Summary: It's been days since humans and gods faced each other in battle, and the inhabitants of the capital who have returned to Anatae are clearing debris and restoring buildings.
While a barber shaves Charioce, the leader of the Onyx Soldiers reports that they still haven't found Nina, Jeanne, and Favaro, but that there are people who claim to have seen them in the streets of the city and that they even report having seen the Holy Child with them. He also tells him that Kaisar is being intensively interrogated, but that he hasn't said anything about the fugitives, something that Charioce expected from the captain of the Orleans Knights.
As they talk, the barber accidentally cuts Charioce's skin while shaving him. Charioce spares his life, as he wasn't ready for his job. He then orders the leader of the Onyx Task Force to continue searching for the fugitives and tells him that he'll be heading to Eibos.
Kaisar is imprisoned in the castle cells and is visited by Dias, to whom he entrusts the welfare of the Orleans Knights. He also tells him that he's met Jeanne on the battlefield and that she'll be the salvation of the knights since she'll glorify them.
After fleeing the capital, Nina is welcomed in the Dragonfolk Village by her mother and the children she takes care of, to whom she introduces her friend Jeanne.
Nina guides Jeanne through the village until they reach the elder's home. When they arrive, Nina introduces Jeanne to her and asks for help to get to the land of the gods.
The elder tells them that two thousand years ago, the gods and demons collaborated to wipe out Bahamut and that she took it upon herself to lead the weary gods back to their home.
Jeanne implores for help while Nina supports her petition, but the elder falls asleep.
In the evening, Nina takes Jeanne to the village's hot springs and tells her that the hot springs' water is incredible as it possesses healing powers.
As they relax, Nina asks Jeanne if Mugaro's dad is cool. Jeanne replies that she never saw Michael that way, that there was never a romance between them, but that she's sure he watches over her and her son.
Then, Jeanne asks Nina if there's any man who has stolen her heart, to which Nina says yes. That he's the only man she's been able to get so close to and even dance with, even though her heart races when she sees a handsome man. She feels safe and happy with him and thinks she was born to dance with him. He's her first love.
Nina then, asks Jeanne about her first love, but she says she doesn't know because she experienced divine revelation and became a servant of the gods before experiencing romance. Jeanne wishes for Nina's happiness with the man she loves, but Nina explains that the man she fell in love with turned out to be someone she despised and doesn't know what she should do.
She tells her that her love interest is a great man, but he's done horrible things.
Jeanne asks her if, even so, she still loves him. Nina replies that she doesn't know. However, despite everything he has done, she can't get to hate him.
Jeanne perfectly understands Nina's conflict and tells her that, just as the man she likes has different faces, she also has more than one and that it's not uncommon for her to find contradictions in the person she loves. And that if she's able to accept them, then it's likely that her love for him is true. Nina is very grateful to Jeanne for giving her such valuable advice.
At dinnertime, Nina tells her mother that she's flying to the land of the gods the following morning because that's where Jeanne's son is, whom she hasn't seen in a long, long time.
As Nina gives details about the Holy Child, Jeanne nostalgically admires Nina's family and longs for a life like Nina's mother.
That night, Jeanne can't sleep and ends up chatting with Nina's mother. Jeanne learns that Nina is half dragon and that her dad died trying to protect the village from Bahamut's fireball.
Nina's mom asks Jeanne if Nina has caused her any trouble, but she says no and that she owes her life to her. Then, Nina's mom reveals to her that because of that incident ten years ago, Nina turns into a dragon every time she sees a man who reminds her of her dad as if it were a coping mechanism to avoid bad memories.
Jeanne is touched, and Nina's mom thanks her for being her daughter's friend, but Jeanne tells her that she isn't worthy of any thanks and tries to tell her that it's her fault that Nina's dad died. However, Nina's mom interrupts and tells her she knows she must have had a hard time and thanks her again for being Nina's friend. Jeanne bursts into tears, and Nina's mother comforts her.
That same night, at Anatae, Dias takes Alessand away drunk from the host club.
Alessand still likes being called captain, but Dias tells him to behave like an Orleans Knight.
The following morning, the village elder waits for Nina and Jeanne to ride on her back to the land of the gods. Nina's mother says goodbye to Jeanne and asks her to look after Nina for her, and when she says goodbye to her daughter, she asks her to protect her friend.
Meanwhile, Charioce is on Eibos, where along with the royal scholar and the leader of the Onyx Task Force, he keeps an eye on a magnetic anomaly at a point that went over the edge long ago, something that deeply worries him.
Style: The idea is delivered symbolically through the razor and the bleeding when the barber shaves Charioce as they convey Charioce's remorse. Then, it's reiterated symbolically through the plant growing amid adversity in the land ravaged by Bahamut's fireballs in Nina's village. And it's explicit when Jeanne has a conversation with Nina's mother and tries to express how guilty she feels for all the damage she caused in the past, even having repercussions on Nina's family, who saved her life.
