Forum - View topicShadows House (TV) (all seasons).
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Chiibi
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LOVED the show. A friend and I are going to cosplay as Kate and Emilico (respectively). I already got my blonde wig. She's a darling little ray of sunshine but not wimpy or cowardly either! I just adore characters like her. ♥
Oh and that ED song? Addictive. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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Season 2 #1
This got a continuation much faster than I anticipated. Expectations are high for this one given how well the first season turned out, I hope they're not disappointed. Adaptation has a bit of work to do to sync back with the source material as well. We pick up the action not long from the end of the first season. They haven't even cleared the hallway of the debris from the triggered traps, yet there's a mysterious robed figure capable of traversing the hallways undetected while producing unwanted scorches in the process. Barbie might have a short temper, but she's physically able and can fend for herself quite well. The main arc will be discovering the identity of the robed figure and its motives by the looks of things. Post-graduation, it appears the rules for the Shadows have changed slightly. Although they have more freedom of movement, the gilded cage they are in has simply expanded to allow them to go outside the room but not outside of their tower. They're still under surveillance as noted by Kate, so she's not exactly able to go out on adventures. For those with powers, they are now given formal training which has the additional benefit of acquiring extra soot for the house without troubling their Faces. I'm not sure why Kate was allowed to get away with her attempted subterfuge by Susannah, but I suspect Kate's message had an extra layer of security (a code or somesuch) which allows John to read what she really wants to say after a bit of work at his end. Otherwise Susannah could have reported her straight away for rebellion instead of excitedly hugging her. Outside of Kate's group, viewers will hopefully find out more about Barbara and Barbie. If that flashback was any indication, Barbie was very similar to Emilico when younger but has hardened with cynicism with the years. Barbara is extremely valuable to the House, but she's equivalent to a nuclear power plant requiring extreme maintenance in order to stay on the right side of the House's good graces. This season has started off well, and if it keeps this up it'll maintain the upwards momentum of the first season. I'm not completely sold on the ED song just yet given how memorable the first season was, but given time it'll grow. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #2
The episode unsurprisingly focuses on the Star Bearers, given the title. Viewers now know there are four pairs assigned to the Children's Wing, and that they have a lot of responsibilities to manage in addition to their individual mandates (Susanna is in charge of soot powers while Oliver is R&D). Daily meetings appear to be a staple, with each Star Bearer Shadow attending alone without the Face in tow. Edward sees Kate as a threat, but the other Star Bearers don't have the same fixation on her as he does. Kate is still treading water, but she hasn't been outed for rebellion yet so room for manoeuvre is still available. At the very least, she has John (and Shaun) on her side even if she had to toy with her suitor for a bit. We already know the coffee is soot-addled to aid mind control. However, soot is also harmful to human bodies so it cannot be overdosed or it risks killing the Face. Having regular "parties" is the House's way of maintaining control, but knowledge of this fact is something Kate and Emilico can work with. At the very least, in the unlikely event Kate becomes a Star Bearer she can interfere with the coffee-production process and slowly loosen the iron-grip held over the Children's Wing. The OP and ED animations are as good as ever, but the ED song this season loses out to season one which was much catchier. To compensate, the focus on Barbara and Mary Rose indicates they have a huge part to play in this season, just as the initial five in Kate's batch did for their ED in season one. The big mystery is Christopher, Barbara's predecessor as the leading Star Bearer of the Children's Wing. The others treat him as taboo, so something must have happened for him to disappear and lose his position. Viewers at least know what he looks like, but we need more episodes to find out what happened to him. Could he be the mysterious robed figure the Wing is haunted by? |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #3
