Episode 22: AlternativeReview by Dale September 8, 2000 Nicholas consoles Vash about the loss of his friends as Meryl and Milly sleep beside them. Vash still blames himself for what happened on the airship. He says everywhere he goes, death follows. In the morning, they all head to a well guarded city. They ask to be let in, but the residents draw their guns and tell them to leave. Vash believes there must be a good reason for the security, so he complies. When he goes back to his car, he finds a kid stealing his water. The kid tries to run away, but Milly stops him. After apologizing, the kid runs into a small house outside the city. When Nicholas tries to enter, other children pelt him with pots and pans. He is finally able to distract them with free food. One of the kids explains that people are not allowed into the city because the citizens are afraid. In his own town, everyone strangely left without saying a word, as if under mind control. Vash asks if the kid saw anyone else. He replies that he only heard a strange noise. Meanwhile, the agents are helping the children prepare dinner. Next, they put everyone to bed. In the guarded city, a man under mind control opens the main gate. When confronted by a guard, the man kills the guard. The next morning, the townspeople come after Vash and Nicholas with guns blazing. They believe the two are responsible for the murder. Vash and Nicholas go outside with their hands up and try to reason with them, but are beaten senseless. Suddenly, a giant sandworm emerges behind the men. Within seconds, sandworms are inside the city. Vash and Nicholas go outside to fight the worms, but Vash will not allow Nicholas to kill any of them. They suspect the worms are also being controlled by some individual. The agents get all the children on high ground, but even that is not safe, as the worms burst through the buildings. Vash rushes in slow motion to stop them, and he fires a shot which freezes them in their tracks. The kid from the first scene was wearing a device, now shattered, that controlled minds. He identifies himself as Zazie the Beast, a Gung-Ho-Gun. He shoots Vash's gun out of his hand and corners Meryl with his second gun. Vash tries to reason with him, telling him that he cried in his sleep last night and wished him good luck in the morning. Zazie appears to pause for a moment, but them prepares to fire at Vash. Nicholas suddenly kills Zazie with one shot, saying that Vash would be dead if he waited any longer. Vash appears angry, and Nicholas punches him to try and knock some sense into him. Vash tells Nicholas that we should all be peaceful and live like humans, without violence. Nicholas dismisses this notion as pure fantasy. In the distance, a strange figure with a cross is watching. The first part of this episode was a little slow, with very little plot development or action going on. The second half was all action, with Vash and Nicholas being chased by sandworms around the city. This all didn't seem to further the main story any, until the last few minutes, when Nicholas killed the young Gung-Ho-Gun in front of Vash. This may cause a permanent rift between the two, as Vash is opposed to killing for any reason, even to protect his own life. It will be interesting to see how the two deal with each other in the next episode. It will also be interesting to see who this strange man with the cross is. Could he have some connection to Nicholas? Overall Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
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