When we last left Anna, she is able to help her brother escape the compound of the White and Blue kids but it comes with a price. While trying to evade the gang, she is bitten by a poisonous snake and captured. The gang’s leader, Angelica, has the protagonist’s arm amputated by none other than the last surviving adult, Katia. We dive into their back story and learn a possible reason why they were spared from the pandemic. At the end, Angelica sentences both Katia and Anna to be burned alive.
“Cats are Superior” opens with some artful scenes jumping back and forth between Angelica, Katia, and Anna as they prepare for the violent ceremony. Each meticulously gets themselves ready for such a fancy occasion but the danger is short lived. It could have been hubris, carelessness, or both but the antagonist’s nonchalant approach towards people whose lives she threatens doesn’t go well.
Katia and Anna team up and easily overpower their captor. For such a big plot point, it is all resolved so quickly. It’s understandable that they wouldn’t take dying so easily but the previous episode could have done a better job building the two’s relationship leading to the eventual partnership. None of their conversations explicitly showed them plotting against Angelica and much is ambiguously implied before cutting to the next scenes.
The swift resolution does allow Anna to explore her love interest, Pietro, much more. Though he’s been present since the beginning, it’s not until the penultimate episode that he receives his own flashbacks. During the early stages of the pandemic, he befriends an adult writer named Saverio, who serves as a parental figure/mentor when his mom becomes afflicted.
The two form an endearing friendship with Pietro as the sidekick. Nicola Nocella gives Saverio a nice balance of jadedness and understanding with a little bit of arrogance. He helps his protégé navigate this new world while also keeping his explanations light to cater to a young mind, regardless of how dark the deeds they are doing. It’s a twisted take on compassion and the afterlife that Pietro holds onto even to the present. Due to how well the bond between them is developed on the episode, there are so many mixed emotions when Pietro comes down with the Red Death and they have their falling out and reconciliation.
That bittersweetness continues with Pietro and Anna’s last moments together since the former becomes infected. It’s a nice escape from the bleak landscape seeing these two lovebirds interact and the joy they have in each other’s company. Although the clock is ticking and despite the joy, we’re reminded how wicked things can be as the pair are on Pietro’s final journey. Anna playing along with her friend’s story he was told by Saverio is a touching last bit of comfort she can provide.
The episode gives a proper send off to an influential character both with an enlightening backstory and a period of happiness not usually experienced in a post-apocalyptic world.
New episodes of Anna are released Thursdays on AMC+.
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