The first episode of this set up an interesting enough premise and a cast of characters which might eventually develop into an interesting group. However, episode 2 of The Girl in Twilight doesn’t seem particularly interested in doing that as we plunge straight into another parallel world in a jump that seems to contradict the events of last week without any real explanation as to how and I’m stuck wondering if the only sci-fi element here is going to be the monotone explanation of world lines that looks like it got hacked out of literally any other show about parallel worlds.
What bugged me most about that exposition… Wait, there’s too many things so let’s just go through why this one section of the episode was enough to erode a lot of the curiosity that I had for what was going on. Firstly, the group of girls, minus Nana (and I’ll get to that) run into the alternate version of Asuka who they met last week while in a parallel world and essentially demand she explain what is going on. She complies in one of the most drawn out sequences ever giving her name and then the duh worthy statement that she’s from a parallel world (seriously, only Trigger’s sandwich crushing pause in SSSS.Gridman felt more unnecessarily drawn out than this).
Then we go to the eye catch before we transition, to the girls sitting in a neat row in a classroom in the school in this world at night while alternate Asuka beings a fairly incomplete and dull explanation of world lines. Other than just being poorly executed and boring to watch, why are they suddenly in the school? They say themselves later on that they had to dodge security, and that’s before the two Asuka’s get spotted by said security though that doesn’t seem to lead to anything of note because we just scene transition again.
More importantly, they specifically tell us the reason why Nana isn’t with the group. And all that made me wonder was then what happened last week. Surely Asuka, being the one who used the radio, should have had the same thing happen to her? Did it happen? Nope. Did any of the girls ask ‘Professor’ Asuka why not? Nope. Does the audience get any kind of hint that maybe the show plans to address this flaw in its own explanation? Nope.
I get we are only in episode two and any inconsistencies may later be explained by future reveals, but this was not a good scene.
Some spoilers ahead.
Alright, moving onto Nana, she’s now apparently merged with the Nana of this world and Nana of this world is getting married in two days, to some hot guy the girls were ogling on TV at the start of the episode (though he seems a little dodge to me). She goes through the usual issues of dealing with all her friends and her parents suddenly changing and she has some blow up at her parents… some daddy issues there that might have been more affective if I had any reason to care at all.
This episode does have two things going for it. One, I’m curious about evil fortune teller lady. And secondly, the yellow bunny from episode one shows up right at the end. Still, this one seems to be headed for a third episode drop unless there’s a noticeable improvement next week.
Linked Reviews:
Episode 1: If I Believe Enough, Weird Stuff Will Happen
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
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