I thought episode 20 was to be the last calm before the storm one, but it turns out there was still another opportunity to breath before the final battles. Which is just as well, seeing as this was as good a setup to a story's climax as it gets. So much so that the week(s) of waiting to come will be particularly agonizing.
Waver and Rider scenes were heartwarming as usual, showing how Urobuchi can also write feel good stories when he wants to. It just doesn't happen very often, of course.
And man, here I thought Kiritsugu and Saber were finally going to break the ice a little due to their shared concern for Irisviel, but as it turns out they're going into the final battle with as strained a relationship as ever. Not a very promising or hopeful prelude to the end for our team of protagonists.
Still, as fun as it was to catch up with those characters, to me this episode was really about Kirei, whose scenes absolutely stole the show. And, accordingly, Jouji Nakata brought his A-game. Just like last episode was largely Kariya's episode and his character reached a very critical point in his life in it, Kirei too has come to an important crossroad in his in this one.
As Irisviel said, Kiritsugu saw through to Kirei from the start, which is why he fears him so. Right in the very first episode, Kiritsugu correctly surmised: "This man has never experienced passion in his entire life. He doesn't believe in anything." Kirei, however, heavily misjudged Kiritsugu, imagining him to be just like him, empty and lost, because of their very similar backgrounds. He thus made Kiritsugu into a source of hope for himself, that he wasn't alone in his suffering, that he too might find an answer and direction in life, as Kiritsugu had seemingly found his upon joining the Einzberns.
Yet, as it turns out, Kiritsugu's similarities to Kirei were all a facade. He puts on an external persona similar to that of Kirei's, but that's just so he can repress his vulnerabilities and be a more effective fighter. Internally, Kiritsugu is actually quite driven by a great purpose, as well as very much capable of passion and joy. So much so, in fact, that he has to suppress his emotions so as to not be crushed by them. As such, now that he's cognizant of Emiya Kiritsugu's true nature, Kirei has realized that the hopes he had placed on him were all false. Delusions and wishful thinking, which have now been promptly shattered by Irisviel's revelations. And thus, just like that, his prior desire to meet and question Kiritsugu becomes, instead, a desire to crush
his hopes in return.
To Kirei, Kiritsugu's way of life must be the ultimate insult. Not only does he merely play at being outwardly similar to Kirei because it serves his purpose, he also discards his own happiness, something Kirei has never been able to find for himself, for the sake of pursuing a laughably childish ideal. Just like Kariya loathed Tokiomi for discarding the things Kariya himself had always wanted but could not have, Kirei too now feels the same towards Kiritsugu, a man who has the nerve to discard that which Kirei cannot hope to find. And thus, even though he still can't think of a wish for the Grail, he now has a reason to fight - to crush that same Grail alongside Kiritsugu's own wishes and hopes.
And that all makes for the perfect final piece of development of our main rivalry in the show. It's rather amazing to me how skillfully those two have been juxtaposed despite them having never even met each other. The build up is all there and it's absolutely stellar, so all that's left now is for their climatic showdown to take place. Can't wait.
But before that, it seems we'll finally get our King of Conquerors vs King of Heroes encounter in the next episode. That one sounds quite promising as well. In the BD version of episode 12, Gilgamesh spoke of how he is fond of watching the grief and despair of "individuals who harbor grand ambitions, not knowing they aren't fit for the task." Well, our friend Rider certainly fits the bill, so he better be prepared for the possibility of receiving some Urobuchi approved despair from Goldy.
Last but not least, alas poor Iri. All the world's evil indeed. Curse you right back, Diarmuid!
Quote:
Originally Posted by jeroz
apparently it will be on a hiatus next week, with 2 eps on the following weekend
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Huh. If it had been a hiatus and then simply following the rest of the episodes weekly I would have raged, but if they're making up for it with 2 episodes at once later, then it evens itself out enough that I should be able to endure it without much additional trouble.
thanks to Patchy ♥
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