Emma, Ray, and Norman join forces with their newfound allies to rescue the rest of their Grace Field family. Brace yourselves—the end is near.
It’s time to return to Grace Field House.
In the penultimate episode of the season, Emma, Ray, and Norman join forces with the Lambda crew and their demon allies Mujika and Sonju to rescue Phil and the other kids left at Grace Field House. The stakes are higher than ever, and the end is most certainly near. Can Emma and crew save their family in time and secure the future they all hope for?
Last week’s ending had us holding our breaths because there was no way Vincent would betray Norman when the Lambda crew had already pledged allegiance (again) to their boss and his major change of plans. Thankfully, Vincent is way smarter than he looks and it is revealed that he was actually setting up Peter Ratri to fail once the rescue team arrives at the farm headquarters.
Over at the Grace Field House, the substitute Sisters ask the kids to pack up as they are finally going to be shipped off. But little Phil knows better and worry was painted on his face clear as day—will Emma not come and save us anymore?
There is so much to unpack in this episode because 1) there was literally a lot happening and 2) they were all happening so fast. But let’s go through some of the key moments in this episode.
First of all, the last ten minutes or so of this episode was reunion after reunion, revelation after revelation—you practically won’t be able to catch a breath! And while you have to give credit to the kids for successfully infiltrating the farm headquarters, it doesn’t feel rewarding because of the way this season was paced, especially during this last leg. There was so much emotional backstory left out here: the other Grace Field kids’ reaction to seeing Norman in the flesh or Mama Isabella’s (now Grandma Isabella) complete one-eighty. Again, everything was happening so fast there was no time to process.
There was also no time to flesh out the antagonists this season. While we’ve only heard secondhand accounts of Peter Ratri’s wickedness, he was all talk and no bark this episode, which is kind of unfortunate. If there is anything lacking this season (besides those missing story arcs), it’s a formidable and identifiable antagonist. You’d think he’d see through Vincent’s bluff, but he didn’t! And when he tries to regain the upper hand, he miserably fails because Emma, Ray, and Norman were more prepared. Is Peter really the evil genius the show makes him out to be? Based on this episode alone, nope.
The inconsistencies in the animation was especially obvious here too. It gives a bad impression to the viewer that the episode was really rushed not just in terms of plot, but in the aesthetics. There were some weird close-up shots of the characters, the detailing on the demons rendered them senile rather than menacing, and the action was again too quick to absorb and enjoy fully.
Lastly, the big question right now is—will The Promised Neverland have another season? From the looks of it, we are already in the final arc as with the manga. The show did leave out some scenes including the action-packed ones and it’s probably because the showrunners want to separate the anime from its darker source material. But execution-wise (and as a manga reader), this adaptation feels a bit lazy now that we are nearing the end.
The Grace Field kids deserve a better season, but for now, let’s just hope they get the ending they deserve.
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Official Anime Website: The Promised Neverland
Official Anime Twitter: @yakuneba_staff
