Summary: Alessand tries to find his way back to the lair after being left halfway by Azazel and Mugaro the night before.
After tripping, he stumbles upon Mugaro's whereabouts.
Alessand is so enraged at not being deemed worthy of being part of the Onyx Task Force that he decides to take his life to prove his worth.
Favaro is loitering in the lair when he sees Alessand running off with a knife in his hands.
As he investigates the reason for his escape, he notices Mugaro bleeding to death on the ground.
Favaro takes him in his arms and carries him to Rita as fast as possible, but it's too late. Attempts to save his life are in vain, as the wound inflicted by Alessand was lethal.
Everyone is terribly affected, especially Jeanne, Azazel, and Nina.
Azazel asks Kaisar if any of his subordinates are responsible since they're the only ones not on the lair.
Kaisar defends them and tells him they'd never do something like that, but Azazel doesn't take his word for it, as both Dias and Alessand are Charioce's dogs.
Kaisar insists that his subordinates didn't do it, but Azazel points out that since either of them was present, it was obviously either Alessand or Dias.
Bacchus orders them to stop fighting because the argument is taking too much of a toll on Nina.
Favaro, then, tells them that Alessand was the one who killed Mugaro, that he saw him running away from the crime scene with his own eyes.
Kaisar can't believe it, but Favaro tells him that if he ties up ends, he'll realize it's true.
Azazel declares that he'll kill Alessand and Charioce.
Jeanne exchanges a glance with him and then heads to the land of the gods with Sofiel.
Azazel leaves the lair without telling anyone where he's going.
Alessand arrives at the palace and seeks out the leader of the Onyx Task Force, to whom he shows the proof that he has killed the Holy Child, and asks if he's now worthy of joining his squad. Seeing the bloody knife, the leader guides him to an infirmary where the Onyx Soldiers' injuries are treated.
Each soldier is over forty years old, and their bodies are darkened and in terrible condition.
The leader tells Allessand that, to join them, he must agree to have a green stone embedded in his chest. He explains that the stone consumes the user's life in exchange for power. And that the Onyx Soldiers offer their lives by obeying orders, as that's the purpose of the unit.
Allesand doesn't like the idea of risking his life and regrets having asked to be part of them. Then, the Onyx Task Force leader tells him that he'll promote him to the captain of the Orleans Knights in recognition of his competence.
Meanwhile, Kaisar tells Dias what Alessand has done, and the latter reproves his actions. He also tells him that Azazel and Jeanne think that Alessand is an assassin sent by Charioce to kill the Holy Child. Dias tells him that Charioce would never entrust such an important mission to Alessand and that he probably acted on his own, which Kaisar agrees with.
Dias wonders why Alessand would go and do what he did, and Kaisar regrets that he could never understand his subordinate.
Kaisar tells Dias that Jeanne has returned to the land of the gods, possibly, in search of support to take revenge on Charioce. As for Azazel, he has no idea what he might do.
Dias worries that Mugaro's death could lead to a new war. Hearing this, Kaisar asks him if Charioce is in the castle, but Dias tells him that he went on a secret mission and is absent. Kaisar finds this very curious, as he's sure that Charioce wouldn't leave the castle knowing he would be on the verge of war.
Dias tells him that, after threatening one of the royal advisors and failing his duties, he learned that Charioce set on his way for Eibos secretly the night before.
Kaisar asks his friend to help him avoid the conflict that is about to break out.
That same evening, Alessand finds himself alone in the Orleans Knights' barracks, trying to avoid responsibility for his actions, as remorse invades his heart.
At the lair, Nina is busy sweeping and cleaning Rita's clinic, where Mugaro's lifeless body is lying on a gurney.
Nina looks at him and apologizes to him because she's so sad that she can't even grieve because so much has happened that she feels that something inside her broke.
In Vanaheimr, Gabriel is still depressed in her room until Ridwan enters to let her know that Sofiel has returned.
Gabriel is happy to see her but looks seriously at Jeanne.
Jeanne informs him that El is dead and swears that she will be the one to kill Charioce. Hearing this is music to Gabriel's ears, who agrees to help her immediately and orders Sofiel to give Jeanne her holy power.
Sofiel gives Jeanne her life and divine power, ready to take revenge.
At the same time, Azazel arrives at Lucifer's palace in hell, telling him that the time has come to take revenge for what the humans did to them five years ago. Lucifer isn't convinced, but Azazel insists that the humans are still weak from the battle against the gods and that if they attack them now, they'll have the upper hand against them. Besides, he tells him that soon Saint Jeanne d'Arc will start a rebellion before long.
