Dr. Stone Season 1 Episode 22 Recap – The Treasure

Expedition

Since there’s only one set of lights available, Senku selects Magma to go with them inside the cave due to his great strength. The others think it might be risky due to their rivalry during the tournament. Gen whispers something to Magma before they embark.

As they enter the cave, Chrome asks Senku if bringing Magma is a good choice. Senku reasons that Magma’s strength is crucial for their journey, even with the risk he imposes.

The cave proves dangerous, with pits, chasms, and collapsing floors that make it hard to traverse. In one chamber, Senku loses his footing. Magma immediately punches him and throws him off, but Magma falls into a pit in the process. Thankfully Senku catches him. Chrome accuses Magma of sabotaging them, to which Magma simply laughs and admits to it, saying that science may have ruled in the old world, but strength must be king in the new Stone Age; all while Senku is puffing and fighting to keep him from falling.

The floor collapses,  so Senku falls with Magma into a deep pit. Magma and Senku are trapped in a small rock chamber. Magma keeps complaining while Senku tries to find a way up. Chrome wants to fill the entire chamber with water, but it will take too long to do it manually.

Senku comes up with a plan where they’ll need to rig the gas masks to fill the deep chamber with water so they can swim up. Magma throws the gas masks at Chrome with his strength. After this exchange, Senku explains to Magma that the strong work with the weak to build up the world. It doesn’t matter who you are as long as you can contribute to the greater cause.

Weak and Strong

Magma is still angry that Senku took the position of chief from him, but Senku tells him he wouldn’t have experienced all the new technology without him. Chrome manages to siphon water from a nearby pool and fills their chamber.

Senku’s frail body can’t take the cold, so Magma pulls him up and tells him they’re allies until they defeat Tsukasa. Magma throws him out of the water while he waits for the chamber to fill.

They sleep inside the cave safely and warmly. Further inside, they find a skarn formation filled with many metals and ores. Senku calls it the treasure chest of nature.

Magma admits that he planned to kill them inside the cave but changes his heart as he mines the huge rock. They finally gathered enough tungsten for their project. Chrome tells them they found an even better treasure inside — their new friendship; Magma and Senku are disgusted.

Gift

Chrome and Senku celebrate their great haul, but Magma urges them to return home due to Gen’s words. They can’t carry that many rocks anyway. Before returning to the village, Magma ties up Senku with a blindfold and brings them back to the hut.

Senku fears the worst, but Gen surprises him by building an observatory and a telescope where he can study the stars. They learn that it’s Senku’s birthday that day, January 4th, so the whole village collaborates to surprise him with the gift.

Gen gave them the plans to make a telescope, so the villagers built him an observatory. Gen learned about his birthday by reading his de-petrification note and calculating the days he’s been awake. Senku thinks it‘s too corny but accepts it anyway.

Our Thoughts

Another heartwarming episode that started with tension and acceptance. For a show that’s supposedly made of stone, there are some strong emotional moments here. 4/5.