Smack of Love and Revenge Part I
Jolyne is brought to the Ultra Security House Unit by its security guards because they believe she is responsible for all the catastrophes and murders. They mention that her troublesome behavior pinpoints her as the number one suspect, and they have no solid evidence against her. Jolyne is interrogated by the security guards about what happened to Ermes, and she reveals that she was driving him home when he got into a car accident. She also reveals that she was at the scene of the accident, but didn’t participate in it. The security guards believe that Jolyne is responsible for all of Ermes’ accidents, murders, and other strange behavior, so they have no choice but to bring her in for questioning.
Jolyne is in one of the Ultra Security House Unit cells. They state that she will remain here in isolation for an indefinite time. When they depart, she trembles. She notices a piece of bread on a tray and heads toward it. She shrieks after seeing many roaches crawl over the bread.
This situation has the potential to get out of hand because the prisoners are excited about Jolyne being nearby. One of them manages to fling feces at her face, which she wipes off with a cloth. Jolyne vows that she will not let this situation get to her, and to do so, she turns it into an advantage. This allows her to complete her mission successfully.
Enrico Pucci, White Snake’s stand user, tells his story of his time with Dio Brando 23 years ago and their discussion about Heaven and his interpretation of the happiness that lies there. Pucci vows to reach that version of Heaven, as he still has Jotaro’s memory disc in his possession.
Ermes, the Kiss stand from the series, explains how her stand works to fans of the show. Essentially, she can copy an object by placing a sticker on it. When she removes the sticker, the two items revert to one and leave a fissure. After her explanation, we see Ermes hiding behind a corner and staring at Sports Maximum, the man we see Enrico conversing with at the end of the previous episode. ..
According to Maximum, Ermes’s sister Gloria was killed because she vowed to use Kiss’s powers to revenge him. Before she strikes, she hesitates after Enrico appears. She leaves as Pucci and Maximum converse about flowers.
We transition to the Green Dolphin Street Prison’s cafeteria as Jolyne and F.F. receive their meals. Someone cuts in front of F.F., and this enrages Jolyne. Jolyne tells F.F., and it realizes no one adores their company. Remember F.F. was a creature who stole Atroe’s body in episode 8. Jolyne argues that F.F. should assert herself, but F.F./Atroe decides she should change her behavior to gain acceptance from her peers instead of drinking coffee (Atroe’s favorite drink).
Jolyne directs the conversation to her bullet wounds and tries to get F.F. to heal her. F.F. reminds Jolyne that her plankton cannot heal Jolyne’s wounds, so they’ll need to heal them naturally. Meanwhile, more prisoners try to cut in line, and Jolyne yells at them to stop. F.F. decides to let everyone pass, causing everyone to bicker and fight. This allows F.F. and Jolyne to go through the line with ease."
Jolyne and F.F. head to the river to find out more about Gloria Costello. They find out that she was caught in the crossfire and died as a result. Jolyne is upset that her older sister died in such a way, but F.F. tells her that it’s not her fault and that she should have been able to prevent it. Jolyne agrees, but says she’ll never forget what happened to her sister.
The next day, we witness Maximum stalking Ermes. He claims to be monitoring her every move, but she is still unable to forgive him for his past actions.
Jolyne and F.F. confront Ermes about Maximum, but Ermes says he has nothing to do with her. Jolyne brings up Ermes’s decision to commit armed robbery and asks her if she committed the crime to get closer to Maximum to seek her revenge. Ermes rebukes Jolyne’s claims and walks away, determined to murder Maximum.
Gloria tells the story of how she raised Ermes after her mother died when she was a child. When Gloria turned 20, she obtained ownership of her father’s restaurant and sought Ermes’ help. Ermes chose not to help because she wanted to pursue a scholarship in cross-country and attend college. ..
Ermes and Gloria have different ideals about life. This causes tension in their relationship, which eventually leads to Ermes storming out of the house. Gloria follows suit but stops when she sees Maximum and his men killing a helpless man. She hides her presence, as Maximum turns his attention toward Ermes, who had been running nearby. Gloria called the police to inform them of his crime. Although Maximum receives five years of prison time for his crime, he got someone to murder Gloria before the testimony. Moreover, Ermes lost everything and lived a lonely life before ending up in prison. ..
