Great Pretender
a review by satorublue
a review by satorublue
My thoughts:
Case 2 was ok in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, it was still enjoyable to watch and I loved getting to know more about Abigail, especially as she was the one I was the most intrigued to learn more about. I just found that this arc was a bit slow in areas and I found the con itself not as entertaining compared to the others. I did prefer Sam as the target more than I did for Eddie Cassano in Case 1. It was also nice to see Edamura's dynamic with Abigail and I found that to be a personal highlight of mine for this arc.
Case 4 has the most episodes in the series with a total of 9 episodes. It is even presented as its own season on Netflix (for some reason idk). So of course I was quite excited to see what exactly was going to happen and assumed it was probably going to be their biggest con yet. I was definitely right in thinking it was going to be the biggest one but I think as a result, the story slightly fell apart. Case 4 to me had the most ambitious plot the series had attempted but it was also the most disappointing.
Case 4 opens up with an interesting and quite strong beginning as it not only ties back to Edamura's past with his father but it puts Edamura in a situation that greatly conflicts with his morals. Having him believe that he was working an honest job with a good company, only for it to end up being a hum@n tr@ff!ck!ng trading business, it was definitely hard as a viewer to watch him be put in a situation like that. It was heart breaking and surprising to see the series tackle something as serious as that as well.
Edamura quickly catches on however, that this was no accident and he was put into the job as part of a con for Laurent. He is pissed, for good reason, because all he has wanted was to live an honest life but was instead tricked into something that not only was he not clued in on (again) but he morally could not walk away from either. It was slightly repetitive to use the same formula from case 2 but what was different this time was we saw team confidence get caught, which has not happened before.
It seemed that there was no way out this time for our characters and to make matters worse, Edamura's father decides to not only betray his son but to also k!ll Abigail and Cynthia. The moment I realised how f-cked everything truly was for the team, was when Edamura was then given the chance to avenge his friends by sh--ting his father and he takes it. That very moment in my opinion was the highlight of the case and I loved LOVED that it gave us a twist that had genuine consequences on the team and Edamura.
It was that moment on the boat that broke Edamura and left him vulnerable to the CEO Suzaku. She exploits his weak mental state and molds him into the son she's always wanted. And when I started to question if maybe, just maybe, this was all one sick joke, we see Edamura become a part of the system that was entirely against his morals earlier on in Case 4-1.
It was terrifying to see as a viewer because it really spoke to the gravity of the entire situation and how severely that moment on the boat affected Edamura. It changed him entirely. It felt like watching a whole different character to the one we were initially introduced to in the beginning of the series and I absolutely loved it. Yes, was it hard to watch? absolutely but it was amazing to see the series be willing to divert our expectations and deliver a twist that really changed the trajectory of Edamura's character and the story itself. It took away what we became so used to and instead flipped everything on its head. I seriously thought that they would succeed in the end like they always did in Case 1, 2 and 3, but they didn't. And not only did we lose two great characters in the process but Edamura lost himself in the process of it all too.
Now you may be wondering why exactly I was so disappointed with Case 4 when this whole time I've just been singing its praises at how great of an arc its been so far. Well, I'll tell you... (deep DEEP sigh)
We find out that the entire time, THE ENTIRE TIME, it was all part of the plan conducted by Team Confidence and Oz (Edamura's dad), Abigail and Cynthia were still alive. The only issue was, Edamura had no clue this was the case. He truly believed his friends were k!lled, he genuinely thought he murd£red his dad and he had been working for Suzaku for months without any word from the team that it was fake. He had been used and lied to again. Oh and lets not forget that during this time Edamura was helping Suzaku to sell children, or are we just going to move pass that? (we do find out that the children are safe but at the time Edamura had no idea what the full details of the plan were).
Not enough words, can describe the level of disappointment I felt when I found out it was all an act. I've never felt so betrayed and dumb for thinking that the series was going to follow through with a twist that had such well-written and interesting repercussions on Edamura's character and morals. But when I saw Edamura's dad show up to his door alive, I felt so gaslit omg. His dad explains to Edamura that he's been actually working with Laurent this entire time and he did not betray them. He goes on to explain Laurent's backstory, how this con has been in the making for years and the reason why he went to prison was so he could take the fall for the team. We also find out the full details of the plan and that the team are going to have Laurent and Edamura falsely translate a webcam meeting between Suzaku and Liu Xiao which ends with both CEOs bringing in large amounts of money while secretly planning to k!ll each other. When the in-person meeting inevitably does commence, both CEOs are confused on what's happening and a swarm of police (Team Confidence) raid in.
Although I was disappointed with how the rest of the arc played out, something happens in that meeting that takes an interesting turn. A turn that almost makes up for all the disappointment I felt earlier on.
Once the police raid in, we think team confidence are about to pull of the biggest swindle yet however, Edamura turns everything on its head and decides to betray his team instead. He brings in his own guys who ambush team confidence (who turn out to be Eddie Cassano and his guys because that makes sense i guess???). Edamura starts losing it, like literally starts maniacally laughing. It's in this very moment where we get to truly see how much of an effect being a pawn in Laurent's plan, never being clued into the full details of the job and being forced into dishonest work despite explicitly voicing that he doesn't want to be involved has had on Edamura. We even see him confront his dad for failing him and mother, lying to him his entire life and essentially being a deadbeat father.
The reason I loved this scene so much was because it felt like a long time coming. Like everything we have seen, from the very first episode in Case 1 to this very moment in Case 4, has been a huge build up to Edamura finally snapping and we watch as he goes off at everyone who has wronged him. He turns into this bad guy who now works for the worst type of people known to mankind. He became the thing he desperately tried to run away from time and time again. It was incredible, absolutely fantastic to watch as it leads to this big crescendo where his own father, with the help of Laurent, k!lls him off. The two big perpetrators, in Edamura's eyes, to him turning out the way he did, have now taken his life. The main character of this series is now d£@d.
Do you know how excited I was to watch this play out? I was screaming at my screen because I could not believe that the series was going to commit to a story like that. That scene for me was the greatest moment of the arc until... (and I can't believe I'm saying this for a 2nd time) ... we find out... (deep sigh) that it was all... (eye twitching)... AN ACT
yeah... so it turns out that Edamura and team confidence had created this elaborate plan to fool Suzaku, Liu Xiao and their men in the end...
Also what was that ending with Team Confidence celebrating on a boat with the antagonists from Case 1, 2 and 3...??? like you've got to be joking ???
And if you think this arc couldn't have annoyed me further... this scene appears as the post credit scene...
seriously don't piss me off right now -_-
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