There's a lot in this episode, plenty of information to digest while simultaneously providing an entertaining action set-piece spectacle for viewers to enjoy. One of the most misleading episode titles in a while. Christopher, the taboo Shadow and former chief star-bearer of the Children's Wing, is so popular that no one could imagine filling in his shoes should he be Summoned. Extremely good with the children and adept at using stories in getting them to behave, he's far removed from Edward or even Barbie and the others as a charismatic leader. Which begs the question: Why is he now a taboo? What did he mean when he said Mary Rose and Barbara would carry on his will? The main part of the episode is devoted to the mishap at the party. We still do not know the identity of the mysterious cloaked figure, only that it can manipulate Scorches to do its bidding, can levitate instead of walk and Scorches which have infiltrated human bodies can be used as vessels to attack normal dolls. Watching Emilico use the oversized vacuum cleaner is where most of the entertainment comes from, since she's literally the perfect candidate for properly utilising it to fulfil the intended purpose of the machine. Never trust reviewers who aren't familiar with the native language the series airs in. The series uses its own distinctive script for writing, which is in no way related to the Kanji used in Japanese. Even the squiggles for the different parts bear zero relation to the hiragana and katakana writing systems, if anything the writing is closer to Sanskrit, Arabic and Runic languages in its stylistic form. The last part comes as a big surprise, since the pair instantly protested their innocence at destroying the coffee. It doesn't look like they were possessed by Scorches since Emilico intervened, so how did they end up doing what they did? Their mistresses have powers which can force dolls to perform degrading physical actions against their will, so it's not inconceivable a Shadow (possibly the cloaked figure) did the same to them despite the Scorches not penetrating them. Also, is it just me or did Doug deliberately screw over Mia by using her as a human shield against an attacking Scorch? That's another living doll whose master is also sucking up to the Star Bearers to climb the social ladder, which wouldn't surprise me if the pair are trying to eliminate the competition on the sly using the Scorches as a prime opportunity. Emilico comes out as a big winner in this escapade, since Barbie cannot put more pressure on her because of her huge contribution in defeating the big Phantom with the help of the vacuum cleaner. Kate has much to think through, since the mystery of the Phantom is deeply connected with the recent uptick in Scorches and this week's incident. Emilico's good work also means Kate will be on good terms with at least one of the Star Bearers, so her initial aim of climbing the ladder gets a small leg-up from this week's adventure. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15493 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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It was probably one of the most action packed episodes of the entire series, to be almost uncharacteristic.
Emilico did manage to look good, at least. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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#4
In the aftermath of last week's episode, the Star-Bearers find themselves in huge trouble. Losing coffee carafes is enough for Edward to dismiss them all and install his own favourites as replacements, so there is time pressure to find the culprit responsible and use that as credit in exchange for not being punished. Buying time by using the twin Belles as scapegoats isn't enough unless they find out the truth, so they're using Edward's own vendetta as insurance. I did not see Kate as a gambler, but enough of Emilico's personality has rubbed off on her that she can pull off a hardline negotiation without losing her nerve. This would not have happened in the first season prior to the debut, so Kate really has Emilico to thank for more than just her new powers. Kate's soot emission is interesting as well, this is the first time in both seasons she's really lost her temper which allows the stalactites to reform. So the Star-Bearers see that as a sign that she is not to be casually disposed of, lest Grandfather have all the Star-Bearers and Edward executed for disposing of a key battery. Emilico may not mimic her mistress's movements as perfectly as her peers, but she knows her mistress well enough to spontaneously give her time alone to process her thoughts and to return when she's required once more. That is the calling of a true doll, even if Kate would prefer Emilico to retain more of her personality at the cost of a perfect sync. The map in this week's episode actually uses reversed modified Kanji in the script, unlike last week's episode which was written almost exclusively in the house script of this series. There's weird rules as well: some of the Japanese particles will make an appearance when Kate is using reverse Kanji, but if she's writing in the house script they hardly appear. 見張図 is recognizable, but it's really distorted. 部屋 has the first character reversed while the second character doesn't really match. For the rest of the script, some of them look like random doodles serving as letters of the alphabet. John and Kate being seen as an engaged couple really infuriates Kate, which is another change from last season and recent episodes when she saw him as a mere nuisance. Seeing her lose her temper more often makes her more appealing, strangely enough. It's not all hostility though, using her soot powers out in the open (even if it's just the pair of them with their companion dolls) is a sign she's letting her guard down when around him. Now that John has revealed the Research Team's secret hideout, what will they do in response? Their favourite vacuum operator is present though, so they'll probably ask Emilico for a favour in return for not punishing the inquisitive pair for their unwarranted destructive tendencies. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #5
