Wow, this week was another emotional, but unexpectedly intense episode! The moment Rosei stepped out of the plane, he was immediately attacked by Eradictionists. Considering they literally said, “This is a story about murder” last week, this incident highlighted exactly that. Unfortunately Winter tends to be the “most popular target”, so he’s grown used to the fact people are out for his life. They also mentioned there’s another problematic terrorist fraction known as the “Reformists”. So it’s no wonder why Agents of Seasons have to have body-guards.
I also wasn’t actually expecting to get the lore behind Hinagiku’s disappearance any time soon, but I’m so glad that we did. Doing so, they were also able to explain why Hinagiku behaves and speaks the way she does. It’s the result of trauma she had been through during while she had been held captive for god knows how long for the past ten years. The only thing we don’t know yet, is how Hinagiku was found, and when she was saved. Though thinking back to the wisdom that was shared with Hinagiku, it’s probable that someone else whom had been captured alongside her. Perhaps they may have played apart in that.
But holy shit, it wasn’t just Hinagiku and Sakura who were deeply traumatized from the incident, but also Rosei (the Agent of Winter) and his guard, Itecho. And the whole thing is really messed up because the four of them were really close back then. But everything went south when they were attacked. It’s important to note, they were only children then, and Itecho was the eldest one of their little group. So when he and Sakura both had gotten critically wounded, out of sheer desperation, Rosei had thought the best course of action was to buy time for Hinagiku, Sakura and Itecho to escape by killing himself as the assassins wants. However in the flurry of the moment, he failed to anticipate how Hinagiku would respond to that– and she was having none of it. As result, it was she who gave herself up in exchange to protect and save them, and paid the heaviest price. That’s why Itecho blames himself for his failure, and Rosei wished he had died at the time, and it kills him inside that he was never able to say the words: “You’re safe now”.
So while I get Sakura is deeply traumatized, it’s pretty clear now that she’s taking out her grief on the wrong people. The only ones to blame are the ones on top who made the decisions to call off the search for Hinagiku. This wasn’t decision made by Rosei nor Itecho. They felt just as shocked, betrayed and devastated as she was when they got the news. But she took the village’s head decision as their own, when the truth is, the two of them had vowed to continue and never stopped searching despite that. Had Sakura not cut them off and disappeared, they surely would’ve found a way to support her doing so one way or another.
That’s why when Sakura goes on about how much she hates Winter, it’s honestly awful and sad that Rosei and Itecho are getting lumped up with their village as a whole. Agents of Seasons have no authority nor power nor decisions, but instead are closely guarded and their actions are controlled to the point they are nothing more than caged birds by the ones on top. We saw this today with Rosei, who just wanted to see Spring in Ryugu, but even then was a freaking battle and they’d have to persuade and sneak around if it came down it.
And to make things more complicated, they have to be constantly guarded because of all these people who either want to kidnap them to exploit their powers, or to kill them, just as we saw today. Frankly it’s a burdensome destiny to be born into. It seems the best thing these Agents could have are compassionate Guards like the ones Rosei has. Itecho keeps reminding Rosei that he means more to him that anyone else (to which Rosei repeatedly tells Itecho to say those words to Sakura), and we also saw how Rosei’s guards shows gratitude towards Hingaiku since while they were not shown int he earlier flashbacks, they were in-fact there at the time, and deeply wounded too. Additional, the newest addition to the team Ishihara, expressed sympathy and willingness to try and help Rosei do the things he wishes to do, but I digress.
While on the topic of who controls the Agents of Seasons, the revelation that the Village of Spring was in-fact the first to announce calling of the search for Hinagiku– and only three months in at that. What’s interesting is that other agencies, including the Village of Winter had continued on for many more years (though the Village of Winter eventually stopped during the fifth year of the search), so what’s the reason why the Village of Spring so willingly gave up so early on? It’d make more sense if they were the last ones to stop, but to be the first? Yeah that’s super sketchy. It makes you wonder what’s the story behind that.
Although Rosei was not able to save Hinagiku, he did get an opportunity to say those words “You’re safe now” to someone else who needed them today. Defying the rules of the agency, Rosei was not about to turn a blind eye to a family in need when their car went flying and dangling precariously off a cliff. Inside were two children and an unconscious adult, and Rosei used his power of Winter to beautifully and delicately brought the vehicle and its occupants to safety. He made his ice compliment Hinagiku’s spring, by spawning flora of ice, lovingly complimenting the arrival of Spring. It was truly lovely.
All that being said, my main concern right now, is exactly what both Rosei and Itecho had expressed concern of: Sakura’s grudge. They know Sakura despises them because of “their betrayal”, but at the same time they also fear and feel that Hinagiku may harbour resentment towards them as well. I don’t think Hinagiku does, to the point she had mentioned she likes Winter (showing she doesn’t resent the season, where as Sakura loathes it now), and she had mentioned about being concerned about disappointing Rosei (when in truth, he couldn’t be happier to see Spring again). But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit concerned about Sakura potentially imposing her own bias judgment of the two onto Hinagiku. While Hinagiku has ways to go before she fully recovers, I do hope she won’t let Sakura’s personal feelings cloud her own. I just hope that Sakura won’t deny Hinagiku from seeing or communicating with Rosei and Itecho when they do finally cross paths again.
So I’m going to be watching Sakura’s behaviour very carefully, as I do worry (based on how she reacted last week to Hinagiku suggesting she leave her be and escort the kid home instead), that her coping mechanism may end up sheltering Hinagiku to the point they are literally tied to the hips in an unhealthy way. Hopefully my concerns will not be realized.
