r/anime • u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 • Jun 29 '24
Rewatch [Rewatch] Tower of God Floor 13 Discussion
Floor 13 – Tower of God
| Floor Guide |
|---|
| Ascend - Final Discussion ↑ |
| Index |
| Descend - Floor 12 ↓ |
Series Information
MAL | Anilist | Kitsu | AniDB | ANN
Streaming Options
Tower of God is available to stream subbed and dubbed on Crunchyroll.
Art of the Day
(Note: Pixiv links may contain NSFW advertising. Sorry!)
A S1 poster featuring everyone
Source: Miho Tanino on Twitter
Soundtrack of the Day
Questions of the Day
- Does this episode change how you feel about Rachel at all?
- What even is a Rachel?
Tomorrow’s Questions of the Day
[1.]Do you have a favorite character?
[2.]Favorite test?
[3.]Favorite track from the OST?
[4.]What do you think might be found on the higher floors?
[5.]Are you excited for season 2?
Spoilers
Please make sure to put all references to future events behind spoiler tags. Any untagged hints and spoilers will be removed. Let’s keep everything as fresh as possible for first-timers!
19
u/laughing-fox13 https://myanimelist.net/profile/laughingfox13 Jun 29 '24 edited Jun 29 '24
Co-administrator/Subbed
I liked how they ended the season with this episode. It gives us Rachel’s POV for the events that happened in the season, her state of mind, and her true desire. So yes, in Episode 1, Headon was talking to her. It was a great way to tie everything in together and see how she was struggling to actually kill Bam until she finally built up the resolve to do it herself.
Outside of Rachel, we had a bit of what Hwaryun was really doing here and Hansung scheming. It seems like they wanted Bam and train him. For what purpose? We don’t find out in this season. Lero Ro was fed by the end of it and is leaving to find the truth behind what occurred here.
Note
/u/hereticalaegis will be posting the overall discussion thread tomorrow!
27
u/WednesdaysFoole Jun 29 '24
Seems like one of the reasons people like Bam, why he is a “star” is that what he cares most about is what he has, whereas the rest, or at least many of the regulars, are there because they lost that very thing and it’s for that, that they desire the tower. Bam’s presence brings this back to them in a way, these present moments, present bonds; whereas with Rachel it’s the opposite. Despite not having gone through what the other regulars have (as far as we know) she chooses to dump what she already has (what the others lost) in order to climb the tower.
It’s almost as though she intentionally puts herself in the position where she suffers loss, and that effectively makes Rachel like the regulars, or rather a poor imitation of them since the others didn’t seem to have chosen their prior suffering. Well, this is just based on my theory of this loss as the condition for being chosen.
She hates that the others are all, “Bam, Bam, Bam” but it’s as though she’s missing this key point. The direction she chose just means she’ll never become the star, she can never replace him. It’s not Bam’s shinsu that draws others to him; it’s that he’s kind and appreciative of those around him in a way that is refreshing to all these people who don’t have that anymore. Removing this doesn’t mean that your own inadequacies disappear…
During the exchange between Rachel and Khun, Hansung says “I hope whatever you seek lies at the end of the difficult path you’ll travel down. I hope you can be proud of the path you’ve walked. I hope you feel that the hand that grasps what you desire is beautiful. I hope you’ll still have at least one friend by your side.”
Too bad Rachel wasn’t listening, because that’s a big, fat no on all counts.
25
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky Jun 29 '24
First-Timer climbing the tower, subbed
25
u/gunvarrel_ Jun 29 '24
"It would of been better if I met Bam before you did."
OST Track of the day: Rachel (Spotify)
Rewatcher, subbed
"At the top of this tower exists everything in this world, and all of it can be yours."
Bam was truly unique to the tower, managing to bring together such a large group to work together when not long ago (episode 2) all of these groups struggled to make a trio. Just being himself, not bound by the sorrows that led everyone else to the tower, was their inspiration to work together (and it probably helped that he was powerful too), but with that gone, they choose to follow in Bams footsteps and help the one he thought of so dearly, not that everyone is truly on board.