This show never fails to entertain, since it mixes world exposition, slice of life and plot development very well even in single episodes. This week's episode is another example of this, as viewers learn a lot about the ongoing plot as well as the Shadows themselves in a manner that doesn't feel like a coarse infodump. As expected, Emilico is so favoured by the main research pair they'll bend over backwards for her and her Mistress Kate by extension. John's rash action has actually started a professional relationship with the research team, which Kate has already used to mine tons of information she would otherwise never be able to access. Although Lydia and her Face can be very aggressive, they actually explained the entire process behind the perfumes to Kate which is enough for her to think over later. The spotlight is mainly on Kate in this episode, while Emilico entertains herself and the research team with her juggling skills and other feats of endurance and dexterity. Kate has one flaw which she doesn't realise yet: she is unable to distinguish between Shadows and their Living Dolls by their names alone. We already know as viewers that Christopher is the Shadow while Anthony is the Face/Doll as it was formally announced on the official website, but Kate's reaction is Anthony referring to another Shadow like herself. Perhaps it's a side-effect of Kate's own peculiar choice of naming Emilico, which doesn't resemble her own name at all like most other Shadows with their naming choices. This also ties in with another flaw which Kate HAS been made aware of: confidence bordering on arrogance. She initially requested for help from her peers in the same way she asks Emilico as her mistress, but this won't work when they are equals and she cannot offer anything in return for their assistance. It's only when she thinks back to how Emilico wins friends and influences people that she can come up with a way to build a non-working relationship with her fellow cohort peers (John is already smitten over her so doesn't need winning over, he even admitted she's effectively starting a rebellion in his monologue!). Besides these flaws, there's an unexpected good trait about Kate. Unlike other Shadows, she can commemorate those she knew but are no longer present. Edward sees his surviving peer group as assets to climb the social hierarchy, but Kate remembers Shirley as an equal and someone she had a link to that was worth cherishing. Making the soot figure in Shirley's stead was a nice touch, one completely impossible for other Shadows to emulate as the whole hierarchy is predicated on self-interested advancement and a predilection to knocking others down a peg when they impede advancement. One world-building tidbit which was thrown in briefly was the treatment of the Shadows after debut as far as meals are concerned. Post-debut Shadows have a set meal time, very formal with seating arrangements and procedures which have to be followed. Very different from the bread which was given to the Shadows when they were confined to their rooms pre-debut. Also, the bit about Shadows and their dolls enjoying more privileges (meat on the menu!) is another revelation which I enjoy learning about. If anything, Kate somehow earning herself the Star Bearer position is going to make Emilico very happy as she'll get to eat a wider variety of food at increasing quantities. Speaking of food, I hope that sugar Oliver feeds people as treats isn't doctored with soot. Otherwise, it will negatively impact Kate's plans if Emilico is brainwashed via sugar instead of the usual coffee. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #6
Emilico really is the catalyst for all sort of interesting events. Just the simple act of going on the roof and talking about her memories leads Shaun to surmise the true identity of the faceless dolls. Viewers already know Rum is one of them, but this is the first time the dolls or masters themselves have reached the same conclusion we were shown in the previous season. The pair are lucky the Robed Stranger isn't hostile, or they would have lost their map or worse. It's also worth nothing the Robed Stranger can access the same hard-to-reach places Shaun and Emilico are painstakingly mapping out. As always, Kate is able to reason out the true nature of the impromptu coffee party. It took a few clues from a visibly high Emilico and a recollection of past behaviour to arrive at a very logical conclusion. Although it's not explicitly confirmed beyond Kate's train of thought, it looks like she was right since Shaun didn't display any adverse effects. The rest of the episode switches the focus to John and Shaun, which is a change from the usual Emilico/Kate axis. John's impulsive and has muscle for brains, so it's a contrast