English Dub Review: Blade Runner: Black Lotus “The Davis Report”

Overview (Spoilers Below)

Officer Alani Davis faces a harsh line of questioning as the body count surrounding the mysterious Black Lotus rises, but can she convince anyone to see her point of view?

Our Take

It’s a new year for Toonami but the problems that haunted the block in the latter half of 2021 continue as a new episode of Blade Runner: Black Lotus finds itself yet again being the appetizer to another marathon (though it is joined by the finale of Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon, to be fair). And while the marathon in question was compiled of the introductory episodes of Cowboy Bebop, 2022 begins with unfortunately weak episode of Black Lotus. The first episode to greet Toonami viewers and kickstart a new year is any television fan’s worst nightmare: a recap episode.

Titled “The Davis Report”, officer Alani Davis finds herself the subject of an interrogation concerning her case surrounding the figure known as Black Lotus. Under pressure as the bodies begin piling up, Davis tells everything she knows about the recent murders and what she’s found out about the enigmatic young woman she believes to be behind them. Starting from the beginning with the murder of Senator Bannister at an underground replicant fight club, Davis recounts her brief encounter with Elle, as well as follow-up investigations into the tattooed girl.

Truth be told, the moment I realized I was watching a recap episode, my interest began to steadily decline. Black Lotus has had a lot of criticisms leveled at it from the start, from the animation choices to the dragging story, there’s really nothing new I could say in those regards. But to do a recap episode 8 episodes in is so (and there’s really no great way to say this) lazy.

It’s not that nothing happens in the story during the entire episode. Davis does get a small win when she finally convinces a fellow member of the LAPD that there’s something larger at work by taking him to the site of the Doll Hunt Elle was once a part of. Of course, her superiors attempt to put a stop to her investigations by putting her on leave, leading Davis to go and solve the Black Lotus case herself.

However, when all’s said and done, everything important in the episode occurs in the last 5 minutes making me wonder just what was the point of seeing past events again? It’s not a super complex story, Davis’ narration and perspective don’t add much and showing action scenes viewers have already watched isn’t enough to keep people engaged. And for a show that’s struggling against the many criticisms its already received, putting an episode like this in a season with only 13 episodes is a dangerous move.

I don’t want to say I got ahead of myself with the previous episode’s review, but having an episode take a breather when it should be firing on all cylinders as it heads towards the finale doesn’t inspire confidence. I truly hope that the next episodes kick the plot into high gear if Blade Runner: Black Lotus wants to salvage what’s left of its season.