Baccano! Episode 08

"Isaac and Miria Unintentionally Spread Happiness Around Them" is the eighth episode of the 2007 Baccano! anime.

Recap Scenes
Isaac Dian suggesting to Miria Harvent that they buy Ennis a gift (E02); Jacuzzi Splot speaking to Sedley about his gang's war with the Russos (E05); Gustavo Bagetta kidnapping Eve Genoard (E06); Ennis taking out Dallas Genoard's gang (E06); Miria proclaiming her excitement to the world (E02).

Synopsis
The police chief of a New York police department stands before a large group of his subordinates and introduces them to special agents Bill Sullivan and Donald Brown, two men investigating an unusual string of eighty-plus robberies spanning America for the Justice Department. The chief has pledged the full force's cooperation in the case.

The lights dim, and a projector in the back of the room projects pictures of the two robbers - who are none other than Isaac & Miria - on the wall. Each photograph finds them mid- or post-robbery and in outlandish costumes: as mummies, Charlie Chaplin's Dictator attire, and Zorro.

One policeman wonders why the pair have not been caught if they have the time to pose for photos, and Bill Sullivan explains that all the photographs were taken by curious citizens who did not realize the couple were robbers (rather than actors) until afterwards. Donald adds that up until now, all their crimes had been petty offenses, such as stealing clocks, chocolates, candies, and a museum door. Bill explains further that the reason the Justice Department has taken an interest in them is because recently the two made off with the fortune of the Genoard Family millionaires.

The men grow somber at Bill's words, and one asks why the robbers changed plans. The chief replies that he can ask them once they are behind bars.

In 1931, Isaac and Miria are walking through the cars of the Flying Pussyfoot when Isaac remembers that they forgot to buy a souvenir for Ennis. Distraught, he and Miria embrace.

Title card.

Meanwhile, Jacuzzi Splot and his friends look out a window and spot what Jacuzzi believes to be the Rail Tracer on the side of the train. It vanishes, and they duck back into the corridor and race to the platform outside. It is empty. Jacuzzi indicates the roof, and Donny hoists him, Nice Holystone, and Nick onto the rooftop. Jacuzzi shouts at him to head through the car and meet them at the next coupling, and warns him to watch out for the Black Suits.

While Jacuzzi and the others are crawling across the roof, Nick comments to Nice that Jacuzzi seems fairly 'worked up.' Nice agrees, musing that she hasn't seen him 'like this' since the Russo Family killed eight members of their gang. Nick says that Jacuzzi fought 'great' through his tears back then, and wonders how far Jacuzzi will go now.

In 1932, Rubik and two other Runoratas watch over Eve Genoard in a well-decorated room. Gustavo Bagetta enters the room carrying a fruit bowl, which he places upon a table. Introducing himself and his affiliation to the Runorata Family, he snacks on an apple and assures Eve that he does not plan to kill her. When Eve recognizes the name Runorata, Gustavo explains that her grandfather, father, and brother used to be friends with Gustavo's boss Bartolo Runorata.

Eve asks why Gustavo kidnapped her, and is told that the Runoratas are seeking punitive measures against her brother Dallas Genoard, but cannot find him. Gustavo hopes he can lure Dallas out of hiding by taking Eve hostage. He looms over Eve and asks if she scared; at first she trembles and shrinks back, but then looks up to glare at him. Remarking on Eve's 'spunk', Gustavo informs her that Dallas is blackmailing him by saying that he killed Eve's father Raymond and brother Jeffrey. Shook, Eve asks him if this is the truth, but Gustavo dodges the question and replies that if her father and brother were as tough as Eve, they would have lasted a little longer. against him. He smirks at his deliberate slip of the tongue.

Eve warns Gustavo that God punishes people like him, and Gustavo counters that the law of the land makes it so that the strongest man wins. Eve clasps her hands in prayer.

