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This week’s episode was a bit awkward, but it does a good job of enforcing the character stories from last week. We’re starting to see more of the world through the travels of our band of goofs. I do wonder if this series is having a hard time deciding whether it wants to be serious or silly, though. I think the show excels at being silly, so maybe I’m just biased.
Seeing Mile turn the group’s quest into a class trip was pretty entertaining. I’m always skeptical when a series does a screenshot montage, but I think sightseeing is one of those situations where it fits. The episode also does a good job of steering into the comedy by throwing a modern-style gift shop into the mix.
Reina’s anger at the bandits makes sense in context with the previous episode, so this seems like a reasonable progression for her. I also think it makes sense that she gets defeated by the diverse nature of her enemy, which goes back to her need for backup.
I do think that Reina shifts her personality more quickly than I would have expected, though. Mile’s speech about Reina being family feels like it should be correcting Reina’s impulsive solo nature. However, we see Reina stopping herself from killing as well, which seems like an overreach. Maybe it makes more sense as progression from last week rather than progressing from the events this week.
This might also sound cruel, but I think the episode would have made more sense if the grandfather didn’t survive. It’s weird watching everyone rejoice at the end when most of the caravan was slaughtered. I can see it being unnecessarily cruel to the little girl who already lost her parents. But in that case, it might have fit better if the soldiers had taken the caravan captive. After all, they were soldiers pretending to be bandits, not ruthless killers.
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