Fractale - Episode 10

It's time for the big face-off between Lost Millennium and the Fractale system's main temple - a conflict made all the more difficult thanks to Phryne's attempt to return to said temple in the hope of negotiating some kind of peace.

Of course, Clain and Nessa duly try to follow her, finding themselves picked up by the Granitz family airship at which point they explain their actions - an explanation which leaves Sunda deciding to help Clain's rescue attempt himself, while leader of another Lost Millennium faction (and all-round trouble-maker) Dias offers to help by acting as a decoy.

Meanwhile, Phryne tries to argue her case for a cease fire and some kind of peace with the Grand Priestess (aka her mother/sister); a debate which pretty much sums up the core question of the series, that being whether it's better to live free but in a harsh and difficult world or under the control of someone else but with everything you could possibly need provided for you.  Such arguments go out of the window somewhat on this occasion however, as it boils down to whether or not Phryne gets throttled by her own sibling/parent.  Luckily for Phryne, she escapes both this and also an attempt by Dias' forces to kill her (as he's decided this is the best way to destroy the Fractale system), only to run into her father just as it seems as though she may be reunited with Nessa and Clain.

I suspect that the biggest issue with this particular episode Fractale is actually the instalments that have come before it - instalments which jumped around so much that we lost any real sense of over-arching purpose or meaning to the story being laid out in front of us.  Thus, by this point it's hard to know exactly what we're supposed to think or feel, leaving us largely to simply not care as a result.  That's rather a shame, as the whole question of freedom versus control and hardship versus luxury are actually pretty interesting, but as it is all of this is lost in rather more salacious plot points like strangulation and face licking - an issue which looks almost certain to relegate Fractale into the realms of those shows with a few fascinating episodes that promote discussion aplenty, lost in a mire of mediocrity and an overall lack of focus.  Little surprise then that Fractale looks set to be the lowest-rated show in the noitaminA programming block's history (although why nobody in Japan was watching Wandering Son is another question entirely).