Vash and Wolfwood make their way towards July to confront Knives and retrieve Roberto and Meryl, while the two reporters talk to William Conrad about his plans for humanity. After entering the city, the two men are spotted by the police and Vash allows himself to be shot, leading him and Wolfwood to take to the sewers for cover. From there they head to the city's tallest tower where Knives awaits.
Conrad shows Meryl and Roberto the tests he's done to create humans that will no longer need Plants to survive.
Tropes that appear in this episode:
- Artificial Human: Conrad reveals Elendira is one of his many experiments in trying to make humans that wouldn't need Plants to survive, partially derived from Knives's cells.
- Big Damn Heroes: Wolfwood appears from the elevator and starts raining gunfire upon Elendira's nails. This gives Roberto and Meryl enough time to escape.
- Blood Oath: The contract Wolfwood signed under the Eye of Michael has his finger- or thumbprint on it in blood.
- Covered with Scars: To take out the bullet in his side, Vash removes his upper clothing, revealing to Wolfwood how many scars cover Vash's body. Vash jokingly tries to play it off as he removes the bullet but Wolfwood is shocked and angered.
- Dodge the Bullet: Averted. This time, Vash allows himself to be shot by one of Chuck Lee's men, who blames Vash for the death of his parents at Jeneora Rock.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: At seeing the sight of children being experimented on, Meryl looks over to Elendira's tank and feels pity for her. Taking offense to this, Elendira wakes up and starts to fling her nails at Roberto and Meryl in retaliation.
- Dope Slap: Wolfwood demonstrates after Vash sneezes at the wrong moment and catches the attention of July's police.Wolfwood: You dipshit!
- Dramatic Irony: Roberto yells at Meryl that if she gets them hurt as they run from Elendira, he won't be covered by worker's compensation. Towards the end of the episode, Roberto ends up dying after being impaled by one of Elendira's nails.
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Elendira deliberately acts like a scared child to throw Roberto off. When he can't make himself shoot, she immediately points out how humans always judge by appearances and gleefully continues to try and kill them.
- Foreshadowing:
- Conrad has a photograph of himself and a girl bearing a close resemblance to the twins when they were boys. When a young Knives threatens Conrad, the blade he uses to do it has an eyeball sticking out of it, which Conrad sees and makes him fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness. Both of these events hint at the existence of Tesla, another Independent Plant who was born before the twins. She met a less pleasant fate than either of them did, revealed in the next episode.
- When a grief-stricken soldier shouts at Vash that his parents died at Jeneora Rock, Vash's guilt over this sees him lower his hands and allow himself to be shot. In episode eleven, Knives breaks through Vash's mental defences by reminding him of those he's failed to save; he finally crushes Vash's psyche entirely by telling Vash that he caused the Big Fall — and Rem's death — to protect Vash.
- Full-Frontal Assault: Elendira is naked when she bursts out of the tank to attack Roberto and Meryl, though the darkness of the room obscures whatever might be seen. She acquires her dress by the next scene.
- Grappling-Hook Pistol: Brad gives Vash this upgrade, which he uses to get himself and Wolfwood to a higher area to escape the police. Vash uses it again when falling from Knives's trap door, but Knives cuts the wire and lets Vash drop.
- Ill-Timed Sneeze: Just as they're sneaking past Chuck Lee's team, Vash lets out a loud sneeze, catching their attention. Wolfwood hits Vash over his head in frustration.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Roberto ends up being impaled by one of Elendira's nails protecting Meryl.
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Roberto spends almost every scene he's in swigging from his flask in this episode, seemingly in reaction to the sight of what Conrad has done.
- Lured into a Trap: Zazie kidnapping Meryl and Roberto was this. After getting into the elevator, Meryl tries to warn Vash, but he simply smiles and waves goodbye to her. He knew it was a trap all along but still came to save them.
- Mythology Gag: Elendira getting injured by her own nails and refusing to continue to fight recalls her defeat, again by one of her own nails, in the manga.
- Pose of Supplication: At seeing Knives, Conrad believes the young boy is there for a reunion. But Knives brings out his claws and tells Conrad he can die with humanity and the other SEEDS crewmembers or join him. Conrad breaks down crying and falls to his knees, begging for Knives's forgiveness as he grovels on the floor.
- Precious Photo: Conrad looks towards the photo of himself and Tesla on his desk as he ruminates over how even he doesn't believe he can be forgiven for his sins.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Roberto, perhaps surprisingly, tells Conrad that his noble rationalisations don't change how vile his experiments are or the pain his innocent subjects endured and that on some level, Conrad knows there's no excuse good enough.
- Scenery Censor: When Elendira emerges nude from her tank, the cold vapors in the dim lab hide everything below her shoulders.
- Title Drop: For the episode's title. When Conrad is asked what he's trying to change so people can survive, he answers, simply, "Humanity."
- Trap Door: Knives activates one beneath Vash by pressing down on certain keys to his piano.
- Voice of the Legion: Elendira's voice sometimes sounds like there are two other people talking at once.
- You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Roberto tries to have Meryl take his derringer for protection, but she refuses. It's only after Roberto calls Meryl by her full name that she does.