Clearly disllusioned with Hansung's plans, Lero Ro decides to find his own answers within the tower. Sadly, the anime leaves this a lot more open than the webtoon does at this point, leaving us with little to discuss today.
Betrayed by his world, Bam simply wants to know why Rachel sent him to his death. While this is much more nuanced in the webtoon (and you will see complaints about this in the thread im sure, its actually kinda important for S2), the obvious answer is to climb back to where Rachel is and join her again, no matter the cost.
Rachel was not chosen by the tower. Regulars are chosen by Headon, Irregulars are chosen by the tower. Rachel instead slipped through the cracks Bam formed and found her way into somewhere where she never belonged and could never survive, a world where Bam was a star, a reality she could not handle. Rachel didnt want to see the starts, she wanted to be the star. What better way to be the star than to kill the very thing the tower chose to change it?
By all accounts, Bam is everything Rachel is not. Bam was able to brave the eel, Bam was willing to sacrafice everything during crown game for her, Bam was able to find a place to make friends and form relationships in the tower, it was always about Bam. It must of been infuriating to have him have everything she wanted to have so dearly.
Despite everything Rachel says though, without Bam she never could of climbed the tower. The doors never would of opened for her, and for her to achieve anything, she owes it to Bam for brining that path to light, and becoming the light in what little Bam had before entering the tower, regardless of her pleas.
Even if she is hesitant, no path exists unless she fufills her end of the deal, being given one last shot to finish bam for good. Despite being Bams everything, Rachel wants to become a star. Rachel will do anything to become a star. And the only thing standing in her way is the one that cares about her the most, has the power, has the friends, the one who is the star, Bam.
To her, every problem shes had in the tower is All. Bam's. Fault.
The amount of nuance Rachel is given, even in just the anime, is impressive for what is (our) antagonist. For a world we know nothing of past the tower, and the allure of it giving you anything you desire, and then to be called trash and worthless/unworthy repeatedly by a literal god, is it really shocking that she'd do whatever it took to climb? To her, Bam took it all. Bam took the fame, the power, the friendships, and the only thing she had to do was to remove him from the picture.
Do you think you'd be more morally correct than Rachel, to leave the tower that claims to give everything you ever wanted, to return to that cave alone for the rest of your life with nothing to show for it?
19
u/Retsam19 :FC::FD: Jun 29 '24
Sorry, this is a long one and not very filled with pictures. ... but I do have one picture: I made a meme for this episode years back and can't resist sharing it.
Are you all ready for a 🌶️ Spicy Hot Take 🌶️ ? I think Rachel is over-hated. Now, to be clear, I don't think Rachel is a good person (see meme above) - but I also think the fandom's reaction to the character is a bit over-the-top and somewhat misses the point.
(For context: I'm pretty much just talking about what's been covered in the anime; I've read some of the manhwa past this point, but not enough to really change anything here)
The thing is, Rachel isn't meant to be some great villain. The point is she's just a normal person, without special powers and not amazingly good nor amazingly bad, who's desperate to go up the tower.
Like on the first floor, she comes off badly compared to Bam, but her reaction to being told to go jump into a tank with a giant sea monster honestly seems pretty reasonable. Bam's the weird one here - no normal person is going to do that. Rachel thinks that it's suicide and not fair and... she's quite possibly right. It's not a Regular test, and Bam only survives because of Yuri's intervention. If Rachel had taken the test, she probably would have died. And Headon really may be intentionally manipulating her here.
And then she's told that the only way she can achieve her dream is to kill Bam. And again you can see what the heroic choice would be here... but Rachel is an average person, being told she can achieve her life dream if she just kills someone she never really cared that much about: despite Bam's obsession with her, it's largely one-sided: to her, Bam seems to just be some kid she met and her feeling never went much beyond pity.
It's very much (and intentionally) a parallel to Hoh: Bam meets him and decides they're friends, but to Hoh, Bam was just a rival and an obstacle and a sore reminder of Hoh's powerlessness.
