Shinichiro Watanabe’s Lazarus is in full swing in the aftermath of its sixth episode. With the mystery of Dr. Skinner broadening in scope and the members of Team Lazarus starting to reveal their own personal histories, there has never been more depth to the world of the Cowboy Bebop creator’s newest anime series. Lazarus Episode 7, “Almost Blue”, is looking to be a peaceful respite for the group as they take it easy in the midst of their mission to save the world.

One of the most common criticisms of Lazarus — and there have been many — is the fact that the main cast doesn’t ever seem urgent enough in their mission to save the world. They rarely seem truly sad about their fates, or those of the countless human lives they’re hoping to save. In that context, Lazarus Episode 7 is already shaping to come off as laughing in the face of those critiques by literally sending the group to an island getaway which comes off as the closest thing Lazarus will probably ever get to a token beach or hot spring episode. That doesn’t mean it’ll only be leisure, though. Team Lazarus is attending this island vacation for very serious, mission-oriented reasons, after all.

When Does Lazarus Episode 7 Come Out?

Lazarus First Airs During Adult Swim’s Toonami Block

The Lazarus Team looks to get a brief respite in Lazarus Episode 7, but the anime won’t be taking a break. Fans looking to catch the episode when it first airs can expect it to release on schedule with previous episodes. New episodes of Lazarus air live on Adult Swim to kick off their Toonami block every Saturday at 12AM, 9 PM PT. Lazarus Episode 7, “Almost Blue”, will first air live on Adult Swim on May 17, at 12AM EST (technically May 18). The episode will then be available to stream on HBO MAX the following day, on May 18, at around 9:30 to 10AM EST.

New episodes of Lazarus that air on Toonami will be the English Dub, but fans who prefer to watch in the original Japanese subtitled version can rest assured the episodes will be uploaded to HBO MAX eventually. Unfortunately, the Japanese release on MAX comes two weeks behind the English Dub. The Japanese subtitled version of Lazarus Episode 7 won’t be available to stream until May 30.

Lazarus Episode 6, “Heaven is a Place on Earth”, concluded with the confirmation that there are now only 17 days remaining before the effects of Hapna start to kill people. This is consistent with the pacing of the series, as Lazarus has only been confirmed for 13 episodes. With the series reaching just beyond the halfway point with Episode 7, viewers can expect Episode 7 to conclude with at least 14 days remaining from the initial 30 Axel and the Lazarus team started with at the end of the series. Lazarus Episode 13, due for release on June 28, will likely take place on the final day before things go south for humanity on Earth.

Lazarus Episode 6 Linked Eleina to a Religious Cult

The Tower of God Worshipped an AI Created After Skinner’s Own Mind in Lazarus’ Previous Episode

Lazarus Episode 6, “Heaven is a Place on Earth”, gave viewers, and the Lazarus Team themselves, deeper insight into Eleina and her personal history. After Douglas uncovers a magazine article discussing Skinner’s work with a cult that set up their commune off-the-grid, the group learns that this same cult was actually once Eleina’s home, and remains the place where her mother lives. This religious group, who call themselves the “Tower of God”, worship an AI program that was created by professionals at MIT, believing that its lack of human ego makes it closer to god than any mortal person.

In order to learn more about Skinner’s connection to this group, and possibly even find him living seperated from the rest of society, Eleina is dispatched alongside Leland to the place where she grew up. Meanwhile, Axel, Chris and Douglas set up their headquarters in a nearby motel, awaiting any signal from Leland or Eleina for them to step in. The commune appears welcoming at first, but things quickly go wrong after Leland and Eleina make their move on the AI to try to extract information from its database. Sadly, Eleina and Leland are betrayed by Eleina’s childhood friend, Hanna, who overheard the two discussing their plans the day before.

While Leland and Eleina undergo their mission, Douglas and Chris make a surprising discovery in their research: the AI the Tower of God worships was actually developed to mimic Dr. Skinner’s own brain. This gives a new twist to Eleina’s previous statement during the prologue of Episode 4 that she once worshipped Skinner as something of a “god” for discovering Hapna. It’s easy to see why Eleina became disillusioned with the cult, though, considering the group – including Eleina’s own mother – decides to burn Leland and Eleina at the stake to cleanse them of their sins. Worst of all, the Tower of God then plan to burn themselves alive along with the Naga AI, purging the world of their “physical” bodies.

Luckily, Hanna has a change of heart at just the last moment. She tosses a signal flare to alert Axel and the others just as Eleina and Leland are plunged into the flames. While the Lazarus team is able to save most of the members of the Tower of God (with the exception of Billy, their leader), the AI is mostly destroyed in the wreckage. Nevertheless, the group is able to extract some information from the machine. As Eleina winds down from a stressful day, she asks Chris if she can spend the night in her room, clearly needing a friend after all she had to endure.

Team Lazarus Will Spend Some Time in the Sun in Episode 7

Chris Will Begin to Relate With Skinner’s Motivations in Lazarus’ Upcoming Episode

Lazarus Episode 7, “Almost Blue”, follows the trend of the group receiving a key clue at the end of the previous episode, leading them to their latest mission. Team Lazarus’ mission to the Tower of the Truth left them with some of the data from the Naga Artificial Intelligence that Eleina’s family once worshipped. In Lazarus Episode 7, that information will direct the group toward a group of islands Dr. Skinner once purchased. According to the episode’s official discription, these islands sunk under rising sea levels, which is why the group is left traveling by boat on the open sea in Toonami’s latest episode preview.

This is especially interesting considering the last public event where Skinner was seen was during the UN conference where he tried to warn the world about climate change. This group of islands serves as a clear example of the accuracy of his claims. While there, the group come to accept the sad reality that, however evil Skinner’s methodology turned out to be, he was at least right about his discoveries. As the group enjoy this beautiful place that has been entirely swallowed by the ocean below, some members of the group will suffer a moral conundrum as shown in the episode preview.

“Coordinates from an AI lead to islands that Skinner bought just before they sunk under rising sea levels. The team visit them hoping to learn more.”

– Official Lazarus Episode 7 Description

Particularly, Christine begins to wonder whether Skinner actually has a valid point in wanting to rid the world of humanity. As she enjoys the beauty of this place in the world, she realizes the extent of the damage human beings have done, and seems to outwardly consider the dark possibility that maybe Skinner was right all along. Not only does Chris question things, but Leland also points out in the preview that it’s the first time he has ever seen such a clear sky, to which Axel reminds him “that’s because Babylonia city is always cloudy.” This once again ties back to Skinner’s warning to the UN, as the atmosphere in Babylonia is so thick with pollution that it appears cloudy at all times.

Not only is Babylonia constantly polluted, but Douglas even points out that “it’s like that everywhere these days.” As Eleina muses that the only beautiful places remaining are “those without humans”, it starts to make sense why Chris might begin questioning whether Skinner was really so wrong to do what he did after all. Unlike other episodes of Lazarus, Episode 7 seems to have the team searching for answers internally more than ever. It could be that the only real answers the Lazarus team will discover about Skinner will be found within themselves, rather than searching for clues externally. Whether it’s under the depths of the ocean floor, or within the depths of their souls, the Lazarus Team will certainly be diving deep in Lazarus Episode 7.

Toonami’s Lazarus is currently streaming on HBO MAX.