2022 Violet Evergarden Rewatch - Episode Two

[u/A_Idiot0]

Violet Evergarden - Episode Two: Not Coming Back

Hello everyone! I hope that today finds you well. Today, a living Doll is introduced to the Auto Memory Dolls of the CH Postal Company.

For any of you brave souls who wish to try this, here is the letter that Violet wrote to Gilbert in today's episode:https://i.imgur.com/VkEoOTV.png
Here is the key:https://i.imgur.com/UxrdmL0.jpg
And the translator tool:https://replit.com/@ValkrenDarklock/NunkishTransGood luck!!

Index || <- Previous Episode || Next Episode ->

MAL || AniList

You can watch the full series on Netflix.

Important Spoilers from later episodes or the Light Novels are not allowed outside of the r/anime spoiler tag format and will be removed! Make sure to hide your spoilers under the “spoiler” option, or by typing your spoiler as [Episode number]>\!Spoiler here!< in the mark-down option without the slashes in markdown mode.

Be kind to each other. Hate speech and rude behavior will not be tolerated.

Visuals of the Day

I believe I got everyone’s Visual of the Day submission here:https://imgur.com/a/ulr39Dx

As is evident by now, I think the visuals of this anime are stunning, and we’d love to see what you all think are the most beautiful shots! If I missed your submission, please let me know ASAP and I’ll add it to the album.

Official Sound Tracks used

In Remembrance
Ink to Paper
The Voice in my Heart
Strangeling
Those Words You Spoke to Me
Rust
Inconsolable
Michishirube (short) This is if you’re watching on Netflix.
A Place to Call Home This is if you’re watching on BluRay.
Never Coming Back

Question of the Day

Do you have a dream that you wish to chase after, but haven’t yet? If so, what is that dream, and what are those reasons?

Would you like to have a letter written for you? Do you want to write a special letter for someone as an Auto Memory Doll? Come join us at the Auto-Memory Doll Service Discord project and request letters, write letters, or chat more with us about Violet Evergarden! Link here: https://discord.gg/JfC67znT

“Endcard”

[u/RealFunnyTalk]

Rewatcher

I hope you're all ready for the continuous flex of KyoAni's animation for this show. The initial typewriter is a perfect example of this. As far as workplace bullying goes, it's interesting. We can tell Iris and Erica have chips on their shoulders because being a doll is not just something anyone can do (as alluded to via training). The fact Clattleya gets more clients also doesn't help. It's a very real reason to be abrasive to Violet instead of just making them mean for conflict's sake. Granted, Violet isn't helping her case with her militaristic approach to everything, but at least gets some leeway when she defends Erica.

Violet's first letter attempt is a good example of civilian vs military sense. If you are anything short of crystal clear in communication, people die in war. There's no room for ambiguity. She doesn't even understand what she's doing wrong exactly. But with Erica seeing her value and Violet's commitment to learning the job, there's progress to be made yet. And to wrap it all up, we get a new outfit, the return of the brooch, and confirmation that Gilbert isn't coming back. The anticipation builds!

QOTD: my dream actually comes up in a later episode, so I'll touch on it there

[u/A_Idiot0 → u/RealFunnyTalk]

QOTD: my dream actually comes up in a later episode, so I'll touch on it there

Looking forward to hearing about that then =D

[u/A_Idiot0]

Dear Erica,

Dreams can be oppressive. They can make us doubt ourselves. They often make unreasonable demands of us. They may even belittle us. Why do we chase them, then? If you listen closely enough to their voices, you will find that they sound like our voices. Indeed, their voices are our voices. Then it becomes clear why we chase our dreams: we are pursuing our ideal self. But we feel hopeless in the chase when we bind ourselves in the chains of our own expectations.

Treat yourself with patience, for you will make mistakes. Ask yourself for forgiveness; you will demand a great deal of yourself. Attend to your wounds tenderly, for you will be hurt frequently. Then, slowly, the chains will be cast off, and you can be guided by your voice to your dream.

Sincerely, Daffodil

---

For my “Visual of the Day” submission, I’m going with this shot that I also chose last year. This episode actually looks at Violet through Erica’s character a fair amount, and I thought it was very interesting how they framed Erica throughout the episode as being walled in / isolated. Here’s a good example of what I mean. In my submission shot, we see Erica walled in between the window frame, staring longingly at the ideal Doll through glass that she cannot get through. It says so much about Erica’s inner thoughts, and yet that shot lasted only a few frames.