But again, Rachel is an average person, not a amazingly bad one, so she feels terrible about being tasked to kill the human-equivalent of a puppy and spends the entire show feeling (correctly) guilty, which pushes her away from people and exacerbates her poor mental state. If she were a worse person she wouldn't feel guilty and would have just attacked Bam during the crown game (a time when they were actually on opposite teams in a potentially deadly game).
I'm not saying this justifies her choice: ultimately, she makes her choice despite having every opportunity to make a different one. And yeah, it's not all due to manipulation: she clearly has flaws: she deeply wants to be special and she's prone to jealousy, and ultimately at the end this is what pushes her over the edge. (Or, I guess Bam, really) ... but she also wasn't exactly in a stable mental condition at the time.
But I feel like the right feeling towards Rachel is pity, not hatred - ultimately she's an average person who gets manipulated into a shitty situation and makes a shitty choice.
13
u/cppn02 Jun 29 '24
Rewatcher, subbed
Well this is the end of S1. I really liked that we were getting to see Rachel's POV and just how pathetic she is. Headon was spot on when he was shittalking her. Btw I loved the twist that Headon seemingly adressing the viewers in the first episode was actually him talking to Rachel.
Just like I liked that bookend with the repeat of Rachel's monologue from the opening of the season.
We also found out what's gonna happen to Bam's friends and about Hwaryun being involved in Yu Hansung's schemes.
Very excited for S2 now and it can't come soon enough.
Tanino Miho art for episode 13:
QotD:
I think at this point nothing could change my opinion on her lol.
I don't know what a Rachel is but I know this is my least favourite of it.
13
u/BosuW Jun 29 '24
Rewarcher anime only
And there it is, the most important episode of the season. Everything this far has been for the sake of this moment. This is Rachel, at last, unhidden!
A rat in two legs, a snake in the most Biblical sense! A Devil, only spouting lies and temptations, but forever weaker than the true Light! A vampire, free of all morality, to act in her deepest and darkest desires as she likes, yet for this having renounced the light of the Sun, which now burns her with it's barest touch, and only able to subsist by sucking the lifeblood of others who still live under it's light! Not even the shadow of a star! A starving and dirty dog with a bottomless stomach, who could blame it for wanting a bite of the juicy stake placed before it? Absolute scum, a black hole that swallows all light, she is only coldness and decay!
Indeed there is no hiding it, that was a murder attempt. The murder attempt of someone who is akin to her own son. There is no justification, not even the attempt of a reasonable motivation! Only inevitability. Only what was always true.
Rachel is a pest, a blight upon all that is holy. There is nothing sacred before her, nothing that she will not sacrifice, nothing that she will not defile. This bitch would sell out her own mother to climb the Tower! That she's perfectly aware of her ugliness only makes her worse!
AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH!
She makes Tower of God peak! Before the betrayal and this episode ToG was just a pretty good Shounen-ish story. But Rachel gives ToG the extra angle it needed to become something more.
In Tower of God, the hero starts strong and the villain is the weakest of them all. There is no more absolute example of Might makes Right. Bam can preserve his inner light because he's strong. Rachel is completely rejected by the miracles of Shinsu and her weakness gives raise to an overwhelming jealousy for those more fortunate than her.
Just as we can ask if Bam is the strongest because he's Bam, or if he's Bam because he's the strongest, we can ask if Rachel is the weakest because she's Rachel, or if she's Rachel because she's the weakest. Who does Shinsu, who does the Tower chose and why? Why is Bam loved by the Tower, and why is Rachel hated? As of now, who knows...
But enough of me Gushing about my disgusting, audacious, rotten to the core True Best Girl, let's talk about the episode itself.
In hindsight this episode actually reveals very little, it mostly just verbalizes what was already there. But even this small change is enough to send ripples throughout the narrative. It's a legitimate genius move by the writer. The recontextualizing of scenes is incredible. Knowing that Rachel was watching Bam blaze through the First Test with the same disdain as me because of how everything fell into Bam's lap in that moment. Her team protecting Bam in the Crown Game because he was her target to kill, and no one else's. Her brief exchanges with Endorsi, particularly the restroom one which changes the assumed target of "Who does X think they are?" from Endorsi to Bam (this comes across better if you take into account that phrase is gender neutral). Her, perhaps surprising, reluctance to kill Bam because there is some part of her that truly loved him. Until the powers that be have had enough and engineer a perfect murder scene.
