The Rising of the Shield Hero S3 Ep 8
One minute, Naofumi and his party are cooing over their baby dragon, Gaelion. The next, it’s eaten the fused core of the dragons that Ren and Kizuna each killed. The latter is still mad at Ren and is ready to kill everyone. It seems their only hope lies in the dog girl, Wyndia, and her surprising connection to one of the dragons.
How Did This Happen, Anyway?
The episode first establishes that the souls of two dead dragons possess Gaelion. As Rat explains, dragons in Shield Hero have an organ called a core that houses their memories. Since Gaelion is still young, the other two dragons overwrite his mind and body. In other words, he’s possessed and ready to kill anyone who comes near him.
To make matters worse, Gaelion’s possession is taking its toll on Filo, who ate part of the core before. Now, Gaelion’s cursed Filo and started sapping her levels. The threat of the angry dragon and to Filo’s life is more than enough to prompt everyone to go after Gaelion. Thus, the group winds up traveling to the den of the dragon that Ren first killed.
Wyndia and Her Dragon Dad
While Ren’s slaying of the dragon and his careless decision to leave the body behind without burying it was already framed in a bad light, it’s only in this episode that the true extent of his mistake is laid bare thanks to Wyndia. As she reveals late in the episode, the dragon Ren killed and Naofumi fought as a zombie was her adoptive father, Gaelion. Worse, it’s revealed that after Ren killed her father, the villagers captured and sold her into slavery. They used his naivete for selfish purposes, leading to Wyndia’s distrust of Ren.
The anime’s already well-established how the other three Cardinal Heroes have largely failed to live up to the mantle thrust upon them. They refused to work together, their pride kept them from listening to Naofumi, and they lost their parties and all trust. However, to know that Ren got tricked into making Wyndia an orphan and slave? That’s easily one of their biggest screw-ups. It also makes the sight of Naofumi’s group fighting the possessed Gaelion heartbreaking.
Return of the Dragon Emperor
Things only get worse as the party fights against the now massive dragon Gaelion’s become. Not only is it sapping Filo of her power, but it leads to her going berserk and running right toward the dragon. The group can only watch in horror as Gaelion swallows her whole to absorb her power. It’s like Cell from the Dragon Ball franchise! Worse still, even though Wyndia gets through to her father, the dragon emperor that Kizuna slew becomes dominant, ready to conquer anew.
The upside (for the fans): the fight between the reborn dragon emperor and the combined hero party is the best fight of the season yet. Naofumi, Rapthalia, Ren, and everyone else pull out all the stops to fight against the monster. It’s visually stunning in a way that the series hasn’t been since the first season. You can tell that the studio wanted this fight to live up to the fan’s expectations. Unfortunately, it’s also a fight that needs to be resolved by the end of the episode.
Yes, the episode ends midway through the fight. With most of the group on the ropes and Naofumi barely hanging on, it’s an ideal cliffhanger. Waiting a whole week to find out what happens next will be torture!
