The first season of Made in Abyss concluded with a double-length stunner of an episode that soared to my top 5 favorite anime episodes of all time. "Gold" certainly doesn't reach those dizzying heights owing to its rather poor pacing and scene structure, but the plot therein is a rather beautiful piece of work that ties up the season's plot threads with a lovely little bloodstained bow.
Tonally this episode is all over the place, and to be honest I can't entirely say that's a bad thing. The past several chapters of this saga (Episode 11 especially) have been unrelentingly bleak, so a shift in atmosphere is rather refreshing in that regard. Even still, expect to feel a little bit of emotional whiplash as the finale wavers between playful fun, and cruel reality. Additionally, Episode 12 feels a bit stop and start at times due to its rather jarring blend of quiet contemplation and thrilling action, accentuated further by its propensity to fade to black - a feature made especially noticeable by the extended runtime.
Beyond all the semantics, watching Episode 12 is like being struck by a rather poorly assembled semi-truck; it isn't held together very well, but there's no denying it hits hard. I'm still recovering from how many directions my heartstrings were pulled, one scene in particular eliciting a particular breed of existential dread that I'm finding rather troublesome to describe. So rather than attempt to, I'll simply leave a solid recommendation to watch it yourself. 8/10.