Episode eight of Goblin Slayer begins with quite the fascinating dream from Goblin Slayer himself, featuring him after his childhood tragedy. He sits in a cave, speaking to quite the eccentric figure who hurls stones and snow at his face. Now this mystery figure is strange, a hunched being of a species unknown. He almost reminds me of a queerat from Shinsekai Yori, but with infinitely more personality and insanity. It also helps that he seems to have magical knowledge, being able to create and extinguish fires with a snap of his fingers. He is most definitely the mentor that jump started Goblin Slayer’s career in goblin slaying, meaning he’s quite the important character. It wouldn’t be an understatement to say that without this mystery figure, Goblin Slayer would either be dead or absolutely useless. This is quite the large plot hook, and I’m unsure if this character will be limited to flashbacks or will return as a character in the future. Either way, I hope to learn more about the creature that made Goblin Slayer who he is.
Once Goblin Slayer wakes up, the show walks on a fine line between fan service and actual story content. The Sword Maiden explains that Goblin Slayer is only alive due to sleeping with a pure virgin that is our beloved priestess, confessing that she was tainted by goblins in the past. The traumas from the experience are still fresh in the Sword Maiden’s mind, a warrior famed for defeating the Demon Lord, yet frightened by the most pathetic of creatures. She asks if Goblin Slayer will help her, before leaving the room. I’m not exactly sure what she means, perhaps it was just another way of asking if Goblin Slayer would help her overcome her fear by killing all the goblins in Water Town. Nevertheless, I think it would’ve been a slightly better scene if Sword Maiden’s thighs and breasts weren’t being focused on the entire time.
What follows is an adorable sequence that is the equivalent of a date episode from a slice of life anime. Goblin Slayer and Priestess explore Water Town and go shopping, eat ice cream, and watch a beautiful sunset. He does this all in classic Goblin Slayer fashion, with a mix of “yeah” and “Really?” Priestess even goes as far as to call him out for his repetitive speech patterns, something we’re likely to see him grow out of as the series continues and he becomes more a character.
During the date, we’re also given an insight into how Goblin Slayer knows all these mundane facts that help him get through difficult situations. From the canary trick he used in the previous episode, to the water pressure scroll, Goblin Slayer is a man of many tricks. Through his conversation with the ice cream man, the possibility of freezing water is brought up. I’m curious as to whether this will be used in the future as another one of the many tactics under his belt. Perhaps even in the sewers?
The episode ends with a beholder guarding a room, which Goblin Slayer creatively kills with a bag of fine flour. However, the beholder itself isn’t the main focus of the room, and the party instead turns their attention to the mirror behind. What is this mirror? An artifact of power? Why would there be a beholder guarding it? Either way, we can expect some goblin slaying in the next episode since the beholder explosion definitely rang throughout the entire sewer system.