Well this was a great deal of aftermath after such a crazy episode last time around. Not surprisingly after such a major incident things aren’t looking too good for our characters right now. Shana is being held by Bal Masqué with almost no way to escape on her own. Carmel is being called back by Outlaw and can’t get support for an obviously wild mission of trying to rescue Shana. Margery is still unconscious with Tanaka having to watch over her and Keisaku is being held hostage by Outlaw to try and force Carmel to return.

So really, it’s a bad situation no matter how you look at it. Shana has no way out right now though perhaps the Spiral Organ could be of help. We still don’t know what his wish is that he’s been after and it doesn’t seem like him to join up with his kind of group. May not be able to count on him, but he could be of some assistance to Shana’s escape. It’s hard to see Shana like this though I can’t really be surprised at how she responded to Yuji.

I guess it goes to show that even after all this Yuji remains the same dense person as before. I’m not nearly as surprised as Yuji apparently was by Shana’s behavior. Alone being defeated isn’t something she can simply accept since losing usually means death and certainly Shana isn’t the type to prefer losing. But it’s likely a more complicated combination of things than simply that. She was cut down by Yuji of all people. Not from the perspective of someone weaker, but someone that she trusted. Someone who is rapidly turning into something that she can hardly recognize (literally and figuratively) or accept. She’s been thrown into a den of enemies, stripped of all the strength she can rely on, and all of it by someone she loves and has supreme trust in. Not to mention that he’s leading an army going around crushing Outlaws and killing Flame Hazes. Still I’m worried considering how she cut her wrist when trying to remove that chain with a sword. Could definitely get hurt if she keeps escalating her efforts to get free.

It’s more of a marvel that Yuji is surprised by this. He seems to be banking on that Alastor and Shana will eventually understand, accept, and support what he’s doing. Seems to be banking a lot of initial trust on “hey I’m Yuji so it’s all good.” Kind of glad Spiral Organ showed up since that whole situation was getting pretty crazed. Yuji can’t get why Shana’s reacting like this, thinking he has a complete understanding of her. As he continues to push it only puts Shana further into a corner which increases the terrified actions. That guy needs to cool down and really think about this. It seems at best all Yuji can do is put Shana in that room until he finishes his plans. Neither he or the leader of Bal Masqué should honestly expect Shana and Alastor of all people to support them taking extreme actions.

Yuji’s mother just looks all the more tragic the more we see her. First her son vanishes from existence and now Shana is gone from her mind too. Just so isolated and alone since now even Carmel has to leave in order to try and save Shana. While she doesn’t ‘know’ its easy to see the toll that all of this is having on that poor person.

Sadly things outside Bal Masqué aren’t looking good. Carmel can’t get the kind of support she’s going to need to save Shana. Unless she moves when Bal Masqué has put all its efforts into a different target then she’s in trouble. Can hardly expect a solo Flame Haze to break through the center of the enemies defenses. Of course can understand where the other Flame Hazes are coming from. This is an enemy that has been overwhelming them and going on the attack right now is dangerous. Putting all the lives necessary on the line to save one Flame Haze is hard to do. Still, no way that Carmel can abandon Shana who means that much to her. Even if it’s crazy she has to keep asking for help and doing whatever she can.

If Carmel didn’t have enough problems they have Keisaku held hostage. They need him right now since he’s about the only person who can help snap Margery back into reality. Without her the efforts of Carmel are even more desperate. But in order for Carmel to go after Shana she can’t do what Outlaw wants. Their only hope is that Satou can somehow break out of Outlaw’s clutches and go back. Who knew that they would be hindered so much by their own side. But if there’s one thing they’ve reminded us of it’s the lack of solidarity among Flame Hazes. Not a good time for this lack of unity since their enemy is unified in a large army and they have got to be ready to fight back.

With Bal Masqué on the move things are going to get hectic. Everyone is racing around right now and time is running out. Should be fun to see how it goes next week with some focus on what’s going on with Satou.
Score: A