by xarielx » December 8th, 2014, 2:01 am
You've outdone yourselves again. I'm truly impressed, not only with Uzo's ever evolving talent, but that Tabico manages to weave such a complex and thrilling piece of work that works on many levels.
Another cold open, with massive repercussions revealed later on, worked to prepare me for the issue. Taking in the fact that Exis' behavior is as immoral as the Agency or Hives they are supposedly clashing with, Exis channeled a personality that is more reminiscent of Doctor Q than someone who is altruistic. If Melanie would be aware of her actions, I suspect she would in the very least harden her resolve to
break off loyalty to Core. Melanie, in this issue, notwithstanding the superb Hive sequences, seems to be acting in a way that would set her on a collision path with Core, Exis, and the Director. To throw a wrench into this conflict, Lilit shows her true colors and motivations, ultimately using Melanie's best friend against her.
The pregnant slaves were a reminder that the Hive operates on a level beyond what Core and indeed, any other story in this 'verse, has the capacity to deal with. I would like to assume that the "breeders" are irreversibly enslaved, and how shocked and disturbed the Core agents were in witnessing them served to highlight that fact, the similarities between the enslaved women and the Core women working in visuals as well as their actions, marching to "plug in" like drones, etc.
In fact, there was a duality within Core and the Hive that came to my realization in this issue, that Core and the Hive are remarkably similar, both capture victims against their will, as we've seen with Tammy and Nicole, assumable with all the Cored women, and both are vying for power it seems with disregard for their respective agents lives. Both Core and the Hive mirror each other in similar ways, the difference being, in my opinion, is that the drones are better at it. The weakness of Core I believe is that the women keep their personalities, and thus, while fully enslaved, as we saw from Tammy in earlier episodes, are still reigned in by their humanity. This is another layer in that makes Core unique in my opinion, the personality clashes between characters and the various factions.
This again is something that I feel Melanie could be more aware of, she clearly acknowledged the changed personalities of Tammy and Nicole, and indeed the dressing up as drones did not seem to phase her as she was blinded by her need to ask her friends for help, which is a brilliant use of motivation, had she not been fixated on going into the Hive I believe Melanie would question and delve deeper as to why her friends are acting unlike themselves.
I thank you both for your amazing work and am waiting with bated breath for this chapter's continuation.