Eyes of the Gorgon

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 21 wasn’t a great episode. The majority of the episode took place in Philomela’s memories. And, that’s not very interesting considering we pretty much know her whole story by this point.

But, even if I didn’t think the episode was very good, there are still things to discuss. The first of those things is Zoe Ivy, who used his Gorgon Eyes against the female werewolf. Was this the first time we’ve seen him “petrify” someone with them? I know we’ve seen them before.

Anyway, the real reason I wanted to bring Zoe up is because something weird happened to him. At first, he’s using his eyes to stun the werewolf, not to petrify her. But then, something changes in his brain and his eyes go full Gorgon mode — you know, the petrifying kind of eyes.

Now, Zoe doesn’t petrify the werewolf. Instead, he petrified the bolts in her head that were being used to control her. But, when he does this, his entire personality changes. He’s not the Zoe we know at that point. And, that’s a little concerning.

Something to remember is that Zoe is only half-Gorgon. So, is his usual personality the human half? Was this shifted personality his Gorgon half coming out? Is that what pure Gorgons are always like? Or, is there something special about Zoe?

My guess is that Zoe is special in some way. His change in personality reminded me of when the dragon’s curse takes over Chise’s body. Zoe wasn’t in control and doesn’t seem to know what happened.

Hopefully, we’ll get more information about this in the future. Even if Zoe doesn’t know what happened to him, maybe Zaccheroni does. That could be why he didn’t get involved.

Picking Up Philomela’s Pieces

I’ll admit that the part of the episode with Chise helping Philomela pick up the pieces of herself was done well. It presented Philomela’s past in an engaging way and the direction was good. But, it still wasn’t very interesting to watch.

As I said at the start of this review, we already knew most of Philomela’s background before this episode. A lot of it had previously been confirmed. And, even the stuff that wasn’t confirmed was so implied that it was basically fact. So, let’s go over some of this stuff.

First, there was Philomela’s memories of playing with Rian. We already saw this content earlier in the season. Then, there were her memories of being mistreated by her grandmother. Again, we already saw this and knew it was the case. And, there were memories of others in the mansion treating Philomela like a failure.

Now, I recognize that we, the viewers, have more information than any of the characters do. Sure, we knew all of this information about Philomela already. But, that doesn’t mean Chise did. Though, I’m pretty sure she knew about Philomela and Rian playing together as kids.

With that in mind, it’s not as if this part of the episode was a waste of runtime. It served a purpose for the overall story, even if it wasn’t interesting in the moment. And, that’s the same way I felt about Lucy finding out about Philomela’s role in the Webster Tragedy.

We knew Philomela was there. We’ve known that ever since Chise dove into Lucy’s memories and saw her there. And, there wasn’t ever any doubt that the Sargeants played a role. But, it was still important to see Lucy get definitive proof of this being the case.

Philomela’s Role

Alright, so what’s the actual, new information we got from Episode 21? Well, the first thing is that we now know why Philomela was present at the Webster Tragedy. The fact that she was there was pretty odd considering her age at the time.

Philomela was a young child when she was present at the Tragedy. And, she was hiding in a corner and crying when it happened. She obviously wasn’t an active participant. So, why was she there? Lizbeth sent her along with the assassins so she could learn from them.

That was the piece of context we were previously missing. Now that we have it, everything makes sense. And, it’s clear that Philomela really had no involvement in what happened to Lucy’s family. The only “crime” she committed was not telling Lucy about it later on. But, as she points out, how could she have?

The second piece of new information from this episode is a little confusing to me. It appears that Lizbeth was the one who gave the Testament of Carnamagos to Philomela. And, after doing so, she directed Philomela to enter the college in search of victims.

That changes the narrative quite a bit. Before this point, the assumption was that the theft of the Testament was recent. Which came first? Did the college notice the Testament was missing or did the Testament harm its first victim? I guess I was working under the assumption it was the former.

Now, the latter seems to be the case. Or, at least, the Testament had been missing long before someone noticed it. Philomela didn’t steal the Testament from the college. She brought it (back) into the college. At least, that’s what the scene of Lizbeth handing her a magic book implied.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 21? Do you think there’s something strange going on with Zoe? Did you like the part of the episode in which Chise helped Philomela “pick up her pieces?” And, how do you think Lizbeth originally got her hands on the Testament of Carnamagos?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

The review of Episode 22 is available now.

