Wow… I’m kinda of shocked with the way they decided to wrap up this incident. With how frantic Kit was in the previous episode, and the whole talk about the wild dogs… like, you’d think that’s what they were building up to. But no, they went the most anticlimactic route possible. They literally wrapped it up with just Shin being the one to find Lili who was unconscious in the dark garden, all thanks to Aphrodite standing on guard over her. Like what about the wild dogs? I guess they were totally irrelevant in the end.
Apart from that, since Lili had returned earlier to London with Shin and his sister, she and Kit haven’t actually seen each other since the party. Lili for one, has a load of problems she has to deal with that the others had neglected to take into consideration: Her financial situation. The price for the train ticket was one, and then the unexpected expense to get treated by a doctor for her injury (sprained ankle) checked. She also had a buy a formal dress for the National Gallery Exhibit, and to think Dorothy was chiding her for not bringing a fancy gown to Drunnheim Hall– well yeah, she really can’t afford it! Now she has found herself in a situation where she can barely afford to pay for the rent and board, and to make matters worse, her art supplies!
Dorothy was able to make herself somewhat useful at least by suggesting to Lili to seek Professor Brant’s help in finding a job to make ends meet. He didn’t give refer her to anyone for a commission (probably because he knows she’s not really ready for it yet), and instead asked her to translate a book he’s been wanting to read. While that’s great and all, balancing that job with working on her piece for the upcoming Critiques, she’s barely getting any sleep.
But an opportunity arose when she and Dorothy found themselves approached by Catherine who was in town. I found it rather rich how Catherine approached Lili as though she didn’t humiliate and ridicule her at the party. Though to Lili’s credit, she’s not particularly bothered by her, or rather perhaps it’d be better put that she doesn’t really have the time or energy to waste on dwelling on the shit she had said to her.
However Dorothy was rightfully suspicious of Catherine’s intentions, as I was too because we’re both thinking: What’s the catch here? But when you’re struggling to make ends meet, Lili can’t bring herself to say no when she’s given a hefty check in advance for the portrait commission. And sure enough, it looks like Catherine is up to no good, ugh. It was admittedly reckless of Lili to agree to do a commission with someone who has great power and influence in the high society. If Lili isn’t able to figure out her own signature style, there’s probably a fair chance that Catherine may try to make it impossible for her to find success as an artist in London. But even then, even if Lili manages to make a magnificent piece, who’s the say Catherine wouldn’t try to sabotage her one way or another?
As for Kit, since he hasn’t had the chance to see Lili since, we can see he’s been feeling horribly guilty about putting her in the position that he did. He was only trying to help her out, but it ended up blowing up in their faces no thanks to his brother and fiancee. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, ever since he was exposed of his true heritage, his relationship with the group has more or less changed to some extent. The only exceptions of this change seems to be really Shin and Dorothy, who are more or less carrying on business as usual.
Actually speaking of Shin, we did see him and Kit hang out today by going to the British Museum. Kit was invited to tag along to be his guide if he had nothing else better to do, and it paid off in a big way with with Kit knowing exactly what to show him a replica of The Pietà in Saint Peter’s Basilica (Italy) after Shin had shared with him how he was tired and frustrated with his family’s predetermined practice of carving. Their reputation is based on how faithfully they recreate each motif. But by doing so, there’s no freedom for originality. This piece was exactly what he needed to see, and it made him want to see the real thing too.
Honestly apart from the times Kit has helped Lili from lending paint, taking her on a journey to find a non-existent cave, this is the nicest thing he has done for someone else since. And it’s probably because Kit was able to connect with Shin’s appreciation of the art when he likened the sculptures as though they’ve attained eternal life. For Kit, the original The Pietà taught him if they can capture a moment in time, and give it a form, perhaps that memory will never fade. That’s why he knew this was the piece to show Shin, which was really nice to see.
As for Lili, we didn’t really see her dwell on Kit too much as she has bigger problems to deal with this week. But the rest, particularly Peter– we saw how he wasn’t pulling any soft punches when it came to calling Shin out for brushing off how wealthy he is, because the fact of the matter is, he comes from an extremely prestigious family, and while he may not be happy, he’s still better off than the rest of them. In-fact, Peter (who may as well have a side job as a detective with how freaking sharp he is) was already connecting the dots with expressing suspicions that Kit’s family has very deep ties with a relatively new school like Saint Thomas Art Academy. He went on to share his knowledge that the academy was built on a large endowment of a wealthy man. Kit’s father Henry’s second name is Thomas, and his nickname abroad is “The Saint”.
Indeed, that doesn’t sound like a coincidence when you put it that way. But perhaps that may also explain why Henry seems to be perfectly fine with Kit pursuing the arts if that’s the case.
Overall, while this episode started off on a very anti-climatic note, the rest of it was really good. I appreciate that we’re seeing Kit expand his relationships with other characters like Shin, especially in a moment when things just haven’t been quite the same since the ball.
As for Shin, we the past two episodes have shown he seemed to be quite drawn to Lili. Not full certain if he’s crushing hard on her yet, but he has at least made her a cute little gift of a wooden wagashi carving. Now since he and Kit are starting to hit it off as friends (which is very nice to see), it’ll be interesting to see how their feelings for Lili might change the relationship between them.
