Score: A

There’s no doubt that Star Detective Precure is doing a great job at building up the mystery. They aren’t taking the easy way out of developing Luluka’s character and we’re just getting bits and pieces of what is truly driving her. This episode was all about furthering that story and getting the main Precure one step closer to understanding her. They are starting on the path to reaching out. I’m now quite curious how long it will take before Cure Arcana Shadow joins the team. Normally I’d say we aren’t far off…but it could take until the upcoming showdown with Usonoir for the completed Makoto Jewel.

I’ve got thoughts

In some ways it has been a while since a Precure series has had enough plot to chew on like this. I will kind of go off on a bit of speculation (up until the next image) so people can skip if they don’t want theories based on information outside of the show itself. But there’s just enough in this episode that I kind of need to work through it a bit just to get my own thoughts in order. But if nothing else this episode nicely set up some mysteries that will be interesting to see unfold.

The one inescapable thing is the existence of Cure Eclair. She was revealed along with the others before the show even came out. And yet there has been no sign of her. The two directions they had to go with was either she will be someone new to add to the team or she was another veteran Precure like Arcana Shadow. This episode definitely nods to the latter idea. The best I can grasp from this episode is that Eclair herself shattered the jewel. Not simply with an attack though, but potentially with her own body. Who knows what kind of effect it could have to shatter a jewel of truth that had such power though.

But clearly that incident was what sparked Arcana Shadow to join Phantom. This is entirely speculative. But I think Eclair was shattered when she broke the jewel. It seems plausible that it took so much that it basically killed her. But maybe she was broken into multiple people? Either way I could see Luluka joining Phantom because Usonoir is the only person that can find the jewel fragments and gather them together. If restoring the jewel would restore her friend…I could see her siding with the villains to use them in order to accomplish that mission. The fact that London’s intel didn’t mention Eclair and only Luluka makes me think they are either covering something up or Eclair was basically shattered from reality and everyone besides Arcana Shadow forgot about her.

This man almost had it all

Back to the show itself. Clearly Arcana Shadow lost to Usonoir in the past. She was down, out, and clearly not the one that shattered the Makoto Jewel. Luluka was simply not in a position to do that. It’s not a shock though. Usonoir is absurdly powerful and it took a lot out of Luluka to simply block one attack of his. I’m sure a brutal battle was simply too much for her to handle even if she wasn’t alone. Someone else shattered the jewel and forced this current status quo into existence. And then Luluka chose to join Phantom and support their efforts.

If nothing else it’s clear that restoring the Makoto Jewel is within her wishes. And I appreciate the show trying to nip a theory in the bud about her being turned to evil by Usonoir. I suppose it’s possible for his lies to make her think that. But the man himself said his powers right now had a limited effect. I don’t think he could keep Luluka under that power for all this time. Sadly that’s all we really have for now. Arcana Shadow’s recruitment arc feels like it has hit a pause point for now. The other Precure have to figure out the truth before they can even try to get her to join them. But levelling up their detective skills is something that will take time. If all this is because of the Makoto Jewel…then it might take until that thing is restored before we move forward.

Two different detective styles

Arcana Shadow had a much colder view of detective work compared to the more idealistic Answer. For Answer a detective basically sticks their nose into every mystery they can find and resolves them. But for Arcana Shadow it’s a job where you work off requests. And in some ways the girls themselves can accept that. Mikuru wanted to make Anna’s request to go back to her own time period official. That’s a request that has been placed on her as a detective. And right now Arcana Shadow isn’t asking for anyone’s help. Whatever she thinks will happen due to restoring the Makoto Jewel, she’s definitely dedicated to making that happen.

Welcome to her labyrinth

If nothing else this situation has gotten the girls thinking more about what is motivating Arcana Shadow. They know her name, but honestly that’s about it. The London division really didn’t send them all that much. They couldn’t just tell them this over the phone!? It was hardly top secret information. All we got from it is that she was part of that detective agency (which we already knew) and her name. That’s it. I still really wonder if the villains won’t shift at the halfway point and reveal that the London division is up to something.

The one good thing though is that the girls are getting stronger. This episode was a better reflection of that than last week. This time Arcana Shadow wasn’t quite so rattled and attacking wildly. The girls are clearly getting stronger and able to fight better against her. But she’s still ahead of them even in a 2v1. It took more effort but she could brute force an attack through Mystique’s barrier. Arcana Shadow’s speed is also excellent even now. The one gain is that Answer has seen her attack enough to at least close the distance. The girls need to grow as detectives, but they do need to get more powerful as Precure. Otherwise they’ll never beat Usonoir.

It’s up to these two to crack the case

This episode was great. It’s just full of juicy speculation. There is a mystery for the girls to solve. But right now Arcana Shadow isn’t giving them much. She’s got the mindset that they can’t crack this case anytime soon. And that there are some cases that an ace detective can’t resolve. And she says this while being a famous detective in her own right. This girl is locked into her mission. If the other Precure can’t solve the case they simply won’t have any way to pull her to their side. This season is giving us a lot of great character material to work with. It’ll be interesting to see how the rest of this show works out.