To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 8

Prince Bonchien Is Dead

At the start of To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 8, it’s confirmed that Prince Bonchien is, in fact, dead. But, Bon is very much alive, much to his own surprise. Fushi was able to save Bon and fake his death at the last second.

At first, I wasn’t too happy with this development. I’ve said in past reviews that a good death is one of the best ways to make a character memorable. Bon sacrificing himself for Fushi and Fushi’s followers would have been a good death. It would have cemented Bon’s place as a hero.

So, in a way, Fushi robbed Bon of this. But, maybe this was for the best. As I explained in my Episode 7 review, I’m not convinced that Bon’s death would have saved everyone as he thought. And, as I’ll get into more in the next section of this review, Bon still had a story to tell.

Let’s talk about exactly how Fushi was able to save Bon for a bit. He used Tonari’s diary to find a powerful sleeping potion. Then, he scattered it over the crowd of onlookers as Liggard. Next, he stopped the guillotine blade with his new iron-melting power. And finally, he replaced Bon with an empty husk.

I guess Fushi also took the time to recreate the damaged guillotine blade. He also then had to take the old blade with him. And he had to clean up the molten iron he got on the wooden platform.

If he didn’t do at least all that, it would have been obvious that he intervened in Bon’s execution. The church knows Fushi can create human husks. So, the only reason they don’t suspect Bon was swapped out was that they still think Fushi is “dead.”

Bon and Iris

I mentioned that Bon still had a story to tell. That story is the story of him and Iris. Iris is a girl who went by the name Todo and pretended to be male to be closer to Bon. But, that’s not the twist with her character.

The twist is that Iris is actually the girl Bon met in the castle courtyard when he was younger. She’s the girl he fell in love with and who gave Bon the handkerchief he carries with him at all times. It turns out that the girl wasn’t a ghost, after all.

I did think it was odd that a ghost could give Bon a physical item. But, we were led to believe she wasn’t a living person. Bon even seemed to believe she was a ghost. And you’d think he’d be able to tell the difference between the living and the dead.

Is that the end of Bon’s story, though? Are he, Iris, and Chabo (who they’ve adopted) going to live happily ever after? That’s not exactly the tragic end I’ve come to expect for characters of To Your Eternity. But, you could argue that this is a tragic end for Bon in a way.

He’s never going to become king. He sacrificed his dream to save others. Isn’t that enough? Maybe. But, we’re not quite done with Bon yet. There’s still the upcoming battle against the Nokkers at the Church of Bennett. Things can still go horribly wrong for Bon.

It’s time for a prediction. What would be the most tragic end to Bon’s story? It wouldn’t be him dying. It would be Iris dying. So, I predict that we’re going to see Iris sacrifice herself to save Bon. That would be a pretty depressing end to their story.

The Nokkers’ Goal

At the end of Episode 8, we finally learn what the goal of the Nokkers is. They want to kill everyone and everything on the planet. Well, that’s technically not what their goal is. But, it is the end result of their stated goal.

What the Nokkers want to do is free the souls from every living thing. Or maybe only from people. I don’t remember. But, that detail isn’t very important. What’s important is that the Nokkers believe physical bodies are prisons trapping souls. And, apparently, Nokkers are souls themselves.

This brings up an interesting question. Are the Nokkers the souls of prior humans? If so, that would mean they’ve come back to free the souls of all other humans. If not, then why do they believe themselves to be souls? Could there be someone opposing the Black One by controlling the Nokkers?

Before judging the Nokkers’ death cult, let’s look at what they’re fighting against. According to them, the Black One (and Fushi) are trapping souls in flesh. Does this mean the Black One is the one who grants life to all things? Or, do they only oppose him because he created Fushi?

Why do they hate Fushi, though? Fushi isn’t only immortal himself. He also has the ability to grant immortality to others, though he doesn’t know it yet. And that’s the issue the Nokkers have with him. If Fushi starts making other people immortal, they’ll never be free of their bodies.

Also, from what I remember, Fushi came before the Nokkers, not the other way around. The Nokkers arose in response to Fushi. This gives their side some credibility. So, would the Nokkers agree to stop the killing if Fushi agreed not to make anyone immortal? It’s at least possible.

Conclusion

What do you think of To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 8? How do you feel about the way in which Fushi saved Bon? How do you think Bon and Iris’ story is going to end? And, might the Nokkers have a point? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 9 is available now.