Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex. Episode 13, Unequal Terrorist.

Hello, and welcome to episode thirteen of my Ghost in the Shell, Stand Alone Complex review. As much as I have enjoyed the series up until now, the Unequal Terrorist has challenged my determination, but the show must go on. Later, in my conclusion, I will explain my thoughts more closely, but for now, let’s find out what it’s all about.

Inside the Section 9 Headquarters, Aramaki briefs his team about their next assignment. Eka Tokura, the daughter of one of the world’s leading cybernetics senior managers, was kidnapped sixteen years ago. The girl was recently spotted and verified by DNA, and four security team operators were assigned to go and rescue her. Unfortunately, the team disappeared without a trace. Their last location was an abandoned scrubbing station off the coast of Okinawa. The mission is simple. Locate the missing team, find the girl and evacuate them. At the location, the team makes their way inside the scrubbing station through the back door. The back door is underwater, and they quietly make their way into the belly of the whale. The station is pretty well-kept for a location that is supposed to be unused. As the Major, Togusa and a Tachikoma make their way through the iron maze, they are unsure what to expect! Togusa thinks it could be a trap, but the Major prefers to keep an open mind. Is the girl real, has a prosthetic body, or cloned?

The Major points out that clones are prohibited from inheriting money, and the DNA sample does not add up. Batou heads to a nearby dock and begins to locate any GPS signals from the missing team. He finds the location of one of the operators they are looking for. However, the man is out of his mind. He pleads with Batou to get her out of his head. Batou wonders if the operator has had a mind link with the girl and got too close. The Major and Togusa finally come face to face with the terrorists, and instead of simple negotiation, an all-out war begins. Batou and his team come to join the fight, and a glorious gun battle develops. The once quiet dock is now alive with action. The Major and Togusa make their way inside the control tower and listen to the tantrums of a young girl, the girl? An older woman is also present and is now on the receiving end of the girl’s anger.  As the abuse continues, the Major slowly grabs the girl and links with her, finally confirming that they have the wrong girl! Still, the terrorists fight on, and Batou admires that an army with no cyborg parts is not afraid to die. Thankfully, Section 9 manages to escape the site, which is beginning to crumble under the relentlessness of the terrorists. However, the mystery still remains with the young girl and the older woman. The Major confirms that it is the older woman who had been kidnapped sixteen years ago. The young girl is her daughter, and the stress of life aged the woman beyond her years. Batou is still confused about everything that happened, but the Major accepts things as they are.

It may not be Batou who is confused, but me. The writing on the stand-alone complex has been pretty solid until now, but this episode did leave me scratching my head. As always, I am happy to admit when I don’t understand the meaning of an episode or am just looking for something that isn’t there. Maybe this is just entertainment for entertainment’s sake? The visual side of this story was enjoyable, the shootout was glorious, and when the music kicked in, the adrenaline began to flow. Unfortunately, I’m left with more questions than answers, and that’s where the storytelling may be a little clumsy. Why did the terrorists want the girl in the first place, what happened in those sixteen years, and what part does the daughter play in all this? If I had an answer to at least one of those, I could understand it all a little more. However, as this is a series I want to continue, all I can do is present the story, discuss my thoughts and move on. Thankfully, there are always fans who love this show and bring an extra piece of information to me that elevates each story to a new level. Sometimes, you have to let things go, move them on to the outside World and let them do their thing.

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