Over the hill to Solvorn

This one starts with an interesting time jump.  We don’t see any of the immediate aftermath of Van confronting his pointlessly evil brother, Folken.  In fact it appears to have been put on hold, and his brother switches sides anyway, joining them in the city to prepare for a war with the big evil wizard even though Van still loathes him.

We get some nice dialogue between Folken and Hitomi, where she comes across as extremely clever:

Hitomi goes on a jog through town, trying to settle her emotions.  She comes to a stop near the central fountain at sunset, panting and sweaty.  Folken sees her from an archway and wanders up, and they talk about Van for a while.  Then:

Between this and other scenes we could build an idea of Hitomi’s social strategy that’s frankly a bit too complicated for this show, but still visible:  Her trust and earnestness combine with her magnetism as an adorable but harmless tomboy, and she draws powerful people into her orbit by encountering them in unexpected contexts, and then trusts or approves of them, and they’re compelled to try and be better people so they can maintain that approval.

Like I said, a bit too complicated.  It’s too much to unpack, from a suitcase that’s too small to hold it.  For example, if Hitomi dressed like princess Millerna, men and women alike would either be less inclined to trust her or take her seriously, or too busy flirting with her, or all three.  The fact that she doesn’t is essential to her character. But is Hitomi actually aware of how her specific physical appearance is making people react?  According to the show, absolutely not.  She’s too un-calculating to be thinking that way.  And yet, the dialogue above shows her being very deliberate with her feelings…

Anyway, the second half of the episode is a big battle and a lot of extras get incinerated, and Van and what’s-his-face prince guy – Allen? – fight as a team, but the whole time they’re apparently thinking about protecting Hitomi, and she has some wackadoo vision about that, and lectures them both about not being so bloodthirsty for her sake.  Then she wishes she was home, and a big portal opens up, and …

Oh come on, was it all a dream?  Is she back in the school infirmary, like Alice waking up from her nap?  Tune in next time…

Pretty decent episode.