Lazarus: Why did Skinner become a villain?

Lazarus is set in a dystopian world where a drug known as Hapna threatens to wipe out humanity. In order to prevent extinction, a special task force known as Lazarus is formed to find the creator of the drug, Dr. Skinner, and develop a cure.

From the start of the anime, Skinner was considered a harbinger of doom, hunted by countless groups. However, the true reason behind his descent into villainy was not explained until the very last episode, and it put weeks of speculation and theories to rest.

Dr. Skinner became a villain in Lazarus to create awareness about a bioweapon being created by the army that could endanger the entire world. This was revealed in Lazarus episode 13 when the dark truth behind the scientist’s motivations was detailed by Abel, and the cast discovered the antagonist at the homeless shelter in Babylonia City.

Skinner’s complex motivations in Lazarus

For most of Lazarus, fans had been led to believe that Skinner was a scientist who became disillusioned with humanity’s disregard for the world they had been gifted. His speech at the U.N. about the melting polar ice caps was ignored, and the wonder of nature was fading with each passing day.

As a result, Skinner was presumed to have developed this miracle drug, Hapna, which eliminated pain, and tricked most of the population into consuming it. The scientist later revealed that Hapna would kill all its users within 30 days, and the only way to prevent it was to find Skinner and obtain the cure.

However, the final episode of Lazarus shared that Skinner’s true motivations were not just to destroy humanity, but were far more layered. In the past, INSCOM, led by Schneider, had been using Skinner’s research to try to create a bioweapon. To prevent this from happening, Skinner tried revealing the truth to Europe by taking a sample.

Unfortunately, the army got wind of his attempt to become a whistleblower and tracked him down to Schiphol Airport. While there, they ended up clashing with the local airport police, with Skinner trapped in between. The chaotic situation soon escalated into a shoot-out, during which a stray bullet hit Skinner’s suitcase and released the poisonous gas.

This resulted in countless lives being lost and forced Skinner to see the lengths that the authorities would go to cover the truth. To ensure that the existence of the bioweapon came to light, Skinner developed Hapna, which had the same core components as the army’s weapon.

Since it was consumed by the entire world, it became a problem that no one could ignore. His plan also worked, as Abel and Hersch discovered the truth and arrested Schneider for violating the Geneva Conventions.

Skinner’s fate in Lazarus

By the end of Lazarus, the main cast and Hersch had tracked Skinner down to the homeless shelter. He had nearly gone blind and was yet to take the cure to Hapna. As a reward for finding him, Skinner then wrote down the cure to Hapna and gave it to Hersch.

Trending

Following this, Axel questioned Skinner on whether he really wished to be found or would have rather seen humanity perish. Skinner asked Axel what he thought of the world, to which the protagonist responded that it was terrible but shouldn’t be abandoned. Pleased with his response, Skinner died with a smile on his face.

Hersch shed tears for her former mentor, and at the end of the episode, she was seen visiting his grave and placing flowers on it.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback