A few new characters are introduced, and a few more are actually developed. Fortunately, Koko may be the sanest one of her group.
What They Say
A ruthless arms dealer on a quixotic quest for world peace. A child soldier born into chaotic conflict. Their lives will intertwine as they journey together through the seedy underbelly of the world’s arms market.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With this second episode, I’ve come to realize that Jormungand and Koko Hekmatyar herself are a lot smarter that I’d given them credit for. There’s a definite method to Koko’s madness, and it’s illustrated in this episode. The show also has the decency to trust the audience’s intelligence enough not to talk us through the entire setup. I’m much more excited for this show than I was previously, and much of that is due to how much this episode does right.
The second episode picks up some time after the first, with Koko’s caravan driving along a highway and set to make a few stops on the way to rendezvoux with Valmet and Tojo past the border crossing ahead. Unfortunately, Koko’s finding communications are cut off, and her trucks are waylaid by some IEDs set up on the road. She and her entourage are taken into custody at a military facility that she was scheduled to stop at anyway. Something is amiss.
It seems the Lieutenant Colonel Grant she had made a deal with for delivery of some anti-aircraft missiles is gone, and been replaced by an ambitious Major Pollack. Additionally, a ground war has started in earnest over the territory surrounding a valuable oil pipeline. The reason communications have been cut off is that cel towers and radar stations have been bombed, and Koko suspects the Major’s troops are killing civilians and journalists as well to make sure the land grab stays covert. A hotspot like this would seem to be a great find for an arms dealer, but Koko seems displeased that the Major wants to request additional arms from her group. And it doesn’t seem to be just because the Major only promises to pay once he’s won.
Another arms dealer, a President Curry from CCAT, and his two companions, Mildo and Lou have arrived at the hotspot as well. Koko clearly hates other arms dealers, and she’s fairly disgusted at Curry’s selling of stinger missiles to the Major. Koko wants to leave as soon as possible, but the Major requests a radar unit from Koko’s company as well. She says it’s out of her control, but Curry reveals that Koko is the heir of a certain Floyd Hekmatyar, and her power in the company is not insignificant. Now trapped, Major Pollack puts minders on Koko’s group, and tells them to go over the border, where cel towers are available, so that she might place an order for the radar unit.
Koko wants to ditch the minders and run, but for the first time, she seems awfully reticent about wasting human life. She’s able to communicate with Valmet and Tojo and set up a trap to capture her minders. President Curry is less fortunate, as the unbalanced Mildo gets pissed off at her military escorts and ends up killing them both. The two groups meet up at a clock factory, where Koko and Curry come up with a scheme to evade the Major’s troops and escape the country.
There’s a great deal of development in this episode. Koko’s plans finally seem to start making sense. Her deals with the missing Lt. Col Grant imply she’s interested in providing only enough arms to act as a deterrent, in order to cut down violence, rather than instigate it. When she encounters other arms dealers, she either kills them, or in episode one, or betrays them, as can be seen here. Her saying that she deals arms in the interest in world peace may not just be hot air, and it’s a rather daring mix of idealism and realpolitik. It’s intoxicating to think she might be able to get away with it.
Only two of Koko’s comrades have seen any real development at this point. Lehm, the always smiling mercenary is Koko’s man on the ground who is able to provide battlefield analysis and more prosaic advice as well. The most developed (in more ways than one) is knife-wielding Amazon Valmet, whose deadliness seems unimpaired by her only having one eye. Apparently a betrayed solider, Valmet is cool and competent and utterly devoted to Koko, seemingly to a romantic degree. The other standout character in this episode is Mildo, a clearly crazy mercenary who seems smitten by both Koko and Valmet. She challenges Valmet to a knife-fight which she soundly loses, further illustrating her oddball charm and Valmet’s superior skill and composure. It can only be hoped that other the other characters are as interesting as these few.
In Summary
In this much stronger second episode, Jormungand shows it’s a lot funnier, intelligent, and enjoyable than I had previously given it credit for. Koko’s attempt to bring about world peace through arms sales is potentially plausible in this world, and it will be exciting to see if her theories will be challenged, and how much success she might see. It’s now incredibly clear why she has been able to assemble such a loyal group of followers. I’m incredibly enthusiastic about this show now, and it has quickly become the most pleasant surprise of the season.
Grade: B+
Streamed By: Funimation.com
Review Equipment: Sony VAIO 17″ HD screen
