I kinda wanted to write this post tomorrow, but if the next episode gets subbed by then, I really don’t want to have to write an extra long post. So here we are… 

— In Dogville, Willard and the rest of the Jaegers discover an artifact that will help Yuliy in case the Ark falls into the vampires’ hands. Well, that’s convenient. Whatever this object is capable of, it’s a good bet that we’ll see it in action. Y’know, Chekhov’s gun and all that.

— How many episodes is this series slated for anyways? 12 or 13?

— Back in Sakhalin, Yuliy and Bishop still have to deal with Klarwein, but the self-proclaimed “uber-genius scientist” is more like comic relief than a credible threat. I don’t expect any serious consequences to occur as a result of this short skirmish.

— Ah, his latest Frankensteinian creations are made from vampire body parts. I was wondering how he got his hands on so many human body parts on such short notice. Boy, that previous sentence sounds rather morbid if you take it out context (maybe even with context).

— Meanwhile, the rest of the vampires on Yevgraf’s zeppelin still have the infected to worry about. I wonder if Mikhail is considering setting them free so they can wreak havoc on the airship.

— Those vampire Frankensteins look rather naked. I’m amazed that they can move so effectively in this heavy snowstorm.

— Klarwein likes to hear himself talk, so he ends up telling the good guys all about the vampire affliction.

— Maybe instead of putting all your resources into finding the Ark, the vampire clan should’ve just hired a few more medical researchers?

— Oh, is Klarwein not a vampire himself? I just always assumed that he was one. But he’s right about one thing: it’s silly to put all your chips on this Ark when you have no real clue what it even is. Why do we assume that some ancient artifact would help them cure a contemporary disease?

— Anyways, after Klarwein is allowed to talk our ears off, our heroes use the terrain against the mad scientist. For all his intellect, he didn’t seem to consider that using a tank might cause a small avalanche. Welp, I hope that this is the last that we see of the ugly, old man.

— Hm, Mikhail didn’t free the quarantined vampires. I’m not sure what we did with them, but we’re  told that those men are now dead. Not only that, they didn’t “ashify” like normal vampires. So is the disease somehow overwriting their “vampireness”? Time will tell, I guess.

— Do you think being a vampire magically comes with eyeliner?

— Yevgraf steps aside to contemplate his mortality. The lucky bastard has had the privilege to live for hundreds of years and he’s still unhappy that he might eventually succumb to the vampire affliction one day. Boo hoo. I feel so sorry for you.

— It’s amusing to hear a dude who’s been around for centuries opine the fact that his clan’s blood is so “fragile.”

— The Sirius are so inferior, but we need their old-ass technology to survive. Welp. I mean, it’s open to interpretation, right? Maybe we’re supposed to be in awe of Yevgraf’s desperation. Maybe we’re supposed to find him fearsome, especially when compared to the rest of his rather complacent clan. But I dunno, he sounds pretty pathetic here. I guess I share Bishop’s disdain for these bloodsuckers.

— Speaking of Bishop, he and Yuliy finally reach the vaunted Holy Land. Our hero immediately takes a dip in the crimson lake (still no idea if it’s just red due to the lighting in the chamber or something else entirely).

— Like his big brother, Yuliy is also having a hard time taking a nice, clean bath. I still think it’s a bad idea for him to take it upon himself to protect the Ark, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe he’ll change his mind. I’m just thinking that maybe his father sacrificed the rest of his life with his family in order to free his kids from having to bear this same burden. The last thing he would want to see is for Yuliy to also throw his life away for an artifact that belongs to a long dead civilization.

— A massive explosion within the pool causes a wave of liquid to completely engulf Yuliy. Before Bishop even realizes it, the kid is gone. Ooh, mystical.

— When Yuliy opens his eyes, he can see bubbles of memories literally floating towards him. Double mystical. Also, I guess it’s flashback time.

— In their younger days, Mikhail had to protect Yuliy from a bear. That’s how he got the scar on his face, I guess. Man, where’s Asirpa when you need her?

