Score: A-

I think the couple of weeks off helped with letting this episode be a bit disorienting to start. It took a minute before I clued in that this was a flashback. That Monica wouldn’t be bullied that cruelly probably should have hit home faster. Not that people don’t still have cruelty to them at this point in the show, but a message has been sent about what happens if you even try to mess with Monica in that way! So obviously the only time something like that could’ve happened would have been in the past. A time long before Monica became one of the most legendary magic wielders of that setting.

Started off so well

You can just see how things would go badly. Bernie wasn’t a bad guy to start. He did save Monica from that creepy bullying and even supported her in a lot of ways. You could see elements even in that though that were warning signs. The guy has both pride and an inferiority complex. He’s proud of his noble heritage and that’s all well and good. But he’s also clearly miffed about being the second son and not having all the benefits that his older brother received simply by being born first. And Bernie admitted right away to gunning for a position among the Seven Sages. A position that Monica would end up filling…

Monica put her heart out and got crushed

There was a comfort in that relationship. Monica was truly appreciative in the help he was giving. And there was a sense of pride and satisfaction in receiving her gratitude. It’s clear that Monica was a bit more open and comfortable than she is even now. It just shows how devastated she was emotionally from the collapse of their friendship. What really sucks is that he’s clearly the reason she developed silent magecraft. He encouraged her to try shortening her chants and even showed confidence in her ability to do that.

So it hurts that he of all people got angry at her for her accomplishments. Obviously he had plenty going on in his own life. But Bernie of all people should have known the kind of person Monica is. Yet he let his pride and arrogance blind him. It was probably easier on him to pretend that Monica of all people was secretly mocking him. That she already mastered silent magecraft by the time he helped her with using shortened chants. Honestly he probably should have looked in the mirror before saying what he said. I do think he generally liked Monica. But who knows who much or on what level he enjoyed having someone he could look down on and feel better about his lesser status within his own family. Then she utterly surpassed him and his pride couldn’t take the strain. The rot in his heart took hold.

Chess scenes got weird!

The chess stuff was hilarious in some ways and sad in others. Monica clearly isn’t over all the messed up stuff that’s happened of late. And she certainly isn’t over her past traumas. But she’s not going to be allowed to back off and run away either. She picked chess for various reasons, but she is good at it. And for that reason it’s no shock she was chosen as a representative for the competition. It’s also hardly a shock that she was chosen to be the team ace. We already saw her pick apart one member of this team in her very first game of chess. There’s no doubt she’s good enough for the job. It’s just a matter of Monica overcoming her fears and hesitations.

Easier said than done though. Monica’s heart is deeply scared from various incidents in her past. She’s steadily gotten better as the show has gone along. But when specific wounds get poked…well she just falls apart on the spot. Which is a shame since she has so much to be proud of. But the negative things just stick in the mind harder than the positives sometimes.

Great friend there

Good on Lana. Monica falling apart was so obvious that no one is going to miss the signs. But she did step up nicely to support her friend. Even shoving her into a corset actually had purpose behind it. There’s not much Lana can do regarding Monica’s traumatic past. But she can help out with changing her look. And since Monica more than anything wants to avoid people that know who she is…that works out nicely. It’s a good moment of support from a friend. And it’s something Monica desperately needed.

It’s also support that was timely. With the direction the story was going it was a safe bet that Bernie would be there. I kind of figured he was already graduated, but I guess Monica’s quick graduation into becoming a Sage keeps throwing me off regarding how much time has passed between her past with Bernie and the present. Props to Monica for managing to both speak to him and shake his hand without falling to the ground in a panic. She probably channeled her Seven Sage determination into that moment to try and avoid him realizing the truth. Which was a dicey thing. There’s no way Bernie would overlook someone with the same name and hair colour. But thankfully I don’t think he’s sure that they are the same person. It’s just at the level of strong suspicion. Still room to get out of this.

Monica can make this expression

We’re in a great spot right now for drama. Will Bernie grow as a person and can Monica recover that friendship? Or will Bernie just continue to be an absolute idiot that can’t accept a friend that even now still wants to be his friend? It could go either way. He’s either already grown from that and is awkwardly looking for his chance to apologize…or he’s just a scumbag. I hope for Monica’s sake that he has grown or is about to grow. Because she needs that. She’s already had a terrorist friend be sent off to a convent for good. It’d be nice to deal with one of her traumas while adding back a lost friend.