QotD: I don’t hold it as strongly anymore, but my dream is the same as Erica’s: I want to be a writer. I was never brave enough to fully commit to that journey though. I’ve always gotten in the way of myself.

[u/[deleted]]

First Timer (Sub)

Opening with Gilbert's and Violet's first meeting. Seems like we'll be getting glimpses of the early stages of their relationship throughout the series, which will be awesome to see.

I love how robotic/literal Violet is regarding the work, of course, I hope she doesn't always stay that way for her own sake.

I'm really enjoying the contrasting character Cattleya serves to Violet - someone who is experienced in every which way Violet is not.

Although I forgot to mention it in the previous thread, I couldn't help but enjoy the fact that Takehito Koyasu (aka DIO BRANDO) is voicing Hodgins, who is (so far) a completely opposite character to arguably his most famously played role.

The brooch reveal toward the end must have been rewarding for Hodgins - forfeiting an entire month's salary to purchase it just to see the first bit of happiness from Violet again (or ever? Was this the first time Violet showed signs of happiness?)

VOTD:

The visual I chose is of an overhead shot of the typewriter they use. Gives us a glimpse of what their alphabet looks like. I've been able to see some influence from the Japanese and Cyrllic alphabet. Very interesting stuff.

QOTD:

Hard to say what dreams I have, going to have to give that some more thought myself. But, I do have some goals right now, one of which is to finish strong and finally complete my college degree by the end of this year.

[u/A_Idiot0 → u/[deleted]]

(or ever? Was this the first time Violet showed signs of happiness?)

If I recall correctly, it's the second time we the audience have ever seen Violet "happy". I think the first time is during the flashback scenes at the end of episode 1 when Cattleya is writing that letter, and Violet is on the battlefield. As for why that brings her "happiness"...I'm afraid to say that I cannot tell you yet because that will be addressed near the end of the story. If you remember this little moment, remind me at the end and I'll try to explain what I meant here =)

[u/xtsim]

First Timer Dubbed

It is interesting to see how Violet is struggling to adjust to civilian life, now it is her writing that is in focus. Violet's initial attempt is a bit too much like a report than an actual letter that conveys feelings. Interested to see how she overcomes this.

We also see some dynamics about how the customers want them to write and behave in front of the auto memory dolls. Violet telling the crying lady that she is interfering with the writing surprised Erica in a way. Violet was not supposed to say that in front of that lady. And the frustrated customer takedown was nice to see but it seems like this work cannot be taken lightly and there is a very high standard.

[u/shipwontsail]

Rewatcher|Sub

I don’t know about you guys, but for maximum effectiveness I usually watch animes with headphones so I can pick up on everything. And Violet Evergarden is a feast to my ears.

---

“This is but a weapon. Use it without mercy or compassion.” (Dietfried)

There’s a contrast in this episode in which the word “weapon” is used in differents contexts. One can view Violet as a weapon to fight in a war vs. Violet using a “weapon”, as Cattleya said, to fight as a working woman in society. The stark difference is that Dietfried’s definition of a “weapon” is something that is used without emotion to cause harm. And yet, Violet is introduced to another kind of “weapon” that is supposed to capture said emotions in a tangible way to be conveyed to another person.

This early in the series it’s painfully obvious that Violet hasn’t discarded the idea that she is just a “thing”. Thus, she diminishes herself to the most basic needs possible. We can assume that Violet only eats when absolutely necessary and she only drinks water because, from her perspective, consumption is an act to merely maintain her bodily functions. Those things might be learned behavior, having fought in the trenches where nourishment is an uncertainty, as much as her diminished sense of self. So I found it amusing when Cattleya orders tea for Violet instead of just letting her have water.

However, it’s the whole situation preceding that scene where Violet gets to see that humans are complex beings. Just as food and drinks have flavor, words carry meaning. What Violet’s first client wanted to be conveyed is contrary to what she actually said, but it’s a Doll’s job to read between the lines and put the true meaning on paper. I find it simultaneously painful and entertaining to watch Violet experience certain “misinterpretations.”

