SAO Alternative: Gun Gale Online – Episode 8 – Booby Trap [Review/Recap - SPOILERS]

By: v.o.lynnWith the pregame of last episode over, Llenn and Fukaziroh hop right into action with the start of this episode.The first scan sets up the placement of the teams. With a little foresight, the four top contenders are equally spaced apart, with M and Pithohui’s team on one end of the map and Llenn’s team being placed the other.On the move, Fuka accidentally activates a tripwire. Her legs are blown off from the knees down, Llenn pulls her out of harm’s way while they regenerate. With crisp revenge, Llenn takes out the team that had left the trap in a matter of minutes – with a little help from her maimed buddy.After the point of view checks in with the other teams, (with most of them holding down their current position after the second scan), Llenn and Fuka figure out a plan to take out a team on the middle of the railroad tracks mid-map. Using Llenn as a spotter, Fuka blind-shots the team with her grenades, using the barrage to take out the group of sitting ducks.As far as redemptions go mid-episode, it really speaks to her experience carrying over from other games: planning, foresight, and practice, but also, shows her slipping into Llenn’s previous role as being the second in command (and, elsewhere in the episode, comic relief). Without Fuka at Llenn’s side, it would have been a very different, and downright tense episode.In the meantime, a handful of the other teams have formed and uneasy alliance to take out the biggest threat, M (or rather, Pito). I love the foreshadowing involved by not getting to know the armies forming up against M and Pito, basically turning the entire batch of soldiers into a redshirt army. This is made abundantly amusing with Pito being in a damsel-in-distress warrior. She's bored, she wants to fight, and M is purposely keeping out out of the action until the action comes to them.Llenn sees the strategy unfolding on the scan and takes off at full speed towards her target, Pito. Ultimately Fuka points out the truth: there’s no way to make it in time.  Worrying over something they can't stop from happening would be foolish anyway.On the other end of the map, Pito cheerfully rises to meet her enemies, laughing evilly into the close of the episode.