Sword Art Online: Alicization WoU Part 2 Episodes 13 to END

[relentlessflame]

Welcome to the discussion thread for Sword Art Online: Alicization WoU, Episodes 13 to END.

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[Anh_Minh]

All the bits with Leafa were nigh unbearably stupid. It didn't feel like it was the only time she'd fallen off a cliff and landed on her head.

[Frontier]

SAO returns with the final Opening of the Alicization saga, and it feels fitting in that regard. With many imagery that brings things full-circle to an epic and resounding theme, we get to see the Integrity Knights and the SAO gang in the real world, the Goddess Trio fighting valiantly (with Asuna seemingly taking on Vassago), and the build up to the return of Kirito as the most important women in his life (and Eugeo) come together to bring him back so he can take on what I assume to be Vector transformed into a monster. Things are about to get even more epic .

I liked that Sinon couldn't resist seeing Kirito and being there to comfort him, and she couldn't resist kissing him either (which I assume Asuna missed when she was looking away in sadness). Sinon has always been subtle when it comes to her feelings for Kirito, at least in front of others, but it was nice to see clearly just how much she cares about him. And she believes in him just as much as Asuna does .

I love how Ronye had to comment on how all of Kirito's old friends who keep appearing just so happen to be women, and Sinon had to say there are more of them. Welcome to the life of being one of Kirito's girls, Ronye .

It's kind of funny that Sinon ends up getting the Sun Goddess account that lets you fly unlimited when you'd think Leafa, with her blonde looks and probably the most experience flying in ALO, would've better fit the bill. Sinon's also usually on the ground for her sniping so I'd have thought she'd make a natural Earth Goddess Granted, maybe they chose for their weapons more than for their archetype, since if given a choice you'd probably want Sinon with a ranged-weapon and Leafa with a sword .

Poor Leafa. She doesn't get an awesome entrance like Asuna or Sinon did, only falling butt-first into the Underworld and practically behind enemy lines, and then she (willingly) gets captured and then sucked dry by like a battery by a revived Dee Eye Ell. And I think one of those suckers went into her you-know-where .

At the same time, her inherent humanity in treating Lilpilin as an actual person and not like a monster or animal just because of the way he looks seems to have swayed yet another Dark Territory leader to this side of ending this war and flushing out the true evil in the Underworld, and she gets to one-shot Dee Eye Ell and take out one of the leading Dark Territory generals. And apparently her Goddess perk is revitalizing/self-healing to boot. Not too shabby if I do say so myself .

Nothing more awesome then seeing Asuna cut some fools up .

Bercouli is such a cool dude that he even apologizes to the dragon he has to cut up to catch up to the bad guy .

Bercouli and Vector finally clash in an epic duel befitting the leaders of both sides, although poor Bercouli is left at a disadvantage against Vector's ability to absorb attacks and basically take the will to fight out of his opponents. But losing an arm and facing insurmountable odds won't stop Bercouli from trying to save his surrogate daughter Alice .

Asuna is ready to make her one-woman stand against the Engrish Knights, only for who else to turn up but Klein, finally getting to make up for missing out on most of this arc by cutting a huge swathe in the American forces. Now it's time to really get the gang back together and watch the reinforcements arrive to turn the tide .

The final Ending also deals with Kirito's damaged mental state, showing him stuck in a daze in a sterile, winding, maze, but trying to find his way back to Asuna. And with a surprise Eugeo appearance !

[kk2extreme]

I can see dojinshi coming for the Leafa scene

[Wandering Soul]

Things were going well until we got to Leafa's scenes than things went downhill.

[FlareKnight]

Well that's how it goes. Sinon gets to show up as a total badass and get some great scenes. Leafa...gets tentacle porn. Yeah, that's about how it goes. Great rescue job there Leafa. Kirito's harem is really hit or miss on usefulness here.

Oh sure it helps out the pig guy's character arc. Which I suppose is rather important...Great for him. Not so much for Leafa/Suguha. Even smiting down the creepy psycho doesn't salvage her appearance in this episode.