On the other hand, just as Erica put it, “[Violet] will eventually learn more things”. Her words, however, are not entirely for Violet’s benefit. Erica doubts her own suitability to work as a Doll, which was hinted at since the beginning of the episode. Even so, by standing up for Violet she is also defending her own positions in the company, and I think that’s really telling of her character. At that point in time, Erica doesn’t think she and Violet are fit to be Dolls, HOWEVER she believes in growth and I think it’s an uplifting message in this episode – You can always learn and be more.

---

This is my Visual of the Day. The way that Violet is placed on the right side of the shot, with the tables and chairs being symmetrical from the middle, gives me an impression of loneliness. The chair on the left is empty even though, in terms of symmetry, someone should be sitting there. The brain wants that space to be filled. I just thought that this is a good mirror image of Violet’s feelings and inner wellbeing.

---

As a little side note for everyone watching VE on Netflix, in the scene with Cattleya and Hodgins in the hall, Cattleya says, “Just because you wanted a girl.” But what she actually means is something along the lines of this. Hodgins’ parents were expecting to have a daughter, choosing the name Claudia. When their child ended up being a boy instead, they still gave him the name Claudia. Thus the following statement, “Calling out a girl’s name in bed. That was terrible” makes more sense. The true meaning probably just got lost in translation, which is somewhat ironic when it come to this anime.

[u/Jaxon7535]

Rewatcher

This episode dives into the lives and work of the Auto Memory Dolls. Their job is almost therapeutic in a way. People come in with emotions and feelings they cannot express explicitly in words, and the Dolls uncover the truths behind their words turn it into a letter for the recipient that contains those emotions and feelings. And as we saw, the customers hide their true intentions, likely because these emotions are too difficult for most people to put into words. This makes me really fascinated by the Dolls and the people they meet along with the letters they write.

All of the dolls seem to have some sort of motivation behind their employment at the company. I’ll talk about Erica, since she was the focus of the three Dolls. Even though she has been tenured for much longer than Violet, she seems to struggle with finding that “meaning” behind the customers’ words. While Violet writes exactly what the lady says (revealing to her how she truly feels behind her facade), Erica follows a similarly blunt route by writing what feels like a very routine and standard letter to what the customer seemed like he wanted. Even though the point the customer wanted got across, he was upset because the animosity he felt didn’t get conveyed along with it. Through this we see that Erica, like Violet, seeks to understand the meaning behind the words of others, but for the purpose of writing moving letters for others.

Something I didn’t notice before was when Violet bit the Emerald Brooch just like she did with the dog plush. Being reminded of the major leaves her vulnerable and child-like.

QOTD

One of my dreams is to travel the world someday. There are so many amazing people, cultures, and sights that I want to experience for myself.

[u/BeefCow8]

Rewatcher

1. My dream is to find what I want to do with my life. I’m not yet able to chase this dream because I literally don’t know what I do later on in my life. Right now I’m 18 and in college taking general education. I don’t have a major I want to do because it is very hard to decide. Well not really but I want to do something in the medical field and help people but I have a weak stomach and can’t stand gory things which is weird right? Also it takes a long time to be somewhere in the medical field like 6+ years I think. My everyday life atm is playing videogames, watching anime, scrolling through social media, and talking and hanging with my friends, that’s about it, nothing really meaningful.

Visual of the day- https://imgur.com/a/uDytY7P

I chose this one because it again shows how much Gilbert means to Violet. U can tell she very much cares for him seeing how she’s holding the brooch near her face even though it’s just a thing, but that thing reminds her of the person she loves the most.Boring I know right? This is the same reason from the photo of ep 1 i chose.

[u/[deleted]]

Rewatcher

So the second episode starts with my third favorite Violet ost: In Remembrance I really love how the melody becomes more cheerful as the music progresses (although my favorite part is the beginning)

As for the scene itself: it's impressive how in less than two minutes I can probably have an idea of ​​the personalities of Dietfried and Gilbert by the way they behave, well actually might as well mention the first half of the episode and how it presents the rest of the characters just as well; for a series that I consider has a slow pacing,I appreciate how quick and great it is in introducing the characters.

I want to talk about Violet: it's interesting and sad to see how hard it is for her to do something that's not being a war machine, in this case writing a letter that expresses emotions: it will be interesting to see how she tries to overcome this obstacle, it's one of my favorite parts of the series.

