Episode 12

"We call the training facility for Parasites, the Garden. There, CHILDREN are brought up to develop a sound mind and learn how to behave properly as CHILDREN, they are then pruned and only the Parasites who leave the Garden's nest with their heads high have the honor of defending ADULTS against the Klaxosaur threat."

- Hachi The Garden Where It All Began is the twelfth of DARLING in the FRANXX.

Plot
The episode starts with the members of Squad 13 looking out of a large window within a vehicle, seeing the Garden as they approach it. Zero Two is elsewhere within the vehicle, looking for picture books but to no avail. Squad 13 has been sent back to The Garden to undergo some tests, the place where they were raised. They are greeted by the Nines, Zero Two's former squad, and their leader Nine Alpha who wonders what Zero Two, formerly coded Nine Iota, saw in them. Disobeying orders, Hiro, with the other members of Squad 13 visit the old facilities where they were raised in, hoping to meet Naomi again. Naomi is nowhere to be seen and the adults refuse to tell them where she is. They also discover that the children from Garden are being developed into Parasites at a much earlier age, in response to the increased number of Klaxosaur attacks. When a group of Klaxosaurs attack the Garden, Squad 13 is dispatched, and Hiro notes that Zero Twos canines and horns have grown longer. During the battle, a hysteric Zero Two ignores direct orders and attacks alone, claiming that she must kill more Klaxosaurs in order to become truly human. After the battle, Hiro asks the meaning of her words, but she refuses to answer. Meanwhile, Ichigo eavesdrops on a conversation between Nana and Hachi in which they affirm with each other that the Saurification process in Zero Two and Hiro is intensifying, much to her horror. When the second wave of the Klaxosaurs attack, Squad 13 sorties again and once more Zero Two turns rogue. Hiro is attacked by Zero Two whilst trying to stop her, and he receives visions of a past long forgotten.

Trivia

 * The book disgusted by Hiro and Ichigo is a real book written by James George Frazer.
 * As of episode 12, Mitsuru and Futoshi switch positions in the opening.

Links

 * Official Website

Episodio 12