Point of view: Charioce's and Jeanne's points of view are the ones that have great relevance since they're the ones who feel guilty because of their actions.
Nina's point of view is also strong, as she talks about her love dilemma revolving around Charioce's true self.
Tone: Penitent
Fixed literary devices:
- Transversal themes:
- Love
- Identity and Secrecy
- Transversal symbols (motifs):
- Black
- Doves
- Jewels
- Water
- Tea
- Starry sky
- Fireflies
- Lighted candle
- Pyrrha
Mutable literary devices:
- Episode Themes:
- Remorse and Redemption
- Friendship
Conflicts: Remorse vs. Redemption
Thematic elements:
- Remorse vs. Redemption:
- The first clue is the symbols around Charioce when he's taking a bath and later shaved by the barber. It all communicates that he feels guilty for sacrificing lives, but he knows he did what he had to do to save humanity.
- Jeanne feels guilty for all the damage she caused ten years ago, but is encouraged to move on by Nina's mom, who shows her that, just as there are people she harmed, there are people she helps, and that's all that matters.
- Friendship:
- Dias visits Kaisar in the castle cell because, before being his captain, he is his good old friend.
- Nina introduces Jeanne as her friend and is immediately welcomed by her family.
- Nina's mother thanks Jeanne for being friends with her daughter.
- Love:
- Jeanne tells Nina about El's father, Michael, and that while there was never any romance between them nor did she ever see him romantically-sexually, she's sure that he watches over her and her son.
- Jeanne helps Nina understand her feelings for Chris/Charioce.
- Nina's mother tells Jeanne that while she doesn't have the ability to transform into a dragon because she's human, she lives in the village because she fell in love with a dragon man of the village and stayed living there once she married him.
- Jeanne feels nostalgic seeing how beautiful Nina's family is and how her mother is always with them, which reminds her of her happy and love-filled times with El.
- Identity and Secrecy:
- The village elder tells Nina that she's the dragon who transported weary gods back to their land two thousand years ago when gods and demons collaborated to attack Bahamut. She also knows the way to the land of the gods.
- When Nina tells Jeanne that she's fallen in love with a man who has two faces, Jeanne tells her that she too has multiple facets and that if she accepts the man she fell for with all his contradictions, the love she feels for him is likely to be genuine.
Symbols:
- Barber (razor and blood): The razor alone symbolizes emotional pain. It also becomes physical when the barber accidentally cuts Charioce's skin. Blood, among its many meanings, symbolizes pain and suffering.Combined, both elements represent remorse, which is accurate according to the context since the barber is used to merge both symbols into one.It's also a sign of concern for the bad things that have happened lately. These symbols express Charioce's physical and mental states after the battle against the gods.
- Yellow, orange, and black: Colors present in Charioce's robe after taking a bath.Yellow symbolizes disease, orange symbolizes danger, and black symbolizes death. Combined, they represent a dangerous and deadly disease.As Charioce made use of Dromos, the robe he wears symbolizes the vital risk that shooting the cannon meant for him, as his life is being consumed by the green stone as it chars his body. His life is shortened as if it were a disease.The color black symbolizes that Charioce is physically worn out after having used Dromos and this could cost him his life.
- Doves: When arriving at the Dragonfolk Village, doves fly over it. They symbolize kindness and peace, characteristics of the people of the place.
- Jewels: Although the Dragonfolk Village is poor, the artisans make jewelry. Jewelry is linked to the myth of the dragon, a creature that guards treasures.
- Fiddleheads: They grow in the midst of adversity, in the area where the fireballs launched by Bahamut ten years ago hit, and yet they have the strength to grow and live.
It's a symbol that represents the inhabitants of the Dragonfolk Village and also Jeanne, who also makes her way through adversity.
Also, as seen in episode 10, Jeanne used to collect such edible plants with her son El.
- Water: Symbol of change and introspection. Charioce takes a bath at the beginning of the episode. It's confirmed that he's having a moment of introspection by adding the barber's work tool and his clumsiness when cutting his skin while shaving him.The dragon tribe transforms into the water.Nina talks about love with Jeanne as they bathe in the village's hot springs.
- Vases: They're ornaments that can be kept for many years if cared for.
Surrounding the village elder, they symbolize longevity. - Tea: Symbolizes trust and respect, but in addition, the tea that the village elder drinks symbolizes a peaceful life. And being the green type, it symbolizes health.
- Starry sky: Symbolizes happiness. Nina looks at the sky while talking about love with Jeanne and her feelings for Chris/Charioce.
