‘NieR: Automata Ver.1.1a’ Episode 1 Recap & Ending Explained: Why the Androids Kill Themselves in the End?

Welcome to the Recap and Ending Explained for NieR: Automata Ver. 1.1a. This is the anime adaptation of the famous video game developed by PlatinumGames, written and directed by Yoko Taro, and published by Square Enix. The game tells a fascinating story involving a group of androids who fight against the machines to recover planet Earth and give it back to humanity, which now inhabits the moon. It is a very complex story with complex characters.

The series takes a more simple approach to the story, and while it tries to replicate many of the visual motifs that made the game so special, it gets rid of the experimental narrative in the process. This approach will certainly give audiences who have never played the game an easy way to enjoy the story. However, the anime definitely feels like a step down from the game. Not only because it follows the game too closely and doesn’t appear to add anything new to what the game delivers, but also because the narrative feels truncated in this version.

The following paragraphs contain spoilers for NieR: Automata Ver. 1.1a. Episode 1. Read at your own risk.

What Does It Mean, “Glory To Mankind”?

The show starts with a voice-over belonging to our main character, an android titled, 2B. She is a member of YoRHa, an organization of droids that serve humanity as its soldiers. The members of YoRHa are in constant conflict with the machines, who in the distant past made war with humanity and won. Humanity is then exiled to the moon, and from there, YoRHa dispatches droids like 2B to fight against the machines. 2B talks to us about how she is suffering, and she wonders if there is any point to it.

By that monologue, we can quickly infer that while 2B looks very cold from the outside, she has feelings, and she asks very philosophical questions about her existence and purpose in this post-apocalyptic world. We meet 2B as she jumps into the battle against the machines. She travels in her exo-suit and then lands on what appears to be an industrial complex. 2B is quite athletic, and she is a capable warrior. She dispatches the machine’s warriors with ease. She is accompanied by a smaller robot named, Pod 042.

2B goes deeper into the facility and keeps fighting against the machines. The machines all looked the same. They take the form of cylindrical humanoids, and they come in different types. Some machines can fly, and some others are taller, but they all come from the same cylindrical shape. 2B then comes face to face with an even bigger machine, which Pod 042 classifies as being at Titan level. It looks just like a Titan, it is a big and powerful industrial machine, but 2B manages to defeat it.

It is at this moment that we are introduced to our second protagonist, named 9S. Like 2B, 9S is also an android, and part of the YoRHa organization. He is male, while 2B is female. 9S also seems to be different in the way he approaches things. He is jovial, and he gets excited when he meets 2B. He says he hasn’t had a companion for a long time. 9S talks a lot, while 2B basically just grunts her way through their conversation. They decide to work together.

Why Did The Androids Kill Themselves In The End?

The battle continues, but now 9S is supporting 2B efforts. Their mission is to eradicate the Titan Machine that is still hiding in the facility. While 2B proves herself to be a fantastic warrior, and a powerful sword master, 9S fights in a more indirect way. 9S knows how to hack into the machines and destroy them from within. 2B gets way inside the facility, and it is there that she discovers that the entire facility is the Titan Machine she was looking for.

2B gets into her exo-suit, but the machine is just too big. 2B cannot deal enough damage to this gigantic mass of metal to actually hurt it. 9S inserts himself into the battle in order to help 2B, and together they manage to defeat the machine. However, in the process, 9S took one giant attack from the machine, and now his life is at risk. It is there that they discover the machine they just killed was one of several. Surrounded and without other options, the two decide to use something called a “Black Box”. Uniting their black boxes will trigger an explosion that will kill the machines, but also themselves.

The pair touch their black boxes, and a huge explosion occurs, killing all the enemies. The scene is seen as a noble sacrifice. However, the episode reveals that because 2B and 9S are androids, they are basically immortal. Their bodies don’t matter. Before the explosion occurred, 9S uploaded the memories and data of both of them to the cloud. They wake up on a space station, and they are the same people, but now they have been uploaded to a new body.

However, as the episode ends and both 2B and 9S meet in the hallway, 2B pretends that her memory didn’t fully upload, so she doesn’t know what happened right before she died. This is a lie, but 9S believes her and continues on his way. We see that 2B is more emotional than she shows to others. We also see that, for some reason, she seems to know 9S, but at the same time, she pretends she doesn’t know him and doesn’t want to know him. This is the setup for future twists and turns that will come into the season and basically explode at the end of the story.