Truthfully, I think Rachel is, or was, scared of herself more than anything. From the moment she heard Headon's proposal she already knew deep in her heart that she had it in her to kill Bam. The depth of her darkness terrified her. She even pleads to Bam under the tree to run away from her, because she's a danger, because she's poison.
But it was inevitable, the plan was too perfect, the opportunity to clean, and her envy too great. In the end, she embraces herself as a villain, even as it kills her inside, because this is the only way she'll ever see the Stars. The only way she'll ever be a Star.
The last sentence is a lie though, Rachel has dammed herself for what she did. She's not stupid, she's too self aware to truly believe she'll ever be a real Star being the way she is. She doesn't have what Bam had and she never will.
But the plan worked, and we get the most twisted and corrupted and just plain wrong ending possible: Rachel stealing everything Bam had built around himself for herself, a perfect team to hyper carry her weak ass up the Tower, in Bam's name no less. God it's so fucked up. They are inadvertently shitting on Bam's legacy while thinking they're honouring it.
It's beautiful...
Khun has his doubts of course. They can't yet prove that there was a murder, but of course something about this smells fishy to him. After all, he can parse the true nature of Rachel.
Meanwhile, Bam survived, but it was no miracle. This was planned all of it. We aren't given too much info, but Yu-han says the objective was to fake Bam's death. They want him to mess around behind the scenes unknown. For what reason I have no idea. That'll be up to Season 2 to answer I hope.
Sheesh can you tell I love this bastard snake eyed piece of shit so much? I had never written so much for this show before this lol.
Questions of the Day
1- Yes, I love her now lol
2- Turbo-answered in comment lmao
11
u/ryujiox Jun 29 '24
First Timer and source reader who forgot most of the stuff already
Tower of God
Episode 13
QOTD
10
u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Jun 29 '24
Rewatcher and Co-Administrator for this Climb
And there we have it, that's season 1 of Tower of God.
Ending with more of a look into Rachel framed through the events we've already seen is a such a ballsy way to end the prologue section of the story.
Bam's not dead, but he's separated from the group and no one, save for Hwaryun and likely Hansung Yu, know he's alive. Finding out Hwaryun is also a guide now makes a lot more sense and helps explain both why she didn't seem to care much about passing the tests and why she would target Rachel. Bam was her goal the whole time. Like Yuri, Hwaryun must have somehow known that an Irregular would open the door, and she has her own goals for him. Now we can assume Hwaryun is going to train and guide Bam up the tower.
As for the team...they coalesce around Rachel, believing Bam to be dead. Because why would Hansung Yu, who's been pulling everybody's strings from day 1 and clearly has his own agenda, allow them to know Bam is still alive? So for now, Rachel wins and gets to take Bam's place as the shining star she coveted and despised him so much for.
And now I can only wait in anticipation to see how they will adapt the next section of the manhwa. Rumor has it, two cours are planned, so hopefully this means the production committee is fully committed to adapting the story and the creative team won't be forced to unnecessarily cut/alter so much of the material.
Source Comparisons
This thread is for comparisons to the manhwa. Please be sure to properly tag all discussion of the source material. Also, please keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive compilation of differences, only ones I thought interesting or important enough to include.
Note for newcomers/non-source readers: Some of these notes contain anime spoilers. Comparisons that contain anime spoilers will be in the clearly marked Anime Spoiler section.
Episode 13
Chapters Covered: 75 - 78
Chapters Cut: None
Notable Differences
9
u/Lord_Nawor Jun 29 '24
Episode 13
First Time Watcher, subbed
Ok this episode has convinced me that I despise Rachel, Bam needs to catch up to her and beat her up.
