Warning! This review on Yuukoku no Moriarty Chapter five contains spoilers. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, I recommend watching it and then going back to read the review.
# 5 The bridge dancer
Yuukoku no Moriarty Chapter five begins with a tragic death. After a few days’ absence, Moriarty asks about his pupil Lucian. Williams’ expertise leads him to discover that Lucian has been locked up to keep him away from the scandal of his affair with a waitress. The young woman who died in the beginning is Frida, Lucian’s lover who was driven to her death by Administrator Durdley. This is a crime that cannot be forgiven, and even without a client, Moriarty handles the punishment.
The difference between the classes
This week’s episode is sadly tinged, this time we are not assuming the premise of social injustice, or at least that is how it primarily seems to us. The tragedy of this occasion begins with a romance, and the only sin of this love is that they both belong to different social classes. Although this did not seem to be an obstacle for them, the love they felt for the other was greater than any obstacle. At least they were so optimistic about things. Unfortunately for his case, Lucian had a certain “duty” to perform. And it is regrettable because it was not the will of the boy who wanted to keep his word in order to deposit Frida. Their situation became tragic because someone was behind them.
Administrator Durdley is a person who shouldn’t meddle, but he was responsible for running a reality check on the lovers. Lucian, who was born nobly, was not allowed to marry a young woman with no name or background. At least at that time the clear difference between the classes was not unfounded; there was a certain dignity to be preserved. It was Durdley who was responsible for revealing this truth, for although his intentions were not really for the good of Lucian, he had an interest in maintaining the young man’s noble status. Since without status it is useless.
So we’re going back to the beginning. Was what we saw a social injustice? It was, Lucian and Frida’s love was real, they both loved each other and trusted to be able to overcome the obstacles that came. However, the socio-political reality of the time would never allow it, even without Durdley. The class difference made it impossible to maintain their relationship in the long term. The accelerator for the couple’s heralded end was Durdley. While it is clear that Durdley used the most drastic method and his sin deserved no forgiveness, especially when we consider that he was acting out of selfishness rather than friendship or false responsibility.
Crime without clients
For this week’s crime, we face a situation where there was no employer. It used to be clear that Moriarty is a counselor because he doesn’t have to be directly involved in crime. However, this did not mean that he had neither the ability to participate nor the determination. This time no one could have petitioned the crime, but it was a situation that caused outrage and needed to be resolved. Williams’ intervention is proof of this; after all, these are social injustice crimes in which we will always see him involved.
It should be said that while this crime was primarily about obtaining justice for Frida, it dealt a deeper blow. A garbage was removed when Durdley’s filthy businesses were exposed. Although its main role was to parasitize the nobles, it also granted them a release from their responsibilities. I’m not talking about his opium sessions, I’m talking about what he did for them to keep rumors quiet about their various situations. The administrator was undoubtedly completely corrupted by the selfish and futile desires of the nobility. He spent so much time cleaning up her mess that I truly came to believe he knew for sure what was best for her, as he demonstrated by acting for Lucian.
What stands out here is the ability to differentiate between two people and how they explain the contrast to us. Both Durdley and Moriarty acted on their own, not at the request of anyone. And both did it on the pretext of doing the right thing. For Durdley, the right thing to do was to keep Lucian away from the waitress who would ruin his reputation as a nobleman, while for Moriarty the right thing to do was to bring justice to those who could no longer ask.
The difference between the two is that you acted on selfish reasons, Durdley wanted to keep his fame, and Lucian and his family were a stepping stone to it. Moriarty, for his part, only follows the path of his ideal, and in it there can be no room for two lovers not to be able to live their love freely. Both Frida and Lucian deserved justice, for the love and life that were taken from them were Williams’ business.
Final comment
Yuukoku no Moriarty Chapter five was a rather melancholy and somewhat complex episode. Love between people of different social classes is not an easy subject, especially when such a crude and fairly realistic approach is used. Though we have to admit that is one of the reasons this show is something worth watching. The tragic end of the love between Lucian and Frida is just one example of what class differences can do to the innocent. It is fair to say that Frida’s only sin was not being born with a silver spoon in hand.
Before I finish with that, I need to further point out how excited I am about the animation. The constant contrast used in depicting the characters’ intentions is great. I add that adding new characters to the cast was useful in adding to the dynamic of this group of revolutionaries. An extra credit is nice to have a portrayal of Colonel Moran in the story, who, by the way, contributes to Doyle’s original Moriarty. And if we talk about it, the advances promise that we will soon have Sherlock on screen, hopefully this portrayal of the famous detective leaves us all satisfied.
Anyway, these were my impressions from the chapter: What do you think of this episode? What do you think would have been a better sentence for Administrator Durdley? Do you think we can say we haven’t removed the stigma of class difference?
