REVIEW: ‘Moriarty the Patriot,’ Episode 19 – “The White Knight of London Act 1”

A new nemesis is revealed in Moriarty the Patriot Episode 19, and his sights are set on a seemingly just politician named Adam Whiteley. Production I.G. adapts Ryosuke Takeuchi and Hikaru Miyoshi’s manga of the same name, published in English by VIZ Media. The story puts a spin on the characters from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series. It reimagines Holmes’ rival, Moriarty, as a group of brothers out to overthrow the inequality and corruption in Britain. Along the way, they accumulate allies and enemies alike.

As it turns out, The Lord of Crime isn’t the only one fighting the unequal caste system in the country. A politician has been garnering a lot of attention for trying to push a bill through the House of Lords that will work towards this. The young MP in the House of Commons is labeled as a “White Knight” and has attracted the ire of many in the House of Lords. Even with all the targets on him, he remains positive, making the man seem almost too good to be true. This applies to both Moriarty and viewers, who will likely be waiting for the episode’s “catch.” Because of this, Moriarty decides to test Whiteley, and the results may not be what viewers expect. This is a plus because while the show thrives in often being kitsch, it can sometimes veer into too predictable with its plot. Which isn’t great, considering the main characters are supposed to be more brilliant than the average person.

Whiteley could be interesting as a character, depending on what the show does with him, but right now, his “White Knight” -ness feels more like white saviorism. It especially doesn’t help that his core motivation is revealed to be his younger brother, Sam. Sam is disabled and uses a wheelchair. While it is great to see a disabled character on screen, not much is given to Sam character-wise in Moriarty the Patriot Episode 19. He seems to be in the show solely for the characterization of his older brother. This is tokenizing and frustrating. If the show doesn’t want to stumble too hard in its valiant quest against societal bigotry, it will hopefully give Sam his due in future episodes…unfortunately, I’m not going to hold my breath.

Meanwhile, Moriarty the Patriot Episode 19 uses Whiteley’s introduction also to set up a larger villain of the show: Charles Augustus Milverton. Viewers familiar with the original Sherlock Holmes characters will recognize that name. In this anime, Milverton is a media mogul who also specializes in blackmail and character assassination. In contrast to The Lord of Crime, his criminal acts are purely for his own enjoyment. He doesn’t want equality, and everything from the character design to voice actor Kenji Nojima’s performance solidifies that he is meant to be evil. Similar to Whiteley, it could cause the problem of him being one-dimensional in future episodes, but it is still too early to tell.

Moriarty the Patriot Episode 19 introduces a few new players, but their polar opposite natures make them one-dimensional. The show’s decision to tokenize the lone disabled character is also a major negative and weak writing. On the positives, Moriarty’s test does a fair job of not playing directly into viewers’ expectations.

Moriarty the Patriot is streaming now on Funimation.