The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 9

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 9

A Monster Inside

The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 9 started to tie a lot of things together. And the first part of the episode was about Chise and what happened to her in Episode 8. When faced with the Nuckelavee, something took over Chise’s body and caused her to kill it.

This is troubling for a few reasons. Despite her life being in danger, Chise didn’t want to kill the Nuckelavee. She’s not the kind of person to want to kill anything or anyone. So, the fact that the Nuckelavee died by her hand is weighing on her.

But, the thing that’s more troubling is the whole being taken over by something. Chise heard a voice telling her that she had no other option. And when her arm transformed and she attacked, we also saw her eyes were different. The implication here is that Chise wasn’t in control.

Silky giving Chise a haircut from the anime series The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Episode 9
Silky giving Chise a haircut

Who’s to say whatever this being that took over her body is, it won’t do it again? And what if it causes Chise to hurt someone she cares about? It saved her this time. But that doesn’t make whatever it is good. Chise wisely recognizes this.

Why would something that’s evil want to save her, though? Well, it could be because that evil something wants to continue using her body. It could be that if Chise dies, so does whatever controlled her at that moment. And most living things want to keep on living.

What was the thing that took control of Chise? Cartaphilus seems to think it was the curse of the dragon. And considering how Chise’s arm looked, I think he’s right. But, unlike Cartaphilus, I don’t think the dragon’s curse is going to corrupt Chise. She’s the protagonist — she’s going to overcome it.

Forbidden Books

Personally, I didn’t think that stuff with Chise was that interesting. I was much more interested in the forbidden book Elias read. You know, the one that mysteriously went missing. And since Elias admitted to having read the book, that makes him a suspect.

So, what was this forbidden book about? According to Elias, it’s about things that could prove fatal for mortals. It’s about stealing the life force of others. It’s about how to create immortal beings. And it’s also about how to kill immortal beings. Oh, and there’s some stuff about raising the dead, as well.

It’s unclear exactly how this information can damage those who read the book. Is it because reading it will make the person want to engage in those forbidden acts? Or, does the act of reading the book actually control your actions? We don’t know. But, as a non-human, Elias seems to be immune.

Elias in human form from the anime series The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Episode 9
Elias in human form

Something I was wondering was why the college stores forbidden books, in the first place. Wouldn’t it be better to destroy these books so they don’t fall into the wrong hands? After all, since they’re forbidden, nobody’s allowed to read them.

But, one argument for storing the books is that you never know when you’ll need them. What if someone evil learns the secret of immortality on their own? In that case, the book could be useful because it tells you how to kill an immortal.

However, there’s a major flaw with this argument. The school librarian and the headmaster weren’t even aware of the contents of the book Elias read. If nobody knows what’s in the books, how will they know when to use them?

And if that’s the case, there’s no point in keeping the books around. They’re asking to be stolen.

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The Webster’s Spiders

Toward the end of the episode, we learned what the Webster Tragedy was. Of course, we knew it was the event that killed off Lucy Webster’s family. But, we didn’t know any of the details beyond that — until now.

So, the Webster Tragedy is a bit of a mystery. But, it all started due to the Webster family trade. They were a family that specialized in copying forbidden books. And unlike most copies, the Webster’s copies were said to be as potent as the originals.

They created these copies by using the silk from special spiders. And, that’s what lead to the tragedy. It’s not known who committed the act, but someone killed the family and stole the spiders. Ever since, the spiders haven’t been located. However, a strand of Webster spider silk was at the scene of the recent forbidden book theft.

A spider of the Webster family from the anime series The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Episode 9
A spider of the Webster family

Lucy’s older brother seemed to be a suspect in the theft of the forbidden book. He was born without the ability to use magic. And as a result, the family abandoned him. So, he would have the motive to both steal the spiders and the book.

But, why would the person who stole the spiders also want to steal the forbidden book? Well, the whole point of the spiders is to use them to copy forbidden books. So, it seems obvious that whoever’s behind this theft wants to mass-produce copies.

Also, it doesn’t seem like Lucy’s brother is involved in the plot. The werewolf-like people we see at the end of the episode appear to be after him. My guess is that despite what Lucy thinks, her brother is actually protecting her. He doesn’t hate her for what the rest of the family did. She’ll figure that out eventually.

Conclusion

What do you think of The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 9? Do you agree with Cartaphilus that the dragon’s curse is what controlled Chise? Why do you think the college stores forbidden books instead of destroying them? And who do you think is responsible for the Webster Tragedy? Let me know in the comments.

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Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.

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