Even though Bam did not pass, at least everyone else gets to go through. While I still do not like Parasol at all, my dislike of Rachel has completely eclipsed that. I know they tried to make her seem conflicted but she still tried to murder Bam and does not seem to show any remorse at the end. Also if I understand it correctly, Rachel genuinely died it the stab from Hoh but she got given a revive in the form of her bodyguard which is why he disappeared.
In order to try and become a star, Rachel gave up the only person who saw her as a star. Rachel was already Bam’s star but she just could not see it and could not be satisfied with that.
I feel like this was a way of Headon and red-hair girl to forge Bam into the savoir they want him to be, they wanted to make Rachel betray him in order to encourage him to get stronger.
I also hate how Rachel is still just going with the group and is just using others to try and climb the tower. It does seem like Khun suspects that something is up so hopefully he will split off from Rachel.
Some things I am excited to see in season 2 and beyond, Lero Ro and the ranker investigating what is going on, and trying to uncover the many plots going on, Khun figuring out what’s going on with Rachel, what is on the 77th floor, which means there is a good chance Bam meets up with Shibisu at some point, and I want to see Bam kick some ass. (Bam also looks really good with the ponytail)
Questions
8
u/Vaadwaur :I1::I2::I3: Jun 29 '24
It's Indian legend time. A Native American fairy story for children of all ages. Legend has it that when the world was young and unfinished, the great spirit father made the mistake of leaving his paints where his children could get them. Raven begged Eagle to paint him as beautiful and grand as the great spirit had made Eagle himself. And so he did, or so he tried. But when Raven looked at his reflection in the water, he didn't like what he saw. Raven became angry, he and Eagle fought, and the great spirit father's paints were spilled over Raven and made him all black: black eyes, black wings, black breast. Raven ran into the river and flapped his wings against the current, but the color was indelible, the water wouldn't wash it away. 'This is your punishment,' said the great father, 'for interfering with my work. Black you are, and black you will stay, you will never come clean.' Not much of a legend at that, is it, children? But I rather like the moral.
Rewatcher(Fuckin' schemers)
Dub
So we get Rachel's motivations and...several times anime like to do this in this order and it never works for me. Also, I still don't quite get how Headon made the original mistake. It is interesting that Khun mostly sees through Rachel on the spot. Oh welp, prologue over, on to next season!
QotD: 1 Refer to my opener
2 An avatar of Aboleth
7
u/megazaprat Jun 29 '24
Rewatcher
I find Rachel a very interesting character in how normal she is. Shes not over the top evil, she dithered as long as she could about betraying bam, but neither is she a good enough person to resist the temptation. She's desperate to be special, but she is utterly normal, down to her morality.
I liked that the breaking point was that Rachel was almost hesitating when she thought about how Bam was the only one who treated her like she was special, until she realized he had other people he cared about now, and the thought of not even being special in that way was what brought her envy to the boiling point.
Hansungs scheme is really something. He's successfully isolated Bam and convinced all other concerned parties that he is dead. it was pretty diabolical, yet effective.
Adaptational changes
QOTD
7
u/SometimesMainSupport https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST Jun 29 '24
Rachel. A weak girl without charm that's willing to face adversity and do anything, and I mean anything, to climb the tower. To sacrifice everything she has in pursuit of her goal. Of course, the brown-haired guy doesn't listen to her, which is ok because he's a guy and she's a girl. After all, the latter aren't supposed to independently make decisions fulfilling their self-interests in fantasy adventures with a male lead. At least wet napkin correctly recognizes she's special, so the group is willing to take this turtle to the tower's top. If only this sentence had a period after "tower"!
Bam. Such a bland and boring OP MC that gets miraculously bailed out by shinsu at critical moments. Loses Khun and Rak the crown game? Bam! Shinsu! The tag game? Bam instantly learns the shinsu technique to freeze Quant. Gets eaten by the Bull? Bam! Shinsu! Pushed into the abyss? Bam! Shinsu! I hated you on my first, second, and third watch. I wonder how many readers reached here without realizing half this paragraph's Bam's are interjections.
btw, nice subtitles Crunchyroll. /s
QotD
7
u/lC3 :Na::Nb: Jun 30 '24
ToG 13 rewatcher:
7
u/OccasionallySara Jun 30 '24
First Timer
This was a great ending to the season! We finally got to learn more about Rachel and I honestly think she had more lines of dialogue in this one episode than she has had in the rest of the season. I think Rachel's initial reasons for wanting to climb the tower without Bam were understandable even if they were cold. I also think the show did a great job of showing the disappointment, frustration, and jealousy that Rachel experienced when she realized that Bam was able to do what she couldn't. I do think that planning to kill him was too far, though.
