Though there was the typical brother who’s only bad because his sister’s in trouble, the storyline remained functional. I liked that Roco’s efforts succeeded in the end, but that he himself did not. His death put a calming spin on what would have been a melodramatic ending, changing it into more of a contemplative state, and dulling Spike’s mood.
I was annoyed by Roco in the beginning. The writers did a great job of making him seem really desperate, which came off pretty humorous, but those kind of characters always annoy me. Yet by the end I felt a tiny twinge of sadness in my unemotional heart for him. His death wasn’t glorified, it was subtle, and this made Roco more meaningful to me, because for all his efforts his end should not have came. Out of death comes life, in reference to Stella.
Why in the world did Stella have the operation? She told Spike previously that she didn’t wish to have sight. I’m kind of confused on this one, as she didn’t know Roco had died, so it wasn’t a favor to him or anything, and she just goes ahead anyway. Was it supposed to be some kind of surprise for him? It really doesn’t make sense to me.
I thought Spike acted a little out of character due to the amount of attention he gave Stella at the end. I pictured him far more removed. He felt guilty, perhaps? His actions make me think that he longs for some type of strong relationship, such as the one between Roco and Stella. I suppose that Stella’s praise of Roco reminded Spike of a small thing called love. Spike could possibly just seemed so involved as a favor to Roco due to guilt.
There were a lot of beautiful sunset-like images throughout the episode and lots of contrast between black and other colors.
Final Score: 8/10
