The Promised Neverland Season 2 Episode 5 Anime Review

Major Spoilers are included in this manga review. Please read with caution.

Synopsis: By the end of season one, Emma, Ray, and their 13 siblings escape Grace Field House, a false paradise, hoping for a chance at freedom. Instead, they encounter plants and animals they have never seen before, and are chased by demons. The outside world is so beautiful, but also cruel. However, Emma and the others refuse to give up. They are guided in their search for better lives by a message from Minerva and a pen Norman left behind in order to fulfill their promise to return to the Grace Field House to save those of their family—like Phil—who are still trapped within.

I tried to give you the benefit of the doubt, The Promised Neverland, but you crossed the line with your rushed pacing and rushed [SPOILER] reveal.

Season 2 Episode 5 is clunky with its six-month time jump, which skipped over the “Goldy Pond Battle Arc”, and put the series on the path to end on season 2. The anime might end on season 2… or a quick season 3 that won’t feel earned. The time jump was also not done correctly as a result. Without the adventures of “Goldy Pond Battle Arc” and [SPOILER], time jumping didn’t make sense.

How did the kids survive for six whole months in a temple? How did Emma and the other kids not get noticed in that demon town throughout all that time? These questions were racing through my brain, and the plot convenience made everything worse. However, I’ll say this: Emma’s quiet emotional moment did feel powerful. The moment could’ve been stronger though if Emma had gone through the “Goldy Pond Battle Arc”. We’re missing a lot of character drive in this series for the sake of accelerating the plot, which is a concept I will never understand. We watch stuff for characters, not plot.

There isn’t much else to say other than the impact of Norman’s return fell flat. Emma and Ray gasped and cried, but I went “ugh”. After reading the manga and falling in love with a great arc called “Goldy Pond Battle Arc”, I’m just so disappointed that I’ll never see it in all of its glory. I cannot believe we’re in the “King of Paradise Arc” already. Then, next week is the recap episode apparently, so I’ll be sharing more specifics on how everything is going wrong in that review once it airs next week.

I thought season 2 was going to end with the “Norman is alive” reveal, but we’re getting it at the halfway point. And the reveal was supposed to be earlier than the reunion, so… this story is not looking good right now. The storyline is getting clunky, Emma is not receiving proper character development, and the erasure of “Goldy Pond Battle Arc” is a bad move!!

I feel so betrayed. This isn’t The Promised Neverland anymore. My friend who also read the manga called it the “un-Promised Neverland”, and he isn’t wrong. No matter what though, we must claim our happy endings. Maybe “Goldy Pond Battle Arc” will be a movie in the future?

Thanks for reading this unpleasant episode review, everyone! I’ll see you all next time for that recap episode. Season Two is like watching The God of High School and Digimon Reboot. I didn’t think The Promised Neverland Season 2 would turn on us like this. It hurts so much.