Score: B+

This episode did catch me off-guard. I honestly didn’t think we’d suddenly run into the very person that murdered Mia! I just figured the executioner would be some random soldier. But I guess it would be a shame to miss out on the opportunity to force Mia to interact with the person that killed her. I did notice Dion from the OP, but I always figured he’d be closer to Ludwig in terms of story value. My guess was that he’d be a soldier that did try to help Mia, but maybe died during her capture or something. But nope…he was the person that cut her head off and presumably betrayed the royal family to side with the Revolutionaries. A choice that’s certainly interesting since he should have been as hateful of nobles as he was royalty, but clearly not every noble family was being hunted down during that Revolution.

Literally meeting her executioner here

Mia has done a solid job keeping those she’s most uncomfortable with at arms length. Not perfectly, but at least she hasn’t gotten more involved with Tion and Sion than she could handle. And it was probably slightly easier that she likely didn’t interact much with them leading up to her execution. But this situation with Dion is just plain different. If any singular event would leave a traumatic scar on Mia’s psyche it would be her death itself. Even more so since he was pretty much spitting venom in her last moments. Of course, you can get the guy being upset about his troops (although they would have died almost a decade ago by that point), but that wouldn’t make the memory any less traumatic.

You could certainly say it was these kinds of interactions with Dion that left her absolutely unphased when facing off against Abel’s brother. A bit of a bully is nothing compared to dealing with people that absolutely despised her and gladly killed her. The sad reality though is that those experiences can’t really help her handle a source of trauma like this. So, it’s no surprise that Mia just absolutely freaked out and passed out from terror. This was one situation where she couldn’t really hide her discomfort. Thankfully there’s simply no way this guy could know why she was uncomfortable.

No shock that the stress built up

If Mia has one talent it is her ability to adapt to a situation. I can’t see that forest situation being something she planned out. I think she was swept along with the moment, wandering into a stressful forest with potential enemies around them, and walking beside someone she is absolutely terrified of. She had to know that any mistake might get her killed now or set up her guillotine future. That stress had to be building up the further into the forest they went. Then she trips over a root and I think that stress just exploded. So, she did the only rational thing…she kicked a tree XD. I honestly think she just was venting and then everything was spiraling out of control on her!

But Mia did manage to make the most of it. I don’t think for a second that she wanted the whole army moving with her as protection. Again…she’s scared of Dion! I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want him anywhere nearby. What I do think though is that she knew this was a great chance to pull the forces away from the forest and mess with Berman’s plans. And she is legitimately pissed off at this guy! His stupidity is dragging her into a dangerous situation that might get her head cut off! I think if Mia was just done with this whole situation, she would have taken her royal guard and went straight home! She tends to have a solid grip on what she needs to do to help herself. And pulling Dion’s forces away from the woods was a top priority.

The devil whispering in his ear…

While Berman is an idiot, I do think we might have started to see a sign of a mastermind behind all this. It feels a bit crazy to think that economic collapse, plagues, famine, and regional disputes would all be happening in such a proximity. Either Mia was born under a cursed star or someone was trying to make things worse within Tearmoon. The man that was prodding Berman seemed determined to cause trouble. The only things he said were things that would naturally anger the man and cause him to act out. Even giving him a roadmap for the kind of action he could take. Now this guy could just be a random jerk, but maybe we finally have someone that is looking to bring down Tearmoon! And if Mia can take care of that core issue she might be saved.

At least her cheat sheet keeps her honest!

Speaking of famine though, I salute Mia just moving onto the next major issue even though her fate hasn’t changed yet. So far, the best win she’s got to look forward to…is that her last meal is a bit better! I wonder if Mia’s “wisdom of the empire” moniker is starting to hurt her? If something goes wrong then are people suspecting that she intended it? Or are they upset that despite expecting so much of her that she couldn’t live up to it? Regardless though, it was nice that Mia building up that friendship with Chloe helped save her bacon here.

Mia really didn’t know how to handle this, so a lot of praise goes to Ludwig for putting together a deal that worked out perfectly. It was all thanks to both him and Chloe’s father misunderstanding what Mia was thinking. But in the end Ludwig took Mia’s intentions and used them in the best way. She just wanted a deal that wouldn’t hurt the economy but that would leave them ready ahead of the famine. If she hadn’t then attempting to important wheat from overseas during a famine would have broken the country. Instead, she’s left looking like a wise and sensible leader that is preparing for something that might never happen.

See you later Abel

Sadly, the break from school did mean a slight stop to the Mia and Abel romance for now. Of course, it does allow Mia to get back to being proactive about the issues within her country. Plus, it isn’t like nothing happened at all here. I thought it was a sweet move that Abel was sending a present to Mia. We needed a comedic twist though and that came from the gift being intended for horses. I don’t blame Mia for not understanding what he was intending. He didn’t specify that it was a gift for Mia’s favourite horse (which I don’t think she even has) and Mia tends to think most things are about her specifically. On the positive side this could be a win/win. Abel will think the gift was appreciated and Mia will have hair that’s looking better than ever!

Mia may never be comfortable around that girl!

This was a good return to Mia tackling the issues within her country. The famine situation seems well at hand so right now the focus is on dealing with the Lulu tribe. It’s cool that a kind gesture (helping that kid) got her a gift that will probably end up saving her. She’s got to go back to the woods for the gift and is going to interact with the Lulu tribe. If she can get that tribe’s support, then there won’t be a huge public issue. I am a bit surprised that despite how well things have been going with Mia and Tiona that Tiona would be so intensely angry at Mia. Wouldn’t she naturally think that Mia had nothing to do with what happened or ask her for help to assist the Lulu Tribe? Obviously, she didn’t do that though. She must have just flown off the handle.

The guillotine keeps coming!

We’ll have to see how things go from here. I expect the Lulu Tribe to become huge Mia supporters after the next episode. But it could be a dangerous situation for Mia. She must handle this properly or else the guillotine will keep chasing her down! But we are talking about Mia so I’m sure she’ll manage. It’d be interesting if all this does lead to a reveal of a mastermind. The more disasters that Mia averts the more bold any possible villains will have to be to try and bring down the royal family.