Dr. STONE SCIENCE FUTURE - Episodes 1-2

The first two episodes of Dr. Stone focus on getting us to where we need to be, both metaphorically and literally, for the story to progress. The first episode of the season reintroduces the characters and their roles within the group through a poker game, showcasing the core four's abilities in action.

Ryusui relies on his daring, while Gen supports him with sleight of hand and manipulation. On the other side, Kohaku uses her keen eyesight and speed to aid Senku as he puts his scientific plan for victory into action. It's a fun and effective way to remind us of what makes our heroes special.

Of course, the poker game is more for show, a trick to get the rest of the crew on board with Senku's plan to reach America in just 40 days.

Voyage to America

Crossing the Pacific Ocean is no easy feat. The faster they go, the harder it becomes, not just for the technology but also for the crew. Besides Ryusui, none of our heroes are experienced deep-sea sailors, and the psychological effects of 40 days of hard work at sea are intense. That's why Senku, Ryusui, and Gen have devised a three-part plan to maintain morale: food, fun, and psychologically altering substances. Essentially, they're increasing rations, getting the crew to play games, and getting them drunk.

The second episode encompasses the entire 40-day journey. However, it ultimately feels disjointed and superficial. The first episode gave the impression that the voyage would be extremely risky and arduous, with dangers lurking around every corner. Instead, there's only one real problem: cloudy weather. Even though it seems like it would be impossible to navigate as they planned, Chrome figures out the Viking sunstones in just a few minutes and gets them back on track with no significant loss of time.

Matsukaze's Backstory

So, instead of focusing on the actual sea voyage, the episode devolves into a series of largely disconnected events. The best of these is Matsukaze's backstory. Through it, we get a hint at the "Why-Man's" true motivations.

In practice, he could have dropped a single petrification device and turned everyone on Treasure Island to stone. Instead, he dropped many smaller devices.

And why? Perhaps because his goal isn't the genocide of humanity, but rather a test: can humanity overcome its baser instincts to use technology for personal gain, and instead use it for peace and cooperation? In other words, the "Why-Man" won't completely annihilate humanity, but he will give them the means to do so themselves, and wait to see if human nature takes its course.

Hyoga

Unfortunately, the other major event of the episode makes little sense. Matsukaze wants to become stronger and asks Tsukasa to train him. The problem is that Tsukasa is more about raw power than weapon techniques. So, they come up with the idea of depetrifying Hyoga once again.

This is, frankly, insane. Hyoga is dangerous, physically strong, tactically intelligent, and more than willing to betray anyone for his goals. Depetrifying him on Treasure Island was a gamble born out of a desperate situation. Doing it for no other reason than to train Matsukaze seems like the dumbest move Senku has ever made.

But then he immediately outdoes himself by kidnapping Homura and Moz at Hyoga's request. With Homura, Hyoga gains an ally who is only loyal to him. And as for Moz, he's a hedonistic despot and probably the second strongest living human besides Tsukasa. He has little to no reason to be nice.

All in all, this is a major letdown for the second episode. To introduce three antagonistic wild cards into a mission where the human race is at stake, and expect them to fall in line, just because you want a spear trainer as your latest ally, seems so breathtakingly stupid that it almost breaks suspension of disbelief. Not everyone you defeat humbly becomes an ally, and expecting this is the height of foolishness.

Conclusion

Aren't many of our heroes in high school or younger? Is it really a good idea to get them hooked on alcohol and gambling? The whole bit with Francois making a signature drink for everyone, while sweet, offers little insight into the characters.

How can Chrome be so clueless when it comes to Ruri and her feelings?

Senku seems to think that a weapon and Tsukasa are enough to keep Hyoga in check. However, weapons can be taken away, and I doubt that even Tsukasa could take on Hyoga, Homura (with a weapon), and Moz in a fight.