Episode 7
This was such a good episode, but oh my god?? That cliffhanger?? I’m glad that I get to watch the next episode right after this because I don’t know if I would have been able to handle waiting another week. Of course, this is To Your Eternity. As much as I wish seeing Ligard meant that Bon would be saved…. No one but Fushi is really safe from dying and that makes me so sad! (I’m choosing to ignore the episode preview for now!! You’ll probably see me cry in the second half of this post!)
I’ve really enjoyed getting to spend time with Bon these last few episodes because we’ve seen him go through a lot of personal conflicts about the kind of person he wants to be in the world. Originally, it all started with him just focusing on catching Fushi and becoming king and that stayed his primary goal for quite a while, but as things develop it’s clear that he is not an entirely selfish person. Fushi turns from just something that he needed to capture to someone he genuinely cares about. The fact that this episode played out the way that it did really shows his growth as a person!!
I don’t think all of that growth occurred in the cage as he was being prosecuted, but I think his time in the cage really allowed us to see it all play out. Aside from not telling Fushi some truths, there are some things that Bon states as facts. For this episode, we see that with Chabo. Bon has an interesting relationship with death because he’s able to see those who have died. It’s just normal for him to see people as ghosts. And his mother already tried to perform an exorcism on him, so at this point it is good for him to continue to live his life. Still, I think… telling Chabo his mother died immediately after meeting him was probably brutal. The kid was going to find out eventually, but it really doesn’t make for first impressions though. That being said, I actually really liked the scene where Bon has to prove his powers to the church. Realistically, most of the people questioning him don’t actually know what Chabo’s mom looks like, so it’s not something they can say is true or not. But it was truly heartbreaking to watch Chabo kneel back down in front of the bag of bread he was saving for his mother. Bon wants people to know the truth, he just delivers it at some pretty bad times. We also get to see some growth with his own consumption of bread. Although, it’s really Todo’s kindness that plays into this. At first all he cares about is eating the bread – he’s never been in a situation where he didn’t have food – but as things develop he stops taking away her bread (granted it was kind of a life or death situation). But hey! He got to see the silhouette of the girl he fell in love with so many years ago!!
I think his kindness really shines when Fushi comes to break him out of the cage. Once again he lies to Fushi, but it’s a lie that comes from a good place. He does want to protect his friend. And then of course, he asks Fushi to save both Chabo and Todo. I don’t know if the Bon we met at the beginning of the series would do that. I think he would have tried to get everyone to a safe place, but to sacrifice himself for everyone else? Good job, Bon. And just a HUGE shout out to Bon for basically telling the church to frick off when they asked him to denounce Fushi. Like how cool was he at that moment? ‘So you acknowledge that Fushi is a demon?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Do you condemn Fushi and agree to follow the Church of Bennett?’ ‘No. I love Fushi!’ (not direct quotes but you get the idea). You go Bon!! You tell them!! They are the problem!! Frick the church!!! It’s just unfortunate that it leads to your beheading 🙁 … Though, I really appreciated the final conversations you got to have with your spirits as well as your farewell to your family. I haven’t started crying yet, but if episode 8 opens with a homerun I will weep for you. Bon, I truly enjoyed your character!!
I don’t want to detract from my sincere appreciation for Bon, but I do want to talk very briefly about Fushi’s escape. His escape scene was really well done. I loved the commentary from the man in the black cloak as he talked about Fushi’s regeneration and how he was moving and growing as a person – especially when he talked about Fushi’s own fire winning out. Then to watch the heat push through the iron, molding into his form. I know this is a work of fiction, but that whole moment was really cool. I got goosebumps! Of course, Fushi does end up escaping and semi-saving the day. Now here’s to hoping he can save the day again in the next episode.
Episode 8
Hmmm… Well okay then. Things definitely didn’t play out the way I expected, but hey! I guess that’s a win for me because Bon is dead, but not really dead!! After season one I was really prepared to fall into that same trap — that being said… I’m worried that they are going to pull a fast one and he’s going to die again, but for real this time. Fushi, please keep him alive. He has a wife and a child now.
I was genuinely so confused for the first half of this episode. I thought Fushi figured out the reincarnation thing, or at the very least maybe he got a “new” power where he could actually communicate with those who still follow him. Nope! Turns out it was just the good old fashion faking your death plan. Once again, shoutout to Tonari for her helpfulness in keeping people alive and happy. I’m glad Bon is not dead, but I am conflicted! Good for him, but I am a sucker for pain!! I was expecting to weep!! Not celebrate!! Plus he says some pretty mean stuff to Iris, which is kind of a bummer, but I hope the two of them are happy together. Also, it was nice to see Chabo again… though it felt weird when he said they were like family. Like yes, you three were experiencing a life or death situation together and Bon literally saved your life. But you also smacked him a bunch so it was hard to get a read on your relationship. But you all deserve a happy ending (let’s just hope Bon, or rather, Spring Roll, comes home).
Good job, Fushi. You managed to save one of your friends. You’re learning and growing and I think you probably feel pretty good about doing so. I do hope that Bon repays the favor by telling you that special secret he has kept. Though, now is not a good time seeing as Kahaku tried to sever his arm and the Nokker living inside of it. This is the first time it has communicated with us and HOOO BOY. We got the classic, two groups of people trying to save souls/humans/something, but fundamentally disagree on how to do that. The Nokkers are against the man in the black cloak for putting souls in the flesh prisons, so they kill said flesh prisons to set the souls free. At a very simplistic point, that makes sense. Then on Fushi’s side, human life is valuable and he wants to keep the souls in the flesh prison. There’s obviously not going to be a compromise between the two positions, but at least Fushi has steeled his resolve and won’t hold back on taking down the Nokkers.
Overall, this was a much calmer episode than the previous. I feel like I just got the rug pulled out from underneath me, but it was a decent episode nonetheless. I’m looking forward to how Fushi handles the attack on the church. Will the church side with Fushi after he saves them? Will Fushi let the Nokkers kill the clergy of the church? Is Kahaku going to have an arm by the end of the next episode? Anything is possible! So we’ll just have to wait and see.
