Record of Ragnarok (Episode 16) - The Final Labor

Hercules may have lost an arm, but he’s not about to give up. However, Jack the Ripper has the upper hand given that anything he touches can become a divine weapon. Is there no end to this carnage?

Record of Ragnarok (Episode 16) – The Final Labor

What happened?

Ares is beside himself with grief. How can Hercules lose to Jack the Ripper? Luckily, Zeus is on hand to knock some sense into him. Loki, however, isn’t sure of anything. He can usually spot a trick, but Jack the Ripper seems to have no end to them. What is he up to? Hercules calls on his final labour – Cerberus and sets a clock ticking. He must defeat his opponent before his powers consume him. The power-up is certainly causing Jack some problems, but he seems oddly calm.

Hercules hits Jack as he tries to escape sending him sliding down the side of a building and landing on a metal spike. However, Jack isn’t done yet. He uses his cape as a divine weapon and slashes the base of the building that he just turned into a divine weapon. Then, he charges Hercules pinning him down as the building comes crashing down on top of him. It looks like the end for Hercules, but somehow he climbs out and faces Jack once more. After a brutal exchange at close quarters, Jack is sent flying. It looks like it’s over again, but somehow Jack climbs to his feet.

Record of Ragnarok Episode 16 Hercules and Jack the Ripper close combat

What did you think?

I foolishly assumed that the fight would finally be over in the fourth episode, but that is most definitely not the case. It was an envigorating battle which toppled both ways. Each fighter looked like they were down and out, but both fighters got back up for more. There wasn’t much in the way of flashbacks either so that was nice. I did find all the standing around chatting about emotions and colours to be a bit frustrating. It’s like they forgot what this show is about.

I understand that it’s fun bringing these historical and mythical characters to life, but they’re not going for realism as we saw with Jack’s and Hercules’ backstories. I said this in the first season, but it bears repeating. They should have completely embraced the battle format and given us some incredible fights that made it impossible to look away. Unfortunately, there was a part of this episode where it leaned heavily on CGI and it did not look good.

Record of Ragnarok Episode 16 Hercules final labor

What have you learnt?

Bizarrely, it’s taken sixteen episodes for me to include a screenshot of Aphrodite and I only included this one because it made me laugh so hard. Hercules was summoning Cerberus and it sent a cruel wind blowing through the stands. Zeus squinted to protect his eyes, Shiva just gawped in wonder, and Aphrodite’s boobs lifted up and bounced against her face… In the middle of a serious battle to the death, we saw a pair of enormous knockers blowing in the wind.

I’ll be the first to tell you that sometimes fan service isn’t appropriate. I love it, but there are scenes and shows where it can detract from the darker or more serious moments. This was not one of those moments. If anything I’d argue that it was a humorous scene-stealing event. It added nothing to the actual scene, but you can bet it’s probably going to be one of my lasting memories. I think it worked because of how ridiculous it was and how the fight was stuck in one of those long debates between characters. Had it happened in the middle of an exciting part it probably wouldn’t have registered. As with everything, it’s all about timing. Speaking of, it’s time for this fight to be over.