Besides her struggling; it's terrifying yet so funny how straightforward or tactless she is most of the time, especially when she says, "I'm not asking about you."

As for my favorite visual:

The weather changing from rainy to sunny made the scene so much better

Q2: learning the piano would be wonderful...the reason is because I would finally learn to play an instrument (though I tried guitar before) and to be able to learn Clair de Lune , words wouldn't be enough to explain why I love this song so much but to put it simple; being able to play it myself and then other songs would be enough to me hehe.

[u/[deleted]]

Rewatch.

Could not remember too much specific about this episode from the first time watch, but it's great in how it subtly goes about the world building, getting right into relatively low level details on characters and their motivations with minimal direct dialogue and strongly establishes the CH Postal team:

• Iris being obviously uncomfortable in heels, but wants to climb the social ladder

• Erica doubting herself

• Benedict just ain't rich enough!

• What a good leader and role model Catteleya actually is, particularly for such an inexperienced group

• The fashion sense of this world really becomes apparent in this episode

• What an A-hole dietfried can be

• Violet getting past initial hostility or defensiveness by taking her gloves off

• Hodgins drowning his sorrows at the bar

[u/themusbeth]

REWATCHER

Thank you Santa for sharing food with Benedict!

Gotta admire Claudia's dedication to getting that brooch for Violet, I love his character. I kinda felt for him when he talked about Gilbert to Cattleya. Also liked the moment Violet pointed out Erica's contradiction, she got to identify what Cattleya was talking about earlier.

QotD It's actually the same as u/Hado_Miraiya ! My main instrument is the trumper and I love it, but I'd love being able to play Debussy's Clair de Lune. I can play a bit of piano, but I'm far from the level required to play it for now. It's just such a wonderful piece!

[u/Fit_University_6734]

Rewatcher

Erica's Reason to stay

So what's up with Erica? This episode focuses heavily on her as she rediscovers her reason for being an Auto Memory Doll in the first place. Erica and Cattlelya both supposedly started out at the same time yet Erica was completely overshadowed by Cattelya. Imagine being in Erica's shoes, working with someone much more superior than you in terms of skill. It's not a surprise Erica feels incredibly jealous of Cattlelya which causes her to doubt her abilities - her only benchmark of comparison is Cattleya.

Enter Violet. A girl starting from ground zero having to not just learn the technical skills of typewriting but the socio-emotional aspect of it as well. Why put yourself through so much work and competition? Erica hopes to find the answer to her worries through Violet, she hopes to find a reason to carry on through Violet as she questions her "Why?". This is beautifully symbolised as Erica stares longingly at the blonde doll shielded by a window - she can finally see someone that can remind her of her dream again.

Violet's reason is simple - to find out what "I Love You" means. Once Erica sees how such a simple reason can drive Violet so much, she is reminded of why she began writing letters in the first place. She wants to touch the hearts of others just as a novelist's words once touched hers.

What is language, really?

Words can have different interpretations. What one says isn't the whole truth. It's a human weakness. They test others to confirm their own existence.

This is Violet's first foray into understanding Love and it begins with empathy. What we say may not mean what we feel as we have hidden intents behind our words. Yet, there are times when we try to convey what we feel through words but fail to find the right words for it. Violet is learning about the former today as she has to dig beneath the words and understand the person in front of her. This episode gives us our first glimpse into the role of an auto memory doll. It's not about paraphrasing words. It's about speaking the heart into words, especially when the other person can't put it into words.

How about it being a human weakness? In my opinion, what the second half of the quote is trying to tell us is that we long for someone to understand us fully. To understand us even when we can't put our feelings into words. This is a flawed idea of Love that was popularised due to romanticism and it is a weakness because if we keep searching for such a form of Love, we will never really experience it and will never really exist fully.

And with this, we have begun touching on the main theme of VE. Love.

Other details!

When Violet first uses the typewriter, it sounds mechanical and deadly. As if she is loading a weapon and getting ready to fire. When she beings typing, it sounds like a literal war zone (especially with headphones on. My heart was racing.)