Lucifer is skeptical, as Jeanne lost her powers long ago and can't see a reason why she would start a war against humans. Azazel assures him that Jeanne will attack Charioce. However, Lucifer expresses that even being so, he cannot declare war on the humans without a guarantee of victory.
At his refusal, Azazel tells him that Charioce has killed Jeanne's son and that the woman will cause gods and humans to unite against him. But Lucifer insists that it doesn't matter who Charioce has killed, as he only cares about ensuring the survival of the demons by staying out of the conflict.
Azazel gets upset and tells him that while he and the other clans stayed out of it all, he had to watch humans kill demons on the surface. Lucifer remarks to him that, even seeing all that, he could do nothing to help them.
Azazel gets angry and tells him it's time for him to stop being a coward. Lucifer hits him for his insolence and verifies if it's true that Jeanne will participate in the war, to which Azazel asks him to just believe in him and his words. Seeing him so confident, he orders one of his subordinates to gather all the demons for the battle.
At the lair, Nina proceeds to clean Bacchus' chariot, so she kicks him and Hamsa out from inside.
Bacchus wonders why she's so energetic, and Rita notices that Nina has been spending her time cleaning up.
Favaro is still worried about her and thinking about the things that have happened from a different perspective than Nina.
As Nina cleans the chariot, she finds the dress Mugaro wore when they went shopping in town and wonders why she thought he was a girl. At that very moment, tears well up in her eyes, and she breaks into uncontrollable weeping.
Mugaro's death reminds her of her father's death.
Hearing her cry, Bacchus tries to enter the chariot to console her, but Rita tells him not to do so and to wait until Nina has completely unburdened herself.
Favaro, incidentally, continues to show a meditative and worried face for Nina.
When Nina stops crying, Favaro enters the chariot and sits down in one of the armchairs to keep her company.
Nina asks Favaro if it's true that Charioce ordered Alessand to kill Mugaro, if he'll kill more people, and if he really wants to kill her.
Favaro tells her that they don't know anything for sure.
After hearing her master, Nina joins in and tells him that if the king will continue to kill more people important to her, she'll stop him.
Favaro asks her how she intends to achieve that, but has Nina's answer as she sees the decision in his countenance: by killing him.
Nina and Favaro decide to go to Eibos, where the king is.
Dias says he doesn't know what the king is looking for in such a dangerous place.
Favaro knows the risks, but they're determined to go since Nina said she wanted to see Charioce and that there's no way to stop her.
Rita asks Nina to take everything calmly and also asks Bacchus and Hamsa that they better take care of her.
As for Kaisar and Dias, they stay in the city to deal with whatever Jeanne and Azazel have planned.
At that very moment, they hear Jeanne's voice. She sends a message to all the inhabitants of Mistarcia through Gabriel.
Jeanne asks people to join the rebellion against Charioce, who deserves punishment for his violent acts, and whom she swears to punish along with all those who serve him.
Charioce hears Jeanne's words and thinks that the turn of events is because he's responsible for Nina's death, whom Jeanne held in high esteem.
Lucifer, for his part, admits to Azazel that he told him the truth.
Favaro encourages everyone to hurry because they have no more time to waste now that there's a rebellion starting, and Nina requests to go immediately to Eibos.
Style: The idea is delivered at the precise moment Azazel claims revenge for what happened to Mugaro. It's reiterated with Jeanne's decision to do the same and go to the land of the gods to ask Gabriel for support to declare war on Charioce. And finally, Nina completes it when she decides to go to Eibos to stop Charioce.
Point of view: Nina's, Jeanne's, and Azazel's are predominant as the three want revenge.
Tone: Vengeful
Fixed literary devices:
- Transversal themes:
- Love
- Identity and Secrecy
- Decisions and Consequences
- Transversal symbols (motifs):
- Crows
- Rain
- Ocarina
- Water
- Mist
- Light and shadow
- Pillow
Mutable literary resources:
- Episode Themes:
- Decisions and Consequences
- Death and Vengeance
Conflict: Death vs. Vengeance
Thematic elements:
- Death vs. Vengeance:
- Alessand takes Mugaro's life, unleashing the wrath of Azazel, Jeanne, and Nina, who decide to kill Charioce, who has gone on to become Mistarcia's greatest bounty.
- Charioce thinks that Jeanne's declaration of war and incitement to rebellion is due to Nina's death and that she's avenging her.
- Nina doesn't want to keep losing people important to her, and since Charioce has killed Mugaro and intends to kill her, Nina has decided to be the one to stop him and end his life.
