Shock much? With the way the episode was going, the only thing left was... O_O Well, after the first five minutes one pretty knew that the only option of death left would definitely not be manslaughter. I was really sad at the end though, one could definitely see the break down of events and it was just really tragic.
Ruka seems to find some support from her parents and be able to open up to them better, though it's hard for her parents to accept it right away. Michiru inadvertently learns of Ruka's true feelings towards her, and hell kind of breaks loose at the end of the episode. The storyline was interesting and yet not as dramatic as one was all prepped for after the previous episode... not sure if the ratings will skyrocket or not for the final episode, but I'm sure ratings did fly for this episode since everyone was totally tuned in after episode 09.
Anyway, some highlights for this episode... Ruka does not get raped! (Such a relief!!!) She beats Sousuke over the head with the lamp and then runs out of his apartment. As a result though, she loses the protection charm that Michiru gave her for races. Ruka rushes into a department store to buy a new shirt in order to replace the one Sousuke tore and in doing so, avoid any questions about what happened.
Michiru considers leaving the share house when everyone gets jumpy over a doorbell ring since everyone thinks it's Sousuke. Takeru also loses the movie hair & make-up job due to this condition and Michiru feels badly for it; however, Takeru tells her it's not her fault and she can't think that it is. If she thinks about going back at all, then she would be betraying Ruka since Ruka is putting her life on the line to protect her.
Later, Michiru and Ogurin go to pick up some dry cleaning and return home together in time for Michiru to overhear a conversation between Takeru and Ruka. She then discovers that what Ruka feels for her is not the ordinary affections one feels for a friend, but her feelings go much deeper. Due to the shock and the inability to accept the idea right away as Michiru has no way of answering to Ruka's love, she runs away and then comes to the conclusion of leaving the next morning. She goes to stay at her mother's place for the time being.
Later on, Ruka comes out to her father at Takeru's bar after he reads a magazine article about her and the issue of her sexuality. He tells her he support hers and she is happy that she's come out to him. Later though, Takeru catches Ruka's father sitting by himself staring out into a lake. He confesses that all along Ruka has been pretty rambunctious, but he thought that she had always been a cute, little daughter. He breaks down and cries after that.
Meanwhile, Sousuke goes on a stalking spree again to find Michiru, but gets told off by Eri. Unfortunately, using Eri's words, he manages to trick Michiru into coming to the apartment to get her things and leave his house key. Though Michiru is hesitant about going to Sousuke's place, she does anyway and then sees the protection charm she gave Ruka lying on the floor next to the bed. She asks Sousuke if Ruka came to see him and he admits that she did and that he only broke down her pride a bit. When Michiru realizes what Ruka went through, she tries to leave, only Sousuke stops her and begins beating on her. He successfully rapes (and impregnates) her.
After the black out of the scene, we see Michiru naked and rolled up in sheets on top of Sousuke's bed, looking totally exhausted, resigned and defeated. Her clothes are strewn on the floor and Sousuke is sitting at the foot of the bed, looking pretty remorseful. Michiru asks in a whisper that Sousuke promises her one thing: to never hurt her friends again, to never lay his hands on Ruka or Takeru again. She tells him that if he promises her this, she will stay by his side. However, as she asks him to do this for her, tears overflow from her eyes and she silently cries. Sousuke goes up on the bed and demands to know why she's crying and to stop crying. His hand is aching to hit her to make her stop, but upon seeing her defeated and resigned expression, he cannot hit her and closes the screen behind him.
We then enter a very tragic scenario as Sousuke starts crying, because he really does love Michiru and never really wanted to hurt her, but he only knows how to be violent with her. He opens up her purse and finds a little package of photos that she has neatly wrapped up. Upon seeing her happy expression in the photos, which she has a hard time showing to him due to his behavior, he becomes torn and resentful of his own self. He curls up and cries because he understands that he is only capable of causing pain to the woman he loves, and has become a monster, which he never really intended to become.
The next morning, Michiru wakes up still wrapped in the sheets and she gets dressed. When she opens the screen door, she notices Sousuke sleeping on the sofa, but then sees something very disturbing...
Meanwhile, Ruka is preparing for her big race and everyone except Michiru is assembled at the race track. She goes to grip the protection charm that Michiru gave her, but it's not tied to her bike. She pretends that it's there and squeezes the air where the charm would have been before taking off at the race's start.
Back at Sousuke's apartment, a box from a bridal shop can be seen and Michiru notices Sousuke holding onto a white bridal gown in his arms, except it is stained in red from the blood leaked out from his wrists. She looks at him in shock...
Preview for Final Episode: Ruka gives a press conference -- she probably wins her race then if that happens, and it's probably over her sexuality issue. A wedding scene can be seen... though I wonder whose wedding it's for... Sousuke is definitely dead (or going to be dead) from the blood loss in episode 10, and we are left with a narration from Sousuke, "Goodbye Michiru, I am now setting you free."
I wonder if the wedding is for Eri & Tomohiko or a flashback of Takeru's sister, Yuko, and her husband... maybe it's Michiru and a sexually-changed Ruka? ^_^; I can be hopeful, I guess... I still like the idea of Ruka x Michiru ^_^;
I really am sad that Sousuke committed suicide even though he's been pretty awful and creepy throughout the entire series. He did not exactly want to become a DV abuser, but it just somehow happened. Most domestically-violent people, especially men, usually suffered some sort of abandonment trauma or violent influence during their youth. If a man sees his father hitting his mother, then he may grow up to hit his wife someday as well even if he does not want to. In Sousuke's case, he was abandoned by his mother, which then makes women a sort of "enemy" in his eyes even though he loves Michiru. He feels that women owe him in a sort of way, so that's why he's so controlling of Michiru. He also does not want a woman to leave him because of the trauma from his mother leaving him. Though it's never really specifically mentioned, the drama hints at how his past caused him to choose the career that he decided on and also of his behavior. Because he was abandoned at a young age, he chose to become a social worker for children's welfare. Because he was abandoned by a woman who was very close to him, he became unable to trust women and also triggered a side of him that made him violent with the woman he loved so he could keep her by his side. He is afraid of being alone though it never shows.
I think the opening sequence from the first few episodes is so powerful and when we see the word "contradiction" for Sousuke, we see how complex a character he is. He never asked to become the way he did,; it was because of his circumstances that he became what he is. We really see him hating himself in the end and killing himself as a result. Because he loves Michiru, he wants to set her free and to stop hurting her using the only method he knows how. If he continues to live, he is only going to continue to hurt her so he decides to die.
Sousuke is a very tragic character and though it's somewhat a relief he is the one who dies, it is also very sad that he ends up dying as well. Michiru will most likely bear the trauma of seeing him dead for the rest of her life, but I'm sure that with Michiru becoming mature due to all that's happened to her plus the pregnancy, she will be able to raise her child with care and love. I think women tend to be stronger at times with their emotions and now that she is to become a mother, she will try her best to raise her child in the best way possible unlike her own mother.
I really am curious what happens at the very end. I really have no guesses at this point in time, though I really do wonder about that wedding scene... I hope the episode turns out to be good.
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