The Wicked + The Divine vol 6 review - Imperial phase part 2
If in the fifth volume we could only glimpse the threshold of the abyss, the sixth volume crosses it without delay, starting the inevitable fall. Hold on tight because this volume will be a roller coaster of emotions, where revelations and continuous twists will give you no respite.
If you don't know The Wicked + The Divine you can catch up by reading our introduction to this series and our reviews of the volumes released so far for Bao Publishing. As in the previous reviews, here too we will talk in depth about the events narrated, so you will find several spoilers.
First volume - Omen Faust Second volume - Fandemonium Third volume - Commercial Suicide Fourth Volume - Crescendo Fifth Volume - Imperial Phase part 1
Where we left off
The fifth volume of The Wicked + The Divine started a slow, but inexorable, descent into hell. Disagreeing on what to do and disunited, the gods will unleash their instincts and desires in a self-destructive spiral of sex and death. The title of the volume - Imperial Phase - is particularly significant as, with the end of the fourth volume, the Pantheon reached the peak of its existence. This means that from now on the empire of the gods will turn towards its inevitable decline.With your foot always on the accelerator
It is difficult to talk about this volume without going into detail, because the power of Imperial Phase part 2 rests exclusively on its twists.
once Again, our beliefs are I recomment, and, in bringing forward a plot already full of events and questions, Gillen continues to add to the plot more dramatic elements . For the first 60 pages, the narrative seems to follow a cautious one , the characters talk a lot and it almost has the impression that from here on, things will move slow, in a sort of strategy of wait-and-see . However, when the machine is set in motion the plot undergoes a sharp acceleration and we are thrown the sudden backlash.
From this moment on, Gillen delivers a series of twists that leave you breathless and subvert literally the certainties and assumptions up to now acquired.
Two parallel plots unfold simultaneously: on the one hand we find Dionysus, the Norns, and Later engaged to investigate aspects of the occult plan of Ananke, while the other plot develops around Sakhmet, which is now totally out of control.
the moments we loved most in this volume we report the plot of the Game (which we will discuss in detail shortly), the dialogue between Dionysus and Baphomet, who we allow to better know the gods more idealistic and pure of all the Pantheon and the comparison between Sakhmet and Amaterasu , which ends with one of the tables, the most powerful and evocative of the whole saga.
the Game: the herb bad never dies
If there is a character that has been able to survive anything and all what is certainly the Game .
In the span of 6 volumes of this character, has taken advantage of every situation to take advantage of , taking time by the side of the winners. This conduct is treacherous, and has allowed it to thrive and bring forward their own agenda, deceiving everyone and manipulating it and letting it be understood just what he wanted.
To understand what we are referring to, suffice it to quote the article dedicated to him in the opening of the volume:
the Game. God is the head of ca**o, lord of the Valkyries. He helped in secret Ankh that had a strange control over him.
if we want to go in more detail, we can briefly retracing the history of this deity.
Initially the Game appears as a figure in the background from the low-profile , which is presented to us as a builder with a fetish for asian girls tall, at least 1 meter and 75, with which it loves to surround himself and which considers the objects of his property. This attitude of male chauvinist and misogynistic (on this aspect, I will focus the entire interview, quito, volume, prepared by the feminist journalist Laurie Penny) will be a recurring theme of the character to such a point as to induce the reader, in a sort of excusatio non petita , that the dark secret that binds the Game to Ananke may be some sort of sex crime is particularly serious.
Ananke, the only person to be aware of the past of the Game, will take advantage of the sense of guilt felt by the latter to keep it in check, and to benefit from its powers to build a mysterious machine . In Business Suicide, the third volume, Ananke is quite explicit in pointing out the disregard that evidence in relation to it.
I have lived long enough to know the true slaves. You're not like them. You are very lowest.
you're the pet of a god. We both know exactly what you are. Until I know what I know about you, obey.
During the uprising, the Game will take advantage of the situation to turn their backs to Ananke and to convince the other gods of his good faith. With the change of faction, the god, the manufacturer will make available to the Pantheon of his ability, and his knowledge and leave you leaking purposely some details about his alleged identity .
In the Imperial age part 2 this character's abject, however, is revealed in all his hunger for power , generating in the reader a sense of frustration and anger for being manipulated and led to believe in his good faith, is also finally revealed the identity of this character and the terrible secret that Ananke is a reference in the third volume.
The latest revelations on this character are going to sign as an’ epiphany ' distorted and aware of who is really this character we look forward to the time when he will be called to respond of all her abominations.
What to expect in the future?
At this point of the story, as well as three volumes from the end, what can we expect ? We are faced with a plot to the horizontal that is anything but linear, full of situations still unresolved. The end of the sixth volume ends with a dramatic shot of the scene : a narrative choice fully in line with the revelations that have concluded the previous volumes.
That Ananke was still in the game was to guess, thanks to the twist ending of the last volume, but the last balloon the last board puts in black and white this event and perfectly expresses the incredulity that the characters and the reader share.
In this sense, some people might not appreciate the constant upheavals of history , percependoli as an instrument to increase the “ shock value ” of this plot, however at this point of the story, for the skeptics, it might be worth a try to understand where the story going to go.
We are reasonably confident that in the next volume of Gillen will clarify the role of Minerva and its relationship with the old Ananke. Likewise, we hope that, after a brief interim, Morrigan and Baphomet come back to play a more important role, away from the shadows of their domain.
