| The Tower of DRUAGA -The Aegis of URUK-, Episode 8: Tower of Legend |
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| Monday, 02 June 2008 | |
 Druaga makes some fun of its videogame roots with this episode, which is another little diversion on the way up the Tower. Although there are - thankfully - a few big hints about the show's bigger picture along the way...Jil's gotten a reputation for himself after his dragon-slaying exploits, and he's enjoying the spotlight. Events take a more serious turn, though, when Kaaya collapses. She claims she's suffering from an incurable disease - or at least, one that can be cured only by completing a ridiculously difficult task. Strangely, when asked about her illness, she's unable to give much in the way of details. Is Kaaya just faking it, or is she truly as ill as she makes out..? Jil's search through the tower also uncovers a few unexpected packages...     Kaaya's "cure" seems to be playing a videogame - an RPG, natch - with the unusual side-effect that, as she plays it, poor Jil gets to live it out. You could probably consider that to be something of a Tron influence, if you like, with added problems like what would happen to Jil if Kaaya ran out of coins to feed the machine before completing the quest. Interestingly, the game is a game about the Tower, and the real-world effects of the game don't seem to be limited to just Jil. But let's not stray into spoiler territory. On the surface, the episode is another fun little diversion, but dig a little deeper and there are a few fairly clear hints to more important things, mostly through people who either meet Jil or who are watching his progress with interest. While I've been enjoying Druaga on several levels, I'm not convinced about its approach to the story that seems to be underpinning it - everything's covered by short hints and revelations that are given on the sidelines of whatever unrelated adventure the gang are enjoying this week. Even though you know that there's something going on under the surface, it all feels very much like a series on standalon stories, and that's a little off-putting. This episode is a little less subtle than before, though, and that may signal that a change in approach is coming for the final episodes. I certainly hope so. In the meantime, though, this is another decent & enjoyable episode. If Druaga's previous episodes have appealed, this will too.  |
