A group of sand people enjoy their meal of roasted worm and notice a man wearing a dark suit and carrying a large cross on his back.
Meryl, Roberto and Vash are driving towards July, with Roberto offering Meryl Vash's food which he hasn't touched since Jeneora Rock. As the two bicker, the car barrels towards the man in the dark suit, with Roberto failing to stop the inevitable as they side sweep the stranger. Driving towards the nearest station for medical attention, the group come upon a dead couple and a child hiding in a nearby locker.
The man introduces himself as Nicholas D. Wolfwood, an undertaker by trade. Before the group can ask him more questions, a large worm appears beneath them and swallows the group whole.
Tropes that appear in this episode
- Bait-and-Switch: Roberto informs Wolfwood he has intel of people being able to control Worms, which Wolfwood claims he can't do despite Roberto's growing suspicions. It ends up being the kid who's the one controlling the Worms, an associate of Knives named Zazie.
- Blown Upward by a Blowhole: Inside the Grand Worm, it shudders and then shoots sand upwards from its nose. This leads to Vash and Wolfwood getting shot out and up into the air, crash landing onto the sandy dunes below.
- Crash-Into Hello: Since she wasn't paying attention to what's in front of her, Meryl ends side-swiping Wolfwood with the trailer. An interesting introduction to the newest member of the team.
- Denied Food as Punishment: Self-imposed variant. Roberto tells Meryl Vash hasn't touched his food since "the incident", which leads her to be worried over his health. After he and Wolfwood save everyone from the Worm, Vash takes some of the cooked meat and eats it.
- Energy Weapon: Another interesting aspect of Wolfwood's weapon is that he can fire a beam from it powerful enough to slice the Grand Worm in two.
- Engineered Heroics: The events of the episode are essentially a stage play to make Vash, Meryl and Roberto think Wolfwood can be trusted. First, Zazie plays the role of a traumatized kid so the party can see Wolfwood comfort him, then they're swallowed by a monster so Wolfwood can save the day.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Roberto explains that the Grand Worm is the local "boss" of the Worms, the supposed kid they rescued is right in the centre of the frame. That's because the kid is Zazie the Beast, the Worms' actual boss.
- Wolfwood explains he easily recovered from being hit by a truck because he's blessed by God or, in the English dub, by "the man upstairs". He means the god worshipped by the Eye of Michael, which has headquarters in a tower.
- Funny Background Event: Wolfwood can be seen snickering when Meryl jumps at the smaller Worm flying out of a human skull.
- Made of Iron: Even after suffering from being hit by a trailer, Wolfwood wakes up soon after, none the worse for wear. This makes Roberto suspicious.
- The Nicknamer: Wolfwood gives various nicknames to his new group, each being less than enthused. Vash is confused, Meryl protests that she has a name, and Roberto looks irritated but resigned.
- No Smoking: Slyly referenced/parodied when Wolfwood pulls out a lollipop instead of a cigarette and puts in his mouth, then offers one to the child they rescued rather than smoking. Once they're swallowed by the Worm, he lights up and begins making up for lost time, littering the ground with butts.
- Party Scattering: Wolfwood suggests the group split up in order to find the kid faster. This ends up with them losing Meryl, and Roberto soon afterwards. With the revelations at the end of the episode, it can be inferred that was Wolfwood's way of getting the reporters killed and isolating Vash, but Vash's stubborn refusal to leave them to die meant that plan failed.
- Power of Trust: Whatever Wolfwood expected from Vash, it obviously wasn't being called a good man.
- Properly Paranoid: Roberto doesn't believe Wolfwood's claim of being an undertaker, and accuses him of being an assassin. He warns Vash not to trust Wolfwood, but Vash just brushes him off. Wolfwood's later conversation with Zazie proves Roberto's suspicions were correct. That said, subsequent episodes suggest Vash also figured out why Wolfwood was there and simply chose not to confront him over it.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Roberto's right that Wolfwood is an assassin and his intentions aren't good, but he's not controlling the Worms or out to kill Vash.
- Shockingly Expensive Bill: After "performing" his rituals as an undertaker, Wolfwood hands the bill for his services over to Vash. He chokes in shock before showing Meryl. The invoice comes out to $$20,000 which Meryl outright calls a scam, and she and Wolfwood promptly start to argue.
- Super-Hearing: Vash can hear the electrical signals the Worms are sending out to each other, which normal people shouldn't be able to pick up on. Zazie notes this after being outed as the one controlling the Worm.
- Swallowed Whole: The entire group, plus the car and the plant station get swallowed whole by the Grand Worm. Vash deliberately has himself eaten again when he refuses to run away and leave Meryl and Roberto inside the Worm, to Wolfwood's vocal aggravation.
- Wounded Gazelle Gambit: The child they're trying to rescue looks injured, leading Meryl to crawl over and ask if they're alright. However, she ends up being taken somewhere deeper in the Grand Worm as a result. Zazie later revealed to have been the one controlling the Worm, and was actually never in any danger.
