Wooow, first day of August already. Can't believe it but school is just a month away...Time to plunge back into severe depression. Well, we're back this week with Episode 4!

And really, I just can't get enough of the opening, it's on repeat, seriously. Really aweshum graphics and compelling music. SID's done it again, everybody! Oh, and I love the animation of the circus. I dunno the tents and lights at night, it all looks so cool. It's much better than what I expected when I read the manga.

Now onto the actual episode. We start off with Sebastian and Will, who despise each other, talking. Will reveals that they're gonna collect a lotta soul in the area soon which means...death and more death. Then comes the negotiations: Will will not interfere with Ciel and Sebastian's business, and they will not interfere with Will's. Deal. (On another note: Will and Grell graduated together! Not that I don't already know though, haha.) And Ciel! Dagger is not obnoxious! He's super cool!

Also 'round 4:17 of the ep though, when Sebastian says that he's "on a lead at the moment," pretty sure the "lead" is supposed to be "leash."

Then yay, they get assigned tent-mates! Sebastian and Will together, they really hate this. Then there's Ciel together with this new guy Freckles. Hold onto his name, folks, he's gonna be very impt soon.

The scene moves on to Freckles tryna befriend Ciel by giving him the candy that he - ironically - made. (Funtom Company product.) And Will marks his territory in the tent and basically won't let Sebastian roam around at night. Funny how Will immediately establishes that Sebastian will sleep on the top bunk.

Even though I'm not explaining this in the right order, let's get this outta the way first. Ciel struggles endlessly to adapt to the poor life. Freckles tryta get him through the motions but it doesn't work out too well. (So kind of Freckles to share his food, haha.) Next, shower scene - so all the guys hafta bathe together, and Ciel is horrified. Jumbo and Dagger are there, interestin' - considering Dagger's outgoing personality, I truly expected him to say something at least. Freckles tryta get Ciel to remove his clothes, Ciel wouldn't. Stuff happens and Freckles topples over on him and lifts his shirt. There's his slave brand! Ciel runs off and is found by Sebastian. Soon Ciel remembers that he's the head of the Phantomhive family - he suddenly recalls this a lot both in the manga and anime - and decides that they're getting the hell outta there the moment they're done with the chiz going on there.

Speaking of the chiz going on there, this happens in the middle of the episode but I wanted to save it till now to talk 'bout it 'cuz it's very interesting. I gotta say, I panicked when that lil' girl and Ronald Knox popped up in the preview last ep - I thought something stupid was gonna occur with 'em not following the manga. But no, this is an elaboration on what the first-string members of the circus really do, and I appreciate the insight on this.

So a lil' girl is selling flowers, her mum won't let her go home till she sells all of 'em. (Why flowers?) And coincidentally she only has one bundle left and a nice officer (I like him already!) buys it for her 'cuz she reminds him of his daughter Emily. D'aww.

Then she skips off alone into an alleyway in the dead of the foggyass night while grinning-

Ok first of all...you don't do that. You don't do that esp if you are like at most 6 years old. That's just not safe. And it's common sense that it's not safe. The Nice Cop from earlier, although he has expressed his worry 'bout kids getting kidnapped, could have at least...I dunno...walked her home??? Even if it's halfway? You know? I'm sure it won't affect his patrol so much. (Though tbh, I thought the girl was a lil' bit creepy at first 'cuz no 6 years old ever walked up to me at 2am begging me to buy flowers.) Her mother (though she must be desperate for her ill boy Jimmy) is awful for forcing a lil' girl like that to walk 'round in the middle of the night even though there's been kidnappings going on.

And what also irks me is that her bro(?) Jimmy gets a name but she doesn't?? I'll just call her missy since that's what Nice Cop does.

Missy runs through the alleyway (everything screams BAD CHOICE at this point), sees a Noah's Ark Circus poster (which actually looks cool), and gets distracted by Joker's flute music. When she flinches for a bit I thought she's smart enough to be suspicious and run. But, she goes closer instead. Joker impresses her with some neat tricks, and I swear the sparkles that come outta the flowers he gave her must have had a hallucinogenic (thank you, autocorrect) drug effect 'cuz from that moment on that Missy is gone in the head, she has absolutely no sense of logic left in her.

She gets amazed by all these wonderful tricks the other troupe members put on. (The music that goes with this scene is really aweshum and chilling; I'mma find that soundtrack.) Now that the girl is high and stupefied, she's told to go on this carriage that will supposedly take her to dreeeeeeamland (amber alert!)

(Come on, Missy, pull it together, think of Jimmy! Think of proud Mummy!)

And awww, Nice Cop just hadta be the one to discover that Missy is getting kidnapped. He runs over to save her buuuut Jumbo hits his head with a hammer - and dude! all the blood that poured outta his head!!! Oh man. The really, really twisted part here is that Missy thinks he's some kinda bear and that when he gets killed the blood is just confetti. And it's really perverse that the troupe got her to think that. It's worse that she's just clapping through this entire thing - "Spiffing," she says...Spiffing - while the other officers tryta save her but get brutally killed. (One other thing, poor Emily!!! Her father!)

Missy jumps on her carriage and off she goes. That one officer with the walrus mustache survives however and tryta shoot at the carriage, but Doll stops him. Doll struggles to kill him though 'cuz she at least still has a sense of morals. Joker easily murders him - god, the 'stache guy's eyes just inflated at the attack, urgh - and tells Doll not to hesitate. Jeez, excuse her for having principles. (Still, Joker, I get why you're like that, and you're still an aweshum character.)

Next morn, poor Freddo arrives late to the massacre - like, hours late. C'mon, get it together. (Where's Randall?) And then there's Ronald Knox ready to rox his sox at a party (no, I'm not ashamed) afta finishing his soul collection.

And that is the conclusion to an epic story starring Missy and Nice Cop - with references to Emily and Jimmy - and featuring the troupe, Freddo, Ronald Rox my Sox Knox, 'Stache, and the other insignificant officers/extras! Seriously, great addition, didn't expect it to be so intriguing! But it was! And the deaths were so gory and everything fitted together well! It added to the creepy atmosphere by a ton.

And guess the animators didn't have the patience to draw out the whole are the Noah's Ark Circus really involved in the kidnappings? what do they really do? thing that the manga kinda did. It's obvious now that the first-string members are sinners here (well, Doll still hesitates and Snake is not involved at all) but that's fine, it was gonna be revealed soon anyway.

Faaaantastic ep! Can't wait till next week!

BONUS!

Loads of time in my hands!