Let's have a round of applause for our sixth Sin, the sorceress Merlin.

The final battle continues to heat up. This episode is Meliodas's confrontation with Hendrickson, though of course it doesn't stay that way for long. We had another major bad guy buy it and another major heel-face-turn this time. Things are definitely looking up!

Huge spoilers below the fold.

The enemy sorceress turns out to be named Vivian. She's the one who kidnapped Elizabeth. I won't go into all the twists and turns of this episode, but there were some notable events.

The most important was Gilthunder doing a heel-face-turn. I knew this was coming; he was too handsome, too heroic; it had to happen. It turns out that he has pledged to protect Princess Margaret, and do anything to keep her safe. The bad guys took Margaret hostage, and that's why Gilthunder has been fighting for them all this time.

She knew it, too; during Meliodas's battle she manages to get free from her cell, climbs to the top of the castle, calls out to Gilthunder and then jumps. Well, she intended to die, thus freeing him from his pledge, but Meliodas, Merlin, and Arthur save her.

Which means Gilthunder is free to fight the way his conscience dictates. He's known all along that it was really Hendrickson who killed his father, but because Margaret was a hostage he hasn't been able to do anything about it. With Margaret free and (relatively) safe, he kills Hendrickson.

It turns out that Meliodas has known this since the Forest of White Dreams (where he found Diane). The phrase, "I am stronger than any of the Seven Deadly Sins" is one Meliodas taught Gilthunder when he was young. He was told to say it when "it's tough, painful, and you can't rely on anyone." Gilthunder has said it to Meliodas every time they've met, because he wanted to get that message across but couldn't speak clearly due to being monitored by Vivian's (?) familiars. When Meliodas learned that Margaret was being held in a cell in the castle, then he knew what Gilthunder's problem was, and when he had the chance to save Margaret, he did so. And that freed Gilthunder to fight the good fight.

We're running out of villains, with (presumably) 4 more episodes to go. Helbram and Hendrickson are dead. Vivian is still alive but Merlin may polish her off next episode. Dreyfus is still alive, but Gauther has been playing with his mind, and he may not be an adversary for much longer. There are a bunch of other Holy Knights but none remotely strong enough to take on any of the Sins. (Hauser and Guila have switched sides, and it looks like Jericho is a prisoner, and potentially another convert.)

So just who are we fighting now? I don't know, but I have confidence it's going to be spectacular. The director hasn't missed a beat yet and I'm sure he isn't going to blow the ending.

My guess: The gateway to the demon world is going to open, and the Sins (and loyal Holy Knights, and Arthur Pendragon) will have to fight to close it again and kill all the demons who make it through.

Or... there's still a mystery about Meliodas; maybe he's a demon, or partially so? Maybe he might go out of control?

UPDATE: Actually, there's an entirely different possibility: maybe the war with the Holy Knights really will end next episode, and the rest of the series will be about Ban (and King and the rest of the Sins) trying to bring Elaine back to life. Which could be tricky, at least tricky enough to need three episodes.

Posted by: Steven Den Beste in General Anime at 11:22 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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