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Review of Fairy gone Episode 09: Out Maneuvered and Out Fought

Quick Summary

In Fairy gone episode 9, “Rolling Stones and Seven Knights,” the Emperor decides to honor Schwartz Diese for his role in saving Prime Minister Golbarn Helwise from the sabotaged artificial fairies. When asked what he would like, Schwartz boldly requested a fairy weapon — which the Emperor granted. Dorothea organizes a squad to the weapon in its train car as it heads back to Schwartz’s home. If Schwartz is getting the weapon anyway, why is he working with Beevee Liscar, a colonel with ties to organized crime, to attack the train and steal it? Why is Beevee so intent on attacking