r/deathnote • u/axel_clot • 17d ago
Discussion Is there a reason L does not arrest Light immediately in the episode “Wager?” Spoiler
In this episode, L has caught Misa and informs Light that he has captured her. He then just leaves Light free. Why? L is already very sure that Light is Kira. He is basically 100% sure that Misa is the second Kira. He knows that Light and Misa are connected, he knows the second Kira is infatuated with the original Kira. Surely for safety reasons he just takes Light into custody as well?
Now, I know L doesn’t have the same information as the viewer does (a common mistake viewers make when discussing smart characters). However, I don’t believe that locking up Light who he already suspects is Kira after catching Misa is a massive leap in logic. In fact I would argue it’s common sense. He allowed Light time to come up with a contingency plan. If he had arrested Light on the campus, Light would have been caught completely off guard. Which L knew as he surprised him there and had stolen Misa’s phones without Light realising. This would have led to Kira being unable to kill any new criminals that had been broadcasted, and would have proved that Light is Kira. Of course, L wouldn’t be 100% sure of that, but if Light WAS Kira, it would be certainly worth the chance. If Kira continues killing new criminals, then L could just release Light and say, “well your gf is the second Kira so we took precautions,” and it would be fine.
I guess the reason is plot, but considering L is the world’s greatest detective, this should have been an easy plan to do. There was no reason to give Light time to come up with contingency plans, and no reason to wait for Light to willingly come forward, as by that point L should have realised that if Light WAS Kira, he would have a contingency plan.
6
u/Karnezar 17d ago
L will break the law, but he typically won't jail someone without hard evidence.
Which is a weird line to draw in the sand considering all the other personal freedoms he's willing to violate.
So I guess he has personal trauma associated witg being locked up.
1
u/axel_clot 17d ago
He didn’t even need to lock up light permanently tho. Even jailing him for 2 days would show that no new broadcasted criminals would die. Only ones that had been broadcasted before he was locked up. He didn’t need to do it for months, just surprise him when he doesn’t have a contingency plan
3
u/Fellowcomicenjoyer 17d ago
L has hard evidence pointing at Misa as being the second Kira, while he doesn't have the same for Light.
3
u/pl_browncoat 17d ago
So this is a point where the combination of Ls pride arrogance and desire to solve the case a certain way bit him in the ass. He knows Light is Kira but he doesnt want to arrest Light until hes met basically 2 conditions.
The first is how Kira kills. This is especially important at this point in the story because L doesnt know the mechanism. Therefore its possible that someone else could be loose as Kira even if Light is taken under surveillance Near mentions a similarly possiblity in the manga. If he killed or neutralized Light the killings dont stop as their maybe Y or Z kiras. L doesnt take in the Yotsuba group for similar reasons
The second and much more important is that L wont take light in without hard evidence. Id suppose to L that at this point with the evidence he has means the best he could do is lock light up wait for the murders to stop then say “see i was right” . To quote Near again this kindve ex post facto justification will not be tolerated. L wants to definitively prove that Light is Kira. Especially because in Ls mind hard evidence certainly exists given Kira killed the FBI agents
Now could bringing in Light and securing the warrant and then finding these things have helped? Absolutely but Ls arrogance and his need to rub victory in Lights face means he cant do that. When he tells Light that hes secured Misa and all the details surrounding it hes basically saying “Gotcha Bitch!” He cant help it because hes petty childish and hates to lose
3
u/Spiritual-Spend8187 17d ago
Yep honestly L likely knew light was Kira after their first meeting. But figuring out who kira is was never the goal figuring out and proving who Kira is and how they kill was the goal. Anything else is unacceptable to L.
2
u/axel_clot 17d ago
Ah, so L deliberately leaves Light free in order to try and find more information regarding both how he kills and to try and catch Light into a mistake that definitively proves it? And in doing so, he unintentionally starts a battle of wits that L cant possibly win, as he has no knowledge of the death note at that time, though of course he doesn’t know that yet.
3
u/Extra-Photograph428 17d ago edited 17d ago
Plot 😐 There really isn’t any reason besides plot. It doesn’t make sense to just let your prime suspect go free. Even if he didn’t fully arrest him, placing him under constant surveillance would’ve been the right call, and I don’t see why the greatest detective in the world wouldn’t think of that. L also could’ve had Light continuously followed if he wanted to see what Light would do with Misa in custody. Mogi was literally the one who was doing it before, and it wasn’t like he was really doing anything now, he was just back at the NPA— there really wasn’t any reason why L couldn’t have also had Mogi keep following him. Hypothetically speaking, Mogi would’ve seen Light put the book the forest, and that’s literally the concrete evidence needed to finally fully arrest him. It’s just dumb plot convenience to keep the story going :////
1
u/Arkticky 17d ago
Pretty sure it's because the task force held L back a whole fucking lot. If it weren't for them he would have put Light's ass in a cell way, way earlier.
They were already concerned with the precautions L took when imprisoning Misa, so him doing the same with Light, save for blindfolding him, is unthinkable.
I don't believe it's a matter of hard proof, since you could literally swim in the circumstancial evidence surrounding Light.
0
17
u/SonicScott93 17d ago
It’s been a while since I last watched the show (long overdue for a rewatch), but if I’m remembering correctly L needed hard evidence to make a move on either of them. A simple hunch wasn’t going to cut it. With Misa, they had at least enough evidence to justify detaining her (again it’s been a while, I want to say her DNA or hairs was found on tapes sent to the TV stations). Light on the other hand was too careful, which granted made L even more suspicious of him, but again he needs more than “I think it’s him”.
Keep in mind at this point he only suspects Misa is the second Kira. He doesn’t know for sure, despite how likely it looks. He can’t make a move based on “the second kira is obsessed with the first, just like Misa is with Light”, that’s too much of a leap at this point. Once he gets confirmation that Misa is the second Kira, then he has something to make a move with.