- Genre : Fantasy, Adventure, action, political
- Studio: A-1 Pictures
I’m over my cold…you know what that means!!! This is something that has never happened to me before, as the episode started out on a celebration of last episodes victory, I thought to myself – “oh a filler ep”, and then I thought “oh good, it’s going to be really interesting to see how a show like this handles a filler episode and a breather will probably be a good thing!”
It wasn’t a filler episode.
The opening act basically served as a creative reminder of the changes that took place last episode and a surprisingly quick and easy cementing of Theo’s power by basically having any potential inner circle strife immediately and voluntarily smothered by the remaining Constance brothers. It’s a little odd to have characters so openly declare themselves useless. That’s my job you guys!
After a quick party scene, Siluca ambled back to her bedchambers (doesn’t that sound just so much naughtier than “room”) to find Theo standing there, all ready for a little late night super awkward strategy planning session….No really, they talked shop for like a minute, then Theo told Siluca that he wasn’t planning to cheat on her (and they say chivalry is dead), she was moved to tears by the basic display of monogamy then they made a creepy death pact.You should probably go get a fan cause this is some steamy love affair!
I just know someone is going to call me out in the comments and list all the cheesy little things they told each other but it still basically happened just as I describe it.
Jump to the next day, and we finally got an explanation of Priscilla’s role in the grand scheme. Apparently she’s the Holy Grail and if all crest are united under her, she can stop the chaos (not that chaos seems to be that big a deal so far, but you know, they act like it is…).
The entire thing was just a straightforward exposition dump narrated by Siluca, but she’s still super short with Priscilla and obviously jealous which I thoroughly enjoyed. To me, Siluca’s catty childish side is the best part of her and Theo’s relationship by far.
We then got news that the much mention colorful earl was summarily dispatched off screen. I’ll be honest with you guys, I really can’t remember if we ever even saw the nation of Le Couleurs or Earl Klute at any time but I guess it doesn’t matter anymore. So long good sir Gallas, we hardly knew ya. No really.
But if you guys think that a party, a weird renewal of Theo and Siluca’s romantic entanglement, the establishment of potentially the most powerful character in the series and the annihilation of an entire nation is enough to fill a 20 minute episode, then clearly you have not been watching Grancrest very closely. We’re barely halfway.
At this point, super war strategist Siluca has the stroke of genius, or just plain stroke, to go personally visit Alexis at the Fantasia Unit with Theo. Just the two of them. Even though the Union may consider them traitors for having formed the treaty…
You know, there is a reason why in stories, Heroes are rarely Kings or even great Leaders to start off. Leadership isn’t very fun, it comes with a huge amount of responsibilities. You can’t just go off adventuring whenever you feel like it. We don’t send our national leaders on covert missions. A leader needs to be available to their people, not put themselves in a position where they could easily be captured or killed, which would put everyone under them at a great disadvantage. A leader must take all of this into consideration, at least a good leader.
But hey, Siluca did ask really nice, and her eyes were all big and stuff, so I guess Theo really didn’t have a choice.
The main purpose of the trip, was to convince Alexis to make a move against the Alliance and his one true love Marrine. Alexis had been hesitant to move against his beloved, not only for the sake of his remaining feelings but also because Marrine is trying to unite the crest through military might because she hopes this will save the entire world form chaos. This is a noble cause and Marrine has sacrificed everything for the good of her people and ultimately everyone. She’s thrown away her heart and her pride to the cause. She’s a good leader.
And yet, Theo managed a stirring speech about how a leader of men needs to be true to their feelings, otherwise it just won’t do. I’m paraphrasing, it sounded a bit more convincing but barely. I’m not sure if Theo is a horrible leader who actually believes his selfish feelings and whims are more important than anything else, even the fate of the entire world, or if he’s just a bad friend, manipulating the obviously fragile Alexis in a moment of weakness. Either way, Theo got what he wanted.
Somehow, Alxis was convinced that attacking her was the only way to save Marrine so, war were declared. The things we do for love!
Wait is that a better post title? Oh man, it is isn’t it. but I’d have to scroll up to change it. Urgh, too much trouble. Just imagine I changed it in your heads.
Also screencaps! And love. You guys get pics and love!
Well, now they outright declared that the marriage would have united the crests (how does this work?), I’ll admit I’ve been watching the show wrongly. Right now I’m rooting for the vampires, because they’ve got the advantage of not being seen or heard from. The moment they make their appearance, that might change.
So now some hotshot has declared himself the grail? Is that guy part of the mages association or is there some sort of church as yet another separate faction? I wish I knew. I’m sure they menitoned once when they introduced our priest lady.