In 1930, Eve sits on her bed and weeps over a photograph of her and Dallas. Out of nowhere, she overhears a man and woman called Isaac and Miria discussing why Eve is crying on her balcony. Isaac assumes that Dallas is her lover, and that they have been separated. Eve arrives on her balcony to find Isaac and Miria, dressed in Native American attire, squatting over a pile of sand that Isaac is forming. The last specks of sand trickles through Isaac's fingers, and he and Miria sigh forlornly over Eve's romantic troubles.

Eve clears her throat, and they shush her. A moment later, they leap to their feet and demand to know how she knew they were there. Eve replies that she could hear them; Miria mutters to Isaac that Eve looks 'tough' and she and Isaac claim that they are 'brutal thugs' in an attempt at intimidation. Eve laughs instead, and they remark that she is a rather strange person considering that she had been crying only seconds ago. They request that she share her love story with them, since they are both good listeners and advisors.

In 1931, Jacuzzi's gang regroups in the next car. Nice reports to Jacuzzi that she saw two Lemures carrying machine guns in the dining car, but that Isaac, Miria, Czeslaw Meyer, Mary, and Natalie Beriam are all missing. Jacuzzi is visibly worried, and she tries to reassure him that they were probably just taken somewhere else - only to be taken aback when Jacuzzi says that they have to find their missing friends. He orders Nice and Nick to climb over the roof of the dining car to its other side, while Donny sticks with him. Then, after warning Nice to be careful, he kisses her and leaves with Donny back through the second class car. Nice, blushing visibly, watches him go.

In 1930, Isaac and Miria learn that Eve is crying over her brother, not her lover. She says that while Dallas is nice to her, he has been acting violent and rarely comes home anymore. She believes that Dallas is acting this way because of money. Miria and Isaac are confused, since they thought money was good. Eve insists that money is bad, since it leads people to be deceitful and greedy - wanting you for your money rather than your friendship. Miria suggests that Eve should simply stop being rich. Isaac seizes hold of this idea as the obvious solution, and he and Miria leave to explore the rest of the Genoards' mansion.

In 1931, Isaac and Miria have finally discovered the two gruesome corpses in the conductors' compartment. Isaac wonders if this is the Rail Tracer's doing, and observes that there is no sign of Jacuzzi anywhere. He and Miria conclude that Jacuzzi must have been swallowed alive and whole by the Rail Tracer. Through their tears, they vow to find the Rail Tracer and rescue their friend, not realizing that Jacuzzi and Donny are headed their way until the two collide with them. At Jacuzzi's urging, the four of them leave to talk in a nearby freight hold. Once they leave, the Rail Tracer appears in the conductors' apartment.

In the freight hold, Jacuzzi finishes bringing Isaac and Miria up to speed on the current state of the train. Isaac declares that the train is just like the Romance of the Three Kingdoms (or rather, his skewed interpretation of it), and that Jacuzzi must become Billy the Kid, but Jacuzzi doubts that he is capable of being someone that legendary. Isaac and Miria assure him that he can.

Jacuzzi admits that he wanted to save all the passengers and stop the other hijackers, but insists that he is not a good person. Not only is he a bootlegger, he killed three people just the other day. Donny points out that it was him and the others who killed them, not Jacuzzi. Jacuzzi explains to an increasingly alarmed Isaac and Miria that the Russos killed eight of his friends, and in his anger he robbed eighteen Russo speakeasies in a single day for the sake of revenge. Donny remarks to Isaac and Miria that Jacuzzi was the angriest that Donny had ever seen him, which meant that he cried a whole lot more during the robbing.

Upset, Jacuzzi says that his desire for revenge only made things worse: more people were killed because he was out of control. Isaac exclaims that Cao Cao and Billy the Kid killed billions of people in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but since people around them thought they were 'great guys', then they must have been 'great guys'. He fumbles for the point of his story, and Miria saves him by advising Jacuzzi that he must 'live in the moment.' Isaac and Miria enthusiastically say that since they both think Jacuzzi is a good person, he should ride the waves of their belief and become that good person. Jacuzzi smiles, and thanks them.

