The second episode of “To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts” (かつて神だった獣たちへ) basically revolves around one question: Why my father must die?
It is a painful question that torture Schaal for the whole season. She is a young girl whose father was an Incarnate. You may well recognize his father John William Bancroft in the previous episode, who have a heart-warming conversation with the Incarnates about the family picture around his neck.
Back in the time of the picture, it was a peaceful time when he ran an orphanage in a quiet town with Schaal. When the war broke out, he was called to join the army due to his special physique.
The army promises to provide financial support to the orphanage, but it wasn’t really the reason why William joined the army. “I have the power to help end the war and create a bright future for you (Schaal) and the children,” he said. William joins the army for the right cause, but it doesn’t bring him any good.
At the end of the day, he is stuck in the form of the beast and is shot by Hank, who vowed to end the lives of his comrades when they lose their hearts. There is nothing wrong about this when Hank is just trying to stop the beast from hurting others, a wish that shared by his comrades.
But Schaal, whose father was killed in front of her, just can’t accept that a kind person like his father deserves to end like this. If Hank killed his father for the right reason, who should be held responsible for the death of her father?
There is one scene when Hank hunts down another Incarnate, who uses his power to steal and kill innocents. He asks Hank in tears before he dies: “Should we just dies as God on that battlefield?”
Maybe he is right! If an Incarnate dies on the battlefield, they die as a hero. But if they survive, they become nothing but a threat. As long as the beasts are alive, the war never ends. Isn’t there are a place on earth that allows their existence?
There are a million questions that can be asked after watching the second episode. I don’t think there is a satisfying answer for all of that. But as Schaal decides to follow Hank and his hunt on the surviving Incarnates, maybe she can find a way to alleviate her pain.
