The Eminence in Shadow episode 31

Rating: B+

During the last couple of reviews, I wondered why the succession of the Oriana Kingdom bypassed the former queen and went straight to Rose. This episode gives us the answer: the former king, in one of his few moments of lucidity towards the end of his life, forced the succession onto Rose by re-encoding the ring which controlled the legendary Black Rose to her. That didn’t entirely thwart the Cult but certainly made their plan more difficult. The grand irony this time around is that both the Cult and Shadow still end up getting what they want, just not in the way that either of them intended.

In the Cult’s case, they were working through Perv Asshat to get him to marry Rose so he could get control of the ring. But it turns out that wasn’t actually necessary; they just had to get Rose to put the ring on. That raises the question of how much Mordred was playing Perv for a fool; since Mordred was already present at the wedding and had the activation device that Zeta and his team were looking for, Mordred was probably lying through his teeth to Perv the whole time. That doesn’t make Perv’s consternation about discovering he didn’t have the ring any less sweet, nor make seeing him get beheaded any less satisfying. (For that matter, after the reveal that the queen was a willing participant in drugging the king and advocated offing her daughter so she could have Perv all to herself, seeing her get beheaded, too, was also pretty satisfying.) Party with the Big Boys and the consequences can be steep indeed.

Shadow also gets what he wanted here – a grand, dramatic showdown – just not at all in the way he was planning, either. His conversations with Rose last episode seemed like some genuine soul-searching, and it feels a little like he’s straining to keep orienting her into the plot he has in mind in this case, too. Of course, he and Rose are still not at all on the same page, though neither still seems aware of that, and the crucial “help” he gives Rose in the form of the ring is purely accidental. And certainly neither he nor anyone else was aware of the message the former king had left which threw a wrench into everyone’s plans. But hey, Shadow still gets a major Cult foe and an army-destroying mechanical monster from an extradimensional rift to take out in stylish fashion, so what’s to complain about? Cid is nothing if not adaptable, especially when it comes to fitting random events into his dramatic narrative.

Romance is definitely not part of that narrative at this point, although any sane person in Cid’s position would probably be running from the increasingly-yandere tendencies of that maid. She was getting unwanted attention from the guard last episode, but she makes clear this episode that you don’t want to get on her bad side. Cid does at least continue to take note of Epsilon’s fine use of slime to enhance her bust, though he regards it so analytically that he seems to be more admiring Epsilon’s skill and dedication at pulling off that very vain stunt than the actual sex appeal that Epsilon is aiming for. (Again, the irony here is that she is making an impression on him with her assets, just not the way she intended.) I’m not sure what to make of the joke about Cid solemnly playing piano for the crowd in his underwear, though, especially with the audience not seeming to react to it.

Overall, the trials that Rose is being forced through here are ultimately going to leave her a stronger person, even if she’s suffering to get to that point; we can see signs of that in the way she refutes Perv at the altar. Oriana will recover from the destruction with a strong and capable ruler who will be a secret ally to Shadow Garden, and Shadow will come out smelling like roses (hah!) and get credited for genius he didn’t consciously use once again. Rose will be even better off if she can break from her dream of having Cid at her side, but hey, first thing’s first: there’s a Big Bad to take out.