that the more reserved and considerate Shaun is his face. It does give the show a good excuse to introduce the last pair of the Research Team, which itself entails another round of exposition. This week's infodump is less elegant than previous weeks because it's more blatant, but it's interesting nonetheless because viewers learn a little more about how the soot in this series really works. John's gut instinct about Jeremiah's innocence is probably correct, but viewers should be convinced he's not the target Kate and friends are desperately looking for. This week's comedy moment: A scorch on a hamster wheel motivated purely by a drawing of a doll without glasses. It's actually not a bad idea as a substitute power source, since in real life something like this would be 100% green energy akin to wind and hydroelectric rather than the fossil fuel burning which soot essentially is. For the last part, looking at how serious Oliver and Olly were it's most likely John is being brought to the Star Bearers to be grilled regarding the status of the investigation. Shaun will be excluded, so John with his muscle brain will have to fend for himself hopefully without betraying Kate somehow. Then again with next week's episode title in mind the focus might just shift back to Kate and Emilico as they go around their business. The time limit to the next official coffee break is four days, so Kate is running out of time before she's served up as a sacrifice to Edward. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15493 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I never considered that the Shadows were given their face's original names, but it does sound like a strong possibility. The talk of soot density scorches also makes me think that there might be something close there to how new shadows are formed/born. They specifically said that the scorches are made from negative emotions.
It does look highly unlikely that John would have been called in for his intelligence, rather than his lack of it. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #7
I had thought this episode would bring the spotlight back on Kate and Emilico, but the animators have other ideas. It's been a while since we had Louise and Patrick (plus their respective Faces) in focus, so it's not a bad thing to pass on Kate, John and co. for this week. Louise is self-centred and vain, but Kate is right in that she can be very reliable if her aims coincide with her own. In this case, her ability to manipulate Lou's face into all kinds of expressions to charm the other Shadows is extremely effective at disarming the opposition and getting them to spill the beans. We don't know how much information she accumulated, but Lou had written out an entire manuscript based on conversations alone so it must have been substantial. Speaking of Louise, she's so vain she's never once considered Lou is anything more than a doll and her face. Both Maryrose and especially Benjamin have taught her a valuable lesson: even if you think your living doll is just a tool she's more than just your face. Since Louise's powers are soot-based and are harmful to humans in significant quantities it's no wonder Lou is feeling poorly. Now that Louise understands the value of a healthy Lou, that's good news for the latter as far as her care is concerned. We already knew from the first season what really happens to those invited to the adults' wing. If Louise really had been invited, she would not last very long because her new "body" would be so weak because of neglect. Patrick is also vain, but without Louise's naked narcissism. He doesn't have a lot of self-confidence though, and is still overly reliant on Ricky to get him out of mental funks. Although less appealing as a character compared to his peers, his segment serves as another useful exposition into the social hierarchies of the Shadows. Turns out Marriage in this House is a Very Serious Issue, so serious John gets chewed out for not following the proper procedures relating to it. Last week's cliffhanger turned out to be a red herring; turns out the Star Bearers were just enforcing the rules regarding romantic relationships in the Children's Wing. If Kate isn't feeling the effects of time pressure from the impending coffee break, the last post-credits scene serves as another reminder that her ability to solve the mystery in time has other lives literally hanging on her solution. As detestable as the Shadow twins are, their dolls are effectively being worked to death in the pipes. Margaret and her doll would very much like to see the twins removed as team leaders, which indicates just how much they're hated for their previous ingratiation and haughtiness. It is still an injustice to be pinned as the supposed culprits, so if nothing else Kate has to prove the dolls were manipulated into destroying the carafes to save their lives and uncover the truth. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15493 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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I would say that my top culprit for the last few weeks, has continued to be Maryrose. There is this air that she plays up the character, and maybe doesn't like how things are.
