We reach the ending of the first cour of season 2 of Re:zero. While not much of the story has progressed since episode one, there’s still so much that happened from then until now. So much we’ve learned about the world, the characters, and even the future? We keep getting more revelations after the next~
This episode centered around one thing, and it was with Subaru. I really wasn’t expecting Satella to appear and tell Subaru to love and care about himself more. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect to be honest, but it definitely wasn’t her cheering him up. However, after Subaru’s last words to her before returning to the Sanctuary, it’s starting to make sense if what I’m thinking is true.
Basically the point made in the first half by the witches, and especially Satella, is valuing himself more and seeking help from others. He doesn’t put any value upon himself, which is why he so easily chooses to kill himself if things aren’t going well in a time loop. There are people that will despair upon losing him and he needs to realize that others care for him. I had always thought that Subaru knew this, especially with Rem, but maybe in the back of his mind he never really believed he was loved?
However, I do agree with Subaru needing to rely on others when he has his back against a wall. The more he tries to do things on his own, the more he’s going to suffer and lose himself. Subaru’s already dealt with enough and there’s only so much more he can take. Otto’s punch at the end was so cathartic. Still, he decides to refuse Echidna’s offer and because of that she takes away his right to take the trials, probably reinforcing what they said to him: reach out for help.
Now, Satella. Just from that little parting scene between her and Subaru, I can only come to one conclusion for now. With that conclusion being Satella actually being Emilia from the future? Satella has the ability to give Subaru the power to go back in time, so it wouldn’t be too strange if this really was Emilia from the future? Subaru’s “I swear I’ll save you” really just cements this idea for me, and if it’s true and Subaru really will have to kill her…no sir, I don’t like this one bit. T_T Still, this is just a theory since we still don’t know much but it seems kind of plausible.
The Roswaal segment was really intense and confirmed my past suspicion: Who was the one that sent the assassins to the mansion? Roswaal himself, of course. There was no other explanation for it, because with the process of elimination it only pointed towards Roswaal. He’s the one that knows the ins and outs of the mansion, especially with Beatrice, so it didn’t come as a surprise. Still, it was satisfying to be right, as awful as the truth is for Subaru. And all of this…only to strengthen Subaru’s resolve and have him be of use to Roswaal. Roswaal wants Subaru to do whatever it takes to achieve what he wants, and he wants him to do so after realizing he can only succeed in accomplishing one thing. Stay with Emilia and take on the trial himself, and let Frederica and the others die? Or choose the mansion and experience Emilia’s crumbling mental state again and again? Obviously Roswaal wants Subaru to choose the former, and he wants him to have to make this awful decision in order to strengthen his resolve. It’s insane but Roswaal is insane and he admits it, and he wants Subaru to be just like him.
Roswaal lets slip that he fell for “those eyes” 400 years ago, which I’m guessing was Echidna? Which is probably how he was able to get his gospel and whatnot. A very interesting tidbit, which we sadly didn’t get more of. It was also interesting how he said that the only ones of use to him are Subaru and Ram. Again I ask, what is his relationship with Ram? It just makes me more and more curious.
Another thing to point out from this whole scene was the start of it, when we saw Roswaal with his clown makeup. He hovered his hand over his face eventually and the makeup disappeared, and it felt like his demeanor changed as well. I’m not sure if I’m correct, but I feel like Roswaal has a bit of a split personality. If it’s true I’m not sure how deep it does, but I feel like with the makeup on he’s a lot more playful as he speaks in that sing-song tone of his, while without it he’s much more serious. It’s like the makeup literally masks a deeper and darker side to him, and without it he’s more of his unhinged self. Roswaal is still so mysterious after all this and he fascinates me so much. I feel like I should hate him for what he’s doing and yet I can’t, he’s just so amusing and I can’t wait to learn even more about him.
At the end Subaru is at a loss for what to do next, but best boi Otto punches his face and reminds him TO ASK FOR HELP. And that’s where we’ll be ending this season for now.
FINAL IMPRESSION
I put final impression for formality’s sakes on the blog, but I’d say this is more of a mid-impression because this season isn’t done yet. Because of Covid, the season had to be split like this and we won’t get the final part until Winter 2021, so we’re left with this cliffhanger wondering what’ll happen next.
So far the season has been pretty good. It’s not as exciting as the first season, but the first season was faster paced and we dealt with multiple arcs, whereas we’re dealing with one giant arc this season. I’m guessing the entirety of the second cour is going to be this arc as well, but I’m looking forward to seeing how things will progress from here. I feel like Subaru’s learned so much about the world and about himself that things should go much differently now. The stakes are still incredibly high, and while this season may not have as much action, it’s still pretty exciting in a psychological way.
We got lots of new characters in this season, all of them really fascinating. I feel like Echidna stole the show with her presence, but again Roswaal is fascinating, and I’m glad we got to learn the truth about Beatrice as well. Things are really coming together and it’s exciting to piece things together and theorize and watching certain theories and guesses come true. Another great moment was seeing Subaru’s growth in episode 4, that episode still being one of my favorites in all of Re:zero. Subaru’s an idiot sometimes but I think he’s still a pretty great protagonist so it’s always a delight to see him grow, and that episode was just beautiful from start to finish.
