Poor Mitsuyoshi fell ill with a high fever and so his friends and Teresa helped out taking care of him on his Gramps’ behalf. I was exceptionally pleased with we were finally treated with a Teresa central episode, giving a bit of backstory of how Rainbow Shogun’s importance and how his character inspired her to become a better Queen in the future. However now that she has fallen in love, everything is complicated. She is in a situation where she must choose one over the other, and even though she keeps saying that she still intends to become Queen, by the end of the episode, we know that she has wavered to the point that even she herself acknowledges that she isn’t the same as she was before she came to study in Japan.
And my heart aches for Teresa, despite wearing the mask of a smile, she is in an emotional wreck right now. She tried really hard to burry her feelings for Mitsuyoshi, but she eventually realized, she couldn’t. It was already out of her control and her feelings were too deep. With how much she grieved, it feels like she may just force herself to return home sooner than planned in hopes she can return how she used to be. She wasn’t acting like herself, and it was obvious to everyone to the extent they wondered if there was something was wrong. Alex however kept insisting that’s how Teresa “normally is”, and I pray that’s a lie, because this version of Teresa we saw today was someone who was trying to keep her emotions in check, constraining herself from any sense of emotional freedom.
The only thing that kind of rubbed me the wrong way was Teresa attempting to kiss Mitsyoshi while he was asleep. I was like, “OH MY GOD, NO DON’T DO IT GIRL”, I don’t know if she did or was close to it, but considering they didn’t show her hovering over and pulling back (I fear she may have, but the bangs blocking the view to truly confirm it).
But my biggest gripes with this episode was with Alex. She confronted Teresa about falling in love with Mitsuyoshi, and when she realized that she did, we saw her shed tears. I interpreted it as the moment she realized that there was a part of Teresa that didn’t want to become Queen. So because of that, I don’t know if they were selfish tears of potentially losing her own dream of serving her while she’s Queen, or crying on her behalf. It would be nice if it were the latter for once, but if it is the former, I swear to god, it is going to piss me off because I absolutely hate how Teresa has always being worried and considerate about Alex’s feelings, and yet not once has Alex given her support, you know– as an actual friend! What Teresa needs right now is a friend to depend on, not a retainer. And with how the episode ended, I fear it will be Teresa who will force herself to return home sooner than planned. It could easily play out as the classic first and last date before they go their separate ways, and what better way to do that than going to the Rainbow Shogun Show that she got tickets for from the elderly couple?
they’ve never seen each other as friends- it’s just one-sided on Theresa’s part. Alex sees herself as a knight to Theresa’s queen, and pretty much guards/watches over her during this entire stay instead of enjoying and being herself. She doesn’t like to be without Theresa.