- Fireflies: In this episode, they symbolize happiness and hope. In the next ones, it takes on a more nostalgic meaning.
- Candle: Aside from symbolizing home and Nina's mother's hospitality, it symbolizes hope, faith, and persistence. The candlelight vigil is also a symbol that a cause will continue in the face of adversity.
- Sewing: It's a symbol that's associated with fixing, repairing, or renewing something in life. Sewing clothes is a repair and represents an amendment of mistakes.
- Pyrrha: Symbolizes protection. It's Jeanne's charm, whose shape is that of a fang, and which has been used since ancient times as a protective and good luck amulet.
Scenarios:
- Royal City of Anatae
- Royal Castle
- Prison
- Dragonfolk Village
- Eibos
References:
- El Dorado: Part of the architecture of the Dragonfolk Village is inspired by the illustrations of the mythical city of gold. The setting is inspired by the lands of the Muisca people.
The lake formed by Bahamut's fireballs in Dragonfolk Village is inspired by Lake Guatavita, which is also within the territory of the legendary golden city.
- Tribal clothing: Aspects of the dragon people's clothing resemble those worn by the Muisca people, who are associated with the legendary city of El Dorado.
- Homecoming: The title of the episode is inspired by the Japanese film 'Homecoming' (ホームカミング), directed by Toshihiro Iijima and released in 2011.The film is about a retired couple who decide to return to their old town, which has become a place full of seniors.In the same vein, Nina returns to her village, where she visits the village elder, who's over 2,000 years old.
Foreshadowing:
- Foreshadowing lines:
- Nina: This water is awesome. It even has healing powers.This dialogue foreshadows that hot springs' water shall be used in the future to heal a character in need.And although it isn't emphasized, the wound on Jeanne's left arm disappears when she bathes in the hot springs, confirming that water does possess a very special power.As water has too significant a power to serve only to heal such a meaningless wound, its true purpose is tied to the events of episode 24, for the observant viewer's inference.
Read more details about this in the analysis of the final episode.
- Golden eyes: It's striking that, like Charioce, the village elder also has golden eyes.Taking into account that Charioce is strong like Nina and has the same color eyes as the Dragonfolk Village elder, everything points to him being a descendant of dragons, which also explains his infatuation with the Red Dragon and Nina, as already discussed in the previous episodes.In addition, he's a king, and dragons —and their descendants— usually have great wealth.
Characters:
- New:
- Village elder:
- General description: With more than 2,000 years, she's the oldest inhabitant of the Dragonfolk Village.
- Physical description: Her human form is an old woman of 2,000 years old and half Nina's height (75 cm). Brown skin, white hair, and golden eyes.
- Her dragon form is huge, brown, and has the same design on its scales as on her apron.
- Psychological description: She's sweet and patient and doesn't seem to mind Nina's friendliness.
- Recap & Analysis: When the gods and demons joined forces to fight Bahamut 2,000 years ago (*), she transported weary gods back to their land, so she knows the way.(*): The story makes it clear that Bahamut always appears to threaten the world every hundred or thousand years.When Nina and Jeanne ask him to take them there, he takes a nap to get the necessary energy to make the trip.
- Nina's mother:
- General description: She's a caring mother dedicated to her family and to taking care of children whose parents have had to go out of the village to look for work. She's dedicated to weaving clothes.
- Physical description: She's about the same height as Jeanne and fat. Brown-haired and brown-eyes as well.
- Psychological description: She's kind and welcoming.
- Recap & Analysis: She understands the pain Jeanne has gone through and is grateful that she is Nina's friend.
- Piyo-Piyo: It's Nina's pet. It's a little fur ball that resembles a hamster.
- Previous:
- Chris/Charioce: He feels guilt for the price he had to pay at the cost of humanity's triumph against the gods. All his emotions are expressed through the symbols that surround him.There's something in Eibos that seems to worry him, as it 'exceeded the time limit'. There's an imminent danger that Charioce must face right after having survived war (*).(*) This imminent danger is the appearance of Bahamut because of a fissure that can break at any moment.
