Thread by @RainAfterDark, Wonder Egg Ponderings #1A more moment-to-moment thread of my thoughts and impressions [...]

Wonder Egg Ponderings #1
A more moment-to-moment thread of my thoughts and impressions on Wonder Egg's pilot episode. I wouldn't say it's "analysis", because nothing about this is conclusive, but just some observations and things I've been reflecting on from the show.

I'll go about this chronologically though I might jump back and forth between different plot points, but I'll try and keep things in order.

Also spoiler warning, please watch the episode if you haven't yet!

Wonder Egg stars off with a girl sitting in the middle of an intersection, picking up a dying bug in the cusp of her hands. What's interesting about this simple sequence is how in a matter of mere seconds, it is able to succinctly summarize the premise of the story.

Intersections can be attributed to things like choices and fate, but in this case it's something less optimistic. It's a metaphor for an anxiety. For this is a story of a girl who's grown too afraid to look the other way around, in a world where pretending not to see is survival.

Yet through the thick ambivalence that surrounds her world, someone came to her with their open hearts and in turn, she too learned how to open hers. A person she could trust. A friend. Yet as bright as how this guiding light came into her life, so it was as short-lived.

And it could've ended there. But despite her efforts, Ai just can't seem to burry the past behind her. The bug that reappears before her eyes is a representation her inner turmoils. Very fittingly, she asks if this is all a dream, to which the bug reaffirms to her:

"Would you prefer (to accept) reality?"

A desire sprouts inside her from the feelings that she has lost. But what is it that she truly desires? This is a question that repeats throughout the episode, and we are progressively given a different answer.

At least, is how I see it.

[Connection]

Ai wants a friend. Ai is given an egg. The egg has the thing she wants. But does Ai have the courage to break the egg? The way the show goes about this is how it presents introspection. We jump to the part where she enters the illusionary school premises-

with a really cool transition that blurs the line between dreams and reality. I see this as the show's approach in trying to get us as deep as possible into the headpsace of Ai and the things that haunt her, something I find to be very effective. Within this place we are-

presented with terrifying caricatures of bullying in the form of the Seeno Evils. It's interesting how they're not just called or depicted as "bullies", even if it's the concept the show is mainly antagonizing. Because this show understands that this is a problem that has much-

deeper roots than simply those who lead the victimization. Bullying takes place as a collective. It spreads and it perpetuates because of one thing: passivity. It's quite ironic yet sad how the very means of avoiding bullying is also what allows it to thrive in the first place.

To "see no evil" IS the problem, and the show makes that ever so clear not even past five minutes in this episode. Ai proceeds to run away and ends up cowering in a bathroom stall where she is forced to confront the contents of the egg in her possession. To break the egg would-

reveal the truth. Of the means to escape this nightmare and perhaps, a little bit of what's inside her. From the remnants of the broken shell we see a girl in uniform. Later on it is revealed that in this dimension of sorts, she is the target of the bullying.

Their brief conversation gives us a couple of things. One of them is how even though this world seems like a bad dream to Ai, it is in fact very real to Kurumi. Though we are probably only seeing a representation of it. Another is how Ai is seen as someone immortal in this world.

Her injuries disappear whereas Kurumi's don't. Notice how later on she says that Ai would be fine as long as her eyes and heart are okay. I would assume that she's implying that as long as her eyes avert from the truth, and that her heart does not act upon the injustices-

she's chosen to blind herself from seeing, she will not get hurt. She will not be attacked. And that's how it has always been for her. And as they continued their idle chit chat, Ai for the first time since losing friend, knew what it felt to be understood. A connection.

So when Ai showed her hesitation to come with Kurumi, I don't think she was disappointed in her. In fact, from the way her face and her grip eases up, I see it as an expression of relief. That Ai has taken her advice to heart. She did not have to be involved in all of this.

They might have parted ways for now, but Ai will never forget about the impression Kurumi has made on her. As we're back to being alone with our protagonist, Ai stumbles upon a door that leads to a painful past. I'd like to think that her parting with Kurumi is what allowed-

this memory of hers to resurface in the first place, as the feeling is very familiar to that of what she's gone through. I don't really have that much to say about this backstory, but the way it's presented and how the characters interact with one another-

has this very Yamada-like level of care, meticulosity, and sincerity. The way the tone slowly shifts from absurdity to these genuinely endearing and human moments is one of the things I just absolutely love to bits about this show. This level of control in the atmosphere-

always captivates me and gets me engaged, and Wonder Egg Priority is truly wonderful for having their priorities straightened-up to execute these little moments with so much attention.

[Redemption]

Ai betrayed someone dear to her. Ai wants to make up for it. It's all Ai's fault. But what will it take in order to achieve it? As we plunge right back into reality (or the dreamscape, rather) we meet Kurumi once again being chased by the bad guys.

Now we're slowly coming to an understanding of how to escape this nightmare. As long as she can survive until school ends, Kurumi can go home safely. And she's almost there. It all comes down if Ai's willing to save her, as she's the only one who can "see".

This is her turning point, quite literally. Driven by the guilt of being unable to save the first friend she had ever had, she takes a turn to run across the ledge to take a leap of faith and do something she won't regret.

I hit the thread limit, continuing this after a while.

Her line in here was such a nice touch circling back to what I was previously saying regarding intersections. It's also nice how we're seeing her left eye more prominently this time now that's she's chosen to finally "see" things for what they are, a side of her we've really-

only seen in her intimate times with Koito. The visual spectacle that comes afterwards was splendid. Perhaps a pen truly is mightier than a sword. Ai whacking the fuck out of that mf was satisfying af ngl (4th pic is my irl reaction), excuse the sudden shift in prose.

But what really made a much bigger impression to me is what came after. Not the abrupt goodbye I'm sure Ai's already used to. But the fact after everything...

"Only you gets saved."

[Salvation]

Ai can save people. Ai needs more eggs. Ai will save as many people if that's what it'll take to save Koito. But who 's the one in here who truly needs saving? Perhaps the most cruel part of being a bullying victim is the fact that it is something that can never-

be undone. The scars that it'll leave will never fade. There might even be times where the wounds themselves never healed in the first place. It can cease, but what's done is done. It's this tragedy that Wonder Egg presents within the allegory of Kurumi's brief arc.

That those who have spoken up are the only ones who will have the privilege of being able to say they have "saved" someone. That it in turn, saved them. Perhaps, to seek this justification is what Ai truly desires. But I would like to think otherwise. I think there's a minuscule-

yet noticeable enough nihilistic subtext that reeks from this show enough for me to believe that for some people, salvation is just simply... impossible. This is where I go completely off the show and into speculations.

For one, I don't think Koito is ever going to come back. What Ai needs to be saved, is forgiveness. Not from anyone else. Not even from Koito. But from herself. No one else can lift the weight of guilt off of her. It is something that she has accept by herself.

It breaks me that her false sense of justice and blind optimism is only merely built on top of a sense of guilt she herself cannot even understand, nor can her fragile psyche could even handle doing so. But I believe for this to be the only way for her to move forward.

This is what Wonder Egg Priority sets up to me. A story of rekindling connections, attaining redemption, finding salvation, but most importantly — forgiving oneself. Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk.

I have no idea if I will have the energy to write a thread for every episode that will eventually come out of the series, but I'll try. This show has perhaps singlehandedly rekindled my passion for this medium, and I want to be able to express that love as much as I can.

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