Adam and Iris Sargeant

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 20 revealed more information about Philomela’s parents. Well, it gave us pretty much everything we know about them. Before this episode, we had to make assumptions without any evidence to back them up.

So, who were Adam and Iris Sargeant (Sargant)? We knew that Adam was Lizbeth’s son, which makes Philomela Lizbeth’s actual granddaughter. But, what we didn’t know is that he broke away from the Sargeant family. He left to elope with Iris and live out a normal, family life.

We knew even less about Iris, and I had made even more assumptions about her. For example, I assumed she was another assassin in the Sargeant family. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. Iris’s mother sold her to the Sargeant family when she was a teenager.

Why did the Sargeant family purchase Iris, though? Did she have some special kind of magic they wanted to get their hands on? No. They bought her so that Adam could use her as a test subject and refine his torture methods. That’s quite the way to meet your future spouse.

When the two of them first met, Iris attacked and headbutted Adam. And, I guess Adam is a bit of a masochist because it was love at first sight. I would have thought someone planning to practice torture methods would be a sadist. Apparently, that’s not the case for Adam.

At some point, the two of them ran away together and had Philomela. But, what’s interesting to me is that even after that, Iris still isn’t sure how she feels about Adam. She’s not sure if she hates him or not. That seems like something she should have decided before having his child.

Master of Hexes

So, as far as we know, Iris wasn’t a mage or sorcerer or anything like that. She’s a regular person. But, as a member of the Sargeant family, Adam is a sorcerer. And, the kind of magic Adam specializes in is hexes.

As I’m sure you remember, we got a crash course on hexes from Alexandra back in Episode 18. And, at the time, I was wondering if hexes were going to be important to the story. After all, why else would they have been brought up then? Well, now we know why.

Although hexes are the kind of magic Adam specializes in, we only got to see him use two of them in this episode. First, he cast a hex on a doll to transfer Philomela’s illness to it. That seems like a pretty useful kind of hex. And, it seems low-stakes to use, too.

The other hex Adam uses is more interesting. It’s a hex that reflects damage taken back on the assailant. It’s unclear how long this hex lasts for. But, we know he used it on Iris shortly after they met and that it was (still) in place when she died.

Why did Adam use this hex on Iris early on? Well, it looks like he ended up using her as his test subject despite how he felt about her. So, to show her that he’s “actually a good guy,” he placed the hex on her. Everything he does to torture her, he feels, too.

This explains why Iris still harbors some resentment toward Adam later in life.

At some point, Adam also places this hex on himself. This doesn’t stop the Sargeant’s assassins from mortally wounding both Iris and Adam. But, at the very least, it lets Adam feel like he’s won.

Ancient Goddess Morrígan

We now know that the mysterious woman who appeared before Chise is the ancient goddess Morrígan. I predicted that it was Titania, Oberon’s wife, based on her hair and eye color. But, the fact that it’s Morrígan is far more concerning.

I was wondering why Titania would be coming after Chise looking for a sacrifice. But now, I have to wonder why Morrígan, an ancient Celtic goddess of war and death, is doing that. That can’t be good for Chise even if Morrígan decided to help her out, for now.

So, it’s pretty clear that we’re supposed to have some idea of why Morrígan is here. She knew who Ruth was and Ruth seems to remember being told that Morrígan would come for a sacrifice. This likely all happened back in Season 1, which, at this point, aired six years ago. I don’t remember much of it.

Let’s make some inferences about what Morrígan wants based on what’s said in this episode, though. She very clearly states that she’s there to receive a sacrifice of some kind from Chise. And, when Chise doesn’t know what she’s talking about, Elias steps in.

He says that Morrígan wants “mistletoe” and proceeds to tell Morrígan that Chise is still a child, so it’s too soon. From that exchange, I understood “mistletoe” to be referring to a child of Chise’s. And, that would track with the whole “sacrifice” thing.

To put it simply, Morrígan seems to want Chise to sacrifice her firstborn (unborn?) child to her. And, she was expecting Chise to already have the child in question by this point. I guess Chise had promised this to Morrígan in exchange for her help at some point.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 20? Were you surprised to find out how Adam and Iris met? Do you think Adam placed some sort of protective hex on Philomela, too? And, do you remember why Morrígan is looking for a sacrifice from Chise? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

The review of Episode 21 is available now.

What Are We? Mages

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 19 highlighted the difference between sorcerers and mages. Of course, we already know how these two groups use magic. Sorcerers use magic produced within their bodies. And, mages use magic produced by spirits they form contracts with.

