Well, shoot. This is just one of these episodes where the cliffhanger completely overshadows the episode before it. But before we get into that, let’s dive into the rest of the episode.

This episode is centered around two conversations. The first is between Subaru and “Anastasia.” Simply put, Subaru terrifies her—much to his own surprise. Now, we, the viewer, know Subaru—know him intimately. He’s a good guy at heart and one who’s been getting progressively better over the course of the series. We know what drives him and all he has suffered in pursuit of a goal that might be impossible to attain—even with the power to defy death and time.

But from the outside, he looks like an insane existence. He’s a nobody who just showed up one day and started performing one impossible feat after another. He seemingly has no meaningful powers of his own, yet has been personally instrumental in killing two Sin archbishops and has aided in the defeat or capture of the others. No matter how kind or personable he may seem, his personality and combat prowess in no way match what he has accomplished.

And let’s be clear, “Anastasia” is right to fear Subaru. The Witch of Envy, the single most powerful existence in the world of Re:Zero, is obsessed with him. She has given him practical immortality, but is also known to break out of her prison and/or kill everyone around him (including him) should he defy her. But even beyond that, Subaru himself is a Sin Archbishop two times over. Sure, his “Invisible Providence” doesn’t seem to be all that useful (and we have no idea yet what his Greed powers are), but that could just mean he hasn’t figured out the right way to use his powers yet. Just because he is a nice guy and the Witch Factors haven’t seemed to change him doesn’t mean he isn’t a ticking time bomb.

The second key conversation begins once Julius enters and the “Anastasia” situation is revealed to him. This scene is important because it shows us that while Subaru has grown, he isn’t always right. In trying to do the right thing by “Anastasia,” he wronged Julius. He didn’t trust that Julius could handle the truth.

Now that’s not to say that Julius doesn’t understand Subaru’s actions—he does—but the emotional hurt is still there. The real problem is that Subaru forgot to use empathy in this situation. He would be just as irate, if not more, if Puck had been in control of Emilia’s body for weeks and he didn’t notice (and Julius had). Or to put it another way, Julius isn’t mad, he’s just disappointed.

And finally, we get to the big cliffhanger of the episode. Subaru has lost his memories—though not all of them. He still remembers his time on Earth. This, for all intents and purposes, leaves us with the Subaru from episode one. And I have to say, while it’s a decent enough plot twist, it’s one I don’t actually want to deal with. This is Subaru from before the “restarting from zero” speech. He is a selfish blowhard who sees himself as the center of the world. Subaru’s gradual character development has been one of the best aspects of this anime, and while undoing is great for tension and drama, it also leaves us with a thoroughly unlikable character for the foreseeable future.

Of course, behind what happened to Subaru is the mystery of “why?” We’ve seen his memory be affected before when he lost his memories of the Witches’ Tea Party. Likewise, in a tower like this one, Subaru might have simply triggered a trap—maybe he bypassed Reid and made it to the trial beyond him, and this is the result. Or maybe, this is the author’s way of hinting that one or more of the Archbishops of Gluttony is in the tower. Perhaps Subaru’s otherworldly nature prevented them from fully eating his memories? The fact of the matter is, we just don’t know—and perhaps even more aggravatingly, neither does Subaru. We’ll just have to tune in next week and watch as our heroes try to figure out the mystery of the missing memories.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• I feel so bad for Emilia and Beatrice. Early Subaru is a hard pill to swallow.

• …At least I can look forward to the first time Satella crushes his heart for being a blabbermouth again.

• Shaula has her own objective—namely, keeping Subaru around forever to stave off her loneliness. She is definitely hiding vital information about the tests.

• What are the birds exactly? If they can fly through solid-seeming walls without hesitation and can guide our heroes around, I doubt they are what they seem to be.

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