I’m sure I’m not the only one relieved that Mimi really was perfectly fine giving up her status as her father’s heir after the birth of her brother. But I think it’s worth thinking about why that is. While we knew before that Mimi wasn’t raised traditionally for a girl in the pseudo-19th century, the truth isn’t just that; it’s that she was raised as a boy. I have to think that her father was the one behind that, because none of his retainers had any problem declaring that Mimi was enough to be their next duchess, gender notwithstanding. And yes, she was wearing boys’ clothes in that scene, but that’s more of a practical thing for practicing martial arts. That’s something that she could have kept on doing – changing into pants to practice or patrol, and wearing dresses otherwise if she wanted to. But it doesn’t seem like that was an option for her; look at when she first enrolls in school in boys’ clothes. Mimi already knew by that point that she was being raised differently, but this is the first time she’s become uncomfortably aware of it. That suggests that perhaps she’s just been following her father’s orders rather than preferring to dress in boys’ clothes all along.

Between that and her dad’s patent relief at Teo’s birth, this episode is something of a masterclass in why gender norms are stupid and hurt people. Even little Teo seems to get it; he knows Mimi is more talented than he is, which is not only a hell of a thing for a three-year-old, but also implies that people have been talking about how Mimi might have been a better heir. That he needs to be the heir because he’s the boy risks coming back to hurt him down the line. Their father is just lucky that Mimi doesn’t resent him for everything he’s done to her. I have to say that it was pretty great to see her four older sisters kicking him, because he richly deserved it.

But the fact of the matter is that Duke Annovazzi is far more conflicted than Mimi will ever be. She’s gotten what she wanted – to dress and act like a girl – and she still gets to just be her largely unfiltered self. Getting away from her family’s expectations for her has been remarkably freeing for Mimi, to the point where she’s a bit nervous to see them all again. After all, marrying the crown prince of another country means that she’s officially making a life for herself somewhere far away from them. Her mother and sisters are thrilled for her, if not a little perplexed, but her father is still working through a lot of things. I think that he knows he did Mimi wrong. He’s just never been taught how to deal with his own emotions or how to monitor his own thoughts and actions around other people. So he goes all hypermasculine and macho, which is definitely going to be interesting to see when he tries it on Renato later on.

Speaking of Renato, he’s not sitting around letting Raimondo handle the issue Mimi sent to his doorstep. (And much credit to Raimondo for checking the stains on the handkerchief before showing it to the prince, even if he did seem to enjoy winding him up about it a bit.) And why would he? Not only are his people being threatened, but it’s also a perfect excuse to go see Mimi. He’s not stupid.

On the visual front, this is one of the better-looking episodes, notably during Mimi’s sparring with her father. I also particularly like that we get to see all of the family “hairpin” designs and how they vary from sister to sister. Some are clearly less practical than others, like the tiara, but even before we flashback to Mimi insisting on flowers on hers, it’s obvious that each sister designed her own. Judging by the preview, we may even get to see Mimi in action next week. Those flowers may prove vicious, but I wouldn’t expect anything less from Maria Annovazzi.

Rating:

Always a Catch! is currently streaming on
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