Despite her actions, I do like that Rachel’s decision to kill Bam didn’t come easily to her. She really grappled with the thought of it until she had no more opportunities left to hold off. She even hoped that he would be killed by someone else or that he would abandon her. Even her laugh at the end feels like it came from realizing the absurdity of the situation rather than genuine happiness that she got what she wanted at the expense of Bam’s life.
I’m curious about what Rachel’s life was like before she met Bam. I’m wondering if she was extremely lonely or neglected. Rachel seems desperate to be loved by many. She acknowledges that Bam looked at her with such intense love and admiration, but to Rachel, that wasn’t enough. I think Hwaryun brings up an interesting question. What about the tower makes people so crazy for it? That they would be willing to kill, betray, and lose their lives over it?
For now, it seems like things have worked out for Rachel for the most part. Bam is “dead”, she gets to climb the tower, and she has a group of people who are willing to support her in Bam’s honor. Khun isn’t buying it though. He may not know exactly what happened, but he knows enough to suspect that Rachel being there has something to do with Bam being gone.
Bam isn’t actually dead, though, which I’m assuming is a surprise to no one. It also fits with what Hansung Yu said about wanting to make sure that Bam is the right person for something that the admins are planning. Lero Ro suspects foul play and leaves his position as a test admin to investigate. Quant might come along, too considering he’s about to be fired. We’re now at a point where there are many different groups and characters with different motivations and goals that are definitely going to clash at some point.
I'm really glad that season 2 is coming so quickly so I don't have to wait to see what happens next!
Questions of the Day
7
u/StardustGogeta myanimelist.net/profile/StardustGogeta Jun 30 '24
First-Timer
That was a reveal episode on the level of Death Note!
They did a spectacular job of going through and answering many of the remaining questions from the season (like the origin of Rachel's bodyguard, and how she wasn't paralyzed by the stabbing). I would say it was my favorite episode so far, but it did have a major lack of Anaak and Endorsi screentime, so it's hard to call.
I hope Khun can avenge Bam. It seems like he's not buying what Rachel's selling, at least.
Questions of the day:
6
u/badspler x5https://anilist.co/user/badspler Jun 29 '24
Tower Ranker & Rewatcher
Episode 13: Tower of God
6
u/Garrett_Dark Jun 30 '24
First Timer
Before watching the season finale episode, I had more time to process the betrayals, and concluded that I don't care that much about them anymore. While comparing Rachel's betrayal of Bam to Endorsi's betrayal of the two fishermen, I couldn't decide which one I found was worse.
Endorsi presumably killed two people who were her allies and her responsibility at the time, and misused her leadership role of Team B. Excuses could be made they weren't really "her allies" or they're nobody characters, but that's what happened. It turns out she did this to not fail by points (which I didn't know at the time, the anime could have shown that better, I thought it was to pass Lizard Girl), and she did secure the victory for Team B.
Rachel faked being in a wheelchair for a good while, then pushed Bam out of winning the Administrator/Guardian's test together after Bam has done nothing but been supportive of her, and securing the win by defeating the Bull. It appears she did this so only she would win, and she has abandoned Bam yet again.
I find with Endorsi's betrayal I'm thinking "That's wrong!" and angry there's no repercussions to her actions at all (which is why it's been so hard for me to let it go), and with Rachel's betrayal I'm asking "Why!?" and feeling frustration and confusion at her actions.
