Summary
Episode 8 is a tragic episode that shows a true mother’s sacrifice in desperate times.
This recap of Netflix anime series Japan Sinks: 2020 season, episode 8, “Mom’s Secret” contains significant spoilers.
Access all the episode recaps.
How does Japan Sinks: 2020 season 1, episode 8, “Mom’s Secret” open?
Ayumu and Go are stuck on a lifeboat with the captain and he dies — birds eat away at him and then a shark drags him into the sea. The siblings are stranded at sea admiring the ocean. Their fortunes change as they find a bottle of water but as Go drinks it, it’s purely saltwater.
I don’t want to die
In the middle of the night, their father enters the lifeboat but it’s clearly a sad dream, as Ayumu is desperate for him to be alive. Ayumu wakes up and states that she doesn’t want to die. They manage to catch a bird on top of their lifeboat that happened to have three fish in its mouth so they finally have food. Suddenly, their lifeboat starts flooding. Go finds some tape and they manage to find the hole. Episode 8 is really survival mode but it allows the siblings to bond closer.
Reunion
Their lifeboat comes across a big, abandoned, and old ship that smells so they close the zip of the boat. Ayumu and Go ponder whether their mother is alive. They decide to use another firework to see if anyone can rescue them. In the middle of the night, their mother finds them on a boat and helps Ayumu and Go out of their lifeboat. Haruo is also on board. Mari wants to go to any land because they will get hungry soon. The group seems relaxed and ready to take on the next phase of their adventure. Mari tells Ayumu to continue track and field and have fun no matter what.
How does Japan Sinks: 2020 season 1, episode 8, “Mom’s Secret” end?
They manage to start the engine of another boat. Go then learns that his mother Mari has a cardiac assist device and the battery is dead. The boat cannot move because it’s stuck to something underwater. Mari offers to swim underwater and detach the object from the boat. With her heart condition, it is risky and her children know this. Mari manages to detach the rope but she doesn’t make it to the surface and falls unconscious. Ayumu and Haruo dive in and get her out. Haruo performs CPR. Ayumu then tries but nothing is working — there’s plenty of tears as Mari narrates how much she loves her children. Episode 8 is a tragic episode that shows a true mother’s sacrifice in desperate times.
