ReviewsThe Big O

The Big O Act 16: Day of the Advent

0
Summary

A young girl named Tami chases a ball around inside, then looks out the window as snow starts falling from the sky. A fireball descends from the sky, which Tami thinks is an angel. The fireball crashes to the ground, leaving a crater. In Roger’s mansion, Dorothy complains to him over his bad manners of reading the newspaper at breakfast. Roger, ignoring Dorothy, comes across a story about the event from the previous night, called Advent. Later, Roger heads out in his car and wonders what the light from the sky represented and if something is going to happen soon. He comes across a large crowd at the crater. Roger walks through police tape to look at the crater and initially is pursued by an officer whom Dastun tells off. Dastun tells Roger an investigation team came across whatever fell from the sky and took it to the south. He says the locals all think it was an angel. Norman contacts Roger, telling him a client is seeking to contact him. Roger heads to the hotel building where the client is waiting for him. Roger meets Tami, playing with her ball and says she should do it outside. The client, Jim McGowan, comes by and says she is frail and can’t go outside during the day. Jim tells Roger he’ll give him the hotel building once he performs his negotiations. Jim says an angel came down to the city, thinking someone who will save those who have been forsaken has come to help them. Roger isn’t very believing of the memories he claims to have. Jim says the last 40 years those in Paradigm have lived with no memories and no future and it can’t be like that much longer. He thinks everyone will be saved, not just those in the domes. Roger leaves and heads to the seashore, where Angel comes across him. Roger says he is looking for a real Angel. Angel comments on them being here before, and they see a group of men in amphibian-like scuba gear, similar to those they had encountered in the past. Roger uses a grappling hook from his suitcase to suspend a wire across the water. Angel and Roger head across and come across a large tunnel. The two of them head through it, finding an underground facility. There they see the three foreign MegaDeuses suspended from the ceiling. Roger wonders what Paradigm is trying to accomplish. Angel says she tried to stop them, and that nothing would be learned by sending them to the city, but they came anyway. Based on her words, Roger comments on it being as he thought, that Angel is not from Paradigm. Suddenly the scuba-geared troops start firing upon them; Roger and Angel hide behind some crates. Angel criticizes Roger for continuing with his policy of not carrying a gun. More scuba gear wearing troops approach, but Roger and Angel are able to escape with a wire Roger shoots out from his watch.

At Roger’s mansion, Norman comments on their lack of pickles. Dorothy says she’ll go out and get them. Angel and Roger head to Paradigm HQ, which is empty and dark. Angel comments on the executives all being away. Suddenly the lights turn on. Dorothy heads through the streets wearing a black hood as the locals celebrate. Roger and Angel are welcomed by Alan Gabriel. Roger demands the stolen memories from Roscoe Parish and charges at Alan, who runs into a train car. Roger is locked in the train car, which starts ascending. Jim starts talking before the various locals about the oncoming salvation. Tami approaches Dorothy and comments on her being pale like her. The train car arrives at the top of Paradigm HQ where Alex Rosewater is waiting, calling Roger the Dominus of MegaDeus. Meanwhile, Angel spots a model of Paradigm City. Roger asks Alex what’s coming to the city, so Alex shows him a small piece of rubble which he claims is what came from the sky the previous night. Alex says it is just a small part of the “Angel,” and that the bulk of its body will be coming from the sky soon. Alex says he found out about this from the memories recovered from Roscoe Parish. Alex comments on those from the past, who while not smarter than them, had much more advanced technology and constructed man-made metallic “stars” orbiting the Earth. Angel comes in and says that the impact point will be outside the domes. Alex comments on Angel having been fired and shows little care for what happens to those outside the domes, thinking it’s their fate. Roger calls for Dastun on his wrist watch, but Dastun has a hard time hearing him due to the noisy crowd. Alex tells him he’ll never be able to evacuate everyone in time. Roger calls Alex arrogant, but he returns the comment. Roger calls forth Big O. Dastun yells at the people around him to evacuate, but no one listens to him. Suddenly the ground starts shaking and Big O bursts out of one of the nearby buildings. A light appears in the sky. Dastun tells the crowd what is falling from the sky is no angel and they should evacuate. Norman contacts Roger, saying dinner’s not ready yet, as Dorothy went out for pickles and hasn’t returned. The “Angel” continues to descend from the sky in a ball of fire. Roger shoots his eye laser at it, but the “Angel,” which appears to be a satellite, keeps falling. Dastun yells at the crowd, who still believes it to be an angel, that they are running out of time. Roger prepares to punch the satellite and does as it hits the ground, destroying it in the process. A large wave of destruction is emitted as a result. Alex, watching, says Roger isn’t the only one with a MegaDeus. Yellow “snow” starts falling from the sky, the remnants of the “Angel.” Dorothy plays with Tami, and Jim is happy to see her being able to play outside in the light. At least for her, the satellite was an angel.

Commentary

Another plot heavy episode, showing that Paradigm/Alex Rosewater are in possession of the three foreign MegaDeuses and planning to do something with them. With the episodic elements of this episode, things come off a bit as a rehash of Daemonseed, which was only five episodes prior. Jim and Tami are sympathetic characters, as are the poor people outside of the domes as a whole, but I can’t help but feel that this was done not that long ago. This episode’s a rarity in that it features no enemy MegaDeus for Roger to fight, and he destroys the satellite with ease once it does arrive. While the plot developments helped, this has been the weakest episode in a while.

Overall Rating
3/5
The Big O Info


Director:
Kazuyoshi Katayama

Writer(s):
Chiaki J. Konaka
Kazuyoshi Katayama
Keiichi Hasegawa
Masanao Akahoshi
Shin Yoshida

Mechanical Designer:
Keiichi Satou

Character Designer:
Keiichi Satou

Musical Composer:
Toshihiko Sahashi

Format:
26 episodes

Airdates:
Japan 10.13.1999 – 01.19.2000 (S1); 01.02.2003 – 03.23.2003 (S2)
U.S. 04.02.2001 – 04.18.2001 (S1); 08.03.2003 – 11.02.2003 (S2)

Comments

Comments are closed.