Oh shit.
Impression
I’m actually disappointed that we’re not going to get hour-long specials for the rest of the season, it feels like things are moving a lot slower now as a result. Subaru is on his fourth loop, and I’m glad he finally managed to figure out exactly what was going on right after he was stabbed by those super annoying muggers – it’s just like him to only notice something was very wrong when he saw his chips still unopened in his plastic bag. When the fruit stall owner talked about another broke kid having found his daughter, I did wonder for a moment whether there might be multiple versions of Subaru existing in the same time line (i.e. each Revival creates an extra copy of Subaru) but that wouldn’t make sense because a lot of stuff would be out of whack that way, not least of all because both the stall owner and the muggers would have recognized him. Theory debunked. He did meet a knight named Reinhard in this current loop, whose assistance I really do feel he should have solicited while he could – if he was at the loot house he might be able to do something against Elsa. Of course, putting aside the issue that Subaru would basically be asking a literal stranger for a huge favour, Reinhard coming from a well-off family could also pose a problem. He might be part of the nobility or a member of a powerful faction with ties to the orthodoxy, and so he could potentially have a lot of prejudice for half-elves and be unwilling to help one. Him knowing the specifics of the insignia might trigger some sort of unwanted reaction if he happens to recognise it too.
As I expected, the biggest problem with Subaru’s current plan is that Felt might not be so willing to let go of the insignia, even if he’s offering double the price (and it’s in the form of an asset with a supposed value as well, there’s no guarantee it can be liquidated as fast as Felt might want). I’m surprised she doesn’t really adhere to any notion of client loyalty though – she wasn’t happy with a hasty sale to Subaru, but it was only because she thought Subaru had something to hide and because she might be able to get a higher asking price from Elsa that she decided not to sell it to him immediately, instead of acting based on an innate loyalty towards the person who commissioned the theft in the first place. I guess she’s acting perfectly rationally from her point of view, though – and at the same time, Subaru did the right thing in not blurting out everything he knows (not least of all because they wouldn’t believe the words of someone they perceive to just be a random stranger to them) although warning Felt and Rom that ‘your clients are going to kill you’ would have been fine, I think.
Elsa is too lewd. I know she’s not supposed to be likeable, but her outfit, Noto Mamiko voice and the way she always licks her lips really aren’t helping. Satella arriving at the loot house instead of Elsa is a good thing for the time being, but I still think Subaru will end up dying and going for another loop. And that’s because I doubt there’ll be long until Elsa arrives, and when she does she’ll probably move to kill Satella on sight. For Subaru that defeats the entire purpose of him even going to all this trouble to get the insignia back, and at any rate he’ll most likely be killed by Elsa too as she’ll piece together the reason why he’s been skulking around the slums and why he reacted with that mix of fear and anger towards her even though them bumping into each other was supposed to be their very first meeting. I wonder whether it was Elsa or someone in her faction who was responsible for the time loop and for Subaru being summoned?
Finally, Felt was extra cute this week. I’m so glad she’s alive again. I want to give her headpats!
