But when you got to know their story you feelt sorry for them. But with that kind of history, there is no way that they can adapt to a normal social life. So I do find that the ending is the best possible.

And I do wonder what Rock saw there… which made him run out of the room and start throwing up.

Hansel and Gretel’s lives, short-lived as it were, are an interesting study. But what really draws out the charm of the series (and the moral ambiguity) is the camaraderie among the Hotel Moscow old guard, the company of Russian deserters that formed the core of the operation. They are not generic mafioso types that grunt and die in various violent ways (we have the Italian mafia in the series for that). They are real humans who went through the hell of Afghan in the 80s, then making their way in the rough and tumble underworld.

P.S. Just to point out a technical error. It is not a semi-automatic rifle that Gretel is toting, but a fully automatic General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). I wonder what those twins are eating to lift that monster of a gun and fire from the hip/shoulder. =)

@Ian K: so many good points there…yeah, I agree that BL has more going for it than just the (admittedly very good) action – I personally love the moments of character interaction you mention. The realism and the way in which it copies Western action movies and does the job better than most of them is also something it should be commended for. The real-life intances of child soldiers in Africa was also something that shocked me to the core when I first heard about it.

@TheBigN: the way that it all ended on such a bittersweet note was probably the only way it could have ended…and that end theme will haunt me forever, seriously. Like the ending to Gunslinger Girl’s first season did.

@ayase: glad to hear I saved you the trouble! ^_^ In all seriousness though, it is shocking to think that, as improbable and dramatised as stories like this appear to be, the reason why Black Lagoon is so immersive (at least for me) is that for all the over-the-top-ness it is fundamentally realistic.

@Hanners: I really enjoyed your review and can concur that it’s a difficult part of the series to put into words. The series gets a lot of comparisons to Cowboy Bebop but at the same time BL is a lot darker, more brutal and I suppose more cynical too. I’m afraid I can’t think of a series that does the juxtaposition so well either! I guess I could bring up Gunslinger Girl again, if only because it finds the bundle of raw nerves labelled ‘empathy’ and gives them a good tug.

buster_machine: yeah, the psychopathic kids thing has been done before but that just made the end of this arc pack even more of a punch. *makes a mental note to catch up on Shana* I’m completely in favour of a third season of this though!

I think you’ve pretty much nailed down how well both this arc and Black Lagoon as a whole works – On the surface, it’s a fantastically presented action series, but once you scratch that surface in some of the darker arcs it reminds you of just how fucked up the world can be in a way that transcends the comic book violence and characters that it often employs. I can’t really think of any other series that manages that juxtaposition, most shows tend to go for either the larger than life action or the dark, disturbing underbelly, not both.

It did seem to work very as a tragic and well, just bloody sad story really, which is surprising given the overall feel of the show. I would have expected a twist like that to feel awkward and unwelcome, but the fact that I could look past the fact Black Lagoon’s extended cast look like they’re on their way to a costume party and actually be affected by the twins story speaks volumes.

Most disturbing thing of all is that we know that kind of horrific abuse of kids who are supposed to be being cared for goes on not only under tyrannical regimes like that in Romania, but also in our own back yard given the recent inverstegations on Jersey.