The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 19 Review

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?

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My review of Episode 20 is available now.