GARO THE ANIMATION

Episode 20

This was our long awaited “turn Octavia into a real character” episode, and it did not disappoint. GARO has delivered another triumph of efficient characterization, making Mendoza's cipher of a lackey both sympathetic and reprehensible in just under 20 minutes.

All of the shows I'm covering this season are about two things – sex and religion. GARO THE ANIMATION has had plenty of sex, but not much religion for a show that's set in a fictionalized version of Inquisition-era Spain. This changes when we learn Octavia's story. While its criticisms aren't much compared to Maria the Virgin Witch or Yuri Kuma Arashi (which are both big into how the Church oppresses women and sexual minorities), they do inform Octavia's decision to side with Mendoza. She was raised in an impoverished family, and her parents allowed themselves to be victimized under the belief that God would provide for them. This led to their deaths (being torn apart by wolves) and Octavia's disillusionment. She admires Mendoza because he takes his desires into his own hands and gives her the tools to do the same. Now the only mystery surrounding Octavia is whether Mendoza really cares about her or is just feigning affection to get better results.

Upcoming plot developments will likely see her becoming queen, either through marriage to the King or Alfonso. She has a stronger connection to the King, but Alfonso lacks a partner in a show where everyone else has paired off. They're both indebted to her now, and this could be Mendoza's "in" to getting his agent on the throne. I also hope that we get caught up on his plans soon – if his previous goal was to destroy the Makai Order, why are they now protecting him? Why the silence from Germán and Garm? What benefit are they gaining from Mendoza's actions that requires keeping León and co. in the dark? I have no idea.

León, Ema, and Alfonso have settled into a team dynamic. There isn't much awkwardness between León and Ema, but we also don't know if their relationship is more than a one-time thing yet. León has been a little more flustered around her, but it doesn't seem to have impacted their work relationship much. He's even become protective of her, taking the lead in inspecting Mendoza's lair. León has grown a lot so far. He's come to terms with his role as a protector and the team's primary combatant, for the most part.

The episode's main issue is a plot goof. It really does not make any sense that Octavia wasn't immediately fired once Mendoza came out as evil. They were known to be tight. He tried to poison the king, the guy that Octavia was in charge of feeding, for years. Just a quick search of her room would uncover artifacts that she's received from Mendoza. I understand that Octavia needs to be cleared of suspicion in order for the plot to progress, but they could've done that without handing our heroes the idiot ball. Yeah, let's just feed the king water from a mysterious source in the villain's defunct lair. Sounds like a great idea! Let the crown prince test it out by drinking it. What could go wrong? This is the same prince who personally fought the villain in this very dungeon several months ago and witnessed his horrific magic there. This is dumb. Fortunately, the episode's focus – Octavia's characterization – holds up.

It's a bit sudden for Germán to be an enemy now, but it feels like the upcoming battle will be a more cathartic confrontation of his failures as a father than an execution. Germán did abandon his son during his time of greatest need. León almost killed himself! The fact that León is now a somewhat functional adult is in spite of his upbringing with Germán, not because of it, and the man will need to address that. It's nice to get a bad anime dad who isn't an absentee.

GARO is setting itself up for a halfway point climax. Let's see what the next few weeks bring.

Grade: B+

GARO THE ANIMATION is currently streaming on Funimation.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.