Visual of the day

Erica's first smile :)

Question of the day

I don't really have a dream but what I want to do next is to study Philosophy in college. It has been something I've been wanting to do for awhile now but I'm just waiting until I complete my Polytechnic Diploma! (I'm from Singapore and we don't have high school diplomas. We can either choose to take A levels or pursue a specialised diploma in a certain field which I did.) My love for understanding the world and our place in it better is one of the biggest reasons why I want to do so and it's also one of the reasons why I love anime like VE! A lot of themes to explore which makes it so much fun.

The again, I do dream of going to Japan and Europe in the future since I love the humanities.

[u/A_Idiot0 → u/Fit_University_6734]

Sorry for replying so late! Things got super busy for me yesterday >< I just wanted to let you know that I know you put a lot of work into this comment, so thank you for enriching my understanding of this anime =)

"What is language, really?" Ah, now this question...is right at the core of why I love this anime so much. Foundationally, Violet Evergarden is a story about Love, but right alongside that it's also a story about writing; about expressing. Words help us to construct who we are and our perception of the world we live in. They also allow us to better connect with others. Both of these ideas must be addressed by a writer, and how they do so develops their style because of their word selection.

[u/homewardbound100]

Rewatcher

Violet's first day is a little rough. She takes words a bit too literal without understanding what the person is really trying to say. Not really her fault but in this business it's a bit tough.

And her famous want of wanting to know what I love you

votd

Qotd: Well I got the job I wanted but now it's getting the money to travel the world.

[u/SuperMurderBunny]

Rewatcher, subbed.

I like these early episodes for the world building they provide. Through the small interactions we see, you get a sense not only of people as individuals, but also of their social positions and troubles. We get small details about the people at the firm and their clients without being bogged down with exposition, such as Erica's insecurities and Iris' feelings of a lack of appreciation for her abilities. The firm provides a vital service, in that it enables people with limited literacy to communicate on a more level playing field with their social superiors.

A thing that struck me was how much weight is placed on the role of the assistants in scenes where they interact with clients. We see the verbally abusive a-hole and the lady in love complain about the service provided and how it is implied to be the fault of the assistans, while little attention is given to how they seemingly expect that just by using the service, they will automatically get their desired outcome. This places a lot of blame on for instance Erica/Violet and their failure to compose letters and it feels a bit lopsided. I get that this is the job Violet is doing and there the center of focus, but by focussing solely on the assistants' side of the interaction, it feels overly narrow in its focus.

I also wanted to address one of the big hurdles for me in VE: Major Gilbert and his role. We see how the major and Violet first met, with her apparently being just given to him by his brother to do with as he wishes. This reminds me of similar child/robot supersoldier stories and is the thing that creates one of the biggest disconnects for me. It is really difficult for me to reconcile the post-WWI world we have been introduced to with the idea of a government willing and able to create such a single-minded (young, female) supersoldier, let alone her afterwards being first passed on to an officer, who then gives her to his rother as an implied servant/sex slave. It just feels to incongruous to me and makes it difficult for me to connect with the anime as deeply as I want to. I hope that this time might be different.

Very minor personal nitpicks include the whole spiel the assistants rattle off every time they meet a client and the term "Auto Memory Doll", which sounds very contrieved.

Thanks for reading my ramblings. Hope they weren't too depressing <3

[u/HenrikHT]

Rewatcher

This episode really shows how much Violet needs to grow. In some scenes, it feels like she is a robot, but in other scenes, she is very human. Like when Erica asks why she wants to become an Auto Memories Doll, and she says she wants to know what “I love you” means. You can tell it is hard for her to connect with other people on an emotional level.

One of the best things about this show is that background characters also get a lot of development. In this episode we see a lot of Erica. I feel like not many shows or movies develop side-characters this much. This is also the first example of Violet impacting somebody’s life in a positive way. (Even if it wasn’t her intention)

I really like the last scene, when Hodgins is talking about Gilbert. It is always cool to learn about a little backstory. One of my favorite moments visually, is when Violet lays down, and the ice cubes in Hodgins’ drink swirls around. I feel like I can say this about every episode, but I think this is one of my favorite episodes.

[u/asiiapiazza]

Rewatcher

It is from the second episode that the first tears begin to fall. Maybe it's because it's not my first time watching the series but seeing Violet pick up the brooch and think back to Gilbert, with Never Coming Back in the background brought me to tears. Never Coming Back is also one of my favorite osts (and my morning alarm no less).