- Decisions and Consequences:
- Ignoring that the one who has died is Mugaro, Charioce accepts that the declaration of war is due to having decided to kill the Red Dragon and that it's the punishment he deserves for having been responsible for the death of his beloved.
- Lucifer measures the costs regarding the victory they will have against the humans before believing Azazel and going to war.
- Love:
- A heartbroken Nina wonders what Chris/Charioce is up to, and she's again between a rock and a hard place as she doesn't understand his motives.
- A heartbroken Chris/Charioce plans to sacrifice himself as a way of punishment for causing Nina's death.
- Identity and Secrecy:
- Favaro reveals that Alessand is the murderer after Mugaro's death.
- Jeanne acquires Sofiel's divine powers and takes on an appearance similar to her.
Symbols:
- Crows: They symbolize death and a bad omen. They're linked to El/Mugaro's death as they fly over the suburbs when Alessand spots him after having managed to return to the lair alone.
The symbol remains present throughout the episode, maintaining the atmosphere of death and a bad omen. - Rain: Symbolizes the sadness felt by all because of El/Mugaro's death.
- Ocarina: Symbolizes the friendship between Azazel and Mugaro, which now becomes a memory.
- Mist: Symbolizes isolation, mystery, and confusion. This element is mainly present when Azazel leaves for hell without telling anyone where he's heading after confirming that one of Kaisar's subordinates killed Mugaro.
- Water: As in previous episodes, it symbolizes introspection and the flow of emotions.
Nina stands in front of a pond as she grieves over everything that has happened during the day. From heartbreak to surviving an assassin and dealing with her friend's death. - Blue Light: This is the light attributed to the archangel Michael.
It's present in Rita's emergency room when Mugaro lies dead, and a lamp with light of that color illuminates mainly him. Mugaro being Michael's son, this light symbolizes that he's there listening to Nina.
This symbol is repeated in episode 23, confirming that it's Mugaro.
- Shadow: In the scene where Alessand is in the Orleans Knights' training camp, they symbolize being immersed in the darkness of the heart.
- Cleaning: Symbolizes denial since it's an action that seeks to get rid of evidence or negative feelings.
Nina cleans when she's in denial in front of all the bad things that have happened to her on the same day. - Sweeping: It's a symbol that is related to the cleansing of all those negative things that are inside oneself. In Nina's case, she sweeps to unburden herself, which she ends up doing later when she cries non-stop.
- Hitting things: Symbolizes helplessness and releasing emotions tied to painful situations.
- Hugging a pillow: Symbolizes letting go of emotions reserved only for oneself and are usually shared only with a pillow at night.
Nina hugs a pillow when she has already let out everything she has inside.
It's relevant to note that this is the same pillow she hugged when she had a nightmare in episode 16, in which she was debating about which one was the real one, Chris or Charioce. Hence, it's clear that all the questions going through her head while hugging a pillow are always linked to the king and his actions.
- Carrying boxes: Represents emotional ups and downs, as the boxes go up and down, as well as the mood.
Nina carries boxes onto Bacchus' chariot before they begin their journey to Eibos. - Entering a dark place: Symbolizes two things:
- Going into the unknown: Nina doesn't know what she'll discover in Eibos, but she's determined to go there.
- Limbo: Entrance to the tunnel of death, as Charioce believes she's dead.
Nina enters the darkness just before Jeanne calls for rebellion, at which point Charioce believes the battle is because Nina is dead and Jeanne is taking revenge for her.
To Charioce, Nina is dead, but being alive in reality causes the 'limbo effect'.
This symbol is complemented by the passage crossing in episode 22.
Scenarios:
- Royal City of Anatae
- Suburbs
- Lair
- Royal Castle
- Land of the gods
- Vanaheimr
- Hell
- Cocytus
- Eibos
- Laboratory
References:
- St. Michael's light: Michael, the leader of all the holy angels, is represented with a blue angel light ray. Michael is known for his exceptional strength and courage, as he's the leader of the heavenly militia, the archangel who goes to war to fight for good to prevail over evil. He protects and defends people who love God. Michael helps people who need the courage to overcome their fears and stay safe in dangerous situations.
- Vengeance: The title of the episode is inspired by the film Adauchi (仇討), written by Shinobu Hashimoto and directed by Tadashi Imai, released in 1964.
The film is about a samurai who seeks revenge on the man who killed his brother.
As in the feature film, Jeanne, Azazel and Nina seek revenge on the man responsible for El/Mugaro's death.
