There’s a sort of deal with the devil one has to agree to with Yakusoku no Neverland, because there’s just no getting around it.  Sometimes the leads act like you would expect 11 year-olds to act, and sometimes they’re preternaturally calm, thoughtful and physically gifted.  Given that all three of the main cast (sorry, Don and Gilda) are gifted, maybe this isn’t wholly unrealistic – exceptional children will be capable of an exceptional range of (im)maturity and (lack of) cleverness.  The problem comes when they whipsaw back and forth for the sake of the plot, but with the premise of this series I don’t see how it would work any other way.  Like I said, you just have to agree to it.

That brings us to Ray and Norman, whose conversation takes up the better chunk of the A-part this week.  We’re in fairly dangerous ground here for me as a manga reader, but it’s probably safe to say that Ray and Norman’s individual personalities are starting to clarify by now – and that each of them are less straightforward than Emma.  Indeed, as hinted last week Norman set a trap for Ray as well as Don and Gilda – though in truth Norman pretty much knew what the result would be.  It’s also probably safe to say that if there’s a spectrum of idealism with this trio, Ray and Emma and on either side of it with Norman in the middle.

That’s important, I think, as we begin to see the cracks appearing in Norman’s façade.  There are moments when the perpetual smiling the characters in “Neverland” engage in annoys me, but this is a time where it really adds something – because while both boys’ smiles are forced in their way, it’s easy to see how much tension underpins Norman’s.  He’s well aware that he’s the fulcrum by necessity, and there are ways in which his next-level intelligence is a curse.  There are things anyone in Norman’s position would be happier not having figured out, but he doesn’t have that option.

As for Ray, I obviously can’t comment on how much of what he says is true, who he’s bullshitting and who he isn’t, and why.  For now you must draw your own conclusions about the interesting picture he paints – that he went to Mama and volunteered to spy for her in order to protect Norman and Emma from their own recklessness, but also to learn.  The outside world is the wild card in all this – for all the kids’ obsession with escaping, there’s very little discussion amongst them about what they’ll find once they do.  Wherever Ray’s loyalties may lie, it can never be doubted that he’s a practical thinker – a results-oriented kind of guy.

Uncertainty about Ray’s loyalties by necessity calls into question his motivation for whatever information he shares – either with his fellow livestock or with Mama.  Ray is surely smart enough to understand that Mama doesn’t trust him – she’d be a fool to, and she’s no fool.  So why does Ray share the information about the hidden room Mama uses to communicate with the “home office”?  Is he trying to prove to the others that he is in fact on their side (if not an ally), or merely throwing temptation in their path?

Unfortunately, whether it was Ray’s intent or not that infodump seems to have led to serious trouble, as Don decides he’s going to act on it after the trio urge patience and discretion.  Remember, Norman made the choice not to tell Don and Gilda that Conny was dead, and Don’s actions are a product of that choice.  One could argue Don should have seen through that lie, but he’s 11 himself – and not an elite on their level.  Maybe he’s thinking with his heart a bit, too.  The episode’s cliffhanger is pure horror movie cliche, but horror movies have cliches for a reason – they work.