[BashZeStampeedo]

Originally Posted by kenshin-dono

i think that hits Horo more than lawrence there. Its that line that has her finally put her guard down. Her whole thing has been worryin about getting hurt, trying to keep the memories where they were, or the 'luster' fading, or how hard the parting at the end will be. He's saying that the end of their journey may be sad, and you could get hurt, but that the actual journey is where the joy is. You have to risk getting hurt in order to actually gain any happiness. Thats how i view it anyway. It ties into his "its possible your wish wont be fullfilled. But if you dont wish at all, it definatly wont be fullfilled" line right before that

I agree, she broke down because Lawrence had stood up to her so bravely and made her realize the sheer depth of her folly. For a long time, her worldview was skewed to appear like a series of happy or sad events (festivals) and the time in between those was mostly empty and meaningless. She was still seeing the world that way, despite the fact that even if she traveled alone, time would still not seem like it was at Pasroe's wheat fields.

If that realization itself wasn't profound enough to move her to tears, there is also the fact that it was delivered as an act of extreme defiance by this guy she has come to care about, and at his own loss. He gave up his apparent dream (at least temporarily) just to be with her and to help her realize the above.

And what had she done in return? She abused him both emotionally and physically, immediately assuming the worst of him. He wasn't just being kind and protective of some child or pretty little thing he could flaunt around.. he was doing it because he genuinely loved her.

Cold, calculating merchant Lawrence just accepted a probable lose-lose situation, knowing precisely what he was getting into. He isn't even asking that much of her - just to be by her side and part on actually decent terms. She did not have to be alone on a sad journey home, despite her best efforts.

The cumulative effect of all of these things would be much stronger than just one of them, which is why I think she really broke down and shivered like a scared little puppy.

Originally Posted by kenshin-dono

I think Bash is over analyzing what shes asking him to take responsibility for a bit
I think its as simple as her saying he will have to take responsibility that hes in a pretty much lose lose situation here that will most likely end badly

No doubt! I love to over-analyze and I'll be the first to admit it

Some people heard "wedding bells" at the end. I just figured that Horo must have another hidden reason for not accepting Lawrence in spite of all of this, and tried to fit the data into my hypothesis

Originally Posted by kenshin-dono

is it abe or eve? I would think it would be Abe since the point was to hide shes a woman

I agree. How many dudes back then called themselves Eve? For that matter, how common was Arold compared to Harold in those days? (Not that Abe and Harold would be popular names in what appears to be medieval Germany, but still..)

Originally Posted by kenshin-dono

so really the only thing im not very clear on is what the hell Abe was talking about with that 'hope' line. Her desire to chase after the money and just hoping it will make her happy just doesn't make sense, it seemed like she wanted to be anything BUT like her owner.

I got the impression that Abe knew how twisted she really was. She did tell Lawrence that she was sure he saw her as little better than the people she hated. I think she was so desperate that this was the only chance she thought she had to escape her current situation, and she could only hope that getting the money would make her feel better somehow (even though she knew it probably wouldn't).

Her ultimate plan just seemed to have no room for Lawrence, and that was why she ultimately wanted to kill him - she was probably good as dead if he backed out of the deal anyway. Harold is probably a necessary evil for her. He made leather products before he opened the inn, so it stands to reason that he might have some use in a fur-trading deal or what happens with that fur afterwards.

Originally Posted by kenshin-dono

just an oddity. what was with the scene where lawrence is staring at his cart? Had he been robbed?

Where was this scene? I think I missed it..

Originally Posted by kenshin-dono

which version are you guys keeping?

I prefer a fairly literal translation, so I'm keeping the Mazui releases (except where SFW seem better, but I haven't rewatched with theirs yet). Mazui also released their scripts, so you can modify anything you don't like if you're willing to go that far.