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Harleyquin
Posts: 2847 |
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S4 #8
Given the length of this adaptation, this episode marks the start of the final arc of this season. The previous arcs were exactly 4 episodes long, so it's no surprise this will also end and conclude the season. There's a saying, "The best laid plans are no match for the whims of fortune". Who would have thought the drunken ramblings of a noble with an ego dwarfing his intellect combined with an unexpected piece of information would be the very catalyst required for the Sorcerer Kingdom to absorb E-Rantel? Phillip Montserrat was always meant to be a stooge, but the one action he takes of his own volition proves to be the undoing of his kingdom and everything he owns. Albedo and Demiurge are too intelligent, so they overthink matters when Momonga with his simpler salaryman mindset comes to the lazy conclusion and gets away with it because all of his subordinates will never second-guess him. Unfortunately for Momonga, his inability to fully control his incredibly talented subordinates means he's powerless to stop what's going to come next, come what may. Demiurge and Albedo have more than enough ways to crush the target since the groundwork was laid two arcs before, it was only a matter of timing and opportunity. Although they are not going to proceed as they had initially planned, I can't see this being anything other than a revenge mission ending with the Sorcerer Kingdom's annexation of its target. The King has also come up with a novel solution of his own in a desperate attempt to save his people. It's not as foolhardy as it appears; he'd already indicated to his surviving son that abdication was on the table. If he's going to retire anyway, might as well use it to maximum benefit for his people. I'm not sure what Albedo will think of this; if she accepts then it's all-out warfare and there'll be lots of collateral damage. If she declines, the Sorcerer Kingdom loses face as it is on the brink of declaring war and will be seen by other kingdoms as unnecessarily belligerent. There's also the Princess card which has yet to be played; after all she's the true architect of the plan Albedo and Demiurge were working towards until Phillip's thoughtless intervention. A lot can happen in the remaining three episodes, so unacquainted viewers might as well sit back and enjoy the show. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15464 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I rewatched the part again after finishing the episode, and I still can't understand how that noble thought it was a good idea to try and rob the Sorcerer Kingdom. As much as random things connecting, it does look like the whole farming plan almost works too good, having one trying to do the crops himself, and the other has them transported through his land.
Kind of reminds me of a theory that I saw recently, which probably existed for ages. One about the titular Overlord not really just being lucky, but his intelligence stat is so high that on a subconscious level he creates the master plans. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23779 |
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I'm sure I'm pulling an Albedo or a Demiurge here and overthinking things, but the idiot noble's action of robbing the carriage... was he not "guided" into that decision by a secret plot hatched by the Princess who is hoping to destabilize the Kingdom so that she some how ends up on the throne instead of her brother? No doubt I'm wrong about that.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2847 |
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Situation:
Phillip Montserrat cannot get his peasants to grow cash crops, but his lands still grow food crops for income. Ainz's kingdom is growing a TON of food crops through intensive cultivation of farmland under their control and is flogging it off in E-Restize at rock bottom prices (effectively dumping) and can even afford to send food to the Theocracy which hates them as aid. Phillip: I can't make money from cash crops, and what money I'm earning from food crops is depressed thanks to price dumping. I want the Sorcerer Kingdom to stop producing so much food so that I don't go bankrupt. Solution: I'm going to rob one of the food convoys bound for the Theocracy and disguise my men to prevent my part in this from being traced. The Theocracy will blame the Sorcerer Kingdom for not doing its part in keeping food convoys secure and will stop future shipments. Because there is less demand from the Theocracy, the Sorcerer Kingdom won't need to produce so much. On top of that, I can use the food stolen from the convoy, poison it and send it to E-Restize's stores. Once I raise a hue and cry saying the Sorcerer Kingdom are poisoning the country, no one will want to do business with the Sorcerer Kingdom and the price of food will rise again once the dumping stops (the part about the poisoning is my own invention, but everything before that is Phillip's plan on the surface). Appraisal of plan: Short-sighted and incompetently executed. Last time we saw Phillip he had already said it was a priority to cultivate friendly relations with the Sorcerer Kingdom as they are powerful neighbours and it would be a golden opportunity to use as leverage to increase the size of his own pitiful domain and gain court recognition at the same time. Yet news of the food dumping and his own inebriated mind made him discard the possibility of his scheme getting found out and him losing everything as his big neighbour enacts reprisal. Possibility of Princess Renner pulling the strings: Not impossible, but very unlikely. Why? 1. She has contact with both Albedo and Demiurge, and it's her plan which is being used (with slight modifications) to eventually absorb E-Restize without bloodshed. For her to double-cross Albedo and Demiurge now even after receiving plenty of help, communication and even some magic item for use in the actual coup makes little sense, since the plan was going smoothly and too much risk is involved in getting Ainz's company to act prematurely. 2. Phillip Montserrat is an obscure noble with little to no means of intelligence gathering. That was genuine shock when he heard the news about the crop dumping, so it's not a surprise he came up with his hare-brained scheme on the spot when fuelled by Dutch Courage. 3. His handler was personally interrogated by Ainz, and she has strict instructions that he is to kept on a leash. She was honestly expecting to die for Phillip's transgression, but was genuinely moved by Ainz's magnanimity. Obviously she's not betraying Ainz as an ex-Eight Fingers cadre, and it's also highly unlikely she's working for Princess Renner on the sly since neither party has met in this series (maybe off-screen, but if she did there is no merit in betraying Ainz after what she was put through after being defeated and captured at the end of season 2). 4. Demiurge rates Renner highly for her capabilities, but it would be a genuine shock if she was actually capable of turning the tables on him. She's sly, but only human and if she's caught red-handed she has no defence against full-fledged demons. Risk is too high, so why bother when the scheme previously enacted prior to Phillip's unexpected move was progressing nicely? 5. Dialogue at start of episode: Why suggest E-Restize be a vassal to the Sorcerer Kingdom if she's planning a coup? If taken at face value, one could accuse Renner of betraying the Sorcerer Kingdom by accelerating the plan, but what benefit is there if her brother had somehow accepted? It's clear during the Privy Council meeting that her father and a lot of other nobles bar the Interior Minister would rather revolt or die than submit. Her brother confirmed this anyway earlier in the episode. My take is she wanted to see what the reaction would have been since Renner is usually not allowed to participate in state affairs and probably wanted to confirm her own theory on the feasibility of vassalage. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23779 |
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Thanks, Harleyquin. Your grasp of the show far exceeds my own (not a particularly high bar to clear, mind you) and I often depend on your summaries to clear up my own confusion. No doubt you are correct that Montserrat came up with the scheme on his own, but I still have a nagging suspicion that somebody - although not Princess Renner, based on your observations - set him up. Time will tell.
