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「その執事、下降」 (Sono Shitsuji, Kakō)
“His Butler, Descending”
Herr werewolf is getting more and more bold. Attacking the village, then daring to break into the Emerald Castle to attack the unwelcome guest. Of course, everyone blames it on the visitors, which raises the question, could the werewolves and say the crone or Wolfram be in cahoots to scare the visitors away? It’s pretty convenient if you ask me- visitors snooping dangerously close to a guarded underground secret- what better way to convince everyone to give them the boot, than a werewolf attack. Does Herr Werewolf talk? Otherwise, how else do they know what it wants? It just becomes a matter of guesswork, which often turns into “I want this, therefore it can be attributed to the werewolf’s wishes as well”.
Oscar gets a turn to play detective, taking on spy duties when Wolfram catches Sebastian. What Oscar finds is truly astonishing. There is not just one werewolf, but a whole group of them. Furthermore, Sullivan is tasked with finding a magic spell to bring them to life. Which seems weird, because aren’t they already alive, or is she talking about something else? I feel like the crone’s attitude that Sullivan must work on developing the spell and nothing else rather unfair. Sullivan’s a child, for crying out loud- it’s not healthy to deprive a child of curiosity, she deserves better than that. Not to mention, her turbulent teens are coming up in a year or two- “duty above all else” is the perfect primer for a spectacularly large-scale adolescent rebellion. Though that’s beyond the scale of this anime.
Curiously enough, if there is a plot between the werewolves and the villagers, Sullivan is kept out of the loop for whatever reason. As the Phantomhive servants note, her reactions to the recent attacks are too genuine to be staged. Just what is at the heart of all this? Sebastian goes down to find out.
What does he find? The letters OPFCH written in a script used by witches. Now, those look like elements of the periodic table, speaking as a former scientist. Furthermore, the plant sent to the Queen for inspection appears to have turned up some eyebrow-raising results. If it’s something detectable by scientific means (magical miasma certainly isn’t, and I don’t think they have magic detecting experimental procedures), then what they have on their hands is a human-made cause, not an occult one. Sullivan’s reaction to the home remedy book and Sebastian’s susceptibility to the miasma would certainly point in that direction.
This is probably the most excitement Oscar has had in a while- first some stealthy snooping, then checking out a busty maid. Poor girl. Oscar comes out from his voyeuristic trip with a useful tidbit- the maid smells like werewolf. Yet, she hasn’t been attacked, and she’s wearing the werewolf warding charm. Which can only mean one thing- collusion. Just in the nick of time, the Queen’s messenger arrives with the plant analysis report. How did John Brown get there so fast? The royal staff complains about how weird the Phantomhive bunch is, but there’s plenty of strangeness on their side too. Like the whole Albert hand puppet thing- that always struck me as a little creepy. Sometimes it’s better to not ask questions or probe too deeply.
Ciel himself is caught in a rut of self-probing, which raises a lot of questions. There are two Ciels in that scene and they don’t appear to be the same person- each is wearing different colors and one has two normal eyes while the other has the branded eye. Is that Ciel as he sees himself, in conversation with his conscience- or is it indeed two different people? He wrestles with survivor’s guilt and his “sin”- what exactly happened on that night he met Sebastian? Actually, it was pointed out to me by Guardian Enzo that the other Ciel has a different voice actor, Sawashiro Miyuki. Which strongly hints there are/were 2 different people, or a multi-personality complex built as a coping mechanism with all of Ciel’s trauma. Massive hints are being dropped left and right that Ciel is not who he appears to be, much as Sebastian is not the butler he appears to everyone else to be. As much as Ciel puts on a steely front in pursuing revenge, he still has a conscience deep down, one buried so deep, it takes a shock to his system to dig it up. We can see more and more just why Sebastian sees Ciel as such a delectable treat.
End Card
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