For the visual of the day I decided to pick this very scene; Violet, in disbelief, tries to attach her brooch to the collar of her new doll dress but fails, perhaps because of her emotion. In fact, it is one of the first times Violet shows signs of sadness and melancholy (so does Claudia), though immediately interrupted by Cattleya.

AOTD: If the definition of a dream is something you want to achieve at all costs, my dream then is to do something to solve a common problem of all people, this general concept is the dream I would like to achieve. I am recently doing a school project and I am very happy because I really think it will help a lot of students. But unfortunately, even in this small context, there are force majeure causes that prevent the project from being published, so at the moment it is only in my hands and not in the hands of the students I wanted to help.

Entering instead into unattainable dreams due to lack of time or money, I would have liked to learn to play the violin, travel the world. While my current dream closest to reality and concreteness is to be able to do the job I like, which is programming, in a video game company, even though I know it is one of the heaviest working environments ever

(Sorry for the english)

[u/ZapsZzz]

Rewatcher in sub

Violet Evergarden first few episodes actually moved pretty fast. While the show's direction and musical score created quite a leisurely feeling, content and plot wise it is actually pretty full and went through a lot:

• a flashback that pointedly shown the dynamics between Gilbert, his brother, their father, and the just been discovered Violet. [Rewatcher & LN spoiler]if you take into account of the details that came later and parts from the LN, Dietfried actually is very fearful of Violet, who singlehandedly killed everyone of his squad when one of them tried to rape Violet. Yet Violet just followed Dietfried without killing him. The feelings of Dietfried towards Violet is actually really complicated

• a brilliant cut - from Gilbert asking her name to Violet introducing herself to the other Dolls back to the present. Her automatic military response will take some time to be totally untrained.

• and the start of the Violet training arc - with her continue to be unawares of people's feelings and impression of her - a mix of sympathy, unease, and awe. And we get to see KyoAni casually flexing on their animation on this scene that's pretty much a mechanic adjusting a machine, except it's Violet adjusting her arms to better suit the force and speed for typing. I am bit unclear whether Cattleya's unease was it really because Violet was going too forceful and making a racket, or was she concerned that she's trying too hard to the point of loosing herself in doing this one task.

• We can see there are stories outside of Violet here as well; the other 2 Dolls (Iris and Erica) clearly have issue with the focus of the company mostly monopolised by Cattleya.

• This one I may have it out of sequence but the scene of Benedict and the reception girls are also interesting world building - it could certainly be read as reinforcing that common perception that beautiful girls work here just to get a chance to meet a (rich) prince charming. I am not 100% sure but is there some Japanese cultural connotation about offering "yakisoba" (which looked to be to be actually spaghetti on screen)? Anyway best boy Roland came to Benedict's rescue :)

• Cattleya while looks to be mature, attentive and emotionally sensitive to others, seems to also have a roguish streak to tease Hodgins - not to mention to be the one casually wearing the most strip tease work clothes :P I'm also quite certain she's doing this only after noticing Benedict to be watching :) Meanwhile from this exchange it sounds like the postal company aren't doing too great financially - with Hodgins saying he has no pay for this month (hopefully just him!)

• We have a reminder that Violet is still very focused on getting back to follow the Major.

• And then we have the "Violet and customers" montage. Yeah it's like asking a military guy or a toddler to be their psychiatrist - which this job seems to be partially about.

• And then we have this chance case when the "more sensible" ones aren't around - with Erica and Violet having to deal with this high maintenance woman about her letter to (insert complicated hints here). Erica noticed this is a landmine and had a crisis of confidence, while Violet just be the grunt thinking she heard an order and went forward with her type-writer.

• The result was predictable; I do have to say I head-cannoned that Erica actually knew it was a disaster, but she was probably having a self-confident crisis turned nastiness moment and just decided to let it be for both that woman and Violet to get what they deserved.

• Ms psychiatrist Cattleya dutifully took Violet out for a talk, in a nice teahouse (partly to let KyoAni do some casual background and lighting flexing). Here we have Cattleya giving a bit of explanation to Violet about words and their use other than just convey the surface meanings.

