This episode definitely confirms that Yuji is being possessed/controlled/whatever by the leading figure of Bal Masqué. It seems he usually takes a different form, but this time he’s taking control of a Mystes (in this case Yuji). He seems to claim that it’s better for interacting with his underlings than he could as “the Tyrant”. An interesting thing though is the variety of voices. Sometimes you have the stronger voice and then you kind of get a mix of that commander and Yuji’s voice. I’d have to agree with the concerns of Bel Peol that Yuji is definitely in there, but he can’t really take control. Maybe eventually he will and that will be after the leader convinces Yuji that what they are doing is the best thing for Shana.

Not sure if I’d like to call my special attack “Myself.” I mean it kind of works, but it just doesn’t have a good ring for a super move. It at least seemed to get Shana fired up (literally) so maybe that will work. That letter Shana got seemed to really weigh on her mind. This reaction shows how easily Shana can be thrown off by events. I kind of wonder what that message means though. Should Shana be more honest about being in love with Yuji? Should she be out seeking him rather than doing the intelligent thing in training? It might have been a good message, but that woman really should know Shana well enough to be more direct in what she is saying. I’m a bit lost on what she means and if that’s the case god help Shana who is easily distracted by issues of the heart. Have to say it was cute that Shana put Alastor underneath the pillow before reading the letter. It shows that special relationship she has with Sophie and maybe how she doesn’t like to show emotional reactions to Alastor.

Sydonay is insanely strong. I just feel like that sentence requires being stated over and over again. We saw in season 2 how his transformational abilities are incredible on their own. But hand that guy a hougu like that and he’s ridiculously strong. He didn’t even need to use any of his transforming abilities to beat that Flame Haze. The spear has some interesting properties. It’s strength and durability is obvious at a glance, but it appears to have other abilities as well. Maybe he can leave pieces of the spear in an object like that building and have them fire out at an opponent. Avoiding those kinds of attacks while also being aware of Sydonay is tough for anyone to handle. Probably a good thing that Shana is training since if she ever goes up against him she’ll need the extra power. This episode also helped hit home just how much power Bal Masqué has. Bel Peol, Hecate, ‘Yuji’, Sydonay, Fecor, Sabrac, etc. That’s just nuts, they will need an army of Flame Haze to handle what is coming.

Wow I feel for Keisaku at the end of the episode. Suddenly think he will walk as much as he possibly can from here on out. Stuck in a train with no easy way to escape has to be utterly terrifying. Without a Flame Haze he’d die in no time at all even if he can move within the fuzetsu. Not having that protector around really can make one feel utterly vulnerable. Regular people won’t understand why someone is suddenly panicking and will either die or remain oblivious to an attack. I’m glad he made it out of that situation alright. Does hit home though that Yuji now registers as a tomogara and not a Mystes. Unless that detector can’t tell the difference, but I think Margery would make it sensitive enough to be able to.

A good episode to set up a possibly tense encounter between Shana and ‘Yuji’. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen since things are getting pretty interesting.
Score: A-