Re:Zero - Episode 48 Review - Minerva Hugs Emilia
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Warning: Spoilers up to the end of Re:Zero Episode 48 (Season 2 Ep 23) follow.
The episode picks up right where the previous episode left off. And this time around, the audience leaves with a lot of head-scratching moments, a lot of questions. Or at least I did.
The battle continues between Garfiel and Elsa. It’s looking a little worrisome for Garf, as he gets sliced by Elsa. Elsa straight up gets stabbed in the eye by Garfiel, but she keeps healing immediately.
Meanwhile, Subaru, Otto, Petra, and unconscious Rem are in another part of the mansion fleeing that monstrous guiltylowe. Subaru lures the guiltylowe into a room and splashes dust all over it, hoping to create an explosion. Joke’s on Subaru, it doesn’t work! Fortunately, Otto’s supply of oil jars do the trick. Petra and Otto pelt the mabeast, and light the bastard on fire. It jumps out the window in pain and dies. Subaru tells Otto to take Rem and escape with Petra. He stays in the mansion to get Beatrice.
The ep cuts to Emilia facing the third and last trial in the Graveyard. This is the part where we get a lot of mystery that makes me scratch my head. We see some version of Emilia covered in blood in a world that looks destroyed. She repeats over and over that she hates someone. That vision ends. Then Emilia sees no visuals but hears several lines spoken by characters without context. These are moments from a possible future. We hear lines like, “You can’t even wield the sword without it, thief!?” I’m guessing they’re teasing future things that will happen in the series during Season 3.
Then Emilia is transported to Echidna’s pleasant grassy field with the tea party set-up. But Echidna is nowhere in sight. Instead, Minerva, the Witch of Wrath, is there. Emilia asks Minerva to thank Echidna, and says she wants to drink tea together some day. Minerva is puzzled. Mysteriously, she speaks with a kind of familiarity with Emilia. Minerva even embraces Emilia into her bosom, and speaks like Mother Fortuna would. Could Minerva be Mother Fortuna, or Emilia’s actual mother?
Emilia walks through a door and enters Echidna’s grave. Emilia shatters the coffin, removing the barrier. She then goes outside to Sanctuary only to find that the terrible blizzard has started!
Back at the mansion, Garfiel, Frederica, Meili, and Elsa all reunite to finish the death battle. We get Elsa’s childhood sob story, but who cares. She’s a psycho bitch.
Frederica in beast form steals away Meili. And Elsa and Garfield viciously chomp on each other’s necks. Finally, Elsa doesn’t heal. And Garfield crushes her with the body of the hippo mabeast! She’s finally dead! I hope.
Cut to Ram and Puck at Sanctuary fighting Roswaal. Ram confesses her love for Roswaal then a magical battle ensues. In the chaos, Ram steals the Tome of Wisdom and throws it in the fire, leading to a miniature nuclear explosion!