Chapter 18

Prepared is the eighteenth chapter of The Promised Neverland manga. It is adopted into episode 6 of the anime.

Synopsis
Don and Gilda sneak out of the secret room as Emma tells them that Phil told her about the code. Then Eugene hands out the key to Isabella so she asks when she lost it. Don confronts them and then they were told about the Demons and the farm. Then Don punches Norman and Ray but Krone sees what happened.

Plot
As the two struggle with their new found realizations, they bolt for safety while they can. Meanwhile Emma explains how she came upon the books and Minerva’s message. It actually wasn’t her who found them, but the little boy Phil who stumbled upon it. It’s a fun little bit of comic relief, one of the few times I’ve found the series humor appropriate for its otherwise dark content. But as the trio reaches the diner room they realize Don and Gilda are missing.

Mother hears something and goes to check the hall, where she finds little Eugene with her key. Mother checks her pocket, and wonders how it could’ve gotten away from her in the first place.

Don and Gilda are confronted by Ray, who knows that they did something they weren’t supposed to. Later that night the group convenes and the two come clean. As Ray berates them Don turns it around, revealing that Don and Gilda know now they were lied to. Don forces them to tell him and Gilda the whole truth. My one issue with this big blow up is that it was real obvious a feud like this would happen. I suppose building off that then is that nothing really comes of all this. We get a bit of back and forth frustration, anger, and self-reflection before everyone makes amends. It feels self-contained and perhaps, maybe unnecessary? But the truth is more than they can handle, shocking and horrifying. Don, unable to cope, punches Norman for lying to him and then decks Ray too. As he’s about to give Emma the same Gilda calls out to him. The two wonder if they’re so useless, weak and such a burden that they need to be protected.

This causes Emma to realize that her desire to protect them caused all this. This little blow up does at least result in a bit of character development for Emma, so I guess there’s that. I sort of wish there were more consequences linked to these events however. Sure something comes up in a moment here, but it’s not really directly linked to any of Don and Gilda did, or Emma’s attempts to shield them from the truth. Don is frustrated and sad that even though they’re family they’d be lied too and couldn’t be trusted with the truth.

Don and Gilda leave, with Don frustrated that he’s a weakling and Emma vowing to never make this mistake again. She runs off to apologize to Don and as Ray and Norman also leave the dining room we discover that Sister Krone was watching them the entire time. I am however glad that Sister Krone is starting to affect the story in less obvious ways. This moment is pretty huge, and the end of the next chapter is pretty big too in how it sends the story down another twist and turn.

Research Elements
In this chapter we have the following Research Elements:
 * Don punching Norman and Ray showed how he can be rather impulsive, and how he solves problems using violence.