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Episode 12 “Close To The Edge” Details

• Available On: Adult Swim/ Toonami
• Public Release Date: June 22, 2025
• Director(s): Eiji Abiko
• Writer(s): Shinichirō Watanabe

Episode 12 “Close To The Edge” Recap (With Spoilers)

Right Underneath Our Noses: Lin, Elaina, Doug

Surprise, surprise, Dr. Skinner was in Babylon City all this time, seemingly in Jill’s homeless community. Lin, aka Popcorn Wizard, reveals this, alongside her connection to Dr. Skinner through her being from the Maldives, and her family being one of the many that Dr. Skinner bought out, which allowed them to relocate.

This information, as you can imagine, is a major win, but actually getting to Dr. Skinner, on the other side of the planet, or even having a member of the team get to him, is difficult. Elaina has just recovered, as has Doug, but Doug is under surveillance by the army. However, thanks to Popcorn Wizard, they are able to help Elaina and Doug get out of the country, and they give Elaina a means to directly contact them for while they are rivals, with their goals aligned, Lin sees Elaina as a friend.

No Regrets: Axel, Chris

Axel survived the attempted assassination, and Chris watches over him as he recovers. The two talk, joke a bit, but it also gets serious. Axel notes he doesn’t have parents, siblings, and the last real friends he had before Lazarus died, and while we know he is cool with Jill, he doesn’t mention her as a friend.

But, in learning about the doctor he was meant to see being dead, Axel finds himself saddened by that news. Yet, with learning where Skinner is, despite injuries that should have killed him, Axel is ready to be on the move again.

However, before all that happens, he and Chris talk about regrets, and while Axel doesn’t seem to have any, Chris makes sure she doesn’t by kissing Axel on the lips and giving no follow-up as to why.

There Is Only One True Villain Here: Hersch, Abel, Doctor 909, Doug, Elizabeth, Chris, Captain Hayes, Lt. Schneider, HQ/Sorya, Axel

With an executive order from the president, Abel tries to rescue Hersch, but in front of him is Lt. Schneider. For reasons not dove into deeply, it seems Schneider has it in his mind that Lazarus’ main or sole purpose is to expose him, if not also Captain Hayes, and he is trying to break the group before they could break him.

Now, let it be noted, with the failure of Sorya, Captain Hayes is ready to jump ship and throw Schneider under the bus, and pays with his life for trying to do so. However, he suggests that Captain Hayes tried to kill him to escape the situation, and he seems likely to pin the blame for Sorya/HQ’s failure on Captain Hayes – if that ever gets out.

It is all a bit much, maybe even convoluted, especially as Elizabeth, Abel’s underling, alongside Leland and Doctor 909, discover that HQ and Sorya are the same person and he has a split personality disorder. Also, while not much in the way of details is given, it seems Elizabeth knows The Hundun. Leaving us ultimately in a place where Abel and Schneider are at a stand-off, it seems Axel may end up in another one with Sorya, and while Dr. Skinner’s general location is known, could he really come up with a potential cure that can be disseminated to the world in less than 24 hours?

New Cast and Characters

Elizabeth (Aoi Tada)

• Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
• Character Summary: Elizabeth is by no means new, but before this episode, she certainly didn’t stand out as she was primarily Abel’s assistant, reminding him not to do too much or to do certain things for the results he wanted. But, as she is tasked with handling a specific task for Abel, potentially due to Hersch’s absence, she steps up in a major way.

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Review and Commentary

Highlights

Lt. Schneider [85/100]

While a rather late edition, I appreciate Schneider’s role as a villain. Dr. Skinner clearly wasn’t that, and the show trying to operate on finding him has often fallen flat. But, with Schneider pushing Leland to seem like a turncoat, him going directly against Abel, boosting his role, combined with being the only one who holds Lazarus accountable for what has been failure after failure, and a notable expenditure of tax funds, it’s easy to both get his point of view and dislike him.

Then, add in him wanting to kill Axel, employing a compelling assassin, and all else he brings to Lazarus, and it makes him one of those characters who almost make you want to forgive the slog we went through for more than half of the season, for he is allowing the show to finish off strong.

On The Fence

HQ/Sorya [74/100]

With only an episode left, I just don’t feel like there is enough time, assuming it is another half-hour episode, to fill in this character’s backstory in a meaningful way, especially considering all the visuals we got in episode 11. Generally speaking, Lazarus has been trash at handling backstories of its lead characters, who we’ve known since the beginning, so one who came in on the backend, is a villain, and not even the leading villain? I don’t have a lot of faith, but I do hope that Sorya/HQ end things on a high note, for they did act as a silver lining towards the end.

Dr. Skinner Right Under Their Nose [72/100]

This is the type of incompetence that bugs me about the Lazarus team. They literally passed where Dr. Skinner could have been all this time, and early on, they figured the most likely lead to him was Popcorn Wizard, after Doctor 909 didn’t pan out, yet they didn’t focus strictly on her. This led to what now feels like a bunch of filler and a reminder that, even if Hersch and Abel are part of the NSA, the team they gathered is not and was not trained or skilled for the type of work they were tasked with. Hence, explaining every last blunder and wasted bit of money.

Overall

Our Overall Rating [77/100]

As Lazarus approaches its final episode, it becomes clear that a lot of what it should have done early on, it decided to do towards the end. But, whether this late shift can have Lazarus stick the landing or be yet another lackluster release on the Toonami block, never mind taint the name of Shinichirō Watanabe, we shall find out in the final episode.

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