Spoilers are ahead from One Piece season 2 episode 7!
We've finally reached the penultimate episode of the second season, One Piece fans! In episode 6, the Straw Hats found themselves on Drum Island. They were supposed to be headed for Alabasta, but Nami came down with an unknown illness after leaving Little Garden.
Since Drum Island is known for its doctors, the crew travels there in hopes of finding someone who can treat her before her condition worsens. They do end up finding someone. Her name is Dr. Kureha, aka the witch doctor. The sixth episode also introduces another new character named Tony Tony Chopper. He's a talking reindeer! How? Well, let's move on to episode 7 to learn more about his story and how he came to possess such unusual abilities.
Tony Tony Chopper's tragic past
The seventh episode opens with a flashback of Drum Kingdom. A much larger Chopper is shown running through the woods as he's pursued by angry townspeople. He even ends up shot. The episode then cuts to the opening credits. Once the opening finishes, we're taken back to the present time at Drum Castle.
Luffy and Sanji are still in disbelief at hearing Chopper talk. They tease him to try to get him to talk again, but Chopper doesn't budge. It's not until Luffy opens a treasure chest and attempts to grab a pirate flag out of it that Chopper finally speaks. He tells them to leave the flag alone before closing the chest and walking away. That's strange. I wonder what the significance of this flag is. It must mean a great deal to Chopper.
Later on, Luffy, Sanji, and Nami eat dinner while speaking with Dr. Kureha. She gives them the full rundown of Chopper's past. As a viewer, we get to see Chopper's backstory through flashbacks. Basically, Chopper had been alone all his life until he met a doctor on Drum Island named Dr. Hiriluk. It all happened during the Great Doctor Hunt at Drum Kingdom.
King Wapol had ordered all of the doctors in the kingdom to either work exclusively for him or be killed. As a result, most of Drum Kingdom was left without proper medical care. The residents were so desperate that they scoured the Valley of Death in search of a supposed cure-all mushroom. The only two physicians who managed not to be caught by Wapol during the hunt were Kureha and Hiriluk.
Dr. Hiriluk was determined to help out his fellow citizens and made it his life's work to come up with a cure. During this time, Chopper was living alone after being rejected by both humans and his own reindeer herd because of his strange appearance and his ability to talk. While trying to evade Wapol's soldiers, Dr. Hiriluk eventually came across the injured reindeer in the woods and realized that Chopper was no ordinary animal. He had eaten a Devil Fruit, which gave him the ability to speak.
Instead of being afraid of him, Dr. Hiriluk treated Chopper's wounds and took him in. Over time, the two formed a close bond, with Dr. Hiriluk even allowing Chopper to stay with him and assist with his work. He even gave him the name of Tony Tony Chopper and his red top hat. For the first time in his life, Chopper had someone who accepted him. Dr. Hiriluk had become the father figure he had never had.
But then Dr. Hiriluk fell gravely ill. Instead of telling Chopper the truth about his condition, he kicked him out and told him to live his life. Chopper eventually discovered that Dr. Hiriluk was dying and became desperate to find a cure for the man who had taken him in. After hearing about a rare mushroom that could supposedly cure any disease, Chopper set out into the harsh mountains of Drum Island to find it.
After a long and dangerous search, Chopper finally returned with the mushroom and proudly prepared it for Dr. Hiriluk. Unfortunately, Chopper didn’t realize the mushroom was actually poisonous. Dr. Hiriluk understood what had happened, but ate the soup Chopper prepared anyway so that he wouldn’t break the young reindeer’s heart.
Not long after, Hiriluk sacrificed himself during a confrontation with Wapol’s forces at Drum Castle. Chopper was left devastated. However, Dr. Hiriluk’s dream didn’t die with him. Dr. Kureha later took Chopper under her wing and trained him to become a real doctor. That's Chopper's emotional backstory.
After the flashbacks end, Luffy goes to talk with Chopper. Remember the flag Chopper told him not to touch earlier? It turns out the flag once belonged to Dr. Hiriluk. Luffy opens the chest, takes the flag out, and explains to Chopper that something so important shouldn’t be hidden away.
Instead, it should be displayed proudly. Using his rubber arms, Luffy stretches across the room and hangs the flag up on the wall. Chopper is initially shocked by Luffy's abilities, but he quickly feels a surge of gratitude and pride.
Wapol's men arrive at Drum Kingdom
While Luffy, Nami, and Sanji learn of Chopper's backstory from Dr. Kureha at Drum Castle, the other Straw Hats remain in town. Miss Wednesday spends her time helping out the residents. While doing so, she catches a glimpse of Miss All Sunday. Oh no! She's still following them. Elsewhere, Usopp joins Zoro and Dalton on guard watch duties. However, they notice smoke near the entrance to the kingdom. Dalton tells Zoro and Usopp to stay behind while he checks it out.
As he arrives at the entrance, Dalton is shot with three arrows in the chest. He falls to the ground, and Wapol's right-hand men approach him. Uh oh! It looks like Wapol is back to reclaim his kingdom. The seventh episode ends here.
One Piece season 2 episode 7 review
Alright, I know I've been saying the second season is really good. But episode 7 is my favorite so far. As I mentioned in a previous recap for One Piece season 2, I read the manga the live-action series is based on. I have even watched the anime series. That said, I already knew Chopper's backstory. But watching it unfold in live-action form in episode 7 was a completely different experience.
Seeing Chopper’s loneliness, his bond with Dr. Hiriluk, and the heartbreaking sacrifice play out with visuals, music, and voice acting made the story hit so much harder than when I read it in the manga. I was seriously crying buckets throughout the entire episode. Afterwards, I was so emotional that it took me a minute to watch the next episode. If I were to rate episode 7, I'd give it a 10/10. Seriously!
The complete second season of One Piece is now streaming on Netflix.