And, yes, pretty much every scene that involved “love” was somehow off. This wasn’t my favourite episode so far.
I believe faux grail dude is the head of the in universe church (as usual there only seem to be one) which is separate from the mges. I never imagined the day would come when I would be explaining this show, I don’t even know who I am anymore…
That makes sense. It’s probably in the early episodes when they introduced priest girl, but I don’t care enough to check. I figure it’s not going to be too hard figure out as we go.
The scene between Siluca and Theo was kind of sweet, and then Siluca raised about fifty death flags and I just kind of cringed. However, I’m with you on Theo’s manipulation of Alexis. That was just kind of low and I’m not sure why it worked or even why Theo was there given he should have other things to be doing.
You know, I’m just going with Theo is an agent of Chaos from now on…
I like it. He was somehow possessed midway through the season and is not the prophesied doom bringer. Seriously, that makes as much sense as anything else.
” get that you believe diplomacy should be given one more chance…” Put that way, I’m not sure if I’m advocating for diplomacy or for Alexis and Marrine to run off, elope (thereby uniting the Crests), and use their united power to put Chaos down. Though maybe a sneaky tactic like that wouldn’t work because the associated Lords would have to approve and offer up their Crests? Hmmm…
” do believe good leaders need a healthy dose of dispassionate pragmatism. I personally don’t care if the individual motivations of a nation head are petty and silly if the outcome is beneficial to the people. ” On the former point, we agree entirely! On the latter, I think as a statement of principle, I can agree. In practice, though, I wonder how long it would be before the petty and silly motivations would poison any attempt to govern well?
“To me, if Theo ends up murdering Priscilla in the last episodes and we find out he was an undercover agent of chaos all this time, I will declare Grancrest a flawed but worthy masterpiece!” You know, that would be amazing! At the pace this show’s been going, add a quick bit of foreshadowing like a sideways glance at Priscilla, recast his defensive fighting style as a ploy to hide his real powers, reinterpret his indirect confession to Siluca as another way to hide his true nature, and boom! We could get Theo “The Agent of Chaos” Cornaro!
You know, I think I’d have to cheer that ending!
Right!!!! It’s a long shot but it would in fact fi in some plot holes and explain some of the odder strategy choices!
“she was moved to tears by the basic display of monogamy then they made a creepy death pact.”
Yeah, but wasn’t it just like them? Siluca especially — Theo is in the middle of confessing (indirectly, it’s true) and she’s asking, “Now, you’re talking about me, right?” She’s a strategic and tactical genius, but she obviously has a bit of a blind spot…
“I’m not sure if Theo is a horrible leader who actually believes his selfish feelings and whims are more important than anything else”
That’s one way to look at it! Another might be to ask if doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is the best approach for Marrine. Or, a more convoluted way to ask would be if Marrine starts with the wrong premise or philosophy, how long will it be before her decisions take on the quality of that wrong premise or philosophy? Marrine denied her feelings, but more than that, she denied the possibility that a result of those feelings — a marriage to Alexis — could unite the two factions without bloodshed. Sure, she’s afraid of a repeat of the first episode, but aren’t there ways to address that risk (like eloping?). And doesn’t a continental war constitute an even greater risk?
I completely agree that acting just on one’s own feelings could easily be selfish. That could absolutely be a trait of bad leadership! I suspect that here, there’s an alignment between the right thing to do (not destroy countries and people) and Alexis and Marrine’s love for one another. I think that’s what Theo meant.
At least, that’s how I’ve been looking at it.
Personally, I don’t think Marine is doing the right thing for the wrong reason, Her reason is to save the word which seems a fairly decent motivation. Her strategy may not be the best but you can’t blame her for not being able to see the future. She’s doing what she thinks is best with the information she has and that’s all we can hope for really. I get that you believe diplomacy should be given one more chance, that’s a fair argument but at this point it is debatable.
On a general standpoint though, I do believe good leaders need a healthy dose of dispassionate pragmatism. I personally don’t care if the individual motivations of a nation head are petty and silly if the outcome is beneficial to the people. Mind you I’m talking about an effective leader here not necessarily a righteous of noble one.
As for your reading on Theo. I knew I could count on you to consistently see the best in everyone in Grancerst. It’s why I’m here to see the worse! To be honest, my vision of an underhanded and insidious Theo is really just wishful thinking. The character is just so much more interesting to me that way than as a cookie cutter “god guy”. To me, if Theo ends up murdering Priscilla in the last episodes and we find out he was an undercover agent of chaos all this time, I will declare Grancrest a flawed but worthy masterpiece!