Summary
The third episode ofTower of Godsaw the beginning of the Trustworthy Room Test, a seemingly simple test set up by Mule Love acting in contravention of the orders he was given by Augusgus, the Administrator. His goal is to stop Jue Viole Grace from advancing by adding another obstacle to his ascent afterthe FUG Slayer Candidaterefused to take on teammates in the Shinsu Control Test.
What begins as a simple test of trust might just devolve into something incredibly sinister, with this episode serving as a set-up for the coming week’s affair.
The Trustworthy Room Test
Finding Teammates Is Much Harder Than One Would Think
The first scene involves Love’s conversation with Augusgus as he reportsthe presence of Jue Viole Graceand his refusal to follow the rules. Despite being ordered to leave him alone, Love refuses to allow a FUG operative to move freely, devising a rather simple but devastatingly complex test; one reliant on equal parts trust and suspicion of those around one’s self. Viole’s test is further complicated by the fact that his participation in the test can only take place once he’s beaten Love in a one-on-one game. The rules are as follows:
While it sounds easy enough at first, the Regulars all have their own reasons for climbing the tower, and as we’ve already seen, this objective can drive people into doing deplorable things, likeshe-who-should-not-be-named. We see duplicity before the test even begins, with a child like Miseng being seen as an easy target.
Don’t Open For Strangers
The Test Begins
Prior to the test, Ja Wangnan, Nia, Akraptor, Kang Horyang, Miseng and Goseng had a fun time playing card games for hours to cheer up the little girl after Akraptor scolded her for being too trusting of the big-headed lady from Prince and Kim Lurker’s group. She even claimed to have worked at an orphanage in the past, but Akraptor told her to scram, sensing that there was an agenda to her actions. Later that night, just as everyone got ready to retire for the night, Love called each room to explain the rules of the test, and waited upstairs from the hall where everyone was staying to prepare for Viole’s arrival. Goseng tells Miseng to stay while she heads out, while Prince goes the route of hiding his room’s connector even from Rapdevil; whom he has made Gatekeeper.
Yeon Yihwa tries to prevent Viole from leaving to retrieve the other remote from Love, but it is a fool’s errand as he stops her with Shinsu and takes her controller. Prince appears at the door just as Viole was leaving, so he also gets frozen in place. Akraptor and Horyang struggle to decide who will stay and who will go; but Horyang has already noticedAkraptor’s soft spot for Misengand Akraptor has seen Horyang’s romantic interest in Goseng, so they’re at a stalemate for a while before Akraptor acquiesces. He goes over to Miseng’s room and knocks on the door, quickly going into panic mode when he doesn’t hear a response, giving us a glimpse of his personal circumstances and trauma regarding the apparent kidnapping of his daughter. She eventually responds, but doesn’t allow him to enter the room, so he opts to sit at the door and keep her company so she’s less scared. While he’s there, the woman who had been offering Miseng all kinds of treats to earn her trust shows her true colours, thinking that she and Akraptor are birds of a feather in targeting the little girl.
Close-Ups Galore
The Duplicity Continues
With Miseng and Akraptor developing trust between each other, he refuses to work together with the gaudy woman, noting that someone working with the disadvantaged would never wear so much jewellery. Their fight was short-lived. Goseng goes to Ja Wangnan’s room to find him and Nia cowering. She becomes his first recruit as she tells him that she has no real intention on climbing any further, since she’s only present at this point because she was lucky, andseeing Wangnan’s determination awoke somethingwithin her. Afterwards, Goseng and Wangnan head back to check on Miseng; while Lurker desperately looks for Prince to tell him that Rapdevil has been killed. He suspects that Viole is the culprit, but two new individuals arrive at the scene to join Prince and help him capture Viole. He is too incensed and far too trusting of the lackeys his father hired to sense the two’s blatant ulterior motives, and those of Lurker himself.
The third episode ofTower of Godseason 2 is filled with what feels like an unnatural number of close-ups and extreme close-ups; shots of character’s eyes dominate the visuals in a way that is very difficult to ignore. While the significance of such an observation could easily be dismissed as laziness in the animation production, there are various ways in which the events in this episode differ from the webcomic from a visual perspective, which means that the direction in this episode is likely to have been emphasizing faces and eyes for a reason. Given that the test is a test of trust, the up-closeness of the episode may bea reflection of the trust (or lack thereof)upon which victory or defeat hinges. It is very much not like that during Viole’s conflict with Love, which is a physical contest above all else.
Tower of God
Cast
Tower of God is an anime series based on the South Korean webtoon by SIU. It follows a young boy named Bam who embarks on a perilous journey to ascend a mysterious tower, where each floor presents unique challenges and tests. The tower promises to grant the deepest desires of those who reach its top. Along the way, Bam forms alliances and confronts adversaries while uncovering hidden truths about himself and the tower.