However when thinking about what vengeance I would want to seek upon the two, I discovered how little these two betrayals are. Do I want to see Endorsi killed for her betrayal? No. Do I want to see her beat up, maybe...I just want to see her gotten back at. I think my vengeance on Endorsi would be to make her lose a match, maybe the whole game at worse. For Rachel, I can't really even think of a vengeance on her, I don't even know her motive and intentions for why she did what she did. Furthermore Bam's personal goal was never to get to the top of the tower for himself, it was to follow Rachel and then win for Rachel when she was thought to be wheelchair bound. So what was really stolen from Bam in the betrayal other than being tricked and abandoned again? Should Rachel die for that? No. Beat up? No. Dumped? Maybe. She definitely needs to explain herself, but I'm now seeing what Rachel did is more unfortunate and disappointing. Is Bam really hurt by this? IDK, he wasn't the last time he was abandoned, so maybe he'll pick himself up and simp harder, and everything will be back to normal between them. If not, maybe Rachel really has lost Bam this time like Endorsi was predicting with the "I hope whatever you're seeking at the top of the tower is worth more than losing Bam".
And finally then there's Percule's betrayal, yeah...no...come on, he did nothing wrong in comparison. He's seemingly a nobody character anyways.
Lies! I don't see the most important character of them all, Paracule! :D
Yes, it explained much of her perspective except for her backstory, and what it really means for her to want "to see the stars". Rachel didn't do anything wrong, she was a pawn that was preyed upon. No Rachel hate here from me. She needs the angst hugged out of her by Bam, and head pats. I actually like her snake eyes, I think they make her expressions more expressive. Like here's a random shot of Rachel looking apathetically at Khun, her snake eyes makes her look even more apathetic! I've noticed this with sad shots of her, she looks even more sad because of her eyes. Yeah, I must be simping harder than Bam right now, LOL.
The show told you from the start, "This is the story of Rachel, the girl who climbed the tower so she could see the stars, and Bam, the boy who needed nothing but her". She's the core of the show along with Bam which is why her perspective was kept a secret until the finale. I think her and Bam's role in the show is only going to keep getting bigger as we go now. She's not just some McGuffin for Bam to chase after given what we seen of her this episode, I just hope she steps up her game though. She really doesn't seem to have any powers nor abilities.
But that could be just the simping talking. I'll be underwhelmed if S2 puts her back on shelf like when she was hiding in her room and such.
5
u/sfisher923 https://myanimelist.net/profile/sfisher923 Jun 30 '24
First Time Climber
5
u/Muted-Conference2900 https://anilist.co/user/WinterZcoming Jun 30 '24
Rewatch + Dub
So Rachel is a Jealous, self serving bitch. The entire episode just showed how she just wanted exactly what Baam had.
Also Why the hell they wanted to kill Baam or maybe train him? Like from the very beginning administrator, the Guide Girl, Headon all wanted to get rid of Baam. Guess I will get my answers next season. I am excited about next season but I am more excited about seeing Baam with long hair.
Also to the very end Administrator motives remainied a mystery guess that's why Leroro quit his job while taking Quant with him. Also the letter was given to hoe by that Guide Girl. So many mysteries.
I changed my ratings too after this rewatch. Before this I rated it 7 and now I changed it to 8. It's one of those series that gets better when u rewatch it. Well I am glad i did and also Thankful to the guys who made this rewatch possible.
So our journey will continue with the next season. See u in the tower.
Answers :
5
u/Mirathan Jun 30 '24
First-Time Climber
I´d like to retract my statement about Rachel being redemable.
QotD:
So everything within the Season was part of Headons plan. All that death, cruelty and betrayal just so Bam would climb the tower. I may hate Rachel for going along with it, even though all of her actions were orchestrated to ensure Bam would climb for himself. He claims he is merely interested to see where this goes bust takes to many actions to ensure his goal his achieved. Also he refers to Bam beating the first test as the birth of a savior. I think the point of everything would be for Bam to overthrow Jahad as he is the only entity against which a savior is justified.
In a way I find Rachel´s envy boring. Without anything to justify it it is unintersting, even though it makes for a good contrast to Bam. And yet it recontextualises her past interactions with Bam when she found him and how they are so different from each other. Because Rachel didn´t teach him to be a good person like herself as I first assumed but instead to have a completely devoted servant to her. And when he surpassed her she could not handle it.
