escapees. Large chunks of ceiling and boulders fell on the tracks. Luffy and Zoro took care of those. No problem. Standard procedure.

The only thing that really threatened their plan? The explosion caused the gas to leak into the tunnel. Yikes.

Law asked if there was anyone who could control wind. Loved that little moment when the G5 guys were like, “Oh yeah. And you’ll find someone with that highly specialised power here by random chance? We’re doomed!”

And Nami stepped forward. xD

Her job was to redirect the gas cloud, blowing away the gas outside to clear a path to the ships. The G5 didn’t entirely trust Nami. I like how Sanji defended her here. “Those who don’t trust Nami, get off!” That trust was based on Strawhat solidarity and faith in Nami’s competence, not on comedic infatuation.

That unshakeable Strawhat solidarity was shown again after Nami played a blinder and the truck burst out of the tunnel to a huge victory fanfare! :D

Instead of finding more clouds of noxious gas, they found the area clear and Franky battling with Baby 5 and Buffalo. (Usopp was the only one who wondered where the outside gas was. That man always has his head screwed on.)

Before they nabbed Caesar and dashed, Baby 5 called out Law for being a traitor. She said something verrrrrry interesting too. “Are you really going against Joker? You traitor. Joker was saving the Seat of Hearts for you.”

Leaving aside the obvious card suit theme here (was Law to be promoted to a General like rank in Doflamingo’s crew?) Law told Luffy that Baby 5 and Buffalo were the enemy. When they realised they were outnumbered and outmatched, Baby 5 and Buffalo snatched Caesar and scarpered.

That triggered the Nami and Usopp dream team capture sequence.

Usopp was like, “Leave this to me.” Law attempted to step in, but Luffy had an “I’m just gonna stop you there moment”. If Usopp said he’d handle it, he’d handle it. It was said with a smile but you know Luffy meant business. Law had to learn to trust the other Strawhats just as much as Luffy already does.

Oda always plays with Nami and Usopp’s cowardice but honestly, it’s becoming more and more of a running joke rather than truth. Nami’s weather control powers are actually super destructive and she took out Baby 5, Buffalo and Caesar with no problems. Usopp finished the job by grabbing Buffalo and Baby 5. Caesar almost thought he’d get away because Usopp’s attacks phased through his logia form.

But no!

For Usopp had already thought about it. THOSE CUFFS!

That aside, let us give credit where it’s due: Luffy, your plan came good in the end. Great execution by Usopp. Now that’s what I call teamwork. :D

Nami and Usopp Come Through

The immediate danger past, it was time to literally draw a line (lmao G5) and get back to reality. Smoker agreed to wait with the pirates until a ship came to pick up his unit.

Oda set about tying up the loose ends. Brownbeard and the minions would hand themselves over to the Marines in exchange for treatment. It’s telling that he considers prison a better alternative than being Caesar’s guinea pig. Plus, he got to see Caesar go flying thanks to Luffy, so it was worth it.

Tashigi asked Nami if she could take the kids to Vegapunk for treatment. Nami was initially distrustful. It was the Marines’ fault the kids ended up with Caesar in the first place. Vergo had handed them over! The Marines weren’t doing their job. But Tashigi apologised, said she’d take personal responsibility for the kids and that she would get them back to their parents. Most of them should be okay now Law has operated on them and removed most of the bad stuff.

(Little bit cliched that the female characters are the ones always taking ultimate responsibility for the kids but it’s entirely expected considering the genre, Japan, etc.)

At least the kids recognised Nami and Chopper as the main people who stuck up for them and helped them pull through. When Chopper told them the Marines wanted to take care of them, they protested. Where’s the orange-haired lady? They wanted to thank her. What about Robo Man? Rubber Man? Curly Brow Guy?

But it was for the best. Nami and Usopp had a little chat on deck. I love moments like that when you catch the friendly, natural moments between the crew you don’t often get to see because they’re busy fighting. Usopp asked Nami if she’d sorted things with the Marines. Nami said yeah, that it was for the best that Tashigi took the kids. They were all pirates. Keeping the kids on deck even until they got them home would put them in danger (good call, as Doflamingo is on his way).

