Who would have thought.
Impressions:
I dunno. It might be too much of a slow burn for me. I’m glad it exists, and I’ll go at least to the next episode, but a whole episode dealing with the BAD aspects of slavery and living in a world swarming with the Mongol hordes doesn’t tickle my fancy too much. Especially with both the previous episode about how slave life can actually be great, and the art style where everyone is a pretty blobby Ghibli knockoff. But also, this plan to just put a rug over the floor? In the storehouse with all the slightly less valuables, in expectations that they wouldn’t loot it? And that you couldn’t see or hear the entire city being obliterated above you for days? Nor smell the smoke? Your plan was nonsensical, and made worse by announcing that you’ve done this many times before.
I think what would’ve really helped this episode not just be relentless is if it had ended more with her discovering a path to revenge or a way to take back her own agency. For example, ending up in a situation where she was a witness deciding one of the officer’s fates in a squabble between them or even over him killing her other fellow slave. Roll that into her vowing to escalate, or even just discovering that there’s a way out and back to the ‘good’ slave life she had before. As it was, after an episode of all yay education and the good aspects of being a slave, this was a depressing, nihilistic episode. The contrast didn’t work, and I really feel like they needed to provide more of a path to the future than “Hey, remember that book?”
