Score: B

We are definitely getting close to the end here and I’m starting to wonder how well the show will stick the landing. Everything is building up to resolving the issues in the game, the relationships, and explaining the connection between the game and reality. It is that last part that has the least established yet and needs the most focus going into the last couple episodes. I’m sure they’ve kept that in mind while putting these episodes together. But I’m just starting to feel a slight bit of tension about whether they’ll land the ending or not. Because it’s not like I see this show getting a second season. How they end this show is how it will forever be.

No surprise that chasing after this thing solo didn’t work out

I’m not shocked that this fight didn’t go perfectly for the main cast. I mean of course. The line between success and failure could have been narrow. There’s probably a reason only one route had the best possible result. And honestly there are a few reasons I could see them running into issues. Liese is really fired up right now. She’s pissed and going after that witch at every opportunity. So that opened her up to the tactical misstep of chasing after the person trying to possess her! Unfortunately, I can’t see a lot of ways to get ahead of that. Convincing Liese to not take part in the fight would be tough and frankly that could backfire if she gets behind the fighting force. And motivating her (to try and save her) while urging her to restrain her aggressive instincts would be difficult.

Most powerful character is playing support…

The other character in a tough spot is Fiene. Her arc isn’t a bad one, but it does have some potential issues. Fiene has been stepping back from main character in this story. She’s been more supportive to Liese and letting Bal take more of a frontline role. The problem is that she’s clearly the most powerful character in the show and is apparently on a new game plus level of power. And all she’s doing is using supporting magic and playing the white mage role here. It makes sense with her character arc. She doesn’t like how she got strong and her past has impacted how she views fights. And part of her journey has been about Bal promising to surpass her and fight so she doesn’t have to. So that naturally leads to how we saw her in this fight.

This is an issue though because it is limiting their options. Fiene should have a sword and be out there trying to cut the witch in half. The cast has planned things out so much but neglected leveraging the character that defeats the Witch in every route of the game. I think they should have made her wish to not fight so much secondary to after this world shifting battle. If Bal is going to surpass her that’s going to take a while. Maybe letting him work on that over a few years might be more sensible.

Power of love should handle this

I still think this fight will work out fine though. Power of love should take care of most of the issues here. If nothing else the focus on Sieg and Liese’s romance should help create a win in a different way from the game routes. And this episode focused further on those relationships. Sieg and Liese are as solid as they’ve ever been in the show. Liese is still a tsundere, but a pretty mild one compared to the start of the show. Sieg is easing up a bit which I feel is a good choice. I get him being head over heels, but going after Liese too much could shake her up.

While the romance has had potential combat costs, I do think Bal and Fiene have developed quite well. It was good that he finally went to go and get her while she was uneasy about heading out to dance. She’s a sweet girl and it’s understandable that she couldn’t push herself to head out there. A lot has gone on in a short period of time for Fiene. And honestly the higher society aspect of things has been a weak point for her the whole time. But things worked out and I think that ship is in good shape. They have an interesting element with Fiene’s clear memories of previous game routes still holding strong. That part still needs to be explored.

I suspect this is crucial information

The biggest questions that remain surround the game, that actor, and Kobayashi herself. It doesn’t feel as if Kobayashi’s game acted up like this by chance. There seems to be reasons behind it. At least we got some lore behind the gods involved in this world. It seems likely the actor is the God Kuon that died protecting the human he loved. If there’s a connection between Kobayashi and that woman then it would explain his reactions. There are still questions to be answered, but I can’t imagine that story had nothing to do with their present situation.

Maybe spend more time on strategy and less on character fans

My fingers are crossed. This show has been a fun ride so far. So, I’m hoping that it wraps things up nicely. The only romance that still needs to be settled is Endo and Kobayashi. That’s not a high bar to clear since both sides are clearly interested in each other. If they spend an episode dealing with the Witch of Yore and the rest dealing with the remaining questions…it should have enough time to wrap things up.