Still overall it was a solid episode. Sinon is likable as always. Klein got to do something! It was barely visible in all that flash and such. But hey he did a thing.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Well that's how it goes. Sinon gets to show up as a total badass and get some great scenes. Leafa...gets tentacle porn. Yeah, that's about how it goes. Great rescue job there Leafa. Kirito's harem is really hit or miss on usefulness here.

Well, can't really pull a rescue when she's completely far away from the battle .

Oh sure it helps out the pig guy's character arc. Which I suppose is rather important...Great for him. Not so much for Leafa/Suguha. Even smiting down the creepy psycho doesn't salvage her appearance in this episode.

I think it's important that more of the Dark Territory are being swayed away from their "programming" if they're actually going to end this war, and Leafa contributed to that. And she one-shot a major Dark Territory general, which I don't think is a simple feat.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Well, can't really pull a rescue when she's completely far away from the battle .

You know what she could have done? Avoid getting taken prisoner for no reason.

I think it's important that more of the Dark Territory are being swayed away from their "programming" if they're actually going to end this war, and Leafa contributed to that. And she one-shot a major Dark Territory general, which I don't think is a simple feat.

Too bad she forgot about the war. Maybe she fell asleep during the briefing or something. Seriously, what was her plan?

[GDB]

Her plan was to be taken to the Emperor and kill him, ending the war.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

You know what she could have done? Avoid getting taken prisoner for no reason.


Too bad she forgot about the war. Maybe she fell asleep during the briefing or something. Seriously, what was her plan?

Originally Posted by GDB

Her plan was to be taken to the Emperor and kill him, ending the war.

Yeah, she wanted to get taken to the source of the conflict without causing too much of a fuss because she was aware the Fluctlights were sentient and weren't necessarily at fault for what they were doing. She didn't think any of them were inherently evil until she came across Dee Eye Ell.

[FlareKnight]

Originally Posted by Frontier

Yeah, she wanted to get taken to the source of the conflict without causing too much of a fuss because she was aware the Fluctlights were sentient and weren't necessarily at fault for what they were doing. She didn't think any of them were inherently evil until she came across Dee Eye Ell.

Honestly, a pretty flimsy plan. Of course everyone apparently getting randomly dumped into this world also reflects poor planning in general. I mean sure if he escorts her on foot to their enemy....she should arrive there about 10 years after the conflict is over . Her options do certainly suck to be fair. She doesn't know where she is, where her allies are, where the enemies are, etc. Basically dumped into a bad situation where she can't really be of use at all.

Again, I'd be more impressed if Leafa didn't hang around letting herself be the victim of tentacle porn for minutes before realizing that maybe that woman was evil. I know her character is blonde in-game but doesn't need to play to a stereotype here . Since she doesn't know this scene is about letting the pig general have character development, there's no good reason to wait this long to do something. She didn't even need to kill her to escape...Which means she had no reason to hang there as long as she did.

Good for the guy to get a character moment. But I'm not entirely sure every enemy general needs this 'rise against the system' character arc. All they need is enough of them to do so.

And it is nice that Leafa got to smite the woman. But it really doesn't salvage the scene. And still makes Leafa look stupid and incompetent. Not a good look for the first episode back for this series.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by GDB

Her plan was to be taken to the Emperor and kill him, ending the war.

And she wanted to do that shackled, unarmed and alone? Bold plan.

[Frontier]

Originally Posted by FlareKnight

Honestly, a pretty flimsy plan. Of course everyone apparently getting randomly dumped into this world also reflects poor planning in general. I mean sure if he escorts her on foot to their enemy....she should arrive there about 10 years after the conflict is over . Her options do certainly suck to be fair. She doesn't know where she is, where her allies are, where the enemies are, etc. Basically dumped into a bad situation where she can't really be of use at all.

Again, I'd be more impressed if Leafa didn't hang around letting herself be the victim of tentacle porn for minutes before realizing that maybe that woman was evil. I know her character is blonde in-game but doesn't need to play to a stereotype here . Since she doesn't know this scene is about letting the pig general have character development, there's no good reason to wait this long to do something. She didn't even need to kill her to escape...Which means she had no reason to hang there as long as she did.