— It turns out Akasaka, whom we know as the old man from the previous episode, had saved both boys from the bear. Afterwards, he revealed his mission to Alexei, but confessed that he had grown to love Dogville. As a result, he couldn’t with good conscience steal the Ark and return to Japan with it.

— Custom dictated that Akasaka had to die now that he knew too much. Naturally, Alexei wasn’t the type to kill his friends. Plus, he knew that even if he did willingly kill his buddy, Akasaka wouldn’t be the last person to come searching for the Ark. This would explain why he felt he had to leave his family behind and seal the Ark in Sakhalin.

— See, this is why I hate the arbitrary reverence for tradition and conventions. The elder didn’t really have anything important to say. He merely asserted that the Sirius must live with the Ark, because it’s their pride or whatever. Sorry, but that’s meaningless to me. Despite his old age, the elder had no wisdom to offer whatsoever. Maybe better minds could’ve come up with a better plan, but at that moment, the only thing Alexei felt he could do was to seal the Ark away.

— I know they’d more than likely consider this blasphemous, but like I’ve said in previous posts, if you’re not going to use the damn thing, why keep it around? Why not just destroy it? It has no value just sitting in Sakhalin. What is literally the point of holding onto it if it’s just “gathering dust” as one might say? All you’re doing is leaving open the possibility that some evil bastards — like, oh I dunno, the vampires? — might one day get their hands on the Ark. It’s not even something that you can stick in a museum. It’s just this MacGuffin that has the potential to tear civilization apart, but oh no, it’s our pride!!!

— Man, I feel bad for Yuliy’s mother. Alexei lied to her and told her that he’d return after the Ark had been sealed. He couldn’t bear to tell her the truth. I feel like if you’re willing to marry someone, then they deserve to know about your major, life-altering actions. This shouldn’t have been a unilateral decision. She may ultimately have agreed with her husband, but he deprived her of that choice.

— Of course, I absolutely acknowledge that Alexei didn’t make this decision lightly. He was under great emotional duress, and he did what he felt he had to do. I just don’t have to agree with it.

— After the revealing flashback, Yuliy wakes up to find himself in some sort of dream world where he can converse directly with his father. Alexei immediately tells his son to go home. As for himself, he can’t really go anywhere. He tells Yuliy that his soul is basically tied to the Ark.

— Alexei still insists that this seal is “protecting the peace of the world.” I dunno, man, unless the Ark is impossible to destroy, I just can’t agree with that.

— Using his late mother’s words, Yuliy counters that he will find a better solution that will also allow him to live. No one will have to sacrifice themselves for others. Maybe it’s my small-mindedness doing the talking, but I still think the solution is to just destroy the damn thing.

— Moved by Yuliy’s convictions, Alexei picks up the shining Macguffin and hands it to his son. As soon as the kid accepts the Ark, his father disappears right before his very eyes… to pick up some cigarettes from the corner store, I’m sure. Dude, he’s been stuck here for like two decades. Let the man have his smokes.

— Anyways, I hope our hero can hold onto this super duper important Ark. But even if he doesn’t, it looks like Willard, his surrogate father, already has a backup plan.

— Back in the real world, the crimson pool suddenly lights up. There isn’t really anything that a bewildered Bishop can do but watch.

— A giant beam shoots out from the temple, which is like… kinda bad, don’t you think? It’s essentially a beacon for the bad guys. “Hey vampires, a certain Sirius boy just picked up the Ark! Come get him!”

— And right on cue, the vampire lolis and Yevgraf are in absolute glee over these latest developments. Time for the final act of the entire story.

— Man, we didn’t get any crazy Ryoko hijinks in this week’s episode! Color me disappointed! Honestly, I kinda hope she ends up with her “prince.” What can I say? I’m a sucker for cheesy romance even if they’re poorly written.

— Maybe the true Ark is just the friends we’ve made along the way~~~