Score: A+

This episode is one I might not even be done processing yet. The last episode was an incredible dialogue between two characters, but this one hit like a ton of bricks. This wasn’t a fun ride in any way. It was a painful showing of the worst timeline this show will likely ever have. I hope it is the worst anyway. But it is fantastically done and lets the misery, pain, and loss just hit so hard. Even though you know they can reach a better future, it’s agonizing to see how bad things could get and how easily.

Not Roxy!

“Oh no.” The first seconds of this episode had me thinking that. I mean how else should a person react to starting the episode off with a cat having been killed by magic stone disease!? That opening visual was enough to say exactly what kind of hell I was walking into with this episode. The odds were good that we’d get some flashes of Old Rudy’s path and the tragedies that consumed his life. But…something about just opening up with that visual made it clear how painful this episode was going to be. We saw the end result of what that version of Rudy went through. He turned into an absolutely powerful individual, but one that had lost everything and been unable to get any piece of revenge. And we got a front row seat to that tragedy.

Not Sylphie!

The diary told a horrible story, but one I think that was good for Rudy to read. Old Rudy isn’t blameless, not at all. He made mistakes. Not every bad decision was sparked by the Man God. That monster gave him a push and then things completely got out of hand. And the worst thing is how much wasn’t started out of bad intentions. Going to save Roxy wasn’t a shock. Cliff wasn’t an adventurer and neither is Zanoba really. The only person who should’ve known how reckless it would be to break in and steal that spell was Rudy. But he was the one person that was most emotionally compromised. So they went for it, Cliff died, and Roxy wasn’t saved anyway.

But it wasn’t as if Rudy started off wanting to turn into a monster. He rejected sleeping with Sylphie not because of pure anger, but because he didn’t trust himself. I could get him not wanting to vent his anger on someone he loved. But his answer instead…was to just get drunk and sleep with a prostitute. And it was a horrible pattern that plagued Old Rudy. One mistake would lead to another. Often with the best of intentions behind some of those mistakes. He didn’t want to hurt Sylphie so he pushed her away. Then Rudy didn’t think he had the right to chase after her when she left, but he really should have done that. His negative view of himself fed into his worst tendencies.

I feel less bad for them…

This episode really hit home the kind of character Rudy is and has the potential to be in the worst case. If some characters have a range between good to great, Rudy has a much wider range of great to despicable. There’s reasons the early parts of his story could frustrate people. He is a flawed person and can turn into a true monster if the right circumstances present themselves. But he can also turn into an excellent person in other scenarios. It’s not that circumstances alone are everything, but he can so easily start walking down the wrong path and struggle to pull himself out of it. And again, Rudy isn’t a blank slate. He doesn’t start the show with truly a fresh start. Because he carries the baggage of his life on Earth with him. It’s why he still appears before the Man God as his old self.

Rudy should not be considered blameless in where he ended up. His actions and mistakes carried him down that road as much as anything. Don’t even need to like Old Rudy, not after the things he did. But he is a fantastic cautionary tale for main Rudeus. No matter how good things have gotten and can be, it’s not a long walk into a nightmare. Rudy can end up as the worst version of himself very easily if he isn’t careful about it. People can make terrible choices when captured by despair and he showed that painfully clearly.

All my anger!

That’s not to say that I wouldn’t love to see the Man God get utterly demolished! That guy is scum. But he really laid it all out. The mass teleportation incident wasn’t his intention. Something else was responsible and it threw his plans into chaos. But whatever influence/power he has over most people couldn’t apply to Rudy and to make matters worse he was a grumpy and suspicious guy. Manipulating him was a challenge, but he got exactly what he wanted! He’s an excellent villain in that sense. Because there’s technical truths. He didn’t directly kill Roxy and Rudy’s life falling apart was partially set up by his own actions. But he directed him to go into that basement and knowing what would happen. He is completely responsible for her death compared to Rudy who didn’t have a reason not to go into the basement nor is it on Roxy.

And that sadist couldn’t stand just letting that be. Rudy would likely have never figured it out. But that monster needed to reveal the truth in order to twist that knife. He wanted Rudy to know why Roxy died and how Rudy had been played for a fool. It’s possible he even wanted to drive Rudy insane so that he couldn’t recover through Eris. But the one saving grace is that his sadism may just fuel his defeat. If he hadn’t said anything then Old Rudeus couldn’t have gone back in time to warn himself.

Not Nanahoshi!

On a smaller note the way things were set up was masterful. Absolutely brutal timing for Eris to enter the picture! It was so terrible that it hurt to keep watching! Because you can imagine from Eris’ point of view she was nervous about meeting Rudeus again. In her mind the big thing was being worthy to stand alongside Rudeus and fight together. She’d worked so hard for it, but wasn’t sure how he’d view it. And even worse was that she simply had no clue whatsoever that Rudeus felt she had abandoned him. For Eris she’d stepped out for a bit for his sake to be ready for the next challenge that was coming.

The misunderstanding didn’t help a thing, but it was just horrible timing. Cliff just died, they (believed) there was a ticking clock to save Roxy and Rudeus hadn’t gotten past what happened yet. This wasn’t the time for a beautiful emotional reunion. In the best of circumstances it would have gotten a bit messy, but maybe it could’ve been worked through. But it simply wasn’t that. All the more so on Eris’ side because on some level she expected a much happier and welcoming reunion. Almost feeling like her efforts were what was being betrayed.

One more for the road…Not Eris!

There is enough in this episode to write an essay! Rudy going full psycho after finding Sylphie dead? Zanoba making a mecha Sylphie which Rudy then destroys because he just can’t handle it? How about Aisha, Zanoba, and Juliette getting killed in retribution for past actions by Rudy? Nanahoshi’s suicide? The death of Eris? Utterly tragic. Roxy died right at the start and didn’t have to see things get truly bad. Sylphie also died relatively early all things considered. But Eris was there…for so much of it. She was rejected over and over again. She vented her anger over and over again. Rudeus even tortured her one time. But when it came down to it…she sacrificed her life to save Rudeus. This episode is incredibly dense with tragedy!

What I will say is that this episode did everything right. It does show the worst qualities of Rudeus and how he could end up. But it’s also a story that provides hope. The path of history will change and that’s unavoidable. But more so than specific hints, the important thing is that a younger Rudeus sees how bad things can get. It’s important for him to see what he can turn into. And now we get to see just what path Rudy will choose to walk.