Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage Episode 4

Satun, King of the Underworld

Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage Episode 4 is the perfect episode. It’s not two short, extra stories stuck together. Instead, this episode gives us the entire backstory of Desha, Despa, and Ouken. This is something I felt the main series was lacking.

So, the episode starts off with Satun, King of the Underworld and father of Desha, Despa, and Ouken. Apparently, the superpowers these brothers possess are the result of their father’s experimentation. Much as Bosse did with Bojji, Satun sought to sacrifice his children to gain more power.

However, Satun sought different power than Bosse. And he used different means in his attempts to achieve it. His plan was to awaken immortality in one of his sons and then take their body as his own. And to do this, he engaged in large amounts of human sacrifice.

According to Satun, both Desha and Despa were failures. Sure, Desha has an amazing superpower that lets him control lightning. And I believe Despa’s power is that he’s a genius when it comes to strategy and tactics. But, those powers aren’t the immortality Satun wanted. With Ouken, however, Satun finally succeeded.

It’s also important to note that all three brothers hated their father. Due to his lust for immortality, Satun made the underworld a living hell. He slaughtered his own people to further his experiments. And, this is what ultimately led to Satun’s downfall when Desha rose up against him.

After Desha killed Satun, Satun’s spirit attempted to take over Ouken’s body. But, Ouken’s will was too powerful and Satun wasn’t able to take hold. Desha then used his lightning to eradicate Satun’s soul, bringing an end to Satun’s reign of terror. This is only the start of the brothers’ struggles, though.

Immortality and the Three Brothers

One of the scenes I found most interesting from Episode 4 is when Desha smashes the statue of himself. When Desha becomes King of the Underworld, the town erects a statue in his honor. But, the then walks up to it and smashes its face.

Why did he do this? Is it because Desha thinks he looks ugly compared to his brother, Despa? That’s what Despa said in the main series. But, based on the context of this episode, that’s not quite it. The reason Desha hates what he looks like is that he looks like his father.

Despa is probably the one who hates his father the most. He’s the one who wanted to save the country from his father. He’s the one who killed his father. And, when Despa said his actions during the war reminded him of their father, it was clear Desha didn’t like that.

But, the thing about Desha is that he deeply cares for his brothers and the people of the Underworld. He’s willing to make tough choices and be the bad guy as long as it benefits his family and country.

This is something we see every time he interacts with Ouken. When Ouken wanted Desha to train him, Desha didn’t hold back. Desha also promised Ouken that he’d find a cure for the immortality curse. And, Desha uses his power to stop Ouken’s rampage.

It’s important to keep in mind the sacrifices Desha made in each of these cases. Despa saw him as cruel for not holding back against Ouken in training. To cure Ouken’s immortality, Desha sought out a demon to make a deal with. And he really didn’t want to have to hurt his brother when stopping him.

Ouken’s Fall

From what I remember, the explanation we got from the main series is that immortality made Ouken go mad. I don’t remember who said it, but someone mentioned that being able to live forever is what broke him. Everyone he knew and loved would die, and he would continue living on.

However, we get a very different perspective in The Treasure Chest of Courage Episode 4. And the reason this perspective is so different is that it’s Ouken’s perspective. Everyone else can only speculate about what drove him mad. So it was interesting to see what really happened.

In a way, Ouken’s immortality did have a negative impact on his mental health. But, it was because he stopped caring about what happened to himself. He knew that no matter what injuries he sustained, he’d just recover. And that seems to have done some amount of psychological damage to him.

The real problem for Ouken, though, is that the ghost of his father haunted him. This is the trauma left over from when Satun’s spirit attempted to steal Ouken’s body. Ouken became paranoid and began seeing Satun everywhere he looked. And this is ultimately what led him to madness.

At the end of the episode, Desha stops Ouken by hitting him with a lightning bolt. He then has Ouken thrown in a prison cell. This is both to protect others from Ouken and to protect Ouken from his own actions. And it’s not until the events of the main series that he escapes.

Also, speaking of the main series, Ouken’s curse was never lifted in the end. Desha didn’t get his hands on the demon and so wasn’t able to form a pact with it. Will Ouken ever have his curse lifted? I’m looking forward to finding out.

Conclusion

What do you think of Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage Episode 4? Do you agree that this was the best episode of the series so far, not just of The Treasure Chest of Courage? Has this episode changed your opinion of Desha? And, do you think Ouken will ever be cured? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 5 is available now.