How they use magic is very important, though. Sorcerers are limited by what their body can handle. Mages don’t have that same constraint. And, mages can forge contracts with spirits far more powerful than themselves. This is exactly what we see with Chise and the Red Dragon.

We now know that Philomela intended to steal the Testament of Carnamagos. She did this because she thought doing so would lead to the revival of her parents. But, by using the Testament, she was losing her humanity. And, this put everyone else in the college at risk.

The principal and vice principal decide that the best course of action is to kill Philomela. Philomela has already shown a disregard for her own life. So, the safety of the other students and staff is a higher priority. But, Philomela manages to escape from the vice principal’s attacks with the help of a werewolf.

With the stage set, we can now look at how the difference between sorcerers and mages was highlighted.

As expected, Chise says she wants to go after Philomela. But, Principal Quillyn tells her it’s too dangerous and that she’s just a dumb kid. After all, even she and the vice principal couldn’t stop Philomela.

However, what they didn’t account for is that Chise is a mage. And not only is she a mage, but she’s a mage cursed by a Red Dragon. And when they see the true extent of her power, they’re shocked.

Chise, the Red Dragon

Okay, so you may have picked up on me implying that Chise has a contract with a Red Dragon. Isn’t it a curse, not a contract? Well, it’s kind of both.

It’s definitely a curse. We’ve been explicitly told that the Red Dragon cursed Chise. And, if nothing is done about the curse, it could continue to spread across Chise’s body. Eventually, this would result in the Red Dragon having complete control.

Sounds like it’s a negative for Chise, right? So, how is this also a contract?

Well, think about everything Chise gets out of this arrangement. The Red Dragon isn’t the only one benefiting from the curse placed on Chise. She gains the power of the Red Dragon, which has come in handy multiple times so far. Without the Red Dragon’s power, Chise might not be alive today.

As I’ve gone over in a previous review, it’s not as if the Red Dragon wants to help Chise. Everything the Red Dragon does for her is self-serving. It wants to keep her alive so it can take over her body. Though, you could question how it helping her track down Philomela benefits it.

Anyway, we can think of the curse as a contract because both parties get something out of it. And if that seems like a stretch, look at how Elias views contracts. Elias and other mages seem to decide what a contract is whenever it suits them.

Did Chise promise to make potpourri with Philomela in the future? That’s a contract because it was a convenient excuse to go after Philomela. So, why wouldn’t this curse also be a sort of contract? It’s a convenient excuse that allows Chise to rely on the Red Dragon’s power.

Rescuing Philomela

One of the big reveals in Episode 19 is that Lizbeth Sargeant was behind the Testament incident. She tasked Philomela with obtaining the Testament of Carnamagos. And, Philomela completed her mission successfully. But, why does Lizbeth want the Testament and why did Philomela help her?

It’s been a while, so maybe you forgot why the Webster Tragedy seems to have happened. It was so someone (likely Lizbeth) could get their hands on the Webster’s spiders. The silk from those spiders can be used to replicate magic books. And, that means someone could replicate the Testament of Carnamagos.

Why would someone want to replicate the Testament of Carnamagos? There could be a few reasons. They might want to watch the world burn. Or, they might want to sell those copies to sorcerer terrorists. Or, they might want to try to use the power of the Testament for themselves.

We don’t know exactly what Lizbeth has in mind. But, we know she told Philomela that acquiring this book would bring her parents back to life. And, that might not have been a lie. From what I remember Elias said about it, the book does include knowledge about reviving the dead.

The thing is, I doubt Lizbeth would revive Philomela’s parents for Philomela’s sake. She told Alcyone to take Philomela underground by sundown. And, she mentions something about a ritual. So, my prediction is that she plans to sacrifice Philomela to revive Philomela’s parents.

I’m also predicting that this won’t work thanks to Chise. Chise came to save Philomela from her fate. And, it seems that Chise might have a new ally in this venture. Elias, Zaccheroni, Lucy, Isaac, and Zoe are there, sure. But now, there’s also the mysterious woman who wants an offering from Chise.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 19? Did you like seeing how Chise’s power surprised the principal and vice principal? Do you think using the Red Dragon’s power is going to cause the curse to spread over more of Chise’s body? And, what do you think Lizbeth wants to do with the Testament?

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

My review of Episode 20 is available now.

Hunting the Maiden

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 18 featured a big reveal. But, there are other things I want to go over before we get to that. And the first of those things is, “Why is someone hunting down Chise outside the college?”