Foreshadowing:
- Foreshadowing lines:
- Nina: If he's going to keep killing people I care about, I'll stop him.This line is interesting because she doesn't say that she'll kill the king but to stop him. Just as within the context of the scene, she does imply that she will, the truth is that if Chris/Charioce comes to harm himself, Nina will stop him.This foreshadows, right off the bat, that Nina intends to prevent his death, as he's someone she deeply cares about.
- Elements:
- Cleaning the blade of a sharp weapon: It heralds a war, as the act of cleaning a blade is attributed to preparation for a battle.Favaro cleans his blade when he claims that Alessand killed Mugaro.
Characters:
- Nina: Nina: Mugaro's death ends up emotionally disturbing her completely.When she hears Azazel and Kaisar arguing while trying to identify the murderer, Nina covers her ears to avoid the terrible reality she's facing.As a coping mechanism, she starts cleaning up. Nina cleans Rita's clinic and stares at Mugaro, but the sadness she feels is so great that there comes a moment when she cannot feel anything, not even cry over his death, and she describes it as something breaking inside her.Nina continues to clean vigorously all afternoon and, when she takes Bacchus and Hamsa out of the carriage to clean it, she finds the dress she got for Mugaro when they went shopping, shedding her first tears over him.The death of her friend reminds her of the death of her father ten years ago, who died protecting the people from Bahamut's power. All of Nina's pent-up sadness bursts out, and she ends up venting inside the chariot until she can shed no more tears.Once she has calmed down, Nina receives a visit from Favaro, to whom she asks if it's true that the king is responsible for Mugaro's death; that he'll continue killing more people; and if it's true that he wants her dead. Favaro doesn't know anything for sure, so he can't give her definitive answers.Nina then decides that if the king will continue to take the lives of those who are important to her, she'll be the one stopping him. Faced with her decision, Favaro supports her and decides to join her and Bacchus and Hamsa on their way to Eibos.
- Chris/Charioce: He left for Eibos the night after the ball and heard Jeanne's message the day before in the afternoon.The declaration makes him think it's a consequence of having been ordered to kill the Red Dragon (*).Since he hadn't foreseen a war, Charioce won't only have to finish off Bahamut but also have to face all those who are after his head.(*) Even if Nina had really died, a war would have started anyway, as Jeanne had strong ties with her —besides, Nina's mother had asked her to protect her daughter. However, Nina's death wouldn't have been able to accomplish what El's death, as he can bring peace with his power once dead.Another important observation worth pointing out is that, although Charioce doesn't yet know that the demons will participate in the war, he could infer that they'll do so anyway, for he knew that demons hate him. Besides, he also knows Nina got along well with Azazel, and he could have inferred that the latter embraced Nina on more than one occasion to turn her into the Red Dragon, just as he did in Dromos.Moreover, he could have also deducted that Jeanne and Azazel have connected thanks to the Holy Child, with whom Nina is friends.
- El/Mugaro: Rita tries to revive him, but he dies because of the severity of the wound caused by Alessand.It's hinted that St. Michael is with him in his last moments since he's illuminated by blue light, this being the color of the light attributed to the archangel's presence.Mugaro is later represented by the same light color as Nina talks to him.
- Jeanne: Devastated by the loss of her son, she returns to the land of the gods with Sofiel to ask for Gabriel's support so that humans and gods join forces to end Charioce's life in revenge for having taken her son's life.Gabriel accepts her request and receives Sofiel's holy power to prepare for battle.Jeanne delivers a message to all the inhabitants of Mistarcia urging rebellion to take the life of Charioce, whose violent acts have taken many people's lives, and they must stop him from taking more. All those who agree with her and want her head must gather on the day the two moons align on Mount Edith.
- Azazel: Grief-stricken by Mugaro's death, he deduces that the only ones responsible for his death could be Dias or Allesand. He argues with Kaisar, who thinks that his subordinates wouldn't do that, but stops when he sees that Nina is in pain.Azazel leaves the lair for hell when he's sure Alessand ended his friend's life.Once in Cocytus, Azazel asks Lucifer to take the opportunity to attack the humans, as Jeanne D'Arc will lead troops of gods and humans against Charioce. But having no guarantee of this, Lucifer refuses, as he wants to attack only at a time when his victory is assured.Azazel insists and ends up convincing him when he tells him that he must stop being a coward, that it's time to fight, and that Jeanne will undoubtedly participate since Charioce had her son killed.He's satisfied when they hear Jeanne's voice addressing all the beings of Mistarcia and announcing the rebellion.
