The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity

Episode 4

I'm not saying that The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity singlehandedly cured my miserable week, but I also can't prove that it didn't. This episode once again combines sheer adorability with a grounded exploration of prejudice and its impact on people's day-to-day lives, and it does so with Kaoruko's absolutely perfect hairstyle. Seriously, that's how I wish my hair looked when I put it up; the reality involves far more frizz so that it's more “I slept with my hair in a bun” and less “elegantly adorable.” No wonder everyone wants to be around her.

That's far too flippant for the reality of the situation, of course. Kaoruko's true appeal is more than merely physical; it's the way that she welcomes everyone with an open heart. Both Rintaro and Subaru know this first-hand, and that's what's behind Subaru's dislike of Rintaro: she's afraid that he'll steal Kaoruko from her. When she confronts him this week to ask both whether or not he and her best friend are dating and for him to stop seeing her, what she's really asking is for him not to take Kaoruko away. To Subaru, Rintaro risks replacing her. He's also misunderstood due to his appearance, which means he also needs Kaoruko in his life. In her mind, he's her male equivalent, and because he could offer something else as a boyfriend than she can offer as a best friend, she fears Kaoruko will spend more time with him. It's a remarkably vulnerable place to come from.

It's also unsurprising that Subaru wouldn't really say it out loud. Instead, she mostly couches her concerns as fear for Kaoruko rather than herself. She's not lying when she says that she's worried about what will happen at Kikyo if it becomes broadly known that Kaoruko is fraternizing with the perceived enemy. She probably is worried that teachers would retaliate if they knew about her friendship with a Chidori boy. (What a shock that the students learned their attitude from their teachers. It's almost like adults teach children prejudice!) Given the high and mighty attitude of the Kikyo faculty, I don't think it's out of the question that they might suspend Kaoruko's scholarship for perceived impropriety. But I also think that the more important issue for Subaru is the potential loss of her friend, and that's really what she can't abide.

I'm really proud of Rintaro for standing up for himself. As we see later in the episode, he's nearly always ready to sacrifice his own comfort, if not himself, for someone else's, and he does it without any expectation of thanks. A piece of him may think it's what he has to do to take up less space in a world that finds him frightening, but it's also just proof that he's a nice person; his first reaction is always going to be to think of others before himself. So when he tells Subaru that he won't stop seeing Kaoruko, that's major. It's Rintaro saying what he wants and standing up for it, stating that he's going to take up this space.

Whether Subaru knows it or not, her stated worry that being friends with Rintaro will negatively impact Kaoruko's school life is the best way to seed doubt. If it were just about two people who like each other, Rintaro would doubtless have an easier time standing his ground. But because Subaru frames it as him hurting someone else, the doubts take root. It makes him wonder if doing what he wants is the wrong thing, as we see when he stops himself before texting her about how he passed his exams. Subaru isn't the real threat to this burgeoning relationship; Rintaro himself is, with his self-sabotage masquerading as kindness.

We'll see how social pressure from his own Chidori friends fits into that next week. Now that they've seen the notebook Kaoruko gave Rintaro, there's a risk that they'll also encourage him to stop interacting with her. Will Rintaro be able to use what happened with the girls on the train to shore up his self-worth? Or will everyone around him and Kaoruko convince him that once again, he needs to apologize for existing?

Rating:

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity is currently streaming on Netflix.