[Guardian Enzo]

I blogged it of course, but this is a tough episode to comment on, really. You just have to watch.

Spoiler for 10:

So in the end, we've gone from Faust to "Monkey's Paw" to Bokurano and finally apparently landed on Higurashi. Kudos to those who called out that similarity. I find the pain and anguish hits harder in this series though, as the tone is much more realistic in many ways.

The heartbreaking scenes for me were watching Homura live through all that pain, over and over, in sped-up fashion - even being the one to have to end lives sometimes as a mercy killing. It's no wonder she turned herself into an emotional flatliner - how else could she possible have coped with all that pain and death and survivor's guilt?

Of course the key moment is when Madoka asks her to keep her from falling under Incubator's spell - it's the one thing she can't say no to. But is there any real hope? I think there's a reason Incubator seems to hear Homura - she's the one wildcard in the story. Her timebending makes her the one element it can't manipulate totally. Inky is the master manipulator though, and so far has maneuvered the pieces so that no matter what happens, by the time of the endgame Homura has already lost. How can she change things materially enough to give herself a chance? That's the overarching question with two episodes left.