- Favaro: He sees Alessand running away from the crime scene. After realizing that Mugaro has been stabbed, he takes him to Rita as quickly as possible to save his life, but his efforts are futile.Mugaro's death causes a great shock to everyone. And when Azazel suspects that the murderer had to have been one of Kaisar's knights and argues with him, Favaro agrees with him, telling him that the one who killed him was Alessand and that he saw him run away with his own eyes.Favaro worries about Nina who, to deal with everything that has happened to her, starts to clean everything up. He talks to her once she's gotten it all off her chest.Nina asks him if the king was really the one who had Mugaro killed, if he'll keep killing people and if it's true that he had her killed too. As Favaro is not certain of anything, although he suspects some things, he tells her that he cannot give her an answer.Nina then tells him that if the king will continue to end the lives of people he cares about, she'll kill him.Favaro sees so much resolve in Nina that he has no choice but to accompany her to Eibos to talk to Charioce.
- Kaisar: He argues with Azazel, who thinks that Mugaro's murderer is one of his subordinates, but he can no longer refute him when Favaro agrees and tells him that Alessand killed him.The following morning, Kaisar meets with Dias and tells him what happened and that Azazel and Jeanne think Alessand was an assassin sent by Charioce. He and Dias agree that the king would never entrust such an important mission to Alessand.Kaisar learns from Dias that Charioce isn't in the castle and that he left for Eibos on a secret mission the night before, which draws his attention to the events taking place, for the king wouldn't leave the castle knowing that the death of Jeanne's son would trigger a new conflict.Faced with the threat of a new war, Kaisar asks Dias to help him prevent it, to which Dias agrees immediately.
- Dias: He learns from Kaisar that Alessand has killed Jeanne's son and agrees with Kaisar that the king would never entrust such a mission to him.Dias tells him that he investigated on his own after having intimidated a royal advisor from whom he learned that Charioce went to Eibos the night before and that, for that reason, he isn't in the castle.He agrees to help Kaisar to prevent a new conflict as soon as the latter asks him to do so.
- Rita: She tries to revive Mugaro, but his attempts are useless, as the cut Alessand gave him hits one of his vital organs.She cleans his body and keeps it in her clinic for burial.Rita worries about Nina, whom she only sees cleaning up after Mugaro's death.She asks Bacchus not to enter the chariot while Nina unburdens herself.The next day, as Nina prepares to go to Eibos, she instructs Bacchus and Hamsa to take care of her.
- Allesand: After stabbing Mugaro, he carries the bloody weapon as proof of his worth with him. He runs to the castle and shows it to the leader of the Onyx Soldiers, whom he asks to accept him into his unit.The leader of the Soldiers first takes him to an infirmary where men older than him receive treatment for injuries and tells Alessand that if he wants to join them, he has to have a stone of the same type implanted in his chest.Alessand steps back, as he doesn't want to do anything that means risking his life. Then, the leader of the Onyx Soldiers promotes him to the captain of the Orleans Knights.Alessand regrets what he had to do to prove his worth and tries to convince himself that he has done nothing wrong.
- Onyx Task Force leader: He's left in charge of the castle while Charioce is in Eibos.
Alessand approaches him once again, asking to be part of his unit, but this time he shows him the evidence that he has ended the Holy Child's life. Seeing this, he guides him to the infirmary where the Onyx Soldiers are treated to show him that they're all old men whose lives are rapidly shortening because of the green stone that consumes their life energy to provide them with power.
As Alessand doesn't like the idea of having to risk his life, he promotes him to the captain of the Orleans Knights. - Sofiel: She takes Jeanne to the land of the gods so that she can ask for Gabriel's help and take revenge on Charioce. Sofiel provides Jeanne with holy power and offers Jeanne her life in battle.Gabriel: She accepts Jeanne's request for help uniting humans and gods against Charioce and orders Sofiel to give Jeanne holy power.
- Lucifer: Azazel visits him after years. He tells him that it's the perfect moment to attack humans since they're still weak due to the war they had with the gods and because Jeanne will lead a rebellion against Charioce, which will unify humans and gods against the king.Lucifer doesn't accept in the first instance because since they lost to the humans in the last battle, he needs to attack them only if he has an assured victory. Azazel tells him he's a coward and insists it's time for him to stop hiding and attacking. Faced with his brother's certainty, Lucifer orders all the demons to assemble.While that's happening, he hears Jeanne's call for rebellion, acknowledging to Azazel that he has told her the truth about the events.
Post a Comment