Episode 19: Hang Fire

Review by Dale

August 24, 2000

Meryl is awakened from a nap at the Insurance agency by coworkers who are amazed at what she has experienced. Her boss calls her into his office to give her a new assignment. She runs off to tell Milly, who is washing windows as punishment for being late 20 days in a row. Vash has been sited in Little Jersey, and they are to stop him from causing any damage. Vash and Nicholas are saved from dehydration by a passing motorist. They argue about nearly everything and spill what little water they have left. The agents arrive in the city and learn that massive destruction was caused by a gang of thugs, but a man stopped them. The townspeople can't believe it when the agents say it was Vash. They describe him as someone who cries and eats doughnuts. Milly hears a satellite report indicating Vash is traveling to Oregon City at 3000 yards per hour. Meanwhile, a group of mysterious figures is planning an attack near Oregon City for the next day. As Vash and Nicholas dine on spaghetti, they hear a loudspeaker report of a typhoon, called Jacqueline, due to arrive soon. Nicholas explains that there has been an ongoing feud between the Orkette and Fleet family over a satellite dish. A young lady was also killed on Fleet land. He tells Vash he doesn't want to see a repeat of Little Jersey, and that they should leave. Vash splits a little too soon and leaves him with the bill. After getting past a snide man at the front desk, he goes into an office to visit Borcan, an old friend he hasn't seen in nearly a decade.

The agents, meanwhile, are traveling by train. The train is hijacked by the shady group seen earlier. Vash's meeting with his friend is cut short when the train plows off its tracks into the city. The leader of the Fleet family declares that they are now in control of the satellite dish, and they demand that Borcan be surrendered to them. They have a hostage, the man at the desk earlier, and will kill him in 3 days if their demand isn't met. Inside the train, the agents overhear the hijackers mention that once they kill Borcan, they will take Jacqueline with them. Meryl, with Milly's help, is able to open a suitcase with her feet and shoot their captor. Vash, with Borcan, boards the train and takes out two of the villains by bonking their heads together. Two more appear behind him, but he shoots the guns out of their hands without even looking. The rest of the hijackers grow nervous when the hear Vash is on the train, and they all gather in one room with only one way out. Throughout the train and city, Vash can be heard singing on the loudspeakers, and quite horribly according to the hijackers. A missile is fired at him, but he somehow manages to kick it out of the way. He then charges into the room, knocking everyone out with his pistol. The last man standing is pointing his gun at the hostage, refusing to give up. He tells Vash that the hostage is the one who killed his daughter. Vash wrestles him to the floor and takes several punches to the face as the man struggles to get up. After begging and pleading from Vash, the man finally breaks down in tears and lets the hostage go. The calvary arrives and arrests the hijackers. The agents and Vash head out and rest on a hill outside the city. The leader of the Fleet family escapes and heads toward an old man with a suitcase. He breaks into pieces and flies into it. The leader was just a puppet, and the Puppetmaser reports to Legato that Vash has been found.

This was almost a step back to earlier episodes. Comedy was spread evenly through the first half and seriousness balanced out the second half. Also like earlier episodes, Vash completely refused to fire his gun, choosing instead to use it to bonk people on the head. He demonstrated his selflessness by taking the punches from the distraught man without even fighting back, since he understood what the man was going through. Every major character from Nicholas to Legato was present in this one. I thought this episode was sidetracking from the main plot, but the surprising twist at the end proved me wrong.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Buy the DVD (eps 19-22) from DVD Empire

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