Score: A

I just can’t escape this series! This was another really good episode. There are no signs right now that they are going to do anything but give Cure Arcana Shadow a really fantastic arc. And I love how she doesn’t give much away for free. Answer and Mystique are supposed to be detectives. There’s no reason for her to spell everything out for them. If they want to understand her motives then they need to do some sleuthing. But yeah, Precure just refuses to let me escape it.

Good disguise, great words of wisdom

It really is easy to empathize with characters that have a nuanced look at things. Luluka is just really interesting. She has a less black and white view compared to the other Precure. White lies and deceptions have their place in her worldview. Her deceptions last episode helped get the true treasures put on display. This week she helped turn Masami’s heartbreak into optimism. She could accept that the misanga’s myth was a lie. It couldn’t make her wish come true. But she managed to turn things towards what was true. The wish and the love Masami had was pure. She did feel that way and there’s nothing wrong with that. She doesn’t have to throw everything away just because the result wasn’t ideal. Caring about love wasn’t a mistake.

Now of course Luluka was talking to herself in some ways. Something happened to her in the past. Whether it relates to the mysteriously announced but unseen Cure Eclair…I’m not sure. But clearly there was something that happened and Luluka told herself or needs to remind herself that her feelings weren’t a lie. It’s important to treasure precious feelings and to not forget about them. In that moment it wasn’t just about encouraging Masami in order to make sure the Makoto Jewel didn’t fade away. She was speaking from the heart and showing that she has a beautiful heart.

This girl is on another level

I feel bad for the rest of the cast because the hype for Arcana Shadow is justified. She is a really interesting and enjoyable character. Did we need another showing of her calmly dominating the other Precure? We probably didn’t. But I sure as heck enjoyed it regardless. It’s just downright cute how she’s taking it easy on them while trying to give them advice. Yet another fight where she dodged, gave them a poke to the cheek, and held back from doing serious damage. We also saw what her beam attack can do. If she wanted to defeat the others she could’ve done it. Those beams were precise and if they missed the girls that’s only because she didn’t want to harm them. I just don’t think they’ve fully grasped that yet.

What I did enjoy was Jett realizing that Arcana Shadow saved him and Pochitan and ran up to talk to her about it. I’d say he is 100% right about what he said. Arcana Shadow might’ve tried to save Pochitan, but she didn’t have to save Jett. He was far enough away that it was purely a rescue move on her part. And I appreciate that it tells the other girls that Arcana Shadow really is a good girl that cares. The mysteries about why she’s sided with Phantom and what her goals are remain. But we get to know who she is as a person in this one. Just a good person that will even admit to being the previous user of that detective agency and giving them tips about that stuck window.

Interesting jewel lore

I really wonder what is up with the Makoto Jewels. What are those things and what is their intended purpose? We know they can inhabit items that have great emotional value and that if the item loses that value then the jewel itself is lost. They are being used (we think) to restore Pochitan’s powers back to normal. But where do the jewels go? Maybe if we learn that then we can understand what is motivating Arcana Shadow. But all we can do is wait for some answers.

Could’ve gone without the monster fight

This episode was really solid. The only issue I had was with the monster of the week. I get there are time constraints and they honestly just didn’t need a monster fight in this episode. But it was awkwardly handled here. The girls basically just kept dodging so they never got a strike on the enemy. But they were still free to unload their finisher. That kind of thing just sets a bad precedent and it’s best to not do that. I don’t want to wonder why the Precure aren’t opening fights with their big move.

Things are about to get serious

But this is a tough one. The episode we got here was really solid and the next episode looks to be even better. The big boss (which could change) is ready to make his move. And that’s a bad sign. The Precure can’t even handle Arcana Shadow by herself. If they get into it with the Phantom’s leader it could go very badly. I’ll honestly say the next episode will probably decide if I do get lured in by Precure again. There’s a lot of shows I do want to talk about this season. And this really looks to be one of them.