Rating: B+
Episode 4 ended with a crisis which demanded quick action. But while this series is many things, it’s definitely not an action series at heart. It has its own way of dealing with a crisis, and that is beautifully demonstrated by how episode 5 plays out.
As much as the series is about Holo and Lawrence, it is also a thinking person’s series. Understanding an opponent’s motive and goals is critical in a situation like this, as is using the clues that the situation gives Lawrence and Richten to deduce how far along the opposition is in their own plan and how they might logically react to various approaches. By avoiding panic, they realize that using Holo as a playing chip isn’t without some complications on Medio’s side, and that restricts Medio’s actions enough to give them a chance to outmaneuver Medio enough to force a compromise. And that rescuing Holo and going into hiding for a day or two is a necessary part of that plan gives Lawrence the opportunity he needs to prove that Holo’s trust in him was warranted. This is exactly why Holo allowed herself to get caught to protect Lawrence, even if the rescue part didn’t go quite the way she anticipated.
That whole business makes clear one thing about Holo that has been somewhat implied by previous episodes: she’s quite the romantic soul, even if she would probably fiercely deny it as a matter of pride. As much as she might tease, she has definite expectations for any male she might call a companion. It’s also why Yarei’s declaration to her hit her harshly, even though she had resolved to leave the village behind. She had wistfully believed that she was doing so because she was no longer needed, but being so bluntly rejected was a bitter repudiation of her long service to the village. That Yarei was going to see her turned over to the Church was a blow much more because it was a final affirmation that the village had moved on from her than because her life was at risk – because, as she later points out to Lawrence, it really wasn’t as long as he carried some of the wheat.
The series wouldn’t be true to itself without plenty of direct banter between Lawrence and Holo, which is why the wagon scene between them was such a delight. One of Holo’s most devilish aspects is how swiftly she can transition between displaying genuine emotion and teasing, but Lawrence is now at least halfway to holding his own in such exchanges. Easily the most fun part is the way Holo, now in a good mood, is goofing around in the background while Lawrence talks to the wagon driver. I’ll likely be repeatedly replaying that scene for a long time, and it’s a rare new addition to the series for this time around.
Besides that goofing around, the only difference of any significance between this episode 5 and episode 5 of the first adaptation is Yarei appearing instead of Chloe – and frankly, the significance of that reversion to the original novel is debatable, since whether the character from Pasloe speaking to Holo is male or female is inconsequential to how that scene plays out. The episode starts and stops in the same place and uses the exact same scenes, just with some altered building designs. In general, Holo’s expressiveness is a little more pronounced in this version, but that comes at the cost of weaker music support. As I’ve said on previous occasions, Penkin’s music is not bad here, but especially in the wagon scene it just doesn’t carry the same impact.
One more episode to go this adaptation of the first novel. The final scenes strongly suggest that a showdown is coming. This version has proven the equal of the original in most respects so far; can it hold that true through the dramatic events to come?
USA Anime 