Summary:

Alicia tries to talk to Welkin about what she said to him previously, but he avoids the subject and continues to treat her coldly. Welkin is then informed by Varrot that arrangements for Isara’s replacement are done and that their next mission will be to retake Bruhl. In the meantime, she asks him to take care of Isara’s belongings, and going through the small number of those belongings reminds Welkin of how, after they had first met when they were young, Isara had explained to him that she never stayed in one place for long. Back then, Welkin had thought that she didn’t need to worry about that anymore since the two of them would be always together. Meanwhile, Faldio checks up on Alicia and then hits the books because he suspects that she’s of Valkyrur descent. He is, however, unsure of what he wants to do about this.

Zaka turns out to be the new driver for the Edelweiss, and he and the rest of Squad 7 soon set out for Bruhl. The battle there is fierce, but it’s over relatively quickly because the enemy surrenders. Afterward, Welkin decides to visit his old home, and he’s reminded of Isara at every turn. Staring at a family picture, he realizes that he ended up the same as his father since both of them were unable to protect their family. Alicia then interrupts Welkin’s thoughts because she was concerned about him, and Welkin admits to her that Isara’s death leaves him feeling like part of him was torn up. Alicia feels that she understands what he’s going through because she’s been at his side for so long, so Welkin reveals that he’s been in so much pain yet he can’t seem to cry about Isara. In response, Alicia pulls him close to her and tells him that he doesn’t need to hold it in in times like these.

Alicia then leaves Welkin alone and can hear him start to cry behind her. Welkin eventually emerges from the house and is surprised to find Alicia waiting outside, staring at a plant bed. She directs his attention to some lion’s paws that have sprouted, and the two hold hands while admiring the flowers.

Preview

Well, I’m glad that Welkin is finally out of his rut (or so the end of this episode would indicate), but I feel like the lead up to him and Alicia holding hands could have been better developed. There was something unsatisfying about having Alicia comfort Welkin so that he can finally cry – which in itself was a good scene – and then having them hold hands to end the episode as if they’ve both suddenly decided to pursue a relationship together. I was hoping that Welkin would acknowledge Alicia’s importance to him a bit more. At least, that’s how I feel if them holding hands means that they’re now a couple. If it’s just a sign of unity and hope (as represented by the flowers which were admittedly a nice touch and reference back to the beginning of the story), then they could have said more to that effect.

This was still a good episode though, and I like the Isara flashbacks and how they drew the parallel between Welkin and his father. I did think however that the Bruhl battle scene was rather weak since the Imperials didn’t put up much of a fight. In any case, they’ve dwelled for a while now on Isara’s death and its aftermath, and I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of action is in store in the coming weeks since Selvaria shows up glowing in the preview and since Faldio has now set the stage for Alicia to power up as well.

32 Comments

  1. Alright, next week is shaping up to be pretty awesome! Can’t wait to see Selvaria own everyone. As for the episode itself, the battles always seemed to be shafted in the anime, but it was even shorter than I expected. I’m just happy that Welkin is finally done being emo and moving forward.

    On a side note, I wish Cordelia wore those clothes in the game, too. They look so much better than her usual dress and unicorn hat.

    aether
  2. @will

    Thats not Welkin, he’s a soldier (forgot his name) who was assigned to “guard” Selvaria when the attempt on Maximilian’s life was made. Though I have to say, he looks a lot like Welkin. How many episodes are gonna be aired? I hope they don’t rush everything to meet the deadline, cause if I’m not mistaken, the first episodes’ pace was a little slow.

    Choko
  3. wait, so Zakka is the new driver?

    Well, I guess they couldn’t have used Kris, since they never bothered to introduce him or the mechanical crew. The ending is going to be totally different too now…
    And I thought the “smart” money was on Lamar.

    In any case, I find it harder and harder to enjoy this show as it goes on. It may be the game fanboy within me but the characters just aren’t as likeable in this show and they’re getting worse.

  4. Uhm so this show is probably going to have 25 episodes right? If they are going to more or less follow the game’s story each of the final 6 episodes will include some major plot point… which means they could turn out to be either very exciting, or (if they decide to greatly simplify the story, which I think they will at this point) utterly disappointing.

    Steelman
  5. Actually, the retaking of Bruhl can actually be that fast in the game. Hell, I took it back in one turn.

    Looks like the battle of Naggier Plains is next, with what looks like Cordelia actually doing something.

  6. Well, the Bruhl battle could be that easier. If you were to look at it, Bruhl wasn’t really an important city to hold. So, more than likely, there weren’t a lot of Imperials holding down the fort. So, a well lead small squad division, Squad 7, could most likely take Bruhl back rather quckly. Plus, nothing can beat the Edelweiss. 🙂

    present
  7. wee…. the last scene! :3

    i have a feeling of what will happen in the next ep and i think we’ve reached the climax of the story. go alicia! 😀

    ~ welkin x alicia forever.

    Layla-san
  8. not really complaining about the speed of taking back bruhl, as important as the town is to the characters, the town itself to the imperial was not as important as fouzen was. I think this battle was just a catalyst for welkin to finally get over isara. Think my complain is… never realise alicia is such a flirt, as i dont like romance to be developed right after someones death, feels like alicia is taking this as an opportunity to get in welkin’s heart, even tho that was not the intention.

    brianleung8912
  9. Last week I’ve spent almost two hours reading comment after comment nagging about what a pain welkin has become but now everyone seems happy this week, was it so hard to wait for the story to progress on its own pace?
    and what’s all this I’m reading about man tears? this generation is really soft – the words of the ending of Gundam 0079 come to mind – I think welkin’s reaction to isara’s death was portrayed just right.

    Gmoney
  10. Who cares if Welkin cries. What really matters for anyone is that they should know when to cry and when not to cry and Welkin did the right thing. He should not be embarrassed or ashamed. There seems to be a lot of these things these days that people thought will make your more manly but really it does not.

    Silver
  11. This episode made me cry. I can understand what Welkin is feeling. It took me a long time to come to grips with my grandparents dying one after the other. 🙁

    Glad that there’s a slight development between Alicia and Welkin. That leaves Faldio where?

    Eri
  12. @ewok
    Don’t know if you played the game or not, but there is reason he is training with it. Also if you played the game you can hear him using special bullets as they make that sound, when it impacted the targe, when fired in the game.

    About time Welkin got over this. Wonder how long it will take him to get over the next incident. Also I couldn’t help but cry in this, and I don’t really cry a lot.

    winters
  13. weee… im so excited for the next episode. i wonder how faldio will react if he found out that welkin and alicia’s relationship had developed. btw, are they a couple now? :3

    Layla-san
  14. Man… Isara was practically the sole reason I was watching this animation. It seriously depresses me. Well, I’m really liking the serious girl(forgot her name..) though, so although she’s a minor I can look forward to her in some action.

    Starshade

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