In 1930, Isaac and Miria return to Eve's room carrying the Genoard Family fortune in two large sacks. After attempting and failing to steal her couch, they tell Eve that they are taking all the unhappiness out of her home. Her family will surely be at peace, as will her brother. Eve asks them to wait as they prepare to escape via the balcony, and they ask her for her name. She shares it, and they assure her that she will be happy. Once they leave, Eve laughs.

In 1931, Isaac and Miria stand by the door of the freight hold and inform Jacuzzi that they are going to find the Rail Tracer and politely ask it to go home. If that fails, Isaac and Miria will 'tan its hide' - and if that fails, they will run away and hide. Donny argues that the 'monster' is strong and that they might die, but Isaac confidently replies that he will use his 'hundred guns' on it. Jacuzzi points out that Isaac has zero guns, but Isaac calmly replies that a real gunman keeps his gun in his heart. Miria tells Jacuzzi and Donny to "try not to die," and she and Isaac leave the room.

Jacuzzi stares after them and remarks while he is not quite sure that Isaac and Miria are "playing with a full deck," they have far more guts than he does. He tells Donny that they cannot let Isaac and Miria "show them up," and suggests that they become the worst villains on the train. Donny expresses his approval.

In 1930, Isaac and Miria have finished helping Ennis move Dallas and his friends to her car. They ask her where she is taking them, and she claims that she is taking them to the police. Isaac and Miria are unwilling to accompany her there, since the police might arrest them. Isaac explains that they are on a journey of self-redemption, trying to do good deeds to make up for all the bad deeds that they have done. Ennis calls them 'strong', and confesses that she is afraid to face her own sins. Isaac wonders what someone like her could have possibly done, but she cannot bring herself to reply.

Isaac tearfully takes her by the hand and exclaims that since she saved his and Miria's lives (a good deed), and since they think she is a good person, she should consider herself completely redeemed. Ennis thanks them. They finally introduce themselves, and are a little surprised to learn that Ennis has no last name. They assure her that they will remember her.

Ennis slides into the driver's seat as they wave good-bye and promise to see her again. Wiping away a tear, Ennis echoes their promise.

The day after Isaac and Miria's robbery in 1930, Eve wakes up in her bed to find Dallas sitting next her. He apologizes for his long absence, and offers to teach her billiards later to make up for it. She smiles, accepting the offer, only to hear distressed voices in the corridor outside. Dallas gets up to investigate, and Eve begins her morning prayers. When Dallas returns, he snaps at her to stop praying and says that apparently they were robbed the previous night. He complains about his bad luck, revealing that he only came home to claim his part of their recently deceased grandfather's inheritance.

Eve tentatively says his name, and Dallas calls her a 'stupid child' for believing in God before slamming the door behind him. She flinches at the noise.

Back in 1931, Eve wakes up to find that the only Runorata left guarding her, Rubik, is asleep in his chair. Once she confirms that Gustavo is sleeping in the connected bedroom, she seizes her opportunity and escapes.

Behind her, Rubik opens the door to the now empty corridor. He returns to the room, and closes the door behind him.

Differences Between the Anime & Novels
The opening scene at the police department is actually an adaptation of a conversation between Bill Sullivan, Donald Brown, and Edward Noah, in which Bill and Donald brief Edward on Isaac and Miria like they do the police force in the anime. Edward's role in the 1930 timeline is cut entirely from the anime, which reduces him to a cameo bit in episode two.

One might wonder how Nice was able to tell that her friends were missing from the dining car given her poor eyesight. This issue is answered in the novel, but not brought up in the anime. Nice's polite manner of speech when she speaks to Nick (or anyone who is not Jacuzzi) in the novel is largely toned down to nonexistent in the sub and dub.