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2847 |
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S4 #9
Even Nazarick's greatest strategists cannot plan for every eventuality. I was surprised Albedo had not expected the King to offer his head as compensation, though it would have mattered little anyway since the robbery was the excuse they needed to retaliate with an invasion. Albedo's final remark was also interesting: she did not need to tell the assembled court how the idiot noble's actions had doomed them all yet failed to follow any logic expected by the Sorcerer Kingdom. Then again, E-Restize's fate was always set for domination had the noble not carelessly intervened, so perhaps matters were just being accelerated? As always, Ainz and company do things thoroughly. If Brain and the others were any indication, it appears the Capital is expecting a full-scale assault and has no idea that they are being strangled from the outside. Brain might well get his chance to avenge Gazef, especially if the OP animation turns out to be a harbinger of what's to come. However, he needs to actually get into an encounter with the Nazarick Floor Guardians and where he's at isn't where the action is right now. Momonga again exhibiting his usual combination of out-of-his-depth blitheness and shrewd empathy plus HR management. So he deliberately let a few survivors loose despite risking the displeasure of his main brains trust, all for the sake of keeping an open mind and allowing minority views a chance in the spotlight. His initial plan to take the seaside town has failed badly, but did he deliberately leave bait out to draw out the strong foes he most fears out into the open? Anyone paying attention already knows the red suit of armour with the anachronistic rifle has finally made his debut, and that he's over level 45 in Momonga's previous world to easily prevail over the two sacrificial offerings. If Momonga isn't bluffing, then he's been waiting for the chance to draw out the foe he fears so that he can bring the full might of Nazarick to bear in a challenge finally on the scale of Ainz vs. Shalltear in season one. Do we get to see more of Nigredo? Or is this episode her cameo before she bows out? Huge contrast with her younger sister, and we are not told why she's been confined within Nazarick to Albedo's chagrin. If the animators are keeping their powder dry, then I'm expecting a good show when the action set-pieces hinted in the OP animation are finally brought to bear. For the first time, Nazarick might finally face a challenge which they cannot walkover as they've done since post-Shalltear duel. If the opposition presented is actually capable of defeating Nazarick when they're not deliberately handicapping themselves, then that's a dynamic I'm very much looking forward to. |
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23779 |
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This last episode seemed to me to show an inconsistency in Gown's character. The central conceit of the franchise is that he is an ordinary salaryman playing the role of a Dark Lord. He has to project a facade of menace and command that he doesn't really possess. He isn't particularly strategic, but the gag is that his far more competent underlings often misinterpret his mundane utterances as blinding bits of brilliance. Okay, that's pretty funny.
However, last episode he demonstrates wisdom in (sort of) paying attention to Albedo's sister (who I have absolutely zero memory of ever encountering before, surprise, surprise) because he recognizes that good leaders listen to minority opinions since diversity of thought can be important. He also recognizes that setbacks are good learning experiences that can help in future efforts. Finally, he's the one that sent only 2 Death Knights to the coastal town as a means of sussing out the enemy's unknown potential. All in all, he appears to be acting as a good leader on purpose as opposed to by accident. Ergo, my assertion that there appears to be a contradiction in his characterization. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2847 |
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S4 #10
Ainz gets away with it again. Although he's fortunate to have subordinates who always interpret his goals and actions in the best possible way he could imagine, it doesn't change the fact he's got homework to do regarding the provenance of the powered suit. He recognises it as Yggdrasil Player equipment, but is the wearer also a Player? Or someone who inherited it somehow? If he wants to continue the facade of being the omnipotent ruler of Nazarick, that is something he has to figure out for himself as soon as possible. Is Azuth the wearer of the powered armour? We cannot tell as viewers because the guild he belongs to has more than one member. He seems confident enough despite his lackadaisical nature, but it's the prospective employers which are the main focus. At long last, we viewers get to see the Theocracy's best, since the last time their expeditionary force was sent out in Season 1 it did nothing more than inflict minor damage on Momonga (who allowed it on purpose to see what their best was capable of). Perhaps we won't find out what the Theocracy can do, since the movie which features their story arc will not be out until the end of the year at the earliest. I never rated E-Restize's second royal son for much, especially as the mountain of paperwork he was going through got higher and higher as the series went on. His talk with Ainz, and the aftermath which ensued redeemed my impression of him. He never trusted his sister, but knew she was cunning enough to be relied upon for advice when the chips were down. Furthermore, his ability to hold his poise for most of the negotiations with Ainz is something even Ainz himself