Re:ZERO Episode 43

Betty and Ryuzu

As is usually the case when it comes to Re:ZERO, Season 2 episode 43 dumped a lot of information in our laps. So, let’s begin sorting through it with the flashback of Betty and Ryuzu Meyer. We weren’t given a time period for this flashback, but since Echidna was alive, we know it’s at least 400 years ago.

Surprisingly, I don’t actually think the Betty and Ryuzu content of this flashback is all that important. Or at least, it doesn’t have any importance to us right now. It might become important later. I just don’t see how at this point.

The important parts of the flashback are the mention of the Sanctuary’s true nature being revealed around that time and the appearance of Roswaal.

First, we know that the Sanctuary was Echidna’s laboratory. That much has been established since we learned of Ryuzu Meyer’s existence, but it was confirmed here. However, it was implied that there was a secret reason for the existence of the Sanctuary as well. And I’m guessing this isn’t simply that Echidna was searching for immortality.

If I had to guess, I’d say that the secret of the Sanctuary has to do with the barrier that was erected around it. Perhaps Echidna was attempting to seal something, and the barrier is the product.

As for Roswaal, we’re actually given some conflicting information about him. Ram states that the Roswaal in Ryuzu Meyer’s memories is the Roswaal of a previous generation. However, current Roswaal states that he knew Echidna. So is Ram simply making an assumption without knowing that Roswaal is actually over 400 years old?

That’s possible. But I think it’s also possible that Ram is correct and that when Roswaal mentioned meeting Echidna, he meant during a previous attempt at the trial.

The Day Betelgeuse Laughed

With a title like “The Day Betelgeuse Laughed,” I assumed that we were going to see the point at which he snapped and became the maniac he was first introduced as in the series. That didn’t happen. But it was sort of implied that the Witch’s Factor is what eventually caused him to become that way.

However, the big takeaway from this part of the episode for me was that Betelgeuse didn’t have the Witch Factor before this. Well, he had it in his possession, but he didn’t have it if that makes sense.

Why does this matter? Because when Subaru fought Betelgeuse, the latter mentioned that his unseen hand was granted to him by Satella herself. But in this episode, we’re shown that he has the Witch Factor in a small box and then uses it on himself. It seems pretty clear that it wasn’t given to him by Satella.

So what gives? Why would Betelgeuse have claimed that he received his Witch Factor from Satella? Did Satella give him the box? Unlikely. He probably received the box from the church. And the fact that he hadn’t used it earlier may mean that he was initially tasked with locating someone worthy of accepting the Witch’s Factor.

His line about being given the power by Satella was likely in reference to him being able to wield it. Over time, he most likely came to believe that he was chosen by Satella. When in fact, the Witch’s Factor would have infected anyone it came into contact with.

After all, we saw that he was rejected by Satella when he met her within Subaru’s “soul” or whatever that was. I am interested in learning how Betelgeuse came to acquire the Witch’s Factor in the first place, though.

Oh, and it was stated that Betelgeuse was a spirit — because everyone seems to be.

The Black Serpent

This section is going to be shorter, but I did want to touch on the Black Serpent. We’ve heard about the Black Serpent two times before this. The first was during The Frozen Bond, and the second was, I believe, when Subaru spoke to Daphne during the Witchs’ Tea Party.

As we should have expected, the Black Serpent doesn’t really look like a normal serpent. The White Whale was a giant, flying whale that could create clones of itself and the Great Rabbit is actually about a million normal-sized rabbits that eat anything that gives off mana.

The Black Serpent appeared to be a mass of black tentacles more than snakes. I didn’t notice any snake heads. But it’s also unclear as of right now whether it’s one physical entity or a bunch that work together like the Great Rabbit.

And, we saw that once someone is poisoned by the Black Serpent, there’s nothing that can be done. I believe this was also hinted at in The Frozen Bond, though.

Pandora, Archbishop Sin of Vanity

Maybe you don’t agree with this, but I think the introduction of Pandora was the biggest part of the episode. She wasn’t introduced as an Archbishop Sin, but I’m pretty sure we can infer that’s the case considering she has an overpowered and unknown ability and referenced the Witch of Vanity when granting Betelgeuse his title.

Before I get any further into Pandora herself, who’s the Witch of Vanity? Well, Crunchyroll’s subtitles like to use different words for things. For example, Satella was originally referred to as the Witch of Jealousy, but now she’s the Witch of Envy. The same thing happened here.

Typhon is the Witch of Vanity, but she was previously referred to as the Witch of Pride. Vanity and Pride are interchangeable terms here.

Pandora’s name is in reference to Pandora, one of Jupiter’s moons. She’s the first of the Archbishop Sins not to be named after a star in a seemingly relevant constellation. I doubt that difference between her name and the names of the others is that important, but I figured I’d point it out.

Obviously, the big thing about Pandora is what I assume is the power granted to her by her Authority of Vanity. She can reset things. However, she doesn’t reset things like Subaru does. When Subaru dies and resets time, it was implied he creates a branch timeline in which only he has memories of the other timelines.

With Pandora, she can reset portions of the current timeline, and anyone within that timeline is very much aware of it. For example, she didn’t reset time so that the confrontation between Regulus and Betelgeuse never happened. But she did reset Regulus’s involvement in the situation, which means anything he caused — such as Betelgeuse losing an arm — is reset too.

She was even able to reset her own death. So it’s unclear what the limitations on her ability are. Could she simply reset someone out of existence? And if she can reset her own death, does that make her effectively immortal? If she died from old age, couldn’t she reset herself to a younger age?

Pandora definitely seems to be the strongest Archbishop Sin we’ve met. I think she could defeat all three of the others at the same time.

Conclusion

What do you think of Re:ZERO Season 2 episode 43? Is the Roswaal we saw in Ryuzu Meyer’s memories the same clown we know and love in the current timeline? Why do you think Betelgeuse was carrying the Sloth Witch Factor in a box? And what’s your first impression of Pandora? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of the next episode is available here.