Kuroshitsuji Midori no Majo-hen – Episode 13 (END) Review

「その執事、潜航」 (Sono Shitsuji, Senkō)
“His Butler, Submerged”

All in all, this ended far better than I had feared it would. No recaps, no Grell- all is good. It served as a more light-hearted finish to the overall gravity of the season (which is typically how Kuroshitsuji likes to serve up it’s last course). After a long trip, our gang returns to home sweet home with Soma and Agni to welcome them back. Soma observes that the young lord is not empty handed, with a “concubine” in tow- causing Ciel irritation and Sullivan blushed excitement.

The humor in this episode derives from Eliza Doolittle- I mean – Sullivan learning to be a lady in preparation for teatime with the Queen. Sebastian’s task is indeed trying as the little witch has almost no manners to speak of. Couple that with the fact that Sullivan has no discipline thanks to everyone wanting to spoil her. I kinda feel for Sebby- he’s got Ciel’s sullen “don’t bother me”, Sullivan’s crying, and Wolfram’s complaints. He’s got no support here. I got a laugh out of Sebastian forcing Wolfram to voice his complaints in English, which was doubly hilarious because he’s attempting English- in Japanese. Ciel wants nothing to do with this and unsympathetically tells Sullivan to go bugger off. But boy, if even a devil is telling you to be kind, I think you oughta sit up and listen- the irony was not lost on me here.

The diction exercises prove to be the final straw for Sullivan and she bursts into the study to drag Ciel away. I laughed so hard when she showed up and tried airing her grievances with that mouth strap on. And her comment “What does he want to put in my mouth?” was the cherry on top. Unfortunately, Sullivan trips and Ciel lands on top, in a compromising position. Naturally, this is when Lizzie decides to show up, leaving Ciel in fear for his life until Sebby steps in with an explanation.

I have to admit, when Lizzie initially made her entrance, I was dreading the rest of the episode (her voice annoys me, and sometimes she can be a little much), but she actually saved the day. She totally took everything in stride and even supported Sullivan (I was anticipating her to be more unreasonable, taking offense at any woman being so close to her man). Lizzie sees Sullivan’s plight, and finally, Sullivan has someone on her side- Lizzie insisting that everyone join in the lessons to make it more fun. Which, Soma being Soma, gets pumped about.

What I found really interesting is Ciel’s state of mind in all of this. At first, I assumed his refusal to listen to Sullivan was just him being curmudgeonly, as he is wont to be. However, from his conversation with Sebby when he complains how he had to do lady training by himself so Sullivan should too, I wonder if some of it has to do with being secretly jealous. Seeing Sullivan and how she has people on her side in a way that he never did when he first started out, it makes sense that that would grate on him a bit. She has the warmth he wished he had- but instead, he had to go through all of that alone (well, with a demon butler). It paints a complex picture of Ciel- he’s more than he appears to be and sometimes we catch small glimpses of that.

The tea is a smashing success- all those grueling lessons paid off. Sullivan looks very sweet in her gown, and Ciel, quite the dapper little gentleman. Prior to the tea, Sullivan gets a briefing on her assets. Ciel essentially gives her two choices- leverage your knowledge on mustard gas (but keep the Sulin a secret to prevent mass deaths), using the interested parties to fund her thirst for knowledge, or refuse to give the mustard gas formula and retire in quiet. Use or be used- the theme throughout Kuroshitsuji. Which does Sullivan choose? She refuses to share the knowledge, but promises to save and benefit the world, which piques the Queen’s interest and support well enough. A bright young lady with a bright future indeed.

The final part of the episode was rather ominous- Undertaker showing up in Ciel’s dream to pour something down his throat, hesitating over “It’s not time yet to wake you up”. What does that mean? Wake up from what? Was it just a dream? Who knows.

I was disappointed that we didn’t get a tease or announcement for a next season. I was hoping we would get one sooner rather than later, but that we didn’t get one now doesn’t mean one won’t come. It just would have been nice to end with that.

So, how was this season overall? Excellent, I would say. An engaging arc with an imaginative premise that expands upon the themes and plot elements that have been woven throughout the series. I quite liked the wolf village and the twist with the chemical weapon. Sullivan is a great character (I’d love it if we could see her pop in and out again the way characters sometimes do at the end of an arc). This series featured some of my favorite scenes, with Ciel and Sullivan’s fantasies. Of course, the OP and ED were stellar. My main complaints lie in the pacing and recaps. Did we need 13 episodes? Hell no. Ten would have been just about right. The past few seasons of Kuroshitsuji have been around the 10 episode mark, so I’m not sure why they felt they needed to pack in 3 extra episodes, especially when a lot of that time was made up with unnecessary, long ass recaps. From here on out, extended recaps are on my pet peeves list- I never want to see a 5 minute rehash of the previous week ever again. Leaving that aside, Midori no Majo-hen was an enchanting arc, and here’s to hoping for a continuation!