Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Episode 5

Alas, poor Gras. We hardly knew you. I hope I don't have to open every episode review like that, but Orb certainly isn't pulling its punches. I was coming around on Gras, too. In the wake of his disproven hypothesis about Mars' movements, he risks defying the Church and trusting the astrologer. At the same time, he's a much humbler man this week. While he lacks the education to comprehend the complex astronomical observations, he grasps both their essence and importance. He feels a connection to his fellow man that he hasn't felt since his family passed. In Rafal's notes, Gras finds what he couldn't find in either religion or the heavens: something in this world that's worth living for. Unfortunately, it also becomes something worth dying for.

I don't mind the growing body count. This would be a treacherous era even if we didn't factor in the frenzy of the Inquisition. At the same time, though, I would have preferred the story to integrate Gras' death more naturally into the narrative. While it doesn't come completely out of nowhere—a prior scene foreshadows the poor upkeep of the kingdom's infrastructure, and I was already expecting some price to be paid for such a transgression against the Church—it still smacks of narrative convenience. Gras' parting speech also leaves little thematic subtext to the imagination. It works, but it could have been done more gracefully. We have a functional scene where we could have had a heart-wrenching one.

My only other possible complaint is that some of these scenes, particularly those in the episode's opening act, are quite dark. I'm putting the word "possible" there because a portion of that problem is mine. I tend to watch most of my anime on my computer, which uses an IPS monitor. It's good enough for most things, but Nowak's encounter with Oczy looked downright muddy on it. However, when I switched to my phone's OLED screen, I found it to look much better and more legible. Netflix's streaming compression also seems to hit dark scenes worse than brighter ones, with more noticeable banding and artifacts. Additionally, I'm hesitant to place all the blame on Orb because its application of darkness makes narrative sense. It's telling a story that relies on night, and I think most of its stargazing scenes have looked lovely so far. It's not careless with its lighting. However, it may rely on subtleties that some hardware may not play nicely with. I guess this is just something to keep in mind as the show continues.

Those points aside, I like this episode. It starts strong with the short chase scene, which lets Nowak show off both his deadeye and his deadpan sense of humor. I was rolling when he lowered his sword and pulled out that paper to confirm whether or not he was sanctioned to stab Oczy. That's a perfect comedic beat. More seriously, it's a great example of the absurdity inherent to the Inquisition's veneer of bureaucracy. They can dress it up in as much legalese as they'd like, but in truth, it's all about power and violence. Obviously, that's the way Nowak likes it, too. Everything else is too much of a bother. But that small-mindedness also works against Nowak. While he assumes that both men are too illiterate to do anything constructive (or destructive) with the heretical material, he underestimates Gras' knowledge and conviction.

On the other side of Nowak's blade, Oczy is another person who prefers to keep things simple. He tags along with Gras' plan merely out of inertia after his attempt to recant fails. Their dialogues drive this chapter, and the pivotal moment comes when Oczy pleads with Gras to choose his fate for him. Gras initially gives him that choice out of kindness, but it morphs into an unsettling conversation that plumbs the depths of Oczy's cowardice. The astrologer died defending him without any guarantees, and Oczy can't even bring himself to stick to his own druthers. He shoves that responsibility off on another person. At this point, he's given up on everything: other people, himself, and the entire world. He sucks! But as I said last week, that weakness makes him a compelling guy to follow on this journey.

Furthermore, despite Oczy's many flaws, the ultimate thrust of this episode is that he does find a modicum of conviction. Gras and Fate itself conspire to force him into it, sure, but nevertheless, his instincts take him a small step forward in the right direction. It's a skyward direction as well. An earlier scene clarifies Oczy's fear of even gazing at the stars, and while his neurosis is severe, I can understand him. I've had moments of profound solitude, in the dark stillness of night, when I've looked through binoculars at the stars and felt a tremor of terror ripple down my spine. There's nothing rational to it—in fact, I've enjoyed learning about astronomy since I was a little kid. But when you begin to think about just how huge the universe is, and when you stare straight at it, as the fainter stars begin to reveal themselves, a sense of vertigo kicks in. Gras talks about death fears, yet it's that same fear that ultimately drives humanity onward and forward. In the end, Oczy stops staring at the ground. He instead looks directly into the gaze of the eyepatched monk.

Rating:

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is currently streaming on Netflix.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasts. He is busy pondering the orb. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.