Sometimes, when we predict things as viewers and reviewers, it’s good to be wrong. It’s not always bad to be predictable but at the same time, having something interesting and novel is a plus. That said, this is still a hell of a lot to dump in the second to last episode.
So, breaking the pattern of odd episodes Japan even episodes Fantasy, we get pretty much the whole story of the fantasy world and the bridge between worlds. After a fairly quick (but still long enough to feel meaningful) defeat of the Witch of Yore with the power of Lise and Seig’s love (as well as everyone else who cares about her) breaking the possession, the Witch’s true identity is revealed. It turns out that she’s none other than the corrupted form of the creator goddess, who in being bested this way is returned to her sane and good state.
Said goddess (between apologizing for her transgressions both personal and apocalyptic) gives us the entire mythic background of the world: how she and her counterpart god were originally one entity, split and gained distinctness, and in that state ordered the world and created life, ultimately including human life. The god of the pair, Kuon, fell for the first woman, Eve, and tried to have her for himself, with some pretty dark deeds at that. He tried throughout her incarnations until, in desparation, he hatched a plan to become human himself to better win Eve’s heart. His counterpart… didn’t take it well and fought him over it, ending with him blasted into another dimension and her giving into jealousy and despair, ultimately morphing into the Witch of Yore.
As myth arcs go, this one… checks out. And now that Lise’s feelings have suffused the fallen goddess, she’s returned to her senses, so all’s well that ends well, right?
Well, there is the fact that the divine spirit of Kuon has possessed the similarly-named Mr. Model in Japan, and that this whole thing was his plan to acquire Fiene (the latest reincarnation of Eve) for himself, with the bridge between worlds accidentally hijacked by our leads because they resonated with the fantasy leads, either due to their romantic “it’s complicated” or Kobayshi’s raw fangirl power.
While this is little more than a series of WTF reveals for the fantasy characters (ending with plans made to name Lise a saint for her role in, you know, healing their main goddess… and Seig’s plans to marry her first because it would get complicated after), things might be a little more pressing in the mundane world as Kuon (presumably) goes ahead and kidnaps Kobayashi’s big sister to end the episode, sending our leads into a panic for the finale where, presumably, they will not just be able to call the police because magic is involved.
On one hand, this was an episode consisting primarily of exposition summed up as “The gods had an infidelity issue. Hijinx ensued.” On the other hand, we did get answers for things like the model and the “god route” and the bridge between worlds that I had kind of given up on getting answers for, so in a sense it’s very welcome.
Now, though, the show has considerably more work to do if it wants to “stick the landing”, since it’s chosen to address these matters rather than let them fall by the wayside or get minor resolves. There’s perhaps better potential, but also a greater risk, especially of mismanaging the pace of the climax. This episode already stumbled a little when it came to pacing, we’ll see if the last stands or falls.