In the present, Maximum heads for the workshop but notices a picture of Gloria on a pipe. He takes it off, and Ermes reveals herself. Using Kiss’s powers, Ermes traps Maximum inside the tube. Maximum attempts to grab onto the pipe’s fissure area to avoid falling. Ermes had secretly placed a second sticker on the pipe, allowing her to duplicate it and seal Maximum inside.
Ermes, a stand user, is trying to flush Maximum down the pipe. She mumbles inside and calls upon Limp Viscuit for support. A bottle breaks, but Ermes can’t pinpoint what caused the noise. She glances at a table and sees a few tools and a stuffed bird. Ermes can sense something strange is going on when an invisible being ends up slicing off a piece of her finger and pierces her. After losing some blood, Ermes realizes that Maximum is a stand user like herself. ..
Ermes summons Kiss to fight the invisible enemy, but her attacks don’t penetrate it. She can hear flapping sounds from the corridor and believes she’s fighting a bird-like enemy. As the bird attacks her neck, Ermes duplicates her vest to trap it and crush it via a wall. She questions how Maximum became a stand user and heads over to the pipe to taunt him. She stops after hearing a table flip over in the workshop. ..
Ermes heads over to Maximum’s stand and sees a giant stuffed alligator nearby. Then, a toy is lifted into the air and dissolves before her eyes. She figures out that Maximum’s stand is still active and has taken the form of an invisible undead alligator. The alligator charges at her, but Ermes makes a run for it. She grabs hold of a pipe to dodge its attack, but finds out that the alligator is focused on freeing Maximum. ..
Jolyne and F.F. arrive at the scene of the attack. They see an alligator attacking a man, and they try to warn the others but it ends up biting off F.F.’s leg. Ermes explains the situation to Jolyne and F.F., leading Jolyne to splash F.F.’s blood over it so they can see the alligator as it prepares its next attack. The episode concludes with the alligator charging at Jolyne, as they all look upon it in shock and fear.
The Episode Review
This episode of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean was a great way to kick off the next part of the story. While I enjoyed watching Jolyne fight many stand users, I felt the supporting cast didn’t receive much screen time. This episode subverts fans’ expectations by focusing more on its side heroines.
This chapter, focuses on Ermes and her past life before prison. We learn about her childhood and how it was full of sorrow and death. Additionally, we see her slightly plan out and enact her revenge on the man responsible for her trauma. I felt this was a smart move on the anime’s part since it gives Ermes more depth than being a simple sidekick to Jolyne.
The flashback testimony scene and the fight with Ermes show no remorse on his part. This made me angry, and it felt satisfying seeing Ermes deliver a couple of haymakers across his face. Honestly, I was worried that Maximum would end up as a one-off villain like others in the prior season. However, this season proved me wrong and gave me a reason to appreciate his inclusion in the story. ..
In this episode, F.F. got some attention from the anime audience for her unique approach to handling unfair and uncomfortable situations. Her gentle nature reminded viewers of Parasyte: The Maxim’s Migi, a character who also uses her calm and gentle demeanor to handle difficult situations. I believe that F.F.’s character will go down a similar path and ultimately feel the most human out of all the characters in the show.
The episode was enjoyable, but there were some moments that didn’t feel as satisfying as I had hoped. I felt the anime could’ve made it harder for Ermes to bamboozle Maximum. While the element of surprise is a nice tactic, it feels underwhelming considering Maximum was a leader before his arrest. Considering the amount of build we received for him, I expected more. This episode’s handling of time skips could’ve been better too, as its opener with Jolyne being thrown in the Ultra Security House Unit threw me off.
In this episode, some background character designs didn’t appeal to me. They appeared like darkened silhouettes you’d often see in more lighthearted comedy anime. While I enjoyed this episode’s new content, those silhouette character designs took me out of the experience a few times. The opening theme’s visuals received changes, but the song remains the same. I wasn’t a fan of it then, and I’m still not impressed with it. ..
Otherwise, this was a great way to kick off the next part of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. I’m looking forward to seeing how Ermes, Jolyne, and F.F. defeat Sports Maximum. Hopefully, Ermes will be the one to finish him off. ..