Jacuzzi and Donny have Jack with them when they split with Nice and Nick, and they leave Jack in a second class compartment as they make their way to the caboose. Jack is cut from the anime. Jack actually recognizes Isaac and MIria from Nice's description of them, and says that he and Donny ran into them earlier. When Jack says that they were planning on saving 'a friend' from the Rail Tracer in the conductors' compartment, Jacuzzi realizes that the friend is himself, and that is why he splits the gang up. The anime does not explain Jacuzzi's reason for splitting the gang up, at least not explicitly.

Jacuzzi and Donny's rather embarrassing collision with Miria and Isaac in the corridor is an anime change: they greet Isaac and Miria without trouble in the novels. The anime does not include Isaac and MIria repeatedly apologizing to Jacuzzi, because it earlier left out their assumption (in the face of Jacuzzi's frequent apologizing-for-no-reason mode) that they are in competition with Jacuzzi to see who can say sorry the most.

Jacuzzi says he killed five people in the novels, whereas he says he only killed three in the anime. He is referring to Sedley's group, which in the first novel was implied to have greater numbers than the three that appear in episode five.

In the novels, Isaac refers to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms as The Records of the Three Kingdoms. In the anime, he remembers the title correctly.

Eve is never held captive by the Runoratas in 1932 Drug & The Dominos, nor is Rubik said to play a role in the 1931/1932 events. Her scenes in which the Runoratas are holding her captive are all anime original; however, his indirect admission that he murdered Raymond and Jeffrey can be connected to his and Eve's confrontation in 1932 Drug & The Dominos ' climax, in which he blatantly admits to her that he killed them.

Isaac and Miria are dressed a little differently when they meet Eve in the novels, and their meeting itself takes place a little differently. Eve does not overhear them and sneak out onto the balcony in the novels, but instead sits up her bed when they enter her room via the door, carrying large sacks of money and jewels over their backs. In other words, she encounters them pre-robbery in the anime, and post-robbery in the novels. They guess that she is a Genoard, and tell her that they are taking away her unhappiness - she is not the impetus for their robbery in the novels like she is in the anime.

In the novel, Eve assumes that they are angels and kneels in front of them. Confused at her worship but wanting to honor it, they perform the Butterfly Dance of the Hopi. Benjamin and Samantha hear the noise from the corridor and knock urgently on the door, prompting Isaac and Miria to make a quick escape via the balcony. Eve assumes they returned to the heavens.

Dallas and Eve's reunion is also changed. In the novels, Dallas enters Eve's room looking incredibly tired (having learned of the robbery), but manages a sincere smile upon seeing her. He offers to teach her billiards, and she accepts. The anime reverses this, and has him offer to teach her billiards first - only to retreat into a foul mood after learning of the robbery. The tone is completely different.

While Eve in the novels is religious and naive (as evidenced by her mistaking Isaac and Miria for angels), she is actually less secure in her faith as she is in the anime, and thinks less kindly of Dallas.

Trivia

 * In the sub, Isaac compares Jacuzzi to Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune was a Japanese general in the late Heian and early Kamakura period, and completely unrelated to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the dub, Yoshitsune is replaced by Billy the Kid.
 * In the official translation of the novels, Yoshitsune is used.
 * The English subtitles for the Japanese dub identify Donald and Bill as FBI agents. This is an anachronism: in 1930, the FBI was known as the Bureau of Investigation.

New Characters

 * Donald Brown

Unanswered Questions

 * What are Szilard's plans for Dallas and company?


 * Did Rubik let Eve escape? If so, why?
 * What will Eve do now that she's escaped?
 * What are Nice and NIck going to do once they make it past the dining car, and how will Jacuzzi save the passengers?
 * What did Chané Laforet do with Mary?
 * How do Firo, Luck, Isaac, and Miria become immortals?
 * Now that the crate is in the Gandors' hands, what will become of it?
 * Where is Dallas in 1932?
 * Who is Claire Stanfield?