It’s so hilarious that I thought that Garfiel was going to interrupt the kiss from last episode…only to find out that he actually did walk in on them kissing but he just left them to it. It’s even funnier because the dude was pissed at this point, so just imagine him grumbling to himself as he walks in, sees them kissing and awkwardly walks out, and then waits at the bottom of the steps still grumbling to himself in a fighting stance until they came out. It’s honestly one of the funniest things from this show and I can’t get over it. He truly is a 14 year old chuuni.
This was another fantastic character episode, showing how complex and great Garfiel is as well. Everyone’s been really getting their time to shine and I’m glad we’ve finally got the chance to focus on Gar. Man, all this family stuff is just going to turn me into a puddle. T_T
From the start, Garfiel had the wrong idea about what happened with his mother, and I can’t exactly blame him. He was only a small child when he first took on the trial and for a young child to really process what was happening in front of him is a tall order to ask for. This is a lonely child, whose sister already left at this point, and you can’t really expect him to process everyone leaving him with a clear head. To him, it seems like he wasn’t loved and he came to the conclusion that his mother hated him and Frederica and she left the Sanctuary to rid herself of them and “find her happiness”. Only to find out the second she left the Sanctuary, her carriage was destroyed in a landslide with her in it. So her leaving them was for nothing. It hurt my heart to see little Gar bash his forehead into the wall to rid his mother’s forehead kisses, and it hurt especially more when we saw what truly happened in Gar’s past and that those forehead kisses were full of love for her child. Guh…my heart…
In the end, Garfiel is just a broken and hurt child who’s lonely and feels abandoned. Thinking his mother hated him was the most convenient conclusion to validate his feelings, and he even flat out says he wanted a reason to hate his mother. It’s pretty heartbreaking, so I’m glad that Subaru and Emilia (literally) knocked some sense into him. Ram also gave him the final push with her words as well. Since Gar has a crush on her it’s no surprise that he would seriously take her words, and Ram didn’t mince her words either. Just another moment for me to appreciate her, she doesn’t really beat around the bush and isn’t afraid to be honest. Either Gar was going to continue being the same child from before and stay in place, being selfish and keeping everyone in the Sanctuary in his mess, or he was going to take his step forward in order to change and better himself. Gar’s trial was well done and gave me all the feels, both fuzzy and sad and it’s great to see him turn around. And he even admits it was the help from the others that brought him to this moment and realization, and him thanking them afterwards was so sweet. Also I can’t wait for his reunion with Frederica now! Finding out he’s much younger than Subaru was funny, and it’s cute that they’re suddenly brothers now. Half-beast chunni, loud, and already spying on his smooches, Subaru’s got his work cut out for him.
Also it’s just funny to point out the foil of the two lap pillows, with Emilia being sweet and keeping Subaru comfy and Ram being sweet for one second and then pushing Garfiel off of her so her feet wouldn’t go numb. Hilarious.
A couple interesting things happened in Garfiel and Subaru’s fight, the first one being Subaru using his ability and then stabbing his pendant into Gar’s arm…with Puck inside it?! And that was that, they didn’t even touch on that afterwards which I think is weird. I find it even weirder that Emilia had zero reaction to that, unless she was too far away to hear Puck’s voice. Which, in the world of anime, is bullshit so this whole thing is strange and I’d love an explanation soon. Also I’m just so glad that I even heard Puck’s voice.
Second, Subaru’s Invisible Providence! Boy’s finally got some powers of his own and can defend himself for a bit, though I don’t think he knows how to use it. I guess this is from his Sloth Witch Factor, and he suspects that Echidna is behind it appearing. It’ll be cool to see if Subaru will really learn to use it, and I’d also love to learn more about his Witch Factor as well.
This time, it’s Emilia’s turn to start her trial and I’m loving this confidence! I’m so looking forward to her trial and the exchange she’ll have with Echidna next time. I think it’s so cute that Subaru’s mannerisms are rubbing off on her what with the pointing and exclamation, but a confident (and insufferable) Emilia is the best Emilia. But a special shoutout to other best girl of the show, Patrasche, for saving her man and being the one to land the final blow in the fight. She got her revenge for that flip! Until next time!
This was a fun episode. Subaru coming to the conclusion that Echidna is the reason for his new power is strange though. Echidna even said that because the previous host of the Sloth Witch Factor died that it chose Subaru as its new host, so him having that power has nothing to do with Echidna.
True. I don’t know if Echidna can have that much influence on the Sloth Witch Factor, so it was probably that happened in the heat of the moment.
Remember when Felix told Subaru to refrain from using magic for 2 months? I think that huge glass shattering imagery may have been Subaru’s gate breaking. I don’t know what it would take to heal it, but I don’t think he’ll be using any magic for a while.
What I found very interesting is that Echidna called Emilia the Witch’s daughter, I think back to Beatrice calling Echidna her mother. Beatrice in a sense is Echidna’s daughter since Echidna created her. Is it not possible that one of the Witches of Sin created Emilia? That is one way for her to be a Witch’s daughter without actually being conceived in the womb by Satella, who was sealed 400 years ago. I think back to episode 38 when Satella told Subaru to some day come kill her. Petelgeuse also indicated that the Witch Cult’s goal is to test Emilia to see whether she would be a worthy vessel to put the Witch into, and if so, the Witch would be reborn on the coming fated day. This shows that it’s possible Satella’s goal is to die by possessing a body that isn’t immortal like her original body was. Perhaps Satella somehow created Emilia in a similar fashion that Echidna created Beatrice. I don’t know how Satella could accomplish that while sealed, but given her otherworldly powers, maybe she somehow found a way, creating a body that would be strikingly similar to hers and would be compatible enough to be possessed by her one day.
I apologize if it seems as if I have tunnel vision for Emilia dying at the end of the series, but I think Echidna’s remark about her being a Witch’s daughter is perhaps another hint that my theory about Re:zero’s endgame is correct.
Not going to lie, your theory of Emilia dying at the end makes me sad and nervous lol
But it’s a pretty interesting theory and I can see it happening.
Apparently from what I’ve seen LN readers say, not even they know what Echidna meant by “witch’s daughter” as it hasn’t been explained, so pretty much any theory goes. I do believe that Emilia must have a strong connection to the witches (Satella) and it could be that she could be a descendant, if not maybe her actual daughter. Could it mean that her “mother” in her flashback isn’t even her real mom? Not too sure about that one.
The mother in the flashback isn’ t her mother. Emilia said that her parents weren’t in the forest but that she did have somebody who she considered a mother figure. That’s probably who Mother Fortuna is.
Well hm…that does open up a lot of things then. Good to know.
Berry, I also forgot to mention that what happened to Garfiel is almost certainly because Puck drained his mana from inside the crystal. Beatrice said in Season 1 that she and Puck were the only ones in the mansion that could do the mana drain.