Season 1, Episode 4: Fire the Smoke Signal
After 3700 years of being in love with Yuzuriha, he decides that he wait even longer to tell her. Senku manages to collect the ingredients for gunpowder rather quickly, first is sulfur, second charcoal and finally potassium nitrate. Dr. Stone breaks the fourth wall several times in this episode. Particularly to inform the audience that the ingredients were accurate and should not be repeated. This is find and all, but I think Dr. Stone should have just left an ingredient out. Regardless, Taiju accidentally blows up the first batch of gunpowder. Senku believes that the gunpowder would be useful to negotiate with Tsukasa. However, Senku is willing to kill him if needed and Tsukasa is will to kill him if needed. While putting out the fire, Yuzuriha notices a smoke signal.
Senku is excited. The possibility that there’s more people in the world is in a game changer. Senku fires a smoke signal in return to get the people attention. The problem is that said smoke signal will also give away their position to Tsukasa. It does. He captures Yuzuriha and holds her hostage. Tsukasa make a very good case against gunpowder. The weapons of science that Senku hopes to create, have been used to destructive ends in the “old world.” Tsukasa argues that he doesn’t want that world again and is willing to kill to avoid it. Tsukasa threatens Yuzuriha, in exchange for the recipe for freeing people from pertification. Senku claims that he doesn’t care about Yuzuriha. Tsukasa calls his bluff, cutting Yuzuriha hair. He believes that Senku does care about both Taiju and Yuzuriha.
Yuzuriha decides that she will sacrifice herself for the “greater good.” Senku gives the revival fluid formula to Tsukasa. This means that Senku no longer has any value to Tsukasa and he can kill him. While, gathering wood, Taiju sees three smoke signals. we get a glimpse of another female character. Meanwhile, Tsukasa get closer to Senku, asking him to “allow civilization to grow.” Tsukasa asks Senku to “abandon science.” Senku flashes back to his childhood learning science, with Taiju and Yuzuriha helping him. Obviously, his answer was always going to be no. The episode ends trying to suggest that Senku was killed, but we all know that didn’t happen.
Tsukasa continues to be an interesting villain. He makes a lot of good points regarding the world. He wants to make a new one that’s better than the previous one. He willing to be violent to do so, but if you think about is science really better. As mentioned in this episode, science has been used to help people but also for tool of war. Far more people have been killed by bombs than weapons made of stone. Who actually serves more of a threat, Senku or Tsukasa. The introduction of new people to this series is really going to get interesting. As I mentioned before, the trio don’t have a way to determine whose “good” or not without taking risks. It’s possible that a new threat could emerge from the other people that could make Tsukasa and the trio have to work together.
Dr. Stone Review:
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 11: Clear World
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 10: A Flimsy Alliance
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 09: Let There Be the Light of Science
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 08: Stone Road
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 07: Where Two Million Years Have Gone
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 06: Two Nations of the Stone World
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 05: Stone World The Beginning
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 04: Fire the Smoke Signal
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 03: Weapons of Science
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 02: King of the Stone World
- Dr. Stone Review Episode 01: Stone World
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