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This is a review of episode 4 of Black Rock Shooter Dawn Fall.  

In this episode, we learn about some of the characters’ pasts, meet a new character, and Empress rejects a proposal. 

Spoilers to follow!

The episode starts with gratuitous shots of Charlotte, who is wearing an outfit that would give you terrible windburn unless, of course, she turns out to be augmented like the super soldiers of Hemitaos Unit. 

Jumping to the protagonists, a new character, Major Volt, arrives with the reinforcement squad. It wasn’t clear to me before, but it’s confirmed active human armies are still fighting against the Artemis A.I., but they are falling fast.  

Later, Volt approaches Monika and Empress, explaining that the Education Institution killed Colonel’s wife and daughter and that while Colonel would much rather be getting revenge, he pushes his emotions aside to save the world. It was meant as a pep talk for Empress, but it does nothing to stave off her melancholy. 

We also learned Major Volt is married to the job.

Afterward, Monika tries to initiate an intimate situation with Empress, who is confused by the offer and not interested. 

As the army is moving out, Dead Master shows up. Rather than attack, she infiltrates the convoy and apologizes for attacking Empress. This spirals into a rant about how humans are terrible. She wants them to die, so she wishes to kill Empress to ensure they have no hope for survival and to ease Empress’ suffering. This turns into an existential discussion about death. All of this is held as they drive full speed through the desert, so their hearing must also be augmented.  

Annoyed when Empress says she wants to live, Dead Master falls back to attack, but Charlotte shows up in her jet and blasts her and the convoy. Dead Master attempts to fight back, but Charlotte shoots off her arm and leg, then beats her up some more. Empress intervenes and saves Dead Master. 

After Charlotte escapes, we learn that she is Colonel’s daughter. Rather than try and get to her, Monika advises they carry on with their mission, as given Charlotte wants Empress, she’ll eventually come to them. 

Overall, while less action-packed than previous episodes, the twist with Charlotte has ramped up the tension, and it’ll be interesting to see whether Dead Master falls in with the good guys. If so, I’m expecting the rest of Empress’ old friends will eventually join, creating a stronger force to take down Artemis and the Orbital Elevator. 

The next episode airs on Wednesday, November 16 on Disney+ and Hulu. 

Tina S. Beier

Website

T. S. Beier is obsessed with science fiction, the ruins of industry, and Fallout. She is the author of What Branches Grow, a post-apocalyptic novel (which was a Top 5 Finalist in the 2020 Kindle Book Awards and a semi-finalist in the 2021 Self-Published Science Fiction Competition) and the Burnt Ship Trilogy (space opera). She is a book reviewer, editor, and freelance writer. She currently lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband, two feral children, and a Shepherd-Mastiff.

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