Click here to check this post out on my personal website.
Compared to the grand spectacle of last week, this episode was more chill, as the heroes attempt to recoup their losses. I was happy to see the focus on Ishtar, and she’s turning out to be a great character. It makes the sacrifice of the other Servants seem so much more worth it. Plus, I can’t complain about extra screen time for Rin.
While this is definitely a liberal interpretation of Greek mythology, it’s a cool story. As a fun fact, Medusa was believed to be the only Gorgon who wasn’t immortal. So, she’s technically the least god-like of the three. However, I like how this story of Medusa becoming Gorgon sounds, especially when you factor in Ana’s identity.
There’s something oddly fitting about throwing a ton of jewels at Ishtar to get her to join the team. I can’t quite put my finger on it. It has come out in small ways in previous episodes, but this episode certainly solidifies Ishtar’s cute side.
I think it’s hilarious that Ishtar gets this false impression about Ritsuka’s intentions. Most of her scenes in this episode make her feel much more human. She claims that the ratio between the goddess and the human host is 70 to 30, which is much higher than I was expecting for the human side. It really comes out in scenes like this.
I do like the idea behind Ishtar’s motivation. She’s trying to shoulder the burden of humanity’s suffering as a goddess to spare them the pain. She even literally calls herself a target for blame, so that humans can pin the cruelty of the world on a supernatural being. I think we as a society (at least in the developed world) are moving away from this crutch, so I like seeing this somewhat antiquated notion showing up in a fitting time period.
Marth's Anime Blog 