rated highly. His last thoughts on Ainz were surprisingly spot on as well, although he never got the chance to explain what he meant before he was cut down. With his death, the mercy he negotiated for his kingdom is no longer granted, and I'd expect Cocytus and Mare to butcher everyone in their path using the fullest extent of their powers. Neuronist should be familiar, as I recall he was one of the Guardians who was activated in Season 3 when the Diggers were commissioned to raid Nazarick. Those nobles don't have a clue what they've done to save their hides, or the terrible vengeance Nazarick will avail upon their families who are joining them. Just the three episodes remaining, so any action set-pieces planned for the massacre of the kingdom's army will be shown then, if at all. Brain Unglaus has to face Cocytus, while the powered suit adventurer or Theocracy Black Scripture might want to take on Ainz or one of his guardians. Not sure about the process, even if the outcome shouldn't be in much doubt. |
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minamikaze
Posts: 221 |
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The first force dispatched by the Theocracy which I think you are referring to was the Sunlight Scripture, who were sent to kill Gazef Stronoff in the first season and were wiped out by Momonga/Ainz in Season 1 Ep 4. However, the Dark Scripture also appeared in Season 1 ep 10, where they battled with and ultimately brainwashed Shaltear. The identity of both teams was confirmed in the meeting of the Cardinals of the Slane Theocracy in Season 4 Ep 3. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2847 |
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Ah, I'd forgotten how briefly the Shalltear scene was portrayed and who was in charge. Correct on both counts. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2847 |
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S4 #11
I expected Ainz to make a move regarding the unknown power suit assailant, turns out he used the entire episode as a force projection reconnaissance exercise. For those who weren't conversant in the source material, Albedo gave but one hint when she spoke to Ainz before splitting up and it was only after the big twist was revealed that the significance hit home. Not for the first time, Ainz's caution when approaching unknown situations has served him well. E-Restize is effectively finished, so the Nazrick inhabitants have the luxury of taking what they consider useful and leaving the rest to be ravaged. Since the "new recruit" to the Eight Fingers hasn't yet undergone his "baptism", the thoroughly brainwashed members were happy to let him undergo it anyway so that he would learn exactly why his former comrades had changed so drastically. This episode reveals more about the world Ainz and company find themselves in than all of the previous seasons put together. What will the Dragon Lord think when he finds out he's been played during this entire encounter? Although his pronunciation is off, it is quite clear who he's really referring to and what he expects to face if they meet again. As for the double, if my memory doesn't fail me this is the first time we see what he's capable of. No wonder Ainz trusts him so implicitly when it comes to public relations, he's not just for show. His mannerisms and affected speech patterns are something Ainz regrets now, but his true purpose has turned out to be more prescient than Ainz himself could have possibly imagined. If his insight is to the same level as his mimicry, then the false name ruse won't even be helpful at all. It'll all depend on the report given and what Ainz will do afterwards. This franchise surely can't end like this, since the final volumes of the entire series are due for publishing before the end of the year and not adapting everything would be a loss. From what I hear elsewhere the season we see now has truncated a lot of the source material it was supposed to adapt, but I for one am very entertained by what remains and if plenty of viewers think the same then there's no reason why more seasons can be planned for the future. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15464 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Yeah, I picked up on it straight away, that the way she talked to "Ainz", especially with a deliberation of saying his name, I can say that I called Pandora's Actor. Was even more confident when he started being extra showy, and even the way he fought, the ways he struggled, explained the traits of a skeleton. And it was super obvious when he ended up on the ground and asked for the armour guy to let him finish speaking, practically grovelling. It was 100% Pandora's Actor's persona. not Momonga. I am honestly surprised that anyone paying attention would not have picked up on it. |
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Cam0
 Posts: 4888 |
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I didn't pick up on it. Though I'd say it's mostly because I always forget about Pandora's Actor since he gets so little screen time. Certainly not because I'm dumb or imperceptive or anything like... No, no, I may miss stuff like this sometimes, maybe more often than sometimes, but it's only because I'm slightly forgetful, you know? 
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter Posts: 23779 |
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Ha ha, Cam0 is SOOOOOOOO dumb!!!
... Of course, the reason *I* didn't pick up on it either was that the negative ion count in the air of my living room at the time was rather high... |
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Cam0
Posts: 4888 |
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I-I'm not stupid, you're stupid! BAAAKA, BAAAKA!!
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