Just when it seems like things are going perfectly, something has to bring forth some torturous internal conflict.
What They Say:
Princess Asseylum’s marriage to Slaine is officially announced. Meanwhile, Slaine organizes an unprecedented attack on Earth after rallying as many Counts to his cause as possible.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
There are impostors everywhere. Or imposter if you prefer; we’ll split the difference and say nisemono. Lemrina masquerading as Asseylum is the obvious one, but our main character for this season (at least from the more-than-half we’ve covered by this point) is nearly as fake. Slaine is reaching for his ultimate success by lying to everyone. But while that may be getting the job done and he’s surely been betting would never fall apart as such situations always do, the worst part of it all is that he’s actually lying to himself most of all. This isn’t the kind of person Slaine is; he fundamentally hasn’t changed that much since the first season. But as he faces the success that seems more and more likely, Asseylum slowly recovers to strike a stark juxtaposition to the corrupt monstrosity that he’s let himself become while convincing himself it was all for her. As she remembers and processes more of what’s happened and how everything has progressed in her absence – and it’s absolutely a definite that she will do so enough to effect major change – Slaine will likely be left waiting for the first domino to fall in his assembly of lies so that it can all crash down on him, whether or not he can ever manage to admit it to himself.
But as heavy as all that is, how are things going with the others? Well, Inaho appears for about a minute to analyze some junk, make some prophetic small talk regarding the situation and the enemy, and be a generally cold machine to his sister while still cracking a minute smile that means the world to her. I guess that’s all business as usual, then. A few additional scenes of the Earth forces are featured, but mostly just to see the crew we used to follow reacting to the huge news out of Vers. It seems a little unfortunate to say, but the impending attack on Earth will probably be the best opportunity to get some more quality screen time from these guys in a while.
Asseylum herself serves to bring the two sides into the same conversation a bit more, as has always been her role in a way. There’s also Mazuurek, but Slaine’s influence has grown so much just in the time he’s been away that it seems even his best attempts are meaningless now. Asseylum, though, knows how to make an impact, even when she’s shielded from almost everyone and doesn’t fully comprehend what’s going on. Beyond what her reappearance means to Slaine and everything he’s been doing this season in general, just vocalizing one passing thought of her time with Inaho is enough to tear Slaine apart more than his own love for Asseylum does to her substitute. Similarly, much of the Earth forces discussions revolve around Asseylum, not just that she’s apparently being married to someone who few of them really know (and who Yuki has some amusingly harsh words for), but regarding her identity, how it conflicts with the Asseylum they all knew, and, of course, how right Inaho must be.
In Summary:
Despite the huge stinger left at the end of the previous episode, the changes don’t come pouring in just yet. For now Asseylum is slowly approaching that point and while the focus is almost entirely Slaine’s ascension, the development affects him most profoundly as he begins to doubt his extreme actions. As things explode from here, big changes could come for better or worse.
Grade: B-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
HP Envy 14.