Episode 2: Truth of MistakeReview by Dale July 4, 2000 Meryl and Milly, two very dehydrated insurance agents, wander into a ghost town in search of water. Just about to give up hope, they overhear a man talking about how Vash was staying at a nearby mansion. They rush to the door, hoping to find Vash as well as water. Vash opens the door and gives them two glasses of it. While he grabs some of the doughnuts they always seem to carry, the agents express disappointment at finding only that "gunman" at the door and not Vash. The owner of the mansion, Cliff Schezar, invites them in, and we learn the reason that Vash is there. He explains that several attempts have been made to kill him for his water, including a recent break-in five days ago, so he advertised for Vash the Stampede to be his bodyguard. This was to protect not only him, but also Marianne Cayzen, the attractive young granddaughter of the director of the Stantal Federal Bureau. Meryl pulls him aside to alert him that the "droopey-eyed, weak-looking, bristle-headed, promiscious-looking, doughnut freak of a man" could not possibly be Vash. Cliff agrees; revealing he hired the first person who responded to the ad and deemed that person "Vash the Stampede", needing only the rumor to drive off bandits. Meryl and Milly volunteer to work as free bodyguards, but end up in the kitchen cooking dinner in the next scene. Meanwhile, Vash hears the sound of water near Marianne's room, ties himself to the roof with a rope, and drops down to investigate. He ends up dropping in on Milly about to take a bath. Needing a quick excuse, he says he is patrolling for evil spooks. While bringing dinner to the dining room, Meryl spots Marianne leaving Cliff's study. Over dinner, Cliff discusses how he is protecting the water supply by preventing it from falling into the wrong hands. Marianne is angry that he's hoarding a natural resource, and promptly runs back to her room. Vash follows her, and she covers up some bandages and hides a gun just before he enters. At the same time, Meryl and Milly are outside, hoping that the "real Vash" will show up. Vash beings getting very poetic with Marianne, but this is interrupted as she spots someone lurking down below. Vash jumps down and apprehends the lurker, which was just Meryl. When the agents and Vash return upstairs, there is no one to be found. Meryl puts together all the clues and figures out Marianne is not all that she seems. Milly suggests that spooks may have gotten her, based on what Vash said earlier. When Meryl angrily questions him on what he was doing spying on Milly, he accidentally stumbles back onto a switch, activating a secret passage. Down in the cavern, Marianne, wearing a marshall badge, confronts Cliff about the water storage machines hidden there. Cliff quickly knocks the injured marshall to the ground, but is distracted from finishing her off as Vash comes tumbling in. We are now treated to more of Vash's dodging abilities as Cliff fires from four guns. Some stray bullets hit the tanks and the whole place explodes in a fountain of water. Now the town resembles a lake, Marianne has apprehended her culprit, and all is well as Vash heads off into the sunset. The agents vow to continue their search for the true Vash. This episode was not as action packed as the first and seemed to drag at times, but was still pretty good. The best humor again comes from the mistaken identity gag as no one thinks such a buffoon could ever be Vash. The plot is a bit more complex here, as the viewer has a mystery to solve and is given several clues throughout the episode hinting at the true identity of Marianne. This makes the episode a bit more on the serious side than the previous one. Hopefully episode three will stick to the formula of the first one. Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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