Patrick having a crush of Emilico is pretty cute.
Now that I think about it, it probably has something to do with how the humans have to give goodnight kisses to their shadows. There could be some sort of possibly weird reaction if for instance a kiss happened between a shadow and someone else's human. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #8
If a viewers was not acquainted with the source material, I'd say it would be very difficult, probably almost unfairly so, at figuring out who the Robed One was before the big reveal. The show itself gave out very few clues regarding this, some of these (soot sickness symptoms, fragrance) were indeed highlighted but not given much prominence shortly afterwards. One other big clue was the ED animation, odd as it might sound. After all, one of the characters featured in it has played a much larger role in this season than the previous one, but the other? She was in the spotlight in the first episode and last week, but barely made any appearances in current time thereafter. I wonder how many viewers would have remembered her defining characteristic and made the connection immediately after Shaun's revelation. The show has made it clear that Kate has a brilliant mind, but is also at pains to stress that she is clearly limited when she only has Emilico for company. As it turns out, all of the information gathered by her peers was indeed useful at piecing everything together. It wouldn't have been enough, so the Robed One actually gave the final hint with the annotations on the map. Although we know now who the Robed One is, her motivations remain a mystery. There are clues from the flashback scenes with Christopher, but it's not enough to go on and viewers unacquainted with the source material require more exposition to fully understand what happened. The other reason why the true identity of the Robed One so upsets Kate: the Shadow behind the disguise has always been nice to Kate, just as her Face is to Emilico. For her to do something so despicable despite the facade of friendliness is something Kate is furious about (this episode sees her generate more soot than possibly any other episode besides the very first one in season 1). We know about Morphs, because Shirley has reverted to one and stays with Rum. The new revelation is huge, because it explains a lot about why Kate is so intent on rebelling against the House. A shame Shirley and Rum have not featured in person this season, as their input regarding the Robed One's revelation would be extremely interesting. There's still some airtime left, so how the story goes from here is going to be extremely interesting. The four of them are up against one of the most senior members of the Children's Wing, who purportedly has low soot volume yet is capable of generating Phantoms from Scorches. She's also someone who Kate and Emilico in particular are extremely familiar with, so they would be unconsciously holding back compared to a complete stranger. John and Shaun have less of a personal connection, but John is all muscle, including his brain and Shaun is physically outmatched. They're also talking in the Great Hall after hours, so if the Star Bearers are out on patrol and catch them that's the end of everything. |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15493 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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She was at the top of my list. As you said, her appearance in the ED guides it that way, but if anything her kind of lack of appearance while I would say feeling like it really tried to introduce her character earlier. An impression I got of her was that she has something like a strong sense of justice, whether that is a selfish or selfless kind, so it is kind of weird she would be so quiet about the events. And on top of her being so guarded earlier, kind of felt so uncharacteristic, she was even more sus to me. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #9
The big denouement, and it does not disappoint. Those flashbacks with Christopher, Barbara and Maryrose make sense now. Christopher is a taboo, but he was also called to the adults' wing for the ritual. We don't here about him now, so he did not succeed. Maryrose and Barbara looked up to him, and the latter must have learnt the truth about the invitation years ago and has worked hard over that time to prevent that fate from falling upon her and Rosemary. Despite deliberately lowering her evaluation so that she could postpone the inevitable, Edward's ascension to Warden has essentially made it impossible as she was marked as a sacrifice for his ambitions. Maryrose is one thing, but Rosemary's confession was also unexpected. She must have known what would happen if she were to go along with the plan, and it takes a lot of courage to endure waterboarding for the chance of freedom and staying alive. She even helped with Emilico and Shaun, and we viewers know she likes Emilico a lot and would not otherwise do harm to her in normal circumstances. The pair of