There was a nice callback to Bellmere too. Nami admitted the other reason was she has, “a weakness for the eyes of a female Marine. They’re just reassuring to me. It’s always best to be saved by a strong, kind-hearted female Marine.”

I like it when Oda does that. He never forgets his characters’ roots and motivations.

In Two Minds About This

While Sanji was cooking up some Newkama Kempo 99th Vital Recipe: Hormone Soup with Sea Pig (sounds horrendous but everyone was lining up for it) Brook backed into Kinemon.

I suspected Kinemon would be revived. Why else would Brook have dragged him all the way out of Punk Hazard? Plus, I felt sorry for poor Momonosuke knowing his dad was dead and having to bottle all that up because “samurai”.

The reunion was actually great. Not complaining about it in the slightest. True to the OPverse’s samurai culture, it wasn’t overly sappy. It was a worried sick dad hugging his little boy. Momonosuke did not touch a drop of food until his dad said it was okay, that they could trust these pirates, that they had saved his life. Watching little Momonosuke finally able to eat gave me a major case of HappySad. (If anyone’s curious about the ratio, it was 80% happy and 20% sad.)

This turned into straight up Happy when Luffy cheered up Momonosuke with his old chopsticks in nostrils trick. No one should be crying at a party, after all!

The only thing I was a bit meh about was that Kinemon - and all the other G5 guys - survived Caesar’s weapon. Would have preferred it if the G5 guys’ sacrifice remained that way. Not because I like edgy character death but because it was such a grave moment and a change in tone. It also obliterated most of the peril. I also don’t get how they survived if they were encased in that white substance. They would have suffocated!

Maybe if Kinemon was half frozen, it would have been more convincing to break the white casing and he was still alive underneath. But that would have ruined the reunion drama of him “rising from the dead”.

Also, what’s Caesar doing inventing weapons that don’t actually kill people?

Come on, Caesar. Step up your game! You should have stuck with Smiley, mate.

And Now For Someone Completely Different...

Now that everyone was free to party, Law attempted to kill the buzz by reminding Luffy that new enemies would be arriving shortly and it was best to make themselves scarce. Luffy responded to this by declaring everyone should “Hurry up and party!” Lmao.

The party montage showed that Mocha would be okay, the kids enjoyed Franky’s hair transformations, that Brownbeard and the Minions are friends again, the kids trooped onto the Marine ship, Chopper brought Law a bowl of soup (he freaked out watching Law operate on the kids, haha), the Minions forced Caesar to spill the secrets of how the gas worked and that Caesar was sitting there, absolutely battered, wondering how the hell Smoker was still alive.

Smoker was also wondering something. He asked his new Pirate Pal Law why the alliance with Luffy. “What are you planning on using Strawhat to do?”

Law’s reply? “Who’s the one who’s being used?”

Then, finally, we were treated to the real conversation. The one Luffy and Law had on that clifftop in the blizzard that cut away when the real good stuff happened.

And here is the news.

The target is Kaidou the Beast.

Kaidou? Already?

That is awesome.

It’ll be a long-term plan, though, because the Strawhats have business with Big Mom after Dressrosa (dat spoilery CR arc list).

I was right in thinking Luffy had reservations in fighting Shanks but I was totally wrong about him never wanting to go up against him. Luffy just doesn’t want to fight him first.

Luffy, you absolute madman.

(I now think someone else will take out Shanks, thus averting the friends into enemies situation. Maybe Blackbeard because he is persona non grata and he already has beef with Shanks.)

The only thing I’m worried about immediately (as in the next couple of episodes) is the imminent arrival of Doflamingo and the dude with the feather boa/fur trimmed collar who woke up on a tiny ship, said he’d slept in and... where was Punk Hazard again?

Hopefully, Luffy will take Law’s advice and scarper with Caesar on board before Doflamingo finds them.

That’ll make Doflamingo mad.

See that vein on his head? Something tells me you don’t wanna see that vein. That means he’s angry.

You wouldn’t like him when he’s angry...

Look, up in the sky!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a birdplane!

Faster than a streak of lightning. More powerful than the pounding surf. Mightier than a roaring hurricane... oh, wait. It’s Doflamingo.

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