I do feel like sometimes the season dragged on in certain spots, sometimes Re:zero can be a little too wordy, and there’s weird mood shifts, but it wasn’t too big a deal. This arc is very different from others so it goes without saying that it’ll feel different as well. White Fox’s direction is still as great as ever, and with Covid screwing up their work I think they did a pretty damn good job with their circumstances.
Usually I give a score at the end of my reviews, and for this half of the season I’d give it an 8/10. It’s not the final score obviously, that won’t be until the Winter when we actually get to finish it. But so far this season has been doing pretty well and I’ve been enjoying it. There’s still so much to look forward to next time, so I’m hoping this second season will end with a bang. And I hope that Emilia will have more screentime, please I’m begging please!!!
I have a reason to believe that Satella is not future Emilia based on my theory of soul scents that I came up with after episode 17 of Re:zero. I also believe it explains how Satella identified Subaru as being the one she loved, leading to her pulling him into Re:zero’s world across time and space and recognizing even if he had a different body. I’ve updated it since then, but the idea behind it is still the same.
There is an afterlife in Re:zero as Echidna has confirmed (when she indicated it was the land of death) in episode 28 when previously, Petelgeuse in episode 17 was all viewers had to go with on the matter when he indicated he’d be reunited with the Witch in death (not saying Satella is dead. Just saying the afterlife is the primary means for meeting her at this time since she is sealed), and there is also reincarnation as Arbiter Melakuera indicated in the Frozen Bonds OVA. We know from Beatrice that the legendary dragon, sage, and hero sealed Satella, the Witch of Envy’s because they could not destroy her body, and I reasoned that Subaru smells more strongly of Satella whenever he comes back from the dead because Satella’s soul is sealed in the afterlife, and Subaru’s soul and her soul come into close proximity after he dies, leading to him smelling more strongly of her after deaths because of increased exposure to her. Subaru and Witch Cultists probably all reek of Satella’s stench because their souls are bonded to Satella’s, and Echida thought this episode that she could experience RBD with Subaru if she bonded her soul to Subaru’s, which is bonded to Satella’s. But there is a question posed if my theory is true. Why does Subaru not remember anything if his soul goes to the afterlife and comes in close proximity to Satella’s soul? If Echidna can force Subaru to not remember meeting her as she did the first time they met, I think it’s possible that Satella could do so as well given that she is an even more powerful witch.
I speculate that the foul smell of the Witch is the scent of her soul given that her immortal body is probably sealed and should have no biological function right now, so her foul stench shouldn’t be the smell of her body. And if that is the case, Satella’s soul being confined to the afterlife indicates that Emilia and Satella do not have the same soul, and therefore are different people. Their souls also cannot be the same because they smell different.
That this is supposedly a multiverse suggests that every soul of one particular individual is part of a greater soul, and I speculate that each soul that is part of a greater soul has a consistent scent. The Witch of Envy having the same soul scent across all timelines is likely because the scent of the greater soul she is a part of smells really bad. Even if Satella has had previous lives where she wasn’t the Witch of Envy, I believe that those previous iterations of Satella in which she had different names also had that same foul stench that beings like Rem, Garfiel, and Witch cultists that can identify the smell even if those previous iterations of Satella all had different personalities from one another.
Okay, I’m only now getting to my point now. If supernatural beings like Rem, Garfiel, and even Witch cultists can smell the scent of the Witch, perhaps they can also smell all people’s scents, not just Satella’s scent. Therefore, who is say that Satella, a very powerful supernatural being, cannot recognize Subaru’s scent and that that is the reason she was able to single out Subaru as being the one to summon? If Satella is indeed able to recognize Subaru’s scent across time and space though, it suggests that she had previous exposure to Subaru’s soul scent before Subaru was born in the modern world. The implication of this line of thought is that Subaru once existed in Re:zero’s fantasy world, and that is how Satella knew that Subaru was the one to summon. Perhaps Satella had met Subaru’s previous incarnation before she was sealed 400 years ago, and that previous iteration of Subaru had the same soul scent as the greater Subaru soul. Even if Subaru was not named Subaru 400 years ago, if his soul was indeed part of the greater Subaru soul, that man’s soul would smell the same as Subaru’s, and thus, Satella pinpointed Subaru across time and space and even worlds by merely smelling him like Rem does, just on a greater scale.
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Whoa, well that’s one hell of a theory you got there. I can’t really agree or disagree with it but it does provide some food for thought. It would at least give one explanation as to why Subaru was the one specifically targeted to enter the Re:zero world. I wouldn’t be surprised either if Satella could smell scents too and I’m sure there’s more people that probably can, but we just don’t know it yet. Honestly there’s just so much possibility for anything right now, so we’ll see what’ll come to fruition.
Berry, Roswaal also revealed that he’s been living for over 400 years since he let it slip that he met Echidna 400 years ago. That’s probably when he received his copy of the not-quite-Tome of Wisodom. I wonder how he has survived for so long.