Horizon – The Dangers of Complacency
Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere seems to be a show you either love or hate. Or maybe you hate to love it, or love to hate it. I don’t know. In any case, it can also easily be one of the most confusing shows out there. It seems a bit busy for nothing to actively progress, doesn’t it? At least, until we hit episode 5 and finally achieve some semblance of a plot. A perfectly logical reason exists for this and it all boils down to the “insane professor’s” plan to blow up his own town.
For those who didn’t pay much attention to the synopsis the synopsis on MAL, go back and read it again. The key here is the Testament and its associated Union. The Testament is used to reenact “history.” It is the be all and end all of all major goings on in the world of Horizon. At least it used to be. In the year 1648, the Testament suddenly stops recounting history. Now, a logical problem arises. When all the major decisions of society and the world are determined by a book, what do you do when you suddenly lose your seemingly omniscient guide?
You see, people have become complacent. The first four episode highlight this fact. Despite the very serious problem of the end of “history,” people simply go about their business. No one seems to have a problem with it. We have our plucky students going on plucky adventures and chasing tail. To quote an especially apt Bible verse: “pay attention to yourselves that your hearts never become weighed down with overeating and heavy drinking and anxieties of life, and suddenly that day be instantly upon you as a snare” (Luke 21:34-35a). Complacency has certainly snared the people, and this is where the “insane professor’s” plan comes to the fore.
He has realized the people’s current attitude is not sufficient for forging a path into the future. When you want to wake someone up, you might shake them. If you want to wake the entire world up, you have to shake them with an equally large and suitable event. What better event than the complete and wanton destruction of a major city? Especially when the holy Testament said nothing of the event! If you have any doubts to his strategy, pay attention to his speech. He outright offers to abort the destruction of Mikawa if anyone can present him a sufficient plan for preserving a future for humanity.
Of course, no answers are forthcoming. Maybe five minutes isn’t long enough to come up with something. But the event will certainly make them think. Maybe the pluckiness and the tail can wait until after the world is saved…