I wouldn't say she can't be of use at all. I think she got two victories in her own corner that will payoff in the long run .

I mean, everyone's moving on foot in this fight other than Sinon so I guess you just have to make do. Maybe he would've found them a horse ?

I think there was just a bunch of stuff happening all at once that threw Leafa off and didn't give her a good opportunity to do anything until someone she spurred on through her treatment of them gave her an opportunity to cut loose. Hopefully now that she's free and Lilpilin can willingly just point her in the right direction she can more freely get into the action .

Good for the guy to get a character moment. But I'm not entirely sure every enemy general needs this 'rise against the system' character arc. All they need is enough of them to do so.

Two is better than one .

And it is nice that Leafa got to smite the woman. But it really doesn't salvage the scene. And still makes Leafa look stupid and incompetent. Not a good look for the first episode back for this series.

Well, she's competent enough to quickly kill off a major baddie when she finally gets free .

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

And she wanted to do that shackled, unarmed and alone? Bold plan.

She wasn't handcuffed. I think she probably could have easily unbound herself and get right to the action had she not been swarmed by a bunch of leeches (as soon as Dee Eye Ell let her go she seemed to be able to get the ropes off). Heck, even with her hands tied up she could probably still have wielded her sword because her sword style is two-handed.

Lilpilin seemed so thrown off by her not resisting that he didn't seem to even bother taking her sword off of her.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by Frontier

She wasn't handcuffed. I think she probably could have easily unbound herself and get right to the action had she not been swarmed by a bunch of leeches (as soon as Dee Eye Ell let her go she seemed to be able to get the ropes off). Heck, even with her hands tied up she could probably still have wielded her sword because her sword style is two-handed.

Lilpilin seemed so thrown off by her not resisting that he didn't seem to even bother taking her sword off of her.

She didn't know she wouldn't be handcuffed and disarmed on her way to the Emperor.

[GDB]

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

And she wanted to do that shackled, unarmed and alone? Bold plan.

The shackles clearly did nothing, and she was never disarmed.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

She didn't know she wouldn't be handcuffed and disarmed on her way to the Emperor.

And you don't know if she'd allow that.

[Anh_Minh]

Originally Posted by GDB

The shackles clearly did nothing,

It was just a rope, because that's all the Orc had. They might have picked up better restraints on the way. As for them doing nothing... Maybe. Or maybe she was able to cut them with the sword the Orc let her keep.

and she was never disarmed.

Yeah, no time. "Lucky" for her DIL interfered.

And you don't know if she'd allow that.

Then what was the point of immediately surrendering and letting her hands be bound? Hell, what was the point of letting DIL have her way with her?

[Frontier]

I assume the Goddess accounts comes with some kind of natural physical stat boost to go along with their other abilities, so Leafa might not have been worried about whatever she was restrained with or if she had her weapon taken because she would have been able to get out and get it in a split second. That's the only way I see her so willingly offering her hands up like that without any resistance.

Dee Eye Ell just completely surprised her and left her in a position where she couldn't really do anything.

Originally Posted by Anh_Minh

Then what was the point of immediately surrendering and letting her hands be bound? Hell, what was the point of letting DIL have her way with her?

Well, they evidentially needed an excuse to get her breastplate off to show her cleavage .

[Frontier]

The gang is back together! And they didn't just give Asuna reinforcements and much-needed emotional support, but they gave her an army she can lead .

It was great to see everyone from ALO pop up and get in on the action. We got the Cait Sith and Sylph leaders get some action scenes, Eugene tearing some dudes apart, and even the Sleeping Knights return to display their amazing teamwork .

At least Higa's finally realized using Alice, or the people of the Undeworld, to pilot drones for war just isn't okay anymore. The cat's also kind of out of the bag on Project Alicization, so Kikuoka probably has a lot he's got to answer for once this is over .

