Lazarus Episode 8 Review: No Developments Yet Again

The 8th episode of Lazarus or Razaro (ラザロ) showcased the backstory of Christine. Let us see how this episode turned out.

Lazarus Episode 7 Recap

The episode opens with the Lazarus team enjoying a lighthearted moment together. However, the tone quickly shifts when alarming news breaks about the Arctic Circle beginning to melt. Interestingly, this event had been foreseen by Doctor Skinner long ago, though his warnings were largely dismissed at the time. Meanwhile, the cult investigation hits a dead end, providing no new information on Skinner’s whereabouts, leaving the team back where they started.

Despite the setback, the team finds a clue left behind by the supercomputer, Naga, which is a cryptic code that appears to be a set of coordinates. These coordinates point to four islands that were submerged due to climate change. Oddly enough, each of these islands had been purchased by Skinner prior to their submersion. Suspicious of his motives, four members of the Lazarus team head out to explore each location.

Upon arrival, they find that the absence of human life has allowed these environments to flourish, unspoiled by pollution. The pristine beauty of these places leaves a strong impression, prompting Christine to reflect on humanity’s role in the planet’s decline. However, it soon becomes evident that Skinner’s reasons go beyond environmental commentary, his decision to buy the islands hides a deeper purpose.

Additionally, the episode reveals that Hersch shares a complicated past with Skinner. It becomes clear that she once worked alongside him and now harbours resentment over being left out of his grand plan.

Lazarus Episode 8 Review

This episode starts with Christine being kidnapped by the very group she encountered in the last episode. It is obvious that she knew these suspicious people, and it later gets confirmed that the people who kidnapped her belonged to a network of Russian spies. She used to be a part of them, but then she defected, and now they just want to hunt her down.

The first half also reveals Hersch’s deep ties with Doctor Skinner and her determination to find him. She even warns the Lazarus team to not go after Christine, but being determined to save their friend, each and every one of them goes to Oslo from where they want to make their journey towards the oil rig, where Christine is being held.

Thankfully, the Lazarus team reached the oil rig just at the right moment, and Axel successfully reached their hideout. Thus, an elaborate escape plan goes into motion with lots of action and drama. Axel finally gets in contact with Christine, but she’s anything but grateful as she asks him why he even bothered to save her. It is apparent that Christine herself is not comfortable with her past. But then we get to know that the one who kidnapped her was actually romantically involved with Christine.

She could not forgive Christine for leaving her behind and betraying her and has since harboured hatred for her. What happened later in the episode is something that you’ll have to watch for yourself.

This episode again diverted completely from the main plot line and tried to showcase the sad background story of one of the Lazarus characters. Though this was done to evoke sympathy from the viewers, it failed in achieving that. The anime has really become a mess, where everything is going everywhere without any proper direction. We got tons of action, but things did not progress story-wise.

Verdict

The mystery surrounding Skinner remains completely untouched, with no new developments in sight. It feels increasingly likely that any real answers will be held back until the final episode. This was another very mediocre episode that again proved why Lazarus is the weakest work of Watanabe.

Must Read: Lazarus Season 1 Reviews