Goblin Slayer II Episode 7 Review

Mokele Mubenbe

Goblin Slayer II Episode 7 didn’t have as much to do with The One That Stops the Waters as I expected. But, I believe we did get some new information about it. As far as I remember, its true name, Mokele Mubenbe, wasn’t revealed in Episode 6.

But, even if the name was previously revealed, I’m going to discuss it now. But, why does this name matter, in the first place? Mokele Mubenbe (Mokele-mbembe) is a cryptid from the Congo River basin in Africa. A cryptid is a legendary creature for which there’s no physical evidence.

Basically, the Mokele Mubenbe is central Africa’s version of the Loch Ness Monster. People believe the Loch Ness Monster is a Plesiosaur that’s somehow still alive. And, people believe Mokele Mubenbe is a sauropod that’s somehow still alive. I’m sorry to break it to everyone, but neither of those is true.

So, as I mentioned, there wasn’t as much Mokele Mubenbe content in this episode as I expected. It seems like Mokele Mubenbe itself isn’t necessarily important to the story. However, it’s the second piece of evidence we have that ties the domain of the elves to the African continent.

Back in Episode 5, High Elf Archer was trying to explain to Goblin Slayer what an elephant is.

The elves’ domain being the equivalent of Africa is pretty cool and unique. I can’t think of another fantasy series that does that. Usually, elven domains are forested locations, but not African jungles.

Now, I’m curious to see if there are going to be other references to Africa. Could the giant structure the goblins are using be a reference of some kind? What about whatever they’re trying to do by releasing blood into the river? Is that based on folklore?

Every Day Might Be Your Last

There was a lot of talk about every day possibly being Goblin Slayer’s last in Episode 7. Were these death flags? Is someone (obviously not Goblin Slayer) going to die in this arc? I doubt it.

This first came up when High Elf Archer was talking to her sister. Her sister was reminding her that her comrades will die long before she does. But, High Elf Archer isn’t worried about this. She knows that she’ll continue to live long after her friends are gone. And she wants to be with them while she can.

As adventurers, they could die any time they go out on a quest. So, her friends dying before her isn’t something High Elf Archer worries about. It’s something that all adventurers have to come to terms with. And, as we’ve seen in this series, they usually have to face it very early on.

Cow Girl also comments on the dangers of being an adventurer in this episode. She tells Guild Girl that she always makes sure to see Goblin Slayer off when he heads out. And the reason she does that is because there’s always a chance he won’t return alive.

Oh, and Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer’s cousin discuss death, as well. High Elf Archer’s cousin asks Goblin Slayer to look out for her. And Goblin Slayer asks him to look out for Cow Girl and Guild Girl if anything happens to him.

So, what was the point of all these apparent death flags? It seems clear that something’s going to go wrong. And the party may even return without Goblin Slayer. But, of course, he’s not going to die. We’ll have to wait and see what happens and how he manages to escape from it.

Goblin Shaman, Or Something More?

In my review of Episode 6, I explained why I thought a goblin shaman might be around. The goblins in this region appeared more advanced than your typical goblins. And, we know this tends to be the result of them having a leader.

A goblin shaman is the leader that makes the most sense. From what we’ve seen, shamans are more common than champions, lords, and paladins. Champions are like goblin heroes. The goblin leader at the end of Season 1 was a lord. And the leader in Goblin’s Crown was a paladin.

Previously, my only evidence for the existence of a goblin shaman here was technology. We’ve seen before that when a shaman exists, goblins are able to use more advanced technology. And, the goblins in this region are doing just that. They’ve even (crudely) copied the elves’ arrows.

Now, however, we have even more evidence pointing toward the existence of a shaman. Within the structure in the jungle, there’s evidence of a ritual. The goblins have been killing people and draining their blood into the river. Killing people is one thing. But, how they’re doing it and the draining of the blood isn’t normal.

Goblin Slayer points out that this could be a form of biological warfare. But, Lizardman Priest also says that this might be evidence of a curse of some kind. If true, that would definitely point toward a shaman being involved.

There’s one thing missing from this scene, though. We don’t see any idols within the sacrifice room. I forget the god/goddess the goblin shamans worship. But, they usually have idols or other religious symbols around. We didn’t see any of that. And that leads me to believe there’s something more dangerous than a shaman around.

Final Thoughts

What do you think about Goblin Slayer II Episode 7? Did you know what Mokele Mubenbe was referencing before I explained it? What do you think the death flags in this episode are setting up? And, what sort of leader do you think is behind the goblins’ movements in the elves’ domain? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 8 is available now.