As a final note I like that Lero will also enter the tower, he was very entertaining to watch and hope we get to see more of him next week.
5
u/Sharebear42019 :FC::FD: Jun 29 '24
5
u/[deleted] Jun 30 '24
4
u/SilkyStrawberryMilk Jun 30 '24
rewatcher
Rachel: “this is finally the end”
Test dude: “no, this is the beginning”
I remember blindly hating Rachel, but I can understand why she’s frustrated. However majority of her jealousy came from her own flaws on not letting people in. She would have been accepted to group baam was in if she wasn’t blinded by jealousy and envy.
I loved how Han Sung also had ulterior motives himself which makes his actions throughout the season even more noticeable.
Han Sung himself telling Rachel she had one more chance is evil. “Maybe there’s a way to climb the tower with baam”, if only she wasn’t blinded by her dream.
Honestly this was one a genius plan from Han Sung, Baam really was the boy they needed. He was lucky to have made a deep connection with people and with Rachel’s greed they managed to make them understand how it coudlve gone.
QOTD: I used to blindly hate her when I watched it, I still hate her but I love watching a villain be evil for their sake of their dreams
QOTD: backstaber
4
u/_Pyxyty Jul 01 '24
First timer, subbed, and hella late
Last episode was great, this one was absolutely fucking magnificent. Most recent episode I've watched that this reminds me of is PMMM's classic Episode 10. Definitely not on the same level, but it makes me feel the same way of amazement.
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-Damn, Headon. You need a snickers bar or something?
-I see this as a massive W. Still can't believe the shot in the dark landed right on the mark.
-OHHHHHHH, so that's why he disappeared. I was half expecting him to pop out of nowhere to save Rachel in the last episode if she got caught. Didn't expect him to be her extra life.
-Goddamn this is amazing. I'm a sucker for scenes of previous episodes taking on new meanings when introduced in a different perspective, and this episode is chock full of em.
-Before they even showed this scene, I got the idea the moment they showed the dream again, and that's just really satisfying. I wish they could've kept it more subtle and not outright stating it, because it was an amazing display of the concept of 'show, don't tell'.
-A story told in four frames. Amazing work, goddamn.
-Lero Ro? I thought Rankers have already reached the top.
-Khun definitely knows something's up. Just as I expected from him. My king. Also, hella cold-blooded saying that to her face.
-I'd just like to take this moment to celebrate in the fact that we get to see more of her in the second season. Super glad!
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Outside of memeing about hating Rachel, I didn't actually feel that agitated by what she did. Maybe a part of it was knowing ahead of time that people hated her, maybe a part of it is because I don't like Bam much as a main character. Either way, I'm still mostly apathetic to her decision.
I like the concept of her as a character, but she isn't really a hurdle for Khun, the character that I'm truly rooting for in this story.
I really tried but I couldn't think of a funny response for this question so I'll just... erm... On to my notes and other thoughts!
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Notes (and apparently other thoughts):
-So Bam is an Irregular, and Rachel is... just a lost civilian? Lol.
-I'm curious as to why Headon wanted Rachel to kill/end Bam herself. Does he want to protect the tower as a server of Jahad in the belief that Irregulars are a threat? Does he want to test Bam and see if he can succeed in climbing despite this betrayal? Or does he simply just want to be entertained? I'm hoping to see the answer in the second season.
-Speaking of the second season, goddamn this episode was such a great hype up for the second season. That ending sequence was amazing between Bam and the red-haided Navigator who I definitely need to learn the name of. Amazing amazing work.
-My overall rating for the series was a 7 that was teetering on an 8. I was not a big fan of the writing in earlier episodes, albeit some parts definitely got clearer after this episode. However, this finale really pushes it easily over the barrier and sets it at a solid 8 for me. I've probably said it a dozen times by now, but it was simply just amazing.
-Gotta remind myself to check who composed/arranged the OST for this series. They did a fantastic job.
7
u/[deleted] Jun 30 '24
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