Forever
Wren leads Haniwa through the bustling streets of the city, watching as she screams for help. She doesn’t seem to be able to break out of her cell, and Wren is determined to free her before it’s too late.
They don’t dwell though, as Wren lights a torch and leads the girl through to an apartment complex from the old days. Everything is laid out just like it would be in our time, with nature having failed to claim this area…. for some reason. Given this is centuries after we’ve all gone, it’s fair to say there should be at least some ivy or greenery hugging the apartment.
The pair share a touching moment in which they bonding over their shared gift of sight. Since we’re on the subject of girls tumbling down the rabbit hole into another world, it makes sense that Haniwa starts reading Alice in Wonderland. This tumble eventually leads to both girls kissing, disagreeing gently about their purpose and how different they are to those who are not sighted.
Baba Voss is being punished at the hands of Edo because he killed his father 25 years ago. The episode starts with Baba Voss finding out about this and learning that he was responsible for the death of his father. The punishment that Edo is giving him is because of this past event.
Queen Kane continues to ignore the Captain’s advice of defending the kingdom and fortifying defences. Kane wants to go on the attack, claiming it’s the duty of “God” to do just this. Maghra is incredulous over what she’s hearing, pleading with Kane to see reason. She does no such thing and eventually leaves. Interestingly, Lord Harlan just so happens to be listening from the edge of the room, quiet as a mouse but with ears pricked over every word.
Kane is in the bathtub, and Harlan comes up behind her. He offers to help her out, and they become friends. Now, this would bind all the peoples together and as Harlan puts it “help change the minds that need changing.” Of course, this bond would also mean Harlan would be King – something Kane is well aware of.
In Trivantes, Edo greets the council and tries in vain to warn them about the sighted babes on the horizon. Thee council simply wave away the concerns, claiming they’ll all be killed if any show up.
Baba Voss is thrown in a cell next to the Witchfinder General, Tamacti Jun. This obviously doesn’t go down well with Baba, who froths at the mouth under the prospect of wringing Tamacti’s neck. That grip loosens slightly though when he learns Maghra is still alive and she’s actually a princess. ..
Baba Voss is being wheeled out for all the people to see. After a circuit around the city, he’s being sent off to “be useful.” Unfortunately, Haniwa is brought out to see it all, with Wren awkwardly forced into the position of following orders she really doesn’t want too follow. The latest, in fact, is that she’s taken into Edo’s chambers.
Wren eventually makes her choice, deciding to free Baba Voss and bring him to Haniwa. Interestingly, the Witchfinder General decides to help out, taking out the guards and serving as a welcome distraction while Wren and Baba Voss find Haniwa and save her from her ordeal.
As the two brothers fought, onlookers could only watch in horror as Haniwa, a giant spirit animal, hit Edo with arrows. The fight was eventually stopped by Baba, who used his sword to kill his brother. With Haniwa now dead, Edo is left with no choice but to use Tao’s own sword against him.
Baba decides not to kill Edo, realizing that there is still a whole season left to play out. He leaves the city, and alarms wail. Baba also keeps the Witchgeneral alive. ..
As Haniwa and Baba Voss escape, the former picking off soldiers (including one just standing about pretty high high up), Wren sacrifices herself to make sure the pair go free.
Kane’s pregnancy is a source of great concern for her friends and family. They are all eager to know the truth, but Kane keeps up the act for the people. She knows that this will cause serious problems down the road.
The Episode Review
This week’s return features another contrived chapter that continues to avoid the real issue at hand: bringing guns into this world to solve everything. We even get a glimpse of Edo’s big plan, which involves using a sighted army. But, they don’t need it. Haniwa is pretty handy with a bow and arrow, and she could singlehandedly take out an entire army from afar with a whole stack of arrows.
The worldbuilding in this story falls apart when we start to question the sighted and blind characters’ abilities.
Edo’s plan to wait around 18 years for these babies to grow up is not exactly sound either; does he really think he can wait that long? He knows the threat Pennsa poses and this plan just doesn’t make much sense.
The acting is great in this and the political scheming between both settlements serves up an intriguing juxtaposition to see how both settlements deal with this growing crisis. Annoyingly though, plot armour plays a big part in this, with specific attention over just why Baba Voss didn’t kill Edo when he had the chance.
If he supposedly killed their father, it seems likely that he would not bat an eyelid over killing this meddlesome brother he’s been avoiding for 25+ years. Hopefully, this is explained going forward but it does seem a little too convenient for the script.
This follow-up to last week’s debut provides a mixed cocktail of good, bad, and contrived plotlines. Will next week develop these plotlines further? We’ll have to wait for next week to find out!
