Total Destruction
From Anime Indepth
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The twelfth episode of the Hellsing anime.
Summary
While Seras remains unable to warn Hellsing by radio, Fargason and company move in, though they appear no much for freak SAS unit, which have been injected with so much demonic energy that they no longer appear human. As Fargason’s Birtish military support begins to turn their armaments on Hellsing, Walter, reporting to Integra, informs her that, since they attacked a building that raises the Queen’s flag, and that there’s no way to prove their organization’s existence, that the Queen has entrusted the British army with the authority to quell Hellsing’s apparent traitorous acts. Integra, realizing that the Round Table conference was a fake but that only a member of it could have known that, however Walter reveals that the Round Table has convened and that they were the one’s who decided on this course of action. Integra rushes back to Hellsing HQ, while Alucard begins to take out the freak SAS group alongside one of the Hellsing commanders, Pickman. Integra, unable to contact the Queen or any members of the Round Table, attempts to reach Fargason, however he is already staring down the raised guns of the British army. Seras attempts to interfere, but Fargason is aware that he is in the sights of their snipers and motions for Seras to stay out of it. Fargason declares to the military and surrounding populace that the Hellsing organization will not cease its holy mission, even in the face of the British military, however, as Fargason continues, he is shot through the head and heart, with Seras calling out his name.
As Integra sits in shock and mourning, having just seen Fargason shot on live television, Seras holds the man’s still body, licking the blood from his face, saying she wish she could have done this when he was alive. Recovering “Canon” and donning her blue uniform, she enters the Tower of London. The news declares Fargason the leader of the terrorist organization; Integra tells Walter not to resist as the British army arrives to arrest them; Seras begins to eradicate the freak SAS unit. Alucard tells Seras to enjoy this, that it will make her strong, but Pickman is mortally wounded at Alucard’s side, and he asks the vampire to take his life. Seras, making her way up to Alucard’s position (who has just discovered Incognito) is tackled by Paul Wilson, who calls her no better than a ghoul for not drinking Alucard’s blood of her own free will. The Queen’s royal messengers appear once more, reminding Integra that the Royal Family is on her side and that the Queen has not forgotten her. While Alucard unlocks power restrictions to level 2 and begins his shootout with Incognito, Walter and Integra commandeer a helicopter and escape the grasp of the British army. Seras ends her battle with the mutated Paul by shoving one of Canon’s shells down his throat, while back inside the Tower a fallen Incognito lies at Alucard’s feet, but as Alucard asks who the monster’s master is, Incognito’s purple energy bands cover the room and begin to slice Alucard apart. Seras appears, though, and at episode’s end one of Incognito’s energy blades is heading straight for her.
Trivia
-With the arrival of the messengers, perhaps we are assured that the Queen was not involved, as the Royal Order is real, merely that the Queen was unable to arrive due to the present circumstances. By the same turn, the messengers appear to have arrived in the mysterious car seen moments ago.
-The man who appears in the black car to give orders is likely the orchestrator behind this whole event, however, it is difficult to tell who he is, as all we see is the man’s hat. The two characters from the Round Table conference we know are Islands and Penwood, and while Penwood seems a likely choice, this is partly balanced out by his courageous actions in the Hellsing manga.
-Much as in one of the writer’s, Chiaki J. Konaka, previous series, Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040, the media is also painted very negatively, the contrast here being that in BGC, it was under the complete control, and stories they thought would upset people or destabilize power just wouldn’t get out. In Hellsing, however, the media changes the truth to fit their design, allowing the rogue member(s) of the Round Table to portray Hellsing as an “evil” organization, and the effect is already evident, as we see the man toast Fargason’s death.
-In the manga and anime, much of Seras’ true vampiric power remains dormant until the death of an important person in her life, in this case Fargason, as it allows her to cast off all her connection to her past life when she focuses it on one, single person.
-The anime paints a very negative picture of the British government, which appears to be rife with murders, traitors, and secret plots, and all the more disturbing a picture is painted when the snipers take up a cool, golem-like residency in a frightened couple’s apartment. It’s not fair, though, to see this as a direct attack against the British government, as the series has always talked about the dual evils of humanity and vampirism, and how the main difference appears to be a matter of method and logic.
-The name Pickman is believed to be a reference to the H.P. Lovecraft character of the same name, for more info on this, please visit Hellsing Indepth’s References section.
-Episode 12, following the Hellsing troop deployment, begins with a splicing together of footage from near the end of the previous episode, first starting with Seras running towards the Tower of London, and then putting two news pieces together, and then doing the sequence where Alucard leaves Integra’s side.
-Episodes 12 and 13 mark a notable upgrade in the animation quality for this series.
-This episode appears on the Volume 4 DVD, titled "Eternal Damnation," of Geneon’s release of Hellsing.
