Score: A-

This show continues to go in interesting directions. There wasn’t a lot in this episode that I would have outright predicted. But it’s definitely been fun seeing how events are playing out and trying to figure out exactly where things will go next. The questions continue to deepen as well regarding the nature of this game and the potential reason that Kobayashi’s copy of the game has behaved in this way. I’m sure the show won’t delve into the question of whether this is tapping into an actual reality or if it is some sentient game, but it would be interesting if it did.

I wonder about this guy

What is going on with that actor? I honestly can’t begin to pretend that I’ve got that one figured out. It does make this whole situation feel even more mystical though. Who is Eve in this situation? Was it a version of Fiene brought out of the game and given a new name? Why did he mistake her for Kobayashi? Did he mistake her for Kobayashi? At this point it seems possible that might be from another world or a descendant of someone that was. Anything appears to be on the table.

Obviously, it took a good deal of random chance for them to run into this guy. But now that he’s at least aware of them…things could get complicated. I’m still not sure what his connection to that world is or what’s going on here. But at the very least things are getting interesting. The reveal of that ‘God Route’ adds a certain layer to things. It definitely feels less like the company used this actor’s biography for their story without asking him and rather that he asked them to do so for some reason. Or this game is based on some magical event that really happened. In that case it would explain why Kobayashi was called Eve instead of Fiene. In that scenario Fiene would be the re-named version of that original character.

I can’t blame him for being struck by her cuteness

I loved the date for Endo and Kobayashi. That guy really can lay on the compliments though. I’m kind of impressed. Though I guess he’s so head over heels and can’t help it. Might be thanks to the commentary along with seeing the Prince and Bal just laying on their own honest compliments that is influencing him to do the same. It’s just kind of nice. Because these two do need to make progress themselves. So it’s just nice having Endo just openly complimenting her and making it rather clear that he likes her. It’s kind of fun seeing him look so utterly intense about calling her cute. There’s still a road to travel for these two, but it’s looking great on their side of things. We’re still not to the point of confessing, but he almost shouldn’t need to!

Too bad she dropped some of her loot

The whole situation with Fiene’s family was definitely not what I was expecting. I was at least on point about Fiene’s mother showing up. But I didn’t quite expect her to be busting into the villa or that Fiene was Liese’s cousin. It made sense that Fiene had some unique heritage, but that was quite the backstory. It was both more and less intense than I thought it would be. I kind of feel bad for everyone in this. Fiene’s father died young without really getting to marry the girl he loved. Her mother got her one moment with the one she loved, but ran away from home to avoid noble family war. And Fiene grew up thinking she was a commoner, with her life in danger, and never really knowing her own life story. Even Liese’s father had a tough time since his brother died and his sister-in-law ran.

Here comes the yuri route?

I kind of like how there might be some drama about things potentially going down the yuri route XD. Obviously, they won’t go there, but it could be fun watching Baldur or Sieg worrying about that. It’s nice for both of these girls. Fiene’s grown up isolated and never really building that kind of friendship with someone. And suddenly having family beyond her mother would be pretty emotional. The same goes for Lieselotte really. This isn’t her first or only sister, but this is a friend who both understands and respects her. The two have steadily built up that connection and it’s a sweet thing to see. Kind of crazy that Fiene suddenly ended up set to take over that whole family XD. And we’re even setting up Bal with a chance to truly win Fiene’s heart.

It feels like things will work out just fine

This episode really moved things along. Now I don’t love the show hiding things from the audience that the characters themselves know. Kobayashi needs to spell out the whole plot right now! No more surprises here. Although it is a bit sad to think that Fiene usually only finds out she and Lieselotte are related…after she’s dead. That game really hated happy endings. Even the good endings needed a sizable helping of tragedy. Next episode could be interesting with Sieg getting a hint that something is wrong or could go wrong. At least he’s going to be thinking even more about his relationship to Lieselotte and what Kobayashi could mean with her words.