But before we get to Diana’s love life, we need to settle things with Palmia. When we last left off, the bad guys had disrupted a ceremony meant to kick off Saint Diana’s pilgrimage. Scarlet is quick to jump into action, so she chucks a single spear and demolishes an entire building belonging to the Palmiam faith. We then see a bunch of Palmian adherents gnash their teeth and curse the “blasphemer” who would dare attack them. On the one hand, we know these are the bad guys; we know they deserve it. But on the other hand, she is kinda overstepping her bounds. I suppose it helps to have the crown prince in your pocket, but still, Scarlet is playing judge, jury, and executioner. For now, the people are on her side. I just wonder if the story will ever consider having the pendulum swing the other way, i.e. the people slowly becoming scared of Scarlet for perhaps going too far one day. For example, Batman might be a hero, but he’s still a vigilante who some people reasonably oppose for his extrajudicial actions.
Plus, she doesn’t really need to desecrate their goddess, right? I mean, real life people can certainly be jerks, but it would still be crass for me to retaliate by attacking them with Jesus’s head. Likewise, our heroine doesn’t need to spit on their faith to dole out justice. My point is, I just think it would add an interesting wrinkle to the story if Scarlet gets checked a bit. So far, it has been fun to watch bad guys get their teeth knocked out, but it’s all a bit one-dimensional, isn’t it? That’s kinda how I feel as I watch our heroine kick these dudes’ butts with, once again, reckless abandon. Like yeah, I like her no-nonsense attitude, but we’ve been seeing the same thing for over a month now. It’s starting to get a bit monotonous. We need something to spice the story up. In some ways, this is Terenezza’s fault for not carrying her own weight. She is perfectly positioned to be Scarlet’s foil, but for now, she’s still lurking in the background. She barely has any screen presence.
Well, it looks like Aflame and his goons will be making a comeback. The Palmian faith can’t beat Scarlet, so it’s going to rely on hired help to get the job done. The only problem is that Aflame has already failed once. I guess he’ll have more backup this time?
Inside job
Every so often, we need to be reminded that Julius isn’t just a troll. He’s also pretty keen. He quickly deduces that the timing of the attack on the ceremony was too perfect, so it must have been an inside job. Well, in terms of suspects, there aren’t exactly a lot of options to choose from. Everyone in the inner circle, i.e. Sigurd or Leo, can more or less be trusted. I certainly doubt Diana of all people would be the spy. So the only other new face we’ve met is Dio, that brash elvish knight who dared to flirt with Scarlet. Hm, that’s what we’re going to do, huh? Every rival for Scarlet’s affections gotta be suspicious, huh? Still, this would explain why he’s been playing the fool. He’s not just some random goofy class clown. Dios is trying to lure everyone around him into a false sense of security by pretending to be dumb. Well, sure enough, we get to see him being shady.
Too much brotherly love
Huh, I never expected Leo of all people to get a romantic subplot. When Diana’s palanquin tips over with her still on it, I half-expected Scarlet to use her blessing to once again save the day. But instead, her brother suddenly swoops in out of nowhere and plays the gallant hero that makes all the fair maidens blush. Leo? Gallant? He’s the Prince Charming? I dunno, I actually thought Diana would just be crushing on her “oneesama” for the rest of the series, but I forget how hetero anime can be. The girl ultimately has to fall in love with a guy, right? Hell, she’s not just crushing on him. She’s smitten. If she can’t have Scarlet, I guess her brother — her genetic sibling — is the next best thing? Hell, Scarlet not only approves, she’s more than happy to play matchmaker.
As for Leo, I guess picking him makes sense. All the pretty boys in this show are supposed to be enamored with Scarlet, but not her literal brother (take notes, Yuri from SPY x FAMILY). Plus, if he has someone to distract him, maybe he can stop being such a stick in the mud about Scarlet’s escapades. To be fair, I literally just wrote a couple paragraphs about how we need something akin to a third faction to push back a little whenever Scarlet goes on her many punching sprees. The problem here, however, is that Leo’s justifications for opposing her are weak and pathetic; he mostly whines about Scarlet simply because he wants her to be a prim and proper noblewoman. Well, our heroine has a lot of respect for him, so maybe I’m just hatin’.
Anyway, Diana and Leo get to have a cute, little date. Everything was pretty set up for him to sweep her off her feet, because he even gets a golden opportunity to soothe her insecurities. Unfortunately, the date is cut short by, sigh, Leo once again being way too much of a stick in the mud. Dude, forget about your sister for just one night. Just one! Your sister will be perfectly fine, because Julius sticks to her like a louse. Yeah, the prince enables Scarlet’s “bad” behavior, but he would also put his life on the line for her. And what’s up with this tattletale? Shouldn’t a knight have better things to do? Well, I just hope this little setback doesn’t lead to Diana being reckless. I can kinda see it. Perhaps in an attempt to be more like her big sis, she might accept a deal with the devil.
Stray thoughts & observations:
- Again with the hair thing. If you are hairy or have a bad haircut, like this guy’s pathetic attempt at a combover, then I guess you’re guaranteed to be evil.
- Yeah, becoming giant crying manbabies isn’t going to justify disrupting other people’s religious ceremonies.
- Julius might annoy her, but she still has a high opinion of him.
- Somehow, even this show has a festival where the women can don a yukata. Are you kidding me? I know it’s anime, so it’s festival season all year round, but even in my goddamn fantasy series? We even have cotton candy! Candied apples! Chocolate-covered bananas! Good lord, where’s the fantasy?
- As I watch these painfully beige adventurers — if they’re so well renowned, why are they so plain-looking? — smash a poor merchant’s pots, I can’t help but picture Scarlet socking Link in the stomach for pretty much the same crime.
