The previous episode saw the Straw Hats triumphing against the gathered Baroque Works assassins yet again, but ended with Nami fainting on the Going Merry’s deck because of what I assume is an illness? Let’s find out what it really is in this episode!
We don’t immediately get back to Nami at the start of the episode, as it is Miss All Sunday that we first hear. She’s in all shiny vinyl-ish leather that looks very The Matrix and cunt. Sorry, I’m not a fashion person, but that’s what first came to mind! After talking to Mister 0 on the snail phone, she talks to a gathering of ~characters~, which includes someone whose whole mouth is made of metal. Metal mouth is an asshole involved in what’s happening in Alabasta who tries to intimidate Miss All Sunday, but she’s like Pam from True Blood. It’s going to take more than a man to rattle her.
Metal Mouth looks to be the king of the Drum Kingdom, and Miss All Sunday has just given him a devil fruit. If the devil fruit were this easy to find, why isn’t everybody in this world powered up? It’s a miracle there are still “normal” people walking around.
Now we get back to Nami, who is still unconscious on the Going Merry, but at least she’s in a bed now. She wakes up, thinking she just passed out last night, but she’s apparently been unconscious for four days now. Sidebar, but I’ve been so tired from work lately, I kinda want to sleep for four straight days. Anyway, back to Nami. There’s black lines on her arm, and Sanji tells her that they’re getting her help. Also, I love Taz just keeping the tears from falling in this scene.
Sanji goes out onto the deck, and they’re apparently in the arctic part of the Grand Line, as they’re all in winter gear. Except for Zoro, who’s got his titties out. And the internet took note of that fact!
Nami’s not getting any better, and while there are healers in Alabasta, Vivi says that it might take them weeks to get there. But Vivi is willing to delay her return to Alabasta to look for a healer for Nami, which is really what girlfriends do.
While the Straw Hats are looking for a healer, Smoker and Tashigi are at Renaisse to send a message to Garp that they can’t find Baroque Works agents anywhere, so now they’re going after the Straw Hats. But the communications outpost has already been attacked by someone, and Smoker is convinced that it’s the Straw Hats. Unless I’ve unknowingly slept through an entire episode, I don’t think the Straw Hats attacked this outpost.
What the Straw Hats are doing is approaching the Drum Kingdom, which, as luck would have it, is renowned for its medical expertise. However, it is also known to have a ~tenuous~ political relationship with Alabasta, so Vivi suggests they keep her identity a secret for now. Which, again, is what your girlfriend would do.
We then get a flashback to a decade ago, where the royals of the world of One Piece are discussing Dragon. At this point, he only has a small revolutionary army, but the World Government is already wary of him. This should have been the time to contain him, but it doesn’t help that the assembled royals can’t agree on a plan of action, with Metal Mouth/Wapol in particular sounding like your garden-variety authoritarian. Vivi’s father Cobra opposes him, which is, I guess, what the ~tenuous~ political relationship is.
Back on Renaisse, Smoker finds more dead Marines and destroyed snail phones before he encounters Miss Thursday, who’s baseball-themed. Now you’ve found a member of Baroque Works, Smoker! Unfortunately, while she puts up a good fight, Smoker dispatches her, and therefore can’t bring her back alive to Garp.
Meanwhile, the Straw Hats don’t get a warm welcome at the Drum Kingdom, and that’s even with Vivi revealing who she is. The first village they find is rightfully wary because they’re pirates, and this would have been another fight scene if it weren’t for Vivi stepping in and reminding Luffy that fists aren’t always the solution. With a little pleading, the villagers finally let them in, and Luffy maybe learns another way to do things.
We then find out why the Drum Kingdom is like this. Wapol deserted them after they were attacked by the pirate Blackbeard, taking all the doctors with him except one: Kureha, the witch. She lives in Wapol’s castle atop the mountain now, and the Straw Hats have to stay in the tavern for a while since they can’t make that trek by nightfall.
Back at Renaisse, it’s now Tashigi’s turn to fight a member of Baroque Works as she finds one of Mister 11’s victims. And it looks good! This fight scene would have looked better if it were better lit, but what can you do? Most modern shows just look like this now. But at least they have a living member of Baroque Works in custody now!
At Drum Island, Luffy makes the decision to climb the mountain with Nami on his back. Sanji’s coming with him, while Zoro stays behind with Vivi and Usopp since Baroque Works is still looking for them. While Luffy and Sanji start the climb, Vivi is still not a beacon of optimism, which is fair. We get to see her first encounter with Wapol, who slapped her when she was a child for no good reason. She takes it in stride, but she does cry about it afterwards because she is a child. Also, sidenote: that actor playing Wapol is putting in the work, because it’s got to be difficult to act with that metal mouth.
Seeing how far the Drum Kingdom has fallen because of its king is also making Vivi extra anxious, because now she’s worried about what state Alabasta will be in once she returns. And I get what Usopp is saying that she can’t bear the weight of the whole kingdom alone, but as someone who lives in a nation governed by clowns, I wish the politicians here thought at least a little bit like Vivi.
We then get Luffy, Sanji, and Nami climbing the final stretch of the mountain, and I gotta say, that was so well done! Sanji falling off the mountain and Luffy literally sticking his neck out to save him and fling him to the top? Luffy, with his bloodied hands, finally makes it to the top, with Nami on his back, and encounters Tony Tony Chopper? And yes, I knew of him in advance because of all the posts from Netflix.
While the Straw Hats are celebrating that little victory, Mister 11 is not having a good time being interrogated by Smoker. He, at least, doesn’t give up Baroque Works’ plans, but Smoker is confident that the answer is in one of the barely alive snail phones.
Back at Drum Kingdom, Nami gets to meet Kureha, who tells her that her sickness came from a bite from a bug that came from prehistoric times, which is what Little Garden is. Kureha’s treated her, of course, and now here comes Luffy, finally awake, and running into the scene in naught but a towel because he thought Kureha was cooking him. And then we get the scene that was the sole entry of gay Twitter for like a couple of weeks when the show debuted.
If any of you guys like what I do, feel free to leave me a tip!
Ron Does Stuff 
Leave a comment