At the start of the episode, we see an antlered, centaur-like creature arrive at the cottage. And riding on this creature’s back is a woman with long, black hair. The woman asks Silver if “the maiden” is around. And when Silver shakes her head, the woman and centaur-like creature turn into a bunch of crows.

Everything about this interaction seemed sinister. The woman’s wild hair made her seem like someone who can’t be reasoned with. And the centaur-like creature was wielding a long weapon. But, I don’t think this was actually as sinister as it at first seemed.

I’m pretty sure the woman was Titania, the Queen of the Fae. She has long, black hair (though, it’s usually straight). And, just like the woman we see here, she has pale violet eyes. Since she’s associated with the woodland fairies, that also explains the centaur-like creature.

Other than what she looks like, I don’t remember much about Titania. I don’t really remember how she views Chise. But, I do remember that Oberon, the King of the Fae, likes Chise. So, I’m going to assume Titania is also pretty friendly with her.

However, even if that’s the case, why did Titania show up at the cottage looking like that in search of Chise?

At this point, it doesn’t feel like we have enough information to answer that question. Can Titania sense that Chise’s in danger? Does she need Chise’s help with something? There’s nothing to go on based on this short interaction.

Curses and Hexes

I like learning about the different types of magic in this world. And in Episode 18, we got to learn about both curses and hexes. Curses are obviously relevant because of Chise’s arm. But, it’s unclear if hexes are immediately relevant to the plot.

In any event, what’s the difference between the two?

The main difference is that hexes are curses placed on people by humans. Though, when Alexandra says humans here, I think it includes similar species. For example, if a centaur placed a curse on someone, that would likely still be considered a hex.

I could be wrong about that. Alexandra may have only meant humans. But, either way, hexes tend to be less potent than curses because of their origins. However, that doesn’t mean they’re less dangerous, per se. Hexes can still lead to death.

Something I found interesting about hexes was when Alexandra mentioned the weakest kind. The weakest hex you can cast on someone is simply telling them they’ve been hexed. Once you do that, they may start associating bad things that happen to them with this “hex.” And if they do that, a real hex can develop.

Now, curses come from stronger magical sources than humans. You know, like how Chise’s curse comes from a thousand-year-old dragon. Additionally, curses are “alive” in a sense, in that they’ll spread if not managed. You can think of them like a virus. Hexes, by comparison, are more static.

Alexandra also mentions how hexes can backfire on their casters. If you hex someone and they break it, there’s a chance the hex will come back at you. This doesn’t appear to apply to curses. And, even if it did, that wouldn’t help Chise. The dragon that cursed her is dead.

Philomela and the Testament of Carnamagos

Alright. So, the big reveal of the episode is that Philomela is the one in possession of the Testament of Carnamagos. She was always the obvious suspect. But, that’s why I suspected other people instead. I thought Philomela was too obvious.

With that said, I still don’t believe Philomela sought out the Testament on her own. Instead, I’m convinced that it was the Testament that drew her to itself. It used Philomela to suck the mana out of other students. And it planned to use her to escape from within the college.

Is Lizbeth Sargeant also involved? I don’t know. I still think she might be. But, at the same time, it’s unclear how she would have planned this. And, she didn’t even want Philomela to attend the college in the first place. But, it’s still possible that this is all part of her master plan.

There are two interesting things I want to point out, though. The first is that Alcyone referred to Philomela as being “corrupted” by the Testament. Does that mean she was cursed by it? Or, is being corrupted by it something else?

My immediate thought is that “corrupted” and “cursed” are interchangeable in this instance. I believe Philomela has been cursed by the Testament. And one piece of evidence I’m using to back that belief up is how her appearance changed. Philomela’s skin turned all black, much like Chise’s arm. If Chise’s curse keeps spreading, this could be her eventual fate.

The other interesting thing is that Philomela was storing the Testament within Alcyone. Was Alcyone aware of this fact? I feel like she would have said something to Elias if she was. But also, how could nobody sense the Testament when Alcyone was nearby?

Final Thoughts

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 18? Do you recognize the woman from the start of the episode as Titania? Do you expect curses backfiring to be relevant in the near future? Let me know in the comments. Perhaps Lizbeth hexed Philomela and it’s going to backfire on her.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 19 is available now.

Victims of Carnamagos

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 17 made me reflect on the whole Carnamagos incident. Was I, and most of the characters, wrong in thinking that someone at the college is evil? Is there actually a culprit? Or, is there a first victim of the Testament, instead?