- Nina: She takes Jeanne to the Dragonfolk Village so she can meet the elder who knows the way to the land of the gods.Nina's mother and the children she takes care of warmly welcome them both.As soon as they greet everyone, they go to the village's elder, whom Nina asks to tell her the story of how she came to know the way to the land of the gods, as Jeanne needs to go there. Nina scoffs at some of the details of the elder's story, as she doesn't believe she could have carried gods on her back so small.Nina finally asks her to help carry Jeanne to the land of the gods, which Jeanne herself asks her personally as well.That night, while bathing in the town's healing hot springs, Nina grows closer to Jeanne as they talk of love.As Nina wants to know more about Mugaro's father, Jeanne tells her El's father is St. Michael, although she never saw him in a romantic-sexual way. But although their relationship is different, she knows that he watches over her and her son's well-being (*).(*): Jeanne is correct, as Michael is always portrayed with the blue light when he's present helping her, as when she broke out of prison in episode 12 or other moments in later episodes, being one to highlight episode 21.When Jeanne asks Nina if there's a man who has stolen her heart, she tells her that there's one. He's the only man she's been able to dance with and get that close to without transforming into a dragon.Jeanne wishes her happiness with that man. However, then, she tells her about her sentimental dilemma, as she doesn't know if what she feels for Chris/Charioce is genuine love now that she knows he has a facet very different from the one she knew of him, as he's a great man, but he's also done horrible things.Not knowing that such a man is Charioce, Jeanne helps her understand her feelings for him when she tells him that she too has more than one persona and that it's normal for people to be incongruent, but if she accepts both sides of the man she loves, her love for him may be real.Nina is very grateful for his words, as she makes her realize that she needs to find out why Chris wants to be such a scary king, a question she asks him directly in episode 17.The following day, Nina goodbyes her mom and the children and travels with Jeanne and Hipogriff to the land of the gods on the elder's dragon back.
- Jeanne: Nina takes her to her village, where she meets her friend's family and the village's elder, an old lady who knows the way to the land of the gods.Taking a bath in the hot springs with Nina and listening to her talk about the man she loves, Jeanne wishes her happiness with him.Then, she helps Nina understand her feelings toward this man who has more than one face for the world and understands that something like this causes an emotional conflict in Nina. Jeanne tells her that if she accepts the man she loves with all his contradictions, it's because she really loves him.Later, Nina's mother hands Jeanne a dress. Seeing the beautiful family Nina has, she feels nostalgic for the time she spent with El in the past.That night, Jeanne can't sleep and ends up chatting with Nina's mom.Jeanne tells her that Nina is a wonderful girl to whom she's indebted to because she saved her life. Nina's mom is surprised to hear that her daughter has matured so much and hasn't caused her any problems.Jeanne looks at the drawings of the children in the house. Nina's mom tells her they're from the children she takes care of in her home.The Dragonfolk Village is a place with few resources, so parents have no other choice but to go out of the village to make money. When Jeanne asks if this is also the case with Nina's dad, she tells her that her dad died trying to protect the village from Bahamut's fireballs ten years ago.Jeanne feels guilty about what happened because she was the one who caused it to happen (*).(*): This is one of several reasons Jeanne has in episode 24 to spare Charioce's life. Jeanne was already responsible for taking away an important man in her life and doesn't want to hurt her anymore by killing the man she loves.Nina's mother continues her story and tells her that, because her dad has died, Nina developed a trauma that makes her transform into a dragon every time she sees a man who looks like her father (*), as if trying to repress bad memories.(*): This is another clue that evidences Charioce's dragon nature, as it not only refers to him being a man who sacrifices himself for others —and who will eventually end up sacrificing himself for Nina— but that he's like Nina's father in a genetic sense as well.Nina's mother thanks Jeanne for being her daughter's friend, but Jeanne doesn't feel worthy of any thanks, as knowing the origin of why Nina transforms into a dragon when she sees a handsome man and the reason for her father's death affects her greatly. She tries to apologize for the wrong done to Nina and her, but she understands that Jeanne is sorry for whatever she has done and has been through enough, so she just forgives her for whatever she has done to her and hugs her so she can let go of what torments her.The next day, Jeanne and Nina set off together to the land of the gods on the back of the village elder, once she transforms into a huge dragon. Nina's mother asks her to look after her daughter for her, which Jeanne agrees to do.
- Kaisar: As he's a prisoner in the royal castle, he receives a visit from Vice Captain Dias. He tells him that he's seen Jeanne and that he's confident that she'll lead the Orleans Knights to glory.
- Dias: He visits his friend in prison and learns that Jeanne is alive and well. He's confident the Orleans Knights will return to their former glory thanks to her.Later, he finds Alessand drunk at the host club they usually visit and takes him back to the headquarters.
- Alessand: He went to have a good time at the demons' host club and ends up drunk with delusions about being the Orleans Knights' captain.
Dias eventually takes him back to the castle. - Cerberus/Cerby: Takes care of Alessand while waiting for Dias to pick him up.
- Royal scholar: He informs Charioce that the magnetic irregularity in Eibos exceeded the limit long ago.
- Leader of the Onyx Task Force: He informs Charioce that they have not yet found Nina, Kaisar, and Jeanne, but in spite of that, he and his men still search for them, as there are testimonies from citizens who claim to have seen them in Anatae, including the Holy Child.He gets worried when Charioce says he'll go to Eibos.
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