Gosick - Episode 2

Thanks to Victorique's brilliant mind, Kujo's determination for justice and a few twists and turns, this second episode of Gosick sees our dynamic duo on-board a ship using an invitation meant for someone else entirely - an invitation that quickly looks like a ticket to despair.

After eating a meal in the dining room only to find that all of the food has been drugged, Kujo and Victorique awaken to find themselves locked in a room with the other diners... although, as Victorique quickly points out, the actual number of people shut in the room numbers all of the diners plus one other, who must surely be behind whatever is going on.  The next thing we know there are black outs leading to menacing notes written on a wall, booby traps at every turn, and what seem to be some sinister and ghostly goings-on as it becomes clear that our guests appear to have set sail on some kind of replica of a ship known as the Queen Berry - a ship whose previous "guests" almost all died in a horrific tale which ended up with the vessel sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

Of course, Victorique being who she is it doesn't take long for her to debunk most of the more ghostly happenings aboard the ship, but as the vessel begins to flood and sink and with booby traps all around, Kujo is also gainfully employed when it comes to protecting his new companion - something which becomes an increasingly tall order as one of their fellow guests looks set to mentally breakdown as the screw is turned upon those remaining on board.

If there's one thing to be said about this instalment of Gosick, it's that Victorique (perhaps inevitably) steals the show utterly - that mocking laugh alone is worth the price of entry, while her dynamic with Kujo is easily the highlight here as they verbally spar and bounce off one another throughout the episode.  Unfortunately, that's the only aspect of this particular episode and the story it sets out that really shines - I had high hopes for it as it began to set up its mysterious circumstances, before it contrived to create a set of "weird" happenings that could be explained instantly even by a simpleton like myself, leaving Victorique's revelations about them to be uninspiring at best.  In fairness, with the story not yet over I don't want to write it off entirely, as there could be some bigger twists and turns just around the corner next episode (before we even mention this week's cliffhanger), but at the same time I can't hide my disappointment in the fact that the mysteries we were served up with here were weak sauce; as watery as the lower levels of this episode's nice boat, to tell the truth.