At the end of the last episode, it was pointed out to me that perhaps we got the zoom in on Shirayuki’s face because she recognized Kazuki. It turns out that nope, she was just taken aback by how pretty the blond youth is. *facepalm* Actually Obi was just as surprised, haha.
Kazuki’s got his buddy with the ponytail with him, a guy named Itoya. He launches himself towards Obi, who readily engages him and is successfully keeping him away from Shirayuki. However this unfortunately leaves her open to be captured by Kazuki, which is exactly what happens. Obi’s doing pretty well and might actually even win the fight… until Prince Raj’s younger siblings accidently walk in and distract Obi, who gets nailed with a chop to the back of his neck and passes out. Shirayuki is tossed over Itoya’s shoulder and after they give Shirayuki something to smell which makes her fall unconscious, the trio leave out the window.
Prince Raj is devastated. Not just because he thinks Zen is going to flip his shit at him, but because he failed to protect Shirayuki in his own castle. Sakaki is doing his best to convince Prince Raj to stay at the castle, but Prince Raj is having serious doubts and wants to do more. The prince and his advisor have a couple of scenes together in this episode, and during the latter Sakaki urges Prince Raj to think of something only he can do for Shirayuki.
When Obi wakes up, Princess Rona and Prince Eugenia are at his side, worried sick with guilt over their mistake. They apologize for what happened, and Obi kindly says it wasn’t their fault, even though we all know it kind of was. He puts on a smile for the twins and his nurse, but he’s really worried for Shirayuki. He knows Zen and the rest of his troupe are en route, so if he’s going to make his move it needs to be as soon as possible.
Once he is up and moving around, Obi goes to Shirayuki’s room and we see a quick flashback to when they first arrived and Shirayuki was commenting on how convenient it was that their rooms were connected. Obi angrily punches the wall, obviously very upset that Shirayuki was taken and he couldn’t protect her.
When Zen and the others arrive, they are quickly brought up to date on Shirayuki’s abduction. Prince Raj is clearly terrified that Zen’s going to chop him into little pieces, but Zen (rightfully) apologizes for not informing Prince Raj on the intel he had about these mysterious people being after Shirayuki. It is a humble moment for Zen, because he loves Shirayuki and yet he made a relatively obvious mistake which contributed to her being kidnapped. In return, Prince Raj apologizes (or attempts to apologize, rather) for not keeping Shirayuki safe. Sakaki looks as surprised as everyone else that Prince Raj is formally acknowledging a failure on his part. Hurrah for character development!
Suddenly Obi’s nurse comes rushing in, announcing that Obi is missing (and presumably snuck out to chase after Shirayuki), something Zen was obviously not expecting. Obi’s pushing himself hard trying to catch up to the trio, and he doesn’t let up even after dawn starts to break. 
Back at Tanbarun Castle Zen and the rest of their group, along with Prince Raj and Sakaki, discuss what they know about Shirayuki’s kidnapping and the people they think took her. The name “The Claw of the Sea” comes up, and they decide to start their search for Shirayuki in the mountains. Their meeting is interrupted when an attendant announces that the King wants his son Prince Raj to bring Zen to see him.
The King gives permission (albeit slightly restricted) for Zen to move around Clarines while looking for Shirayuki. After the meeting when Zen and Prince Raj reconvene with Kiki, Mitsuhide and Misaya, Prince Raj announces that he wants to go with Zen to help look for Shirayuki.
There’s a quick scene back at Clarines Castle with a couple of castle guards, Garack and Ryuu. Its only real purpose is to highlight that Zen and the others left in the middle of the night for Tanbarun, so quickly that not even Garack had been informed. Oops.
In the morning, Shirayuki is still unconscious. Itoya leaves for a nearby spring to get more water, leaving Kazuki alone with Shirayuki. Suddenly he hears a noise behind him, and then–
When Itoya returns from gathering water, he’s stunned to see that Shirayuki and Kazuki are missing. Suddenly Obi drops down from the trees above and it’s a whole new ball game. Obi looks SCARY as he subdues Itoya, and snarls that the kidnapper needs to take him to see this Claw of the Sea.
In the last few minutes of the episode, Shirayuki finally wakes up. It is only moments later when the door to the room opens, and the wine-loving woman from the previous episode is standing in the doorway. Her name’s Umihebi, and she’s with The Claw of the Sea. She confronts Kazuki and makes a reference to his “friends” and an “old man”, people we haven’t seen yet. Umihebi rips the blanket off Shirayuki on the bed and tells her she can never go home. Kazuki tries to defend Shirayuki, but is knocked down again. When Umihebi leaves, Kazuki quickly fills Shirayuki in on what he knows.
My thoughts: It was interesting to see Kazuki, this person whom we know has been chasing Shirayuki for at least a couple of episodes, go from being one of her kidnappers to being something like her protector. This is a shoujo series, so I’m not super surprised, but it was a nice development.
As for that fight scene with Itoya and Obi, did anyone else notice that the show’s animation style completely changed during that altercation? Or was it just me?? It looked like a scene straight out of Naruto, what with its sketchy lines and lack of detail, together with the feel of Samurai Champloo a la Mugen. It’s was a little jarring at first, but I think it suited its purpose. The feral look in Obi’s eye as he held his knife to Itoya’s throat also smacked of Naruto when he’s starts to channel the Kyuubi’s chakra and transform. ☉▵☉
I’m getting the impression that The Claw of the Sea wants Shirayuki because she’s so pretty, while Kazuki seems to want her for another reason. Hopefully it’s not just going to be because she has red hair, because that schtick was so old even by the end of last season. I’m pretty satisfied with the pacing of the show this time around, so whatever questions I have about Kazuki’s backstory, I have a feeling they’ll be answered in the next episode or two.
They said stuff about people with abilities I was worried that this show may take a turn into the supernatural well to be honest I actually think that would be pretty cool but maybe there is something more to shirayuki
Oh, that is a good point!