Hearing the younger, more hot-headed villagers rant about how heroes, I’m reminded of how institutions failing us can allow malicious ideas to take root. Look, I know it’s anime and it’s (usually) not that deep. But for me, it’s fun to draw comparisons to the real world. These stories aren’t just conjured out of thin air. They are born from our human experiences, and intentional or not, fiction reflects the world around us. To get back to what I was saying, we know Alicia isn’t a bad person, but it’s hard not to be cynical about the kingdom’s so-called heroes when so many resources had been poured into what now appears to be a pointless venture. This is especially true when the so many people are struggling. Look at these villagers. Do they look like they live cushy lives? Moreover, it’s doubtful that the people had any influence on the former king’s decision making. He ruled and they obeyed. When institutions fail to take bigger, day-to-day problems seriously, given the opportunity, people will quickly turn elsewhere to cope. They seek a way to feel as though they’re in control of their lives. As cruel as it sounds, turning on our disgraced hero and the baby she’s trying to protect is one of those ways to exert control. It lets them feel as though they finally get to make a decision. People in our time are always asking, “Ugh, how did my parents fall down the rabbit hole? All they do now is spout conspiracy theories and extremist views!” Because institutions failed them. Just replace a king with a government of your own choosing. It’s all the same.

Of course, there’s no reason to believe anything outsiders say. The villagers are only after Alicia and the baby because Maynard, someone from a hostile nation, convinced them to do so by slandering heroes. The insect-controlling jerk has no proof to back the allegations he’s making. But proof doesn’t matter when you’re desperate. So in these stories where the heroes always put their lives on the line to restore the royal bloodline to the throne, I always wonder if this will actually accomplish anything. Why do we readily accept that maintaining a line of succession is the right play? After all, Luna is a mere baby. He’s a complete wild card. We have no clue what sort of king he’ll eventually become, and yet you want to stake the fate of an entire nation currently in shambles on his tiny shoulders? It’s not hard to see how the masses can be easily swayed by honeyed words. From obeying a foolish king to obeying a child. This is why one of the village leaders asks her outright if they’re really expected to “stand behind” Luna if he takes the throne. He ultimately capitulates because this is fiction where the heroes must prevail, but it’s no wonder the more hot-headed villagers initially chose violence. I’m not saying that they made the right choice in attempting to turn Luna over to the enemy. But I understand where the motivation comes from.

I don’t personally buy Alicia’s argument that establishing and training the thirteen heroes wasn’t a pointless venture. She’s not wrong in a broad sense. Yes, we need to expand world and see what’s beyond the horizon. But what are the costs? It’s similar to the space exploration debate that we have right now. I absolutely want to explore the “heavens.” After all, I grew up wanting to be an astronomer. I hate the fact that I’ll likely never see mankind even get as far as stepping foot on Mars in my lifetime. But I also know that there are bigger problems to solve, and I can’t help but wonder how many people could’ve been saved if resources hadn’t been devoted to the thirteen heroes and their ultimately fruitless crusade. Did they honestly think they had a chance? There’s a reason we don’t just blindly send manned missions to Mars; at our current level of technology, it’s guaranteed to fail. We’d be dooming those astronauts for no logical reason. So again, did the thirteen heroes really think they could’ve succeeded against Clevatess? What else could we have accomplished if just some of that money had gone into something else? Something more practical and more relevant to the day to day lives of the king’s subjects? We’ll never know, because this show ultimately isn’t about governance. But Alicia’s own honeyed words doesn’t come close to settling this debate. But they’re good enough to sway the villagers back onto her side, which is frankly a bit sad and hilarious. These poor people are just ping-ponging back and forth.

With the villagers out of the way, we get to see Alicia square off against the Maynard and his army of bugs without any interference. And the battle isn’t particularly interesting for me to talk about. Maynard initially has the upper hand, but Clevatess lends the hand. Yeah, Clevatess. Oh, he didn’t end up being imprisoned by Dorel after all? Shocker. After an odd moment of unnecessary fanservice, Alicia does her fancy, little hero move, and that’s all she wrote.