Elias brought up an interesting point when he commented on Carnamagos’s actions. He said they seemed inefficient and rushed. And as proof, he pointed out that Carnamagos could have sapped all of Chise’s magical energy, but didn’t. That hints at something being wrong.

Either the person using the Testament doesn’t have full control over it. Or, Carnamagos was rushed for some reason. And one reason I can think of is if it’s fighting someone for control. What if the Testament wasn’t stolen by someone? What if the Testament itself manipulated someone into taking it?

This would explain a lot. For starters, it would explain why Carnamagos’s attacks are inefficient. It would also explain why the Testament was “stolen.” And, it explains why none of those attacked so far have died. Whoever Carnamagos is controlling is fighting back against its effects in some way.

This person doesn’t want to kill the students and teachers at the college. But, who is this person? There have been a lot of suspects throughout the season. Philomela, Lizbeth, the werewolves, Zaccheroni, and Violet are some who come to mind. And, it’s possible that some of these are involved in some way.

I’ll explain my current theory about the Carnamagos incident later on in this review. But, for now, it appears that Philomela, Lizbeth, and potentially Veronica are behind it. And, of course, if anyone’s actually to blame, it would be Lizbeth. Philomela and Veronica may themselves be victims.

Magic Tomatoes

Let’s go in a different direction for a bit. What was up with the tomato harvesting scene? Why was it there? Why are those tomatoes growing on trees? Are they even tomatoes at all? And, will whatever these fruits are be relevant later on?

The easiest question to answer is, “Why are the tomatoes growing on trees?” As we’re told, it’s probably the result of magic. That’s all there is to it. And, this leads into the question, “Are they even tomatoes at all?” Well, nobody comments on them not tasting like tomatoes. So, I guess they are.

Will the tomatoes come up again in the series? My assumption is that they will. We know these are magic tomatoes of some kind. So, I could see them ending up being the solution to the Carnamagos problem. Maybe those who eat these tomatoes regain their magical energy.

With that said, I don’t think the main reason for including this scene was to set up the tomatoes being important. If that ends up happening, fine. But, there’s a bigger reason to include this otherwise out-of-place scene. It’s in character for both Chise and Elias.

Think of all the other times we saw them in their garden at home. And, remember when the college first went into lockdown? Chise was worried about getting back home in time for the harvest. So, the biggest thing this scene did was reinforce what’s important to Chise and Elias.

It’s easy to overlook details like that, both as an author and as a viewer. Could the scene have been skipped? Sure. But, including it makes the characters feel more real. Real people have likes and interests unrelated to the “main plot.” And as viewers, we should take the time to appreciate that.

Philomela and Veronica

It’s time to get back on track. Who’s responsible for the Carnamagos incident? My number one answer is Lizbeth, Philomela’s grandmother. It’s not confirmed that she’s to blame. But, she certainly has the motive, history, and personality. Though, “responsible” might be a bit too strong of a word to use here.

She could be responsible if she got Philomela to do something. Remember, she tried to pull Philomela out of the college right after the incident began. So, was this her trying to get Philomela and the Testament out before the lockdown? It seems likely.

However, she may not be responsible for the incident starting. Instead, it could be that Carnamagos itself started the incident. And if that’s the case, Lizbeth could simply be capitalizing on it. If she heard about the Testament being stolen, she’d want in on it.

How does removing Philomela from the college help Lizbeth, though? Well, if Carnamagos infected Philomela, someone can probably extract it. If Lizbeth does that, she’d be able to use Carnamagos for her own gain. And, we know she has a history of doing things like that.

In case you forgot, she seems to be the one who hired the werewolves to carry out the Webster Tragedy. And, what’s the assumed reason for the Webster Tragedy happening? Someone wanted to get their hands on the spiders so they could reproduce banned books.

It all points back to Lizbeth, regardless of whether she initiated the incident.

Where does Veronica come in? Well, at the end of Episode 17, we saw Philomela’s fear of Veronica. It was sheer terror. Why would she be so afraid of Veronica? Well, it might be that Veronica is currently the vessel of Carnamagos. And Philomela might be able to feel that somehow.

Final Thoughts

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 17? Do you think the Testament of Carnamagos is behind its own theft? Did you appreciate the tomato harvesting scene? And, why do you think Philomela was so scared of Veronica at the end? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 18 is available now.