Score: B

Sora really is a straightforward hero. That can be a good thing for sure. But there are times when it might not be ideal. Even if she doesn’t solve things in a way that I personally like, she does solve them in ways that suit her. I can’t really complain too much when she’s being the hero that she desires to be. I do hope there aren’t as many episodes about her feeling bad for doing nothing wrong though. There is a difference between being a hero and being a saint after all.

I think she earned some criticism

Beryberie was wrong. There’s nothing wrong with saying that. Even the commander agreed that Sora’s words were what Beryberie needed to hear at that point. She worked hard to get into that group and that’s fair. There is nothing wrong with respecting the efforts that someone put in. But being arrogant, looking for flaws in others, and putting power above all else are worrying character traits. It might be unfair to say since she does have room to grow. Part of her problem could involve her being stressed about past injuries and feeling pressure to always do better. But I didn’t feel bad for her and didn’t think Sora needed to apologize to her.

Sora’s perspective is obviously different. She really wants to be a hero and a sob story like that is going to work on her. And I get it. It’s easy for Sora to relate to someone that worked hard to join those Knights. It’s what she wanted to do and what she trained like a maniac for. There is a similarity there that can work on her heart. But she wasn’t wrong to say that Beryberie was wrong. Sora’s initial stance was on point. It isn’t just about power, but trying to do what is right. And trying to bully someone because she doubts their accomplishments isn’t right. Honestly, Beryberie is lucky she wasn’t in trouble for accusing the royal family of being incompetent and not doing their research.

Definitely going to be evil

First impressions…Shalala is clearly going to be a villain. I’m not going to check the voice casting here to see if it’s the same voice threatening Kabaton. But it’s just too easy for things to go that way. The person that Sora looks up to and has defined her path of a hero almost has to be a villain. It works on the level of Shalala creating her own greatest enemy in Sora/Cure Sky and offers a chance to utterly shatter Sora’s resolve and belief system. If she turns out to be ok then I’ll be impressed. But it just seems a given that this person will have to be evil.

If we ignore that narrative reasoning, Shalala seems like a decent person. She’s willing to let her knights do what they please to a degree. There was no need to let Beryberie have her fight with Sora, but it did serve to prove what Sora is capable of. And again…this is Sora without transforming. Even if we’re just talking about her natural abilities, the girl is plenty good at what she does. Shalala’s comments about Beryberie needing to hear what Sora had to say make sense and I tend to agree with that. But I guess her words could have either meant to keep Beryberie isolated so she could be attacked or to push Sora to seek her out and set the stage for a fight in town.

Curious to see how Mashiro’s situation will play out

I’m kind of surprised that Mashiro is still hanging around. I got the impression that Mashiro was along to drop off Ellee, maybe visit for the rest of the day, and then she’d have to go home. But apparently…she’s on a small vacation here? Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on with her school situation since the two episodes that gave it any focus. I guess Mashiro is free to stay for a few days? So we don’t have to worry about tackling the issue of her going back home for another episode or two. It’s too bad since they should honestly be talking about this. Mashiro is one half of their main finishing move and is a third of their fighting force. At present there is no evidence that Shalala or any of the Knights can fight Ranborgs.

It was amusing though how chill Mashiro is. Of course, she’s not really asking for any reward. She doesn’t need one. Plus, it’s another world. Where would she even start in asking for rewards from a society, she knows next to nothing about? What she truly wants most can’t even be offered. In that I mean she’d love to stay with Sora if possible. But she can’t live in two places at once and I’m doubting that the portal can be made into a convenient passage that is free to use whenever.

The new guy seems ok

The new general is fine. I don’t have a strong opinion of this guy. They made clear at the end that he’s mostly pretending to be as relaxed as he looks. Not sure this guy is going to be as entertaining as Kabaton. Not that Kabaton was the best of characters right away, but he did play a part in a strong opening episode. This guy seems to be a sadist and wants to torment those he seems as “weak”. That does play into the tone of the Empire as seen in Kabaton as well. Strength seems to be all that matters for them (much like Beryberie). Will have to see how this guy turns out.

First day in Skyland worked out fine

Overall, I’d say the episode was good. It was nice seeing Sora continue to redefine her view of being a hero. And it was sweet for her to meet her own personal hero again. For her sake I hope Shalala isn’t a villain, but the odds seem good there. I guess we’ll have to see what will happen in terms of where Ellee is going to spend her time. It doesn’t seem realistic to keep her in Skyland and divide the Precure team. But this is something that will work itself out with time. So, I’ll just wait on that part of it.