Summary
A surprisingly serious tone combined with some great action and visuals make “Who Is The One You Want To Protect” a solid season finale.
This recap of Scissor Seven season 3, episode 10, “Who Is The One You Want to Protect”, contains spoilers, including a discussion of the Scissor Seven Season 3 ending. You can check out our spoiler-free review of the season overall by clicking these words.
The cold open of “Who Is The One You Want to Protect” is from the perspective of Thirteen, at first in the form of a dream she’s having, her life on fast-forward. Loss, training, the search for meaning in the aftermath of both those things; these are the central tenets of her character, and when she wakes, tears are streaming down her face. But she also realizes she has fallen asleep and that Seven is missing. Recognizing he’s in danger, she runs to his aid.
Seven is indeed in danger — he’s having the brakes beaten off him by Shimen and is still feeling the effects of the black ice poison, weakening him and stripping him of his memories. Some of his backstory is, at least, provided by Manjusaka, another of the Shadow Killers who gets the drop on Thirteen and starts lecturing her about how Seven fought against the organization for a woman, whom Manjusaka killed in classic, “If I can’t have him, nobody else can” fashion. Green Phoenix — whose move Thirteen uses to protect Seven — supposedly broke Manjusaka’s heart too. Shimen and Manjusaka, as well as a sadistic torturer named Black Bird, make for a gloomy triumvirate of villains to raise the stakes in this final episode.
With Seven still out of commission, Thirteen takes on Black Bird, who was formerly a member of the Flying Bird Sect, a dark counterpart to its other leader. The tone here is surprisingly serious — there are no real jokes in the entire episode — and the action is excellent; most of the finale is devoted to the fight between Thirteen and Black Bird, which takes some surprising turns, including the reveal of a void that threatens to gobble up Thirteen wholesale.
While the ending is a bit abrupt, it nonetheless tees up many interesting plot strands for a potential fourth season. Thirteen, despite being outmatched, is granted the power of the Thousand Demon Daggers by Seven so she can land what looks like a fatal — or at least final — blow. With plenty more to come from Thirteen, especially in regards to her sister, Eleven, not to mention the rejuvenation of Redtooth, who was previously thought to be dead, there’s a lot to chew on as we leave things here.
“Who Is The One You Want to Protect” is also a neat crystallization of the season’s themes. Through the black ice poison, Seven is confronted with a fate worse than death; the loss of his memories of normality and friendship on Chicken Island, to be replaced with the old life he left behind. And Thirteen, through her desire to protect Seven, has awakened an inner strength and determination that helps to give her the sense of belonging and purpose that she covets and that she hasn’t found within the ranks of the Shadow Killers.
