Page Notes
Episode published on Thursday 14th of December, 2006.
This episode actually works on a cultural level. I only realised this about four years after making the thing, which isn't too shabby!
See, in America "herbs" in pronounced with no "h", so I suppose you'd express that as "'erbs". In England we pronounce the "h" (i.e. we pronounce "herbs" properly). I've seen videos online of Americans taking the Mickey out of someone because they can't pronounce "herbs" properly, and it's actually because the guy is British and that's how we pronounce it. So when Pain asks the Cap whether what he's holding is "herbs", the Cap would assume he meant a name because of the pronunciation!
Anyway, the Resident Evil series has this thing about herbs. Just like how in the RE universe animals can carry grenades and gold, the practice of leaving herbs out in pots seems to be a global phenomenon. The RE series takes place over America, France, Spain and Africa, and wherever the protagonists are, there be herbs in them thar hills / buildings / cabinets. We never really see how these herbs are applied, either, so it could be a feasible process of lighting up, via injection or possibly in the more conventional paste applied to wound form.
It all seems a little bit holistic to me. A guy, let's say Chris Redfield in RE5, gets his face mauled by a mutant dog. The lacerations would be deep and painful, and yet rubbing on some pasted herb does the trick, apparently. I guess it's a placebo effect in action, in this case being a really heavy, crippling case of denial. "No, really, I feel fine. These plants crushed into paste and rubbed into my deep cuts really do the trick. They don't just make the cuts sting and weep at all, I swear! I'M FINE! IT DOESN'T HURT AT ALL! MORE HERBS! HERBS WILL GET ME THROUGH THE DAAAAAAYYYYY!".
Tagged:
The Captain,
Location - Spain,
Max Valerion
Comments
Transcript
Title - 26: "Occupant Sin 4"
Subtitle - vii. "Herbs"
(Pain is still studying the burning bodies in front of him, deep in thought.)
Pain: You know, at a wild stab in the dark, I'm guessing that those crazy villagers are involved with the biological weapon Salvatore was going to sell us.
Captain: Maybe everyone's just high.
Pain: ...What?
Captain: (with his hands behind his back) Maybe they were on a bad acid trip or something. Look, they must be on something around here-
(The Captain's arms come out from behind him, revealing a sizeable potted plant.)
Captain: -because I keep finding these plants!
Pain: Herbs?
Captain: No, they're mine.
(The Captain removes the cigarette from his mouth. It is noticeably thicker than one of his usual cigarettes.)
Captain: Let's just say that what I'm smoking right now isn't a normal cigarette.
(Pain rolls his eyes at the revelation.)
Pain: Oh for the love of-
(He is interrupted by a small gang of four farmers - two men and two women. They all look angry and are armed with farming implements as weapons.)
Farmer: Que carajo estas haciendo aqui? Largate cabrones!
(The Captain points at them.)
Captain: See? They're angry because I'm smoking their stash!
(Pain is left staring at the reader, a small cartoon storm cloud raining on his head.)
Episode tagline: If the Captain had waited until he'd got ahold of some red and yellow herbs he could have rolled himself a nice life expanding fatty. On a completely different subject, reversing the Queen hit 'Another One Bites the Dust' reveals the hidden message 'it's fun to smoke marijuana'. True fact.
