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This episode is about how each team deals with the news that one member of each team is forced to join the traitor team. Although this game is humorous, each team reacts differently. Only one person plans to betray the traitors and help his original team win. The rest reluctantly (or eagerly) accepted the rule change. Pitohui wanted to play Llenn again and Eva saw it as a way to test herself against her old team. Meanwhile, the MMTM guy was happy to fire his machine gun.
But, of course, the most important thing to note is how Lllenn reacts to the news that Pitohui is a traitor. More than anyone else, she was shocked—so much so that she fell to her knees and didn't know what was happening to the world around her. While this is mostly played for comedy, it makes sense for her to be completely silent.
Llenn may be traumatized. The last time she fought Pitohui, it was a battle to the death. If she makes just one small mistake, not only her friend Pitohui but also her idol Elza Kanzaki will die. That's an awful lot of pressure for the average college student—and it would be even stranger if there weren't long-term consequences.
Llenn almost certainly never bothered to confront what happened and how it affected her. She was able to put all the stress and terror that came with it aside because she never thought she would have to fight Pitohui again — and certainly not so soon or so suddenly. Now, however, she is here again and Pitohui is hunting her. Sure, the stakes are non-existent this time — and Llenn knows this logically — but it seems like the feeling is still the same as the last time the two fought.
The rest of the episode simply sets up the final arena (a cruise ship) and the immediate dilemma facing each non-betrayal team. The ship was in the middle of an open area with no cover. Traitors were on board and ready to kill anyone who tried to get on board. Furthermore, if any team breaks into the ship, there is a possibility that other teams will shoot them in the back. So we have a situation where no team wants to be the first to move—because that team will have to bear most of the risk. Of course, if no one goes ahead, the water will eventually rise and kill everyone.
…Oh, and Pitohui has decided to start blocking the train entrances because everyone is taking too long to act—so that should be a fun game to finish!
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Random thoughts:
It's important to note that some lifeboats don't block holes in the hull so much as make stairs to them—although those do become choke points where the renegade group can concentrate their firepower. On the other hand, who says teams need to be in the hole? I mean, the traitors just gave the remaining teams a bunch of boats they could ride in when the water rose.
→ Part of me wonders if Pitohui, or rather Elza Kanzaki, is the person behind this episode in Squad Jam. I wouldn't be surprised if she discreetly funded this event in exchange for this rule—along with the stipulation that she or Llenn are forced to join the traitor team.
There is also another possibility. Perhaps Pitohui is not a traitor. After all, Pitohui didn't let anyone else see her screen and was actually surprised that she was able to throw a party and get all the traitors to participate. Perhaps M is a traitor and is following Pito's whims. Or maybe Fukaziroh is slyly offering to make Pitohui a traitor by trading terminals with her. Or perhaps the real traitor is Llenn and that combined with her trauma (since she had to fight Pitohui anyway) is why she's completely silent—and why she was so confused when she saw Pitohui fly away on the drone.
→ Since ReoNa is the singing voice of Elza Kanzaki, I like to imagine the GGO theme songs she sings are actual songs in the SAO world that Llenn likes to listen to.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II is now streaming on Crunchyroll. Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are members of the Kadokawa Group.
