~~ yes, there’s probably SPOILERS in here ~~
Opens with more dark details of the black market- animals’ body parts being used for traditional medicine cures. Seeing that, Louis reflects on his place in the underbelly of the city, and finds himself actually relating to one of the lion gang members. In another scene, the panther who injured the anteater visits him in the hospital, full of regrets. Legoshi and the bear have a confrontation in public that starts to get heated, but the sheep Pina interrupts again. Legoshi resolves to have a fight to end things for good with Riz the bear. He’s never been able to bring himself to eat meat, but now he overcomes some of his qualms and eats live insects (which is a big deal, since he always had a fascination with bugs since childhood, one of his endearing traits). He makes quite a ritual out of it. Legoshi and Haru then have a talk- well really she sobs out her worries for Louis (while asserting that she definitely no longer has feelings for him) and Legoshi feels committed all over again to protect her and other herbivores. The he and Riz have a bloody fight, which gets interrupted by a janitor coming in. They plan a day to battle it out for good again- on the New Year’s eve. Then there’s an odd little segment where the Panda treats a completely expressionless Tibetan sand fox. I’m not sure what the point was? Riz threatens Pina, who makes a show of brushing off concerns, but is really frightened. There’s an odd rehersal scene where Pina seems to be contemplating his own death, not just acting. And even more unexpected are scenes where Legoshi disguises himself by cross dressing, so he can talk to Louis in the black market. Tells him he knows who the killer was, asks him to be present at their upcoming battle- Louis wants to refuse. And finds out about Legoshi’s mixed heritage, which is quite a shock.
Borrowed from the public library.
