Jormungand - Episode 3

Just in case you were concerned that Jormungand was filled with entirely too many normal, rational characters, this third episode kicks off a new story arc which introduces us to a pair of nutters with a penchant for "making music" with their array of weaponry.

The duo in question refer to themselves as Orchestra, and after getting to see them in sadistic action against a Mafia turncoat in the Middle East, we inevitably find them in the rather more civilised location of Monaco on the hunt for Koko as their latest assassination target.  Luckily for them, they run into Koko in no time at all as she enjoys a shopping trip at the behest of Valmer - unluckily for them, Jonah also happens to be in pursuit of Koko having sneaked out of an abortive attempt to teach him some maths skills.

Before we know it, we're sat slap-bang in the middle of a full on shoot-out in this normally quiet shopping precinct, with Orchestra's unusual but deadly combination happy to lay waste to anything in sight, be it the police, snipers or Koko's team of bodyguards.  Ultimately Koko manages to make good her escape thanks to Jonah and company, but for how long?  It seems as if Orchestra have plenty of other lethal weapons still at their disposal, and they certainly aren't afraid to use them...

I have to admit that my relationship with this particular episode of Jormungand has been rather a love/hate affair - I can't complain about the introduction of some more gun-toting, batshit crazy characters, and filling over half the episode with a pitched gun battle is pretty much what I imagine many of us are signed up for when it comes to our expectations for the series, but that doesn't detract from the fact that something feels "off" about the way the whole thing was delivered.  For starters, Orchestra's actions for supposedly lethal assassins veered from the crazily brilliant to the utterly lunatic, and the way their whole gun battle was presented left it feeling as if everyone involved was... well, a bit crap at shooting one another, frankly.  Add to that the stuttering and occasionally rushed delivery of the episode, and there were some deeply unsatisfying elements to offset the cool factor of the key tenets of this instalment.  I don't want to say that I didn't enjoy it, mostly because that wouldn't be even vaguely true, but there is something annoyingly half-baked about the series at times that I've been trying to give the benefit of doubt despite the fact that it's creeping up on me more and more.