them aren't just dance partners on the surface, the bond they share is no less deep than Kate and Emilico's. That said and done, Kate is still racking her brains despite the situation. She suspects the pair of them are not being completely honest with their intentions, but what's the end goal? If escape is impossible because the only entrance to the hilltop mansion is via the adults' wing, then showing pity to Maryrose and Rosemary won't help as they cannot leave their prison without being exposed. Kate also has her own survival to think of as failure to apprehend the true culprits will mean she's handed over to Edward for execution. Kate's intellect will be stretched to its limit if she wants to arrive at a solution that will absolve her, increase her standing in the Children's Wing and do it all without handing over Maryrose and Rosemary for execution. We viewers already knew the end-product of the ritual, but the process through which children graduate to fully-fledged adults is a gruesome one and only officially revealed this week. No wonder the House emphasises the importance of Faces being dolls and having no personality; if they copy their master/mistress thoroughly and through it suppress their individuality and sense of self, it is much easier for the host to occupy the vessel and become one as the rejection of the intended host by the vessel is considerably reduced. There is a time limit; since soot is still harmful for the vessel until they merge and failure to do so within the time limit means the vessel dies from soot sickness while the intended host also perishes having expended most of its own essence in creating the cocoon. The terrible odour Edward and co. were complaining about is most likely a mixture of stale soot and decaying flesh, not a pleasant experience. Since Grandfather needs assets, inviting pairs over only to lose them in the final hurdle unsurprisingly invites criticism given the time and effort to prepare the pairs for this process. The story is now set on its final hurdle, so all that's left is for viewers to enjoy the rest of the season. It's been good so far, so if the animators stick the landing it will ensure the franchise continues having an animated adaptation. People were worried about this series given the studio's recent reputation for botching sequels, but I'm not complaining as it's been great entertainment so far. |
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Harleyquin
Posts: 2872 |
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S2 #10
The value of friends in the episode title really means a lot when taking into account what transpired during this episode. Kate and John were sitting ducks after their soot powers were countered and Maryrose had them exactly where she wanted. What Maryrose failed to account for was Kate's prediction that the two Faces would be attacked by soot, so she instructed them to protect themselves with water. No wonder the pair did not speak in the hallway; they couldn't do so without exposing themselves. Thanks to that deception, both Emilico and Shaun could help. For the two pairs to meet up required Emilico and Kate to be on the same wavelength when it came down to predicting each other's movements, which after all that has happened in both seasons is a hurdle that was never going to be stumbled over. The final plan to swap clothes would never have been conceivable for a "regular" shadow pairing, which means a lot to Maryrose who had no allies to call upon and still possessed the regular thought patterns of conventional Shadows. Although it's a nice way to end the confrontation, there are a few questions which remain unanswered during this episode: 1. Kate said Maryrose was holding back when she had Kate and John cornered at the aqueduct. Although Maryrose anticipated every move Kate could make, she didn't have to follow through once John used up his soot with the first punch. It would not have been difficult to get over the aqueduct with the phantom, and then disperse it immediately to small scorches to quickly apprehend the tiring Shadow pair. This did not happen, why not? 2. Although the two pairs were able to meet up, the Faces needed to deal with the Scorches keeping watch over the drenched Shadows. How did they pull that off, especially when Maryrose herself said she could sense the location of her scouts as well as their condition? It would not be possible to caught unawares if the scorches had detected the two pairs meeting up, so how did they evade detection? There are still episodes to go, but Kate is trying to save herself, earn credit with the House and not leave Maryrose and Rosemary to a horrible fate. She's satisfied the first two conditions, but not the third. It would be very heartless of her to abandon the pairing despite all they have done, since the cause they were fighting for is the same as Kate's. But she has her work cut out to deceive both the Star Bearers and the Adults if she wants to help Maryrose and Rosemary escape. |
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