I absolutely
loved how this episode went
so much against predominant fan expectations, while at the same time building up similar expectations in-episode before leading them to
not be realized this episode as well.
All of the following were great:
1) Sayaka did not die this episode.
2) Kamijo's blow-up against Sayaka in the previous episode was simply that: a blow-up. It was
not necessarily a reflection of who he normally is, as a person, as at least a few viewers seemed to assume. Here we see him apologize profusely for the blow-up, while showing appreciation towards Sayaka. Granted, he's not really giving off a
romantic vibe to me, but he does seem to like Sayaka as a friend. He may still romantically reject her, but if so, I doubt he'll be cruel while doing so (might not matter to Sayaka, of course).
3) Kamijo's hand was successfully healed, no "Monkey's Paw" catch so far at least.
4) Sayaka really did have no regrets this episode. This really was a great episode for her overall. She had very happy moments in this, and put up a decent fight against Kyoko (though I will agree that Kyoko likely would have won without Homura's involvement).
5) Kyubey was hardly some evil, moustache-twirling antagonist in this episode. Sure, he took advantage of certain situations to nudge Madoka closer to becoming a magical girl, but he also (as I interpreted it) tried to talk Kyoko out of going after Sayaka. Now, if he was just some evil, moustache-twirling antagonist, then why would he do that, given how potentially useful that conflict ended up being for Madoka recruitment purposes? Perhaps Kyubey does care about Sayaka to some extent, and wants to keep magical girl deaths down to a minimum.
Anyway, I truly loved how much this episode went against predominant fan expectation, while simultaneously playing on them. Due to the precedent set by Mami's death, and due to rampant fan speculation on this board, I was admittedly on the edge of my seat during Sayaka's fight with Kyoko. The possibility of Sayaka dying there felt very intense, raw, and real. It made the action scenes so much more exciting and thrilling to behold, and it made the eventual result of Sayaka living (at least until next episode) that much more rewarding to see. So, killing Mami off was the right choice, simply because it makes future magical girl battles that much more gripping, since we know that death is a
real possibility here (unlike in some shows, of course).
I honestly don't get how anyone can not like Sayaka. The girl has a simply wonderful personality. And so, naturally, I'm happy to see
her happy, and to see her do pretty well overall this episode, and hopefully live to fight another day.
Homura on the other hand... she comes off as
very cold, and ruthless in this.
Very much contrary to monir, I don't see how that's admirable at all. Granted, Homura may be intentionally trying to sound excessively harsh to scare Madoka away from even considering being a magical girl, but otherwise, her words to Madoka do not reflect well on Homura to me. Telling a young teenage girl to just give up on her best friend and to expect that best friend to die - that's not exactly
nice, people.
I really can't see how anybody can find Madoka annoying simply for standing up for her best friend like that. In fact, it's very admirable of Madoka. Also, how would any of us like it if someone told us to just give up on our best friend like that?
Anyway, that's it for now.
10/10 for this episode!
Go Sayaka Go for next episode!
Be strong, and overcome those who would damn you to a quick death.
