Score: A-

There’s no doubt that this show is going all out right from the start. We got another pretty big showdown and another one is set to start next week. Of course this show isn’t just about the action, but it doesn’t hurt that said action is really good. The showdown vs ‘Enkidu’ was intense. Even though the main cast didn’t have the strength to defeat him, they could escape. A nice effort by Ana to draw attention and then Merlin used his own skills to create the chance for an escape. That kind of result isn’t a shame either. We are talking about Enkidu. This guy was on the same level as freaking Gilgamesh. And anyone who has seen another Fate series has likely seen what this guy is capable of. Survival against someone near that level is worthy of praise.

We got a lot of individuals to learn about this week. One new character was Ana. There’s no doubt a story behind her. As Merlin stated, she was summoned by the influence of the grail. So she has some sort of connection to this situation. But for now she’s a bundle of mystery. A pretty likable character though with how she takes shots at Merlin when she can. There is no doubt a reason she’s uneasy about going to Uruk or engaging in handshakes. But compared to the person who did accept a handshake last week, she does seem more trustworthy.

And she put up a pretty good fight against Enkidu. As stated, that guy isn’t exactly a pushover. Part of that fight had to be real in order to draw Enkidu’s focus. It should be fun to see more of her in action and where her character arc goes. We are just at the start of a pretty epic story. Plenty of characters in the cast should get their moment to shine.

Might as well talk about Merlin here. This guy hardly needs any introduction. The mage at the center of the King Arthur legend. We saw a glimpse of him in Apocrphya. And of course he was crucial in the story of Artoria who we know from the original Fate series. That such a legendary figure has been drawn into this story both says how key this moment is and how crazy this story might end up. His motivations seem pretty reasonable. This guy exists outside of life/death, but the existence of humanity does matter to him. There’s not much point being able to see everything in the present…if there isn’t much in the present to look at. Hard to say how powerful he is. But he certainly has the ability to fool someone on the level of Enkidu and Gilgamesh did end up summoning him.

A great deal of credit should go to the individuals manning that massive wall. That they have managed to hold the line for months is rather amazing. Clearly a capable servant is also involved in that excellent defensive effort. But all the soldiers who are fighting against that army of demonic beasts deserve praise. Clearly the people living in that age are rather powerful. But that should take nothing away from their intense defensive war. The focus of the episode did move away from that wall pretty early on. But I have no doubt we’ll be seeing more of that wall soon enough.

I have to give credit as well to Gilgamesh in keeping things together. We’ve seen this guy at his worst in other shows, but I’ll try not to bring that up more than necessary. This version is a different sort of person. Anyone familiar with the story of Gilgamesh knows he went on a journey after the tragic ‘death’ of his friend. But he clearly came back from that journey a wiser and more tempered ruler. He’s still Gilgamesh as we saw from the end of this episode. However, he is also a ruler who can make reasonable choices. This guy is putting in the work and clearly understands how to make the best use of people. He’s even taking consideration of those who are pregnant and are in need of proper support. Probably the best version of the character I’ve seen.

If the OP did anything it was getting me hyped for the future. We got brief glimpses from a variety of characters and a great deal of possible fighting matchups. Those that know what is coming should be pretty excited about what we saw here. But I’d hope that those that are watching this for the first time are also pretty excited. We’ll learn more about all these characters as the episodes continue to roll out. But this episode did a good job introducing us to some key faces and delivering another wonderful fight. The action was only a short part of the episode, but it stuck vividly in my memory. It should be interesting seeing how this version of the King of Heroes will fight next week. But I’d say the scene of Fou beating up on the legendary Merlin should be enough to hold everyone over until then!