You should read part one of my discussion about episode 8 in Death Note's TV drama before carrying on here. This is merely a continuation of that.
Yellow for Nobility and Courage in Japan
Previously, I was speculating that yellow, in television Death Note's colour themes, had something to do with thuggery or violence.
However, there was a very poignant moment with the colour yellow, seemingly teeming with significance, which fell back upon the traditional meaning of yellow in Japanese culture. Namely the hue of courage or nobility.
It was all in stark contrast to the mirror scene in episode seven, when L distractly tried to force a piece into the wrong position on a white jigsaw.
Then handed Near the errant jigsaw piece with dire warnings that it might not be himself to insert the last one. Maybe it would be Near.
Though they sat in the same relative positions, L faced Near the first time around. He sat sidewards on the second, wherein the personality could well have been Mello. Or Near under internal barrage from Mello's scathing tones.
In the first instance, receipt of the jigsaw piece caused consternation in a hitherto jubilant Near. It triggered Mello into momentarily coming out, both personae swinging back and forth in domination of their body.
Meanwhile, a despondent L merely left.
In the second, a watchful Near purportedly had control of their body after earlier taking it back from Mello. Near seemed quite pensive, until L took the jigsaw piece.
Meanwhile, a determined L simply sat back down. Then fitted the piece into the puzzle.
Death Note's L and Near Jigsaw Dialogue
In the first iteration, L was unsure if Near (and/or Mello) were even on side regarding the Kira case. They'd joined in with the whole Babel thing, but then so had Light.
Previously Near had left Wammy's House without sanction and proceeded to hack L's computer and interfere with his investigation vis-a-vis handing information to the errant Kira Countermeasures police team.
Right now, Near was sitting back in a position of purity, innocence or spirituality. Chaotic neutral at best, but certainly not fully signed up as L's successor in anything, let alone the battle with Light Yagami.
L handed over the white jigsaw piece as a challenge. Pretty much saying, "Who's side are you on, Near?"
The former NOT playing jigsaw puzzles with his younger foster ward. The latter baking Near's favourite cakes as a lovely treat.
Near anxiously queries L's safety with Mr Wammy, who doesn't do much to alleviate their concern. Mello, as puppet, gleefully concludes that L is prepared to die to 'finish Kira'. Near tells him to shut up with such talk.
Thus we get a long shot, the mirror of that above, but with Near and Mello turned 90 degrees from their prior position.
Their allegiance appears already cast with L, if the evidence of the puzzle board is to be believed. Even Mello has his sights set firmly on (the) board.
Yellow for courage and/or nobility.
And note that we're not yet over the hidden chess-piece symbolism either. Near's come from a position of white - spirituality, priesthood, monks - and he's now sitting in L's gigantic chessboard room, occupying the Bishop spot.
Moreover, look at how prominently L's White Queen pillar is displayed, along with all that lighting picking out Near/Mello, in the instant immediately prior to the yellow jigsaw piece being handed over.
In short, the second iteration of this scene is a continuance of the first. "Who's side are you on, Near?" "Yours, L."
Death Note: Not the Ayes But The Eyes Have It
It didn't quite work out like that, but it set up an on-going theme involving eyes and watchfulness per se, which ran throughout this entire chapter in television's Death Note story-telling.
Here are a few such recurrences:
Thus giving all us old timers watching something unanticipated to enjoy. No-one's averting their eyes here, I can tell you. It's aye all round!
L: Is this a Death Note I See Before Me?
I am in blood
Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er.
~ MacBeth (Act 3, Scene 4), William Shakespeare
All this spoken whilst staring down at his clawed fingers in a 'will these hand ne'er be clean?' kind of way.
I wish I could find where I wrote about that, because it was very much mirrored by L's feigned first usage of his own Death Note. Only with the hooked hands bit substituted for a 'is this a dagger I see before me?' sort of pen-holding stance.
Same MacBeth quote in modern form though.