Sugar Apple Fairy Tale

Episode 7

Did you need another reason to hate Jonas? I didn't, but thanks for the reminder that he sucks, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale. What's even more ridiculous is that Jonas forces Anne to send Challe away and hurts Mithril Lid Pod for no reason: he doesn't need to push Anne to barter her staying for his leaving because she would have done it anyway and assumed that it meant she won. Anne is the sort of professional who won't give up, and that Jonas can't understand that draws yet another line separating the two of them.

Much as I hate him, I can't help but see where he's coming from here. There's a good chance that the customs of their world would preclude Philax from hitting Anne because she's a girl, whereas he has zero compunctions about smacking Jonas in his whiny face. Richly as we all may feel Jonas deserves that, there are better ways to make someone work for you, especially not if they're having trouble fulfilling your expectations. Both Anne and Jonas need help pinpointing the exact thing that Philax is looking for, and given what we learned this week, beating Jonas is unlikely to produce the desired results. Jonas legitimately feels like his life is in danger at Philax's castle, and he may be right. But hey, kudos to Reiji Kawashima for some excellent voice work during Jonas' breakdown.

This week's pertinent information is something Anne and Challe should have picked up on before: the fairy Anne is supposed to recreate in sugar has two wings. She may be an abolitionist, but she's still been raised in a culture that enslaves fairies, so the realization that Philax's fey woman was free may not have registered for her. Given his experiences with Liz, Challe perhaps should have noticed it, but he's clearly got other things on his mind, not the least of which appears to be looking out for Anne in what's not precisely a safe setting. That's what makes Jonas' unreasonable request that Anne send Challe away for good extra icky; he deliberately tries to deprive her of safety in a place he knows is unsafe. (He's also probably jealous of Challe, feeling Anne chose the fairy over him.) But now that Anne has reaffirmed her dedication to Philax's task, noticed the second wing, and been called out on her feelings for Challe by Mithril Lid Pod, she may be able to pull this off.

First, however, she's going to need the whole story. When Challe leaves the castle and meets Hugh (who has a major asshole move from the novel left out here), the Silver Sugar Viscount brings the fairy right back to Philax's castle based on political concerns. His mention of Philax's lady and his question to Philax about “Lady Christina” provide the last hint that Anne might need even as they put the pieces together for us: Philax isn't a grump; he's in mourning. That's why he wants a sculpture of the fairy – to send her soul on during the upcoming holiday. Think about how panicked Anne was about doing the same thing appropriately for her mother; that's precisely what Philax is probably going through, and since he can't make a sugar sculpture himself, he's forced to rely on others. Hugh clearly doesn't know that Christina has died, so Philax has shut himself away with his grief. He doesn't deserve to be punished for his emotions, but if he doesn't express them to someone, he may end up there anyway. If only he had Mithril Lid Pod to go out to save the day.

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Sugar Apple Fairy Tale is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.