So the outside has finally realized the key to saving Kirito, connecting him to the girls he's partnered with and has left the strongest impact on, and who love him. Now I guess the key is getting Leafa to see her brother and Higa getting in there to facilitate repairing his mental state .

Random scientist dude they're just namedropping now? Kind of expecting him to be a red shirt or have a really big surprise reveal .

We now return to our previously scheduled epic duel between Bercouli and Vector, which ends with Bercouli finally slaying the Dark Emperor by cutting the past. It cost him his life, and his loyal and steadfast dragon, but man was it such an epic way to go out. You will be remembered Bercouli .

Alice loses the man who was practically a father to her in the Integrity Knights. Admittedly she's slowly reconnected with her biological father, but as far as her current persona is concerned Bercouli was the closest thing she's had to a father while being an Integrity Knight. This loss is definitely going to shake her .

Even if it wasn't the real Quinella, having her pop up to see Bercouli's spirit off was a surprise. I thought those flashbacks indicated a more deeper and complex relationship between the two compared to the other Integrity Knights, and it definitely felt like there was some kind of respect and camaraderie between the two in-spite of Quinella being, well, Quinella. And there was some romantic undertones as well? Or at least care between the two. Definitely a lot of interesting ambiguity when it comes to these two .

Man, poor Fanatio. Not only does she lose the man she loves and has to bear with the grief while carrying on with the war effort, but she now has to raise their child all on her own now. As if to add insult to injury, Bercouli goes into the afterlife with Quinella of all people riding on his lap .

So Bercouli managed to take down Vector but Miller's still not out of the fight, planning to go back into the battle using his own character like Vassago is apparently doing. I'm not really sure if he can be as much of a threat as he was before as the Emperor of the Dark Territory, since I'm assuming he's just using his GGO account, but he definitely seems to have something sinister planned .

[FlareKnight]

Now I feel even more certain that I wish last episode had ended the previous season. This was a far better episode and would have been a great way to kick start the season. You had the great classic tracks with everyone coming down to fight. A very awesome sacrifice that did help rescue Alice. Yes, it isn't permanent. But Kirito as main character owns all last boss fights so this was literally the only way to let someone else do something awesome before he does. I fully expect this guy to be just as dangerous if not more so than he was in the previous account. They didn't have this character smoke Sinon (in an overly creepy way) to have him not be ridiculously dangerous.

The only thing I wish is that Silica wasn't relegated to the backline. This is literally a setting where having your own dragon is pretty cool. And what is her job? Backline support! It's fine for Liz her class is basically that anyways and she got the big speech last season. So she's kind of set for having something to do. But all Silica got to do was be there for a hug session .

That aside it was a good episode and much better than last week. The story was more on point and only really dragged when they had to explain how the heck Kirito is going to bounce back. Plenty of fun moments and overall things were well done here. Heck even a surprisingly decent farewell for Quinella. Sure it was his memory of her...but they sure played that scene out .

[l.kostas]

About Leafa from the light novel:

When she’d been given an explanation of what the Underworlders really were, Leafa had sworn to herself that unless it was absolutely, unavoidably necessary, she would never draw her sword to harm them.
It only made sense. She couldn’t kill the people that her brother Kirito was trying to protect. If the artificial fluctlights died in this virtual world, their souls would be forever destroyed and never come back.

She’d gotten an explanation of the unique abilities of Super-Account 03, Terraria, the Earth Goddess, before she dived. She had Unlimited Automatic Recovery, which absorbed energy from a wide range around the user automatically and could allow her to heal the durability of herself and other people and objects. With that ability, on top of her massive total of hit points, Higa assured her that it was virtually impossible for her to die by means of HP loss.
That was why Leafa prioritized encountering Emperor Vecta, even risking the danger of becoming a prisoner, and why she swore to herself that she would never draw her sword on the Underworlders.
The woman who was constricting Leafa and inflicting agony upon her, like Lilpilin, was an Underworlder—an artificial fluctlight. If she sliced the woman with her sword, her soul would be forever destroyed. She couldn’t fight the woman without knowing why she was injured and why she wanted to be healed this way.