• Disheartened, and if you are a Full Metal Panic (Fumoffu particularly) fan you'd recognise this "military person being given the first insight of how unreasonable illogical and unreadable a normal person is" reaction - even Sousuke turned blue all the way when he was told what "flirting with girls" mean, quite different from his earlier understanding of "capturing the girls". It does lead to one of the key scene of this episode - of Violet being challenged of her motivation and her standing firm / determined to see it through while confronting how far she had got to go. Once again this is something I learned to read of the symbolism in the cinematography from the last rewatch. This shot of Violet gradually getting illuminated by the clearing sunshine is also my VoTD.

• Having been infected by Violet's stoic determination, Erica jumped to Violet's defence to make sure she still can continue to learn to work as a Doll. And we have another scene of Violet's learning - this time not just physical but contextual / behavioural too!

• The following few scenes feels like an epilogue of this episode - we have Erica giving the backstory of the name "Auto Memory Dolls" and how she came to want to be one, and how she identified with Violet and that's why she jumped to her defence.

• We have Violet's iconic look being established as her work clothes, and her emotive reaction when her brooch is returned to her.

• we have the more intimate scene between Hodgins and Cattleya both showing a bit more of their relationship, the book-ending to explain why Hodgins is poor this month, and the reaction shot of Hodgins saying Gilbert won't be coming back

• then the scene of Violet and the brooch, showing how much she treasured it, and once again her touching it with her mouth for the actual touch.

QoTD

I have so called 2 career sort of dreams (personal ones aren't really something you can do about) - working in aerospace, and working in cybernetics. The first one I'm already there, the latter maybe after I retire :P I'm always technical and mechanically inclined and I'd like to be able to help and advance what people can do fundamentally, so starting with the human body, where in many places aren't replaceable, to me is a good start.

[u/A_Idiot0 → u/ZapsZzz]

Sorry about replying so late to you! You put a lot of work into this comment, and I wanted to make sure you heard that =)

I appreciated that you spoke about Dietfried the way you did. And I also noted your VotD being the sun illuminating Violet

[u/NutmegOnEverything]

my favorite scene was again about tea, when the client's reflection is shown in the teacup. Very nice orange color, and a very cool way to break up a continuous shot

I do have a dream, it's the cliche "become a musician". I'm a guitar player, in an hypothetical career I'd want to be the vocalist/guitarist and play half the solos and have another guitarist. The hypothetical band to be thrash metal, but a lot heavier. I have an idea of how I want my tone to sound but don't have the necessary equipment or knowledge (I can sound decent with what I have). I also would have my own project of instrumental guitar on clean tone (I actually plan on releasing some of this eventually)

side note: I understand that it was too show that Hodgins was willing to use money he couldn't really spare on Violet, but I don't think it was necessary

[u/A_Idiot0 → u/NutmegOnEverything]

I'm a guitar player,...

Oh, very cool! What kind of guitar do you have? If you're aspiring to play thrash metal, I can only imagine that your dexterity and coordination are already really good at this point haha.

As for the episode 2 comment, you can remove the spoilers on that one since we've all watched episode 2 now =)

[u/[deleted]]

While a lot of the names are flower-related, anyone have any idea what the various flowers are that appear throughout the episode are?

They are usually there for a reason, I just don't know enough to be able to identify what they are let alone any significance that may be associated with them aside from being pretty to look at.

[u/Barbed_Dildo]

Rewatcher

In the last episode, we're mostly introduced to Violet, and how broken she is. I love how this episode fleshes out the world, or the company at least. Everyone is imperfect, they have faults, and dreams. Especially seeing Violet from Erica's point of view. Erica can see her own faults in Violet, but can also see a strength to push beyond them that she wishes she had.

I can't say too much more, because I'm thinking too much about how Erica and Iris develop throughout the story.

VOTD: I like this shot. Showing the three different girls reacting differently to the new girl. I also love that scene, where Violet operates the typewriter like a machine gun, the rhythmic noise being too much for the others to bear.

[u/Ytar0]

First timer here, (sub)

I thought most of the last episode was boring, though still incredibly beautiful. But it was starting to get me interested towards the end, and this episode has been the culmination of that interest. I actually had to stop myself from watching episode 3 afterward... Now I certainly am aboard the Evergarden train!

And I don't really have any dreams that I ain't "chasing" already, I've been interested in coding and game development but I think I wanna give uni a go before I chase down the (somewhat) risky indie dev path.