The only bad thing about that episode is that it's not long enough. There's so much there to work with. (A lot of people use this reason to whine about how the manga is sooo much beeeetter but I tell them to stfu and come back when Nightow has better storytelling skills.)

It really, really would have been better if Rowan had shot Knives. I loved that scene, actually. We don't know what Knives did, but we know he screwed with something in those people's heads, and the way Rowan was acting makes it all the more freakier. I always felt worst for Joey; he really seemed like he cared about Knives and Vash and he didn't give Vash a mental complex.

Makes me wonder what'll happen after the series if Vash can't save Knives. Even if he can be reformed, Knives certainly does not deserve to be free. Giving him a life sentence in jail is too easy on him, but then, the planet has no long-term jails that could hold him. So either Vash takes care of him or Knives dies. Not much of a choice for Vash; new ideals or no, killing his brother would fuck him up. So if he couldn't control Knives and it came down to a choice...shivers.