Sword Art Online Alicization Episode 2

After collapsing onto the ground during his encounter with the Laughing Coffin member, Kirito wakes up to find himself in a familiar world. Identical to the world we were introduced to during the first episode, one can only conclude his consciousness is somehow still linked to the Soul Translator dive machine. I have no doubt there’s a complex answer for how Kirito ended up there, but I’m sure that’ll be answered eventually.

Kirito pieces the puzzle together, from the memories he retained, the medieval clothing he has on, and the realness of a butterfly that lands on his hand. He concludes that he’s in the Soul Translator and attempts to log out. C’mon Kirito, you should know better than now. There cannot be Sword Art Online if you could simply log out when you feel like it. The interesting thing however, is that it seems this world has reset in a way. While Eugeo, Kirito, and Alice were good friends in the first episode, Kirito and Eugeo are complete strangers here.

There’s two points here to be examined. First, the world is reset and everything we saw in the first episode appears to have occured in a different way, a way without Kirito in the picture. Second, Kirito retains his memories of the real world, unlike the first episode where he knew nothing but his life in the Soul Translator. Does this mean everything we’ve seen in the first episode about the three is irrelevant? Maybe, probably not though. Either way, I’m very curious how it’ll progress.

Eugeo reveals the timeline Kirito’s entered, where it’s been five years since Alice was taken away. My guy has been hitting the same tree for seven years! Even worse, he’s the seventh generation of tree cutter. One would think the Integrity Knights would have someone strong enough to kill the tree or something, but I guess that’d be too easy. Even Kirito gives its a try, and I’ll be honest, I expected Kirito to do something amazing like chopping it cleanly. Thankfully, the show didn’t take the overpowered Kirito route we’ve seen so many times before, instead opting for a far more grounded approach.

It instead showcases overpowered Kirito in a much more amusing fashion, when Zink challenges Kirito to showcase his swordsmanship skills. As soon as Kirito agreed, I knew something beautiful was coming. The merits of having an overpowered protagonist, and at this point, someone who’s been amazing at swordsmanship for the past three seasons. His clean slice of the wooden post told us two things, not only do sword skills work but Kirito still has his talent for it. Woohoo! That means well get to see him kick some ass later on.

Both Eugeo and Kirito arrive at the church, where we’re introduced to an oranged haired character named Selka. Her expression and Eugeo’s reaction towards it shows that there’s clearly some underlying relationship we don’t know about yet, perhaps she’s Alice’s sister? They do look quite similar, aside from their hair color. It would also make sense for her to have some ill will towards Eugeo as her expression indicated. Time will tell!

The episode closes with Kirito summing up his situation. He concludes that there are no NPCs in this world, and that it’s the Soul Translator’s artificial Fluctlights. He falls asleep with just as many questions as I have, but decides that he has to raise money to reach Central City. What awaits in Central City is a mystery, I’m quite certain Alice is there, but in what form, I do not know. Before the credits roll, we’re given a shot into the top of Central City’s tower. There rests a girl with extremely long hair, perhaps a result of imprisonment? Nevertheless, she smiles. Does she know Kirito is here? Or is it just an ominous, before bed grin?

Overall, the episode throws us into the best SAO has to offer, which is the fantasy world. I’m very interested in how the story will progress, and next week can’t come soon enough!