Lazarus: Season 1 Episode 4 “Don’t Stop The Dance” – Recap & Review (With Spoilers)
As the team goes after Dr. 909, they come to realize the Hapna controversy might be far bigger than Dr. Skinner.
Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.
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Episode 4 “Don’t Stop The Dance” Details
- Available On: Adult Swim
- Public Release Date: April 27, 2025
- Director(s): Kazuo Miyake
- Writer(s): Akihiko Yamashita
Episode 4 “Don’t Stop The Dance” Recap (With Spoilers)
I Found Your Wallet: Elaina
Thanks to Elaina, it is confirmed that Dr. 909 has some sort of connection with Skinner. In fact, it seems he isn’t doing work for him just for the hell of it, but for money. A stock trader named Sam is involved, and with Dr. 909’s real identity unavailable, Sam is the target to get some answers since it seems his insider trading of Hapna stock is what is being funneled into Dr. 909’s crypto wallet.
8 Miles High: Leland, Doug, Visionary, Chris, Axel, Sam
To get to Sam, you have to go to his club “8 Miles High,” and with Sam being a stereotypical stockbroker, it means women are the most likely to get inside his bubble. Chris is a natural option, as the beautiful blonde, but Leland? Despite being a boy and dressed very demure for the club, his drag, Laura, ends up being chosen, and Chris joins along to get to VIP.
As they get upstairs, Axel and Doug do recon with Axel learning a digital tattoo is how men make it upstairs, and Doug checks how good the security is – and with guns galore, they are definitely formidable. But, a quick hack leads to Axel producing the tattoo and making his way upstairs, only to get into a fight once at the top.
Meanwhile, we learn Sam usually drugs the ladies brought to VIP since he sees them as gold-diggers and disposable. However, Leland gets to avoid the punch since Visionary, an acclaimed DJ known worldwide, takes a liking to him based on the assumption he is pure. It’s a bit creepy, and for a big-time DJ, him noting he just uses AI furthers the disappointment. However, at least Leland avoided becoming dead weight.
Sink or Swim: Elaina, Visionary, Axel, Leland, Doug, Chris, Doug, Sam
While everyone else is at the club, Elaina discovers Visionary is Dr. 909, and with that, he becomes the target, and thankfully, despite drinking Sam’s GHB or Rohypnol punch, Chris is still in action. Now, why wasn’t she affected? Who knows? But, she is able to put a beating on Sam for setting up a massive, non-consensual, orgy, and eventually all the boys get in position.
Doug and Leland head to the car as Sam and Visionary make a run for it. Axel, being the madman he is, goes for the helicopter, and he tangos with Chris to get security out of the way. Now, Visionary and Sam get lift off but, in yet another suspend disbelief moment, Axel grabs on despite the distance from the roof to the helicopter.
From there, he is lucky Visionary, aka Dr. 909, is a trash hacker, or maybe an ethical one, for he doesn’t override the helicopter’s safety controls to potentially kill Axel. Instead, he just sits there, freaked out, and strangely, Elaina doesn’t try to take over either. But, despite the strength of a professional rock climber, Axel eventually finds himself having to let go.
Enter one of Leland’s drones, with a gun on it, that Axel uses to take down the helicopter, and on a river in Babylonia City, which has the look of Chicago a little bit, Axel learns Dr. 909 doesn’t have any Dr. Skinner connection, nor Sam. More so, Sam and Dr. 909 were partners in some insider trading, based on Dr. 909 hacking into a Hapna distributor, Delta Medicinal. So, with nothing left to offer, Axel takes Dr. 909’s crypto key, and Lazarus shifts their focus to Delta Medicinal to see how they knew about Dr. Skinner’s eventual announcement and the fall of Hapna stock.
“Lazarus” Character Guide
Summer Pockets: Season 1 – Cast & Character Guide
New Cast and Characters
Sam (Tomokazu Sugita)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Sam is a stockbroker, working with Dr. 909, who helped him make a killing on the Hapna short after Dr. Skinner revealed the drug was going to kill a good portion of its users.
Visionary aka Dr. 909 (Shoya Chiba)
- Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
- Character Summary: Visionary is not only a DJ, but also one of the few Elaina sees as her peers, as Dr. 909. His government name, though, is Donald McDonald, and while he might be slightly better than his associate, Sam, he is still a creep.
Other Noteworthy Information
- It isn’t confirmed that Dr. 909 was causing the disruption that led to Dr. Skinner appearing over the world in 100,000 faces, so it might be Popcorn Wizard doing that. Which makes the red flag that went off in the last episode a bit confusing.
Review and Commentary
Highlights
Making Progress Up The Ladder [82/100]
Is progress coming as fast as I would like it, or bringing a level of intrigue that easily could satiate me? Not necessarily. I will admit, Dr. 909 just being a hacker who lucked into some multi-million dollar worthy information felt a bit like a bust, never mind how it seemed the show sidestepped the facial hacking thing, which was the major reason to go after Dr. 909 in the first place. In my mind, Hersch should have snatched him up to get answers about that.
But, maybe they still will, and the focus right now is just about getting Dr. Skinner and less so on how he hid himself so well? Which is fine, still there is a level of frustration, but I can get over that since we’re going from individuals like a grandma or hacker who, honestly, doesn’t seem on Elaina’s level, to a multi-national corporation.
Chris Gaining Intrigued [81/100]
Chris remains stubbornly mysterious, and while her having some odd immunity to being roofied isn’t necessarily a big deal, it does bring the need to ask why she has such a high tolerance? Likely, as with most things in Lazarus, there won’t be follow-up questions, but it does make me wonder if there is something special about her? Like, could her blood potentially be a cure? Could Hersch have somehow found the one time Dr. Skinner slipped up, and maybe she has his daughter?
It’s a wild theory, but it isn’t clear yet if the little things mentioned are worth taking note of and seeing as hints, or are just random facts not to take to heart.
On The Fence
How Character Development Is Playing Out [77/100]
As of now, what the members of Lazarus do is interesting, including Doug’s dance moves which were, eccentric. However, who they are still is a missing factor and while it doesn’t bug us, not getting a deep dive, it is an adjustment not really getting to know the characters too well. Never mind being given hints or segments of who they are.
But, I think there is just a need to mentally deprogram the belief that everything you could learn should be instant and doesn’t deserve a slow rollout. After all, beyond Leland and Chris, no one seems to have the type of relationship where they would just talk to each other. Axel is the type who would probably break his hand and wrist if he thought it would allow him to escape safely, Doug has accepted his fate and doesn’t like to make conversation, and while Leland and Chris are friendly, they aren’t trying to force anything.
And Elaina probably is embarrassed that Hersch even got to her, so why would she open up?
Overall
Our Overall Rating [80/100]
While there is a part of us that wishes we had a stronger connection to the characters as individuals, versus what they do and random tidbits they may drop, Lazarus remains a highlight of this season.
Additional Links
-
Lazarus: Season 1 Episode 13 “The World Is Yours” – Finale Recap & Review
In its series finale, Lazarus tries to wrap up its storylines and explain why this ragtag group was selected – but is it good enough?
-
Lazarus: Season 1 Episode 12 “Close To The Edge” – Recap & Review (With Spoilers)
In the penultimate episode of the series, not season, we learn Lazarus barely missed Dr. Skinner in a previous episode.
-
Lazarus: Season 1 Episode 11 “Runnin’ With The Devil” – Recap & Review (With Spoilers)
As we approach the last days before Dr. Skinner estimates the first people to take Hapna will die, the effects are starting to show in our heroes.
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