Key takeaways
- Surprising plot twists in every episode keep the audience engaged and on their toes.
- Pitohui's ruthless character alignment leads to shocking betrayals and twists in the story.
- Concerns arose over the long-running competition and the lack of variety in Season 2.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for Sword Art Online: Gun Gale Online Episode 20, “The Showdown”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
One of the biggest strengths of the second season Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online-For short, let's call it GGO from now on – it's ability to shock the audience. Introducing a highly dynamic map in Episode 1, shifting everyone's focus against the main characters in Episode 2 and focusing on a few minor characters in Episode 3, and introducing a surprise rule that ramps up the stakes and excitement of the tournament across episodes. 4 and 5.
There's always something fresh happening in every episode. Something new that caught the audience off guard. Not many series can do this. And as you might expect, they did the same thing in this episode. This episode is full of twists and turns. While it is certainly exciting, however, we have some concerns with the trajectory of the story.

related to
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online S2 – From Tower Defense to Stealth Missions
In this episode, Pitohui shows why Gun Gale is one of the most dangerous players online.
Pitohui is taking the lead
Before we discuss risk, let's first talk about some of the best things about this episode, namely Pitohui's character alignment and twists. This section will focus on Pitohui, and the next two will be about major twists.
Have you forgotten who I am?
As one of the most famous players in the game, everyone knows how ruthless Pitohui can be. After all, each player saw the bad but effective tactics he used in previous Squad Jam tournaments. So, while many admire her abilities as a player, they also can't help but be wary of what she does next.
Needless to say, everyone on Team Betrails feels the same way. But as they engage in battle, they realize that following Pito's instructions is their best chance to win the tournament. Yes, his decisions can be very strange at times, but it always works out in their favor in the end. So naturally, they began to believe Peto. That is their biggest mistake. Spoiler alert, in this episode, Pito kills two of his teammates. For a moment there, they forget who Pitohui is and how ruthless she can be.
“I just sent him to live with his friends at the bottom of the sea, that's all.”
Character alignment of Pitohui
in Dungeons and DragonsThere's a nifty tool called Character Alignment. This tool can help both writers and players quickly identify a character's moral alignment, which in turn can explain the reasoning behind their actions and decisions. On the character alignment chart, characters can be divided into nine categories — we won't dive into each one, but you should check it out because it's pretty interesting. Pitohui belongs to a group called Chaotic Neutral.
An anarchic neutral character follows his own sense of worth and places his freedom above all else. They are free-spirited and can be either good or bad, depending on what interests them the most, which makes them highly unpredictable. Pito is the embodiment of these traits. That is why he is the most interesting character in GGO.
There is an impostor among us
There are two major twists in this episode, both of which involve Pitohui. The first is his shocking decision to kill his own teammates. The second is about Peto's true identity. As it turns out, he's not a member of the betrayal team. This means that both Team Betrayal and Team LPFM have a hypocrite.
Twist on a twist
GGO is no stranger to twists. In fact, Season 2 has been full of twists since the very first episode. Unlike previous twists, however, the one in this episode is actually something carefully set up by Pitohui himself. You could even tell that the twists were part of his plan.
After hearing about the new rules, Pito immediately plans to infiltrate the traitorous team with the intention of taking them out one by one. So far, her plan works as intended and she is only a few steps away from achieving her true goal, which is to wage a one-stop battle against Lane.
Never let them know your next move
In today's age, it is difficult to present something new that surprises the audience. We consume so much content every day that we can predict what will happen in the story. Yet GGO managed to surprise us twice in the same episode. It looks like GGO will take “never let them know your next move” as their mantra for this season. Thanks to this, we can watch each new episode with great anticipation and excitement, wondering what kind of surprises they will have in store next.

related to
This Sword Art Online spin-off is better than the main series
SAO may be one of the most popular Isekai anime out there, but this spin-off is actually better in many ways.
It's good, but…
As we've said a million times, GGO has been nothing but fantastic this season. Every episode is great and there is no reason not to watch this series every week. However, there are some concerns that need to be addressed. Mind you, it's not a major weakness or weakness or anything like that. These are just a matter of concern.
It's been dragging on for a while, hasn't it?
The first concern is about the current tournament arc. Make no mistake, it's been great and a lot of exciting things have happened, but it's been seven episodes now and we're only halfway through the final stages of the tournament. If things continue like this, we can expect the third Squad Jam tournament to end in episode 10 or 11. This begs the question; Don't you think this has been dragged out for a while?
Of course, introducing new and surprising things keeps the story fresh and viewers excited to watch every new episode. But it also means deviating from the main topic, which inevitably prolongs the tournament. There is too much danger in one's welcome. At the very least, people will get tired and abandon what was once so exciting and loved. Will it be on GGO? Only time can tell. Hopefully not.
is it
The second concern is still related to competition. Or rather the fact that there is only one tournament this season. One of the best things about the first season was really the Squad Jam tournament, there's no question. Another undeniable fact is that the competition in season 2 is an improvement over the first season on all fronts.
However, there is something in the first season that we haven't seen in the second season yet; Variety. In the first, we see Lane spending time in the real world, interacting with her friends and talking about her anxieties and insecurities. We saw him on GGO outside of the tournament. She took on missions, exploring the dark city, and even shopped around to find the perfect weapons for her. None of these exist in the second season. Yes, the tournament is awesome, but is it? Hopefully not.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online S2 is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
- Release date
- April 8, 2018
- main genre
- Animation
- Seasons
- 2
- creator(s)
- Keiichi Shigasawa

more
Fall 2024 Anime Season: Previews, Episode Reviews, and Lore Discussions
The fall 2024 anime season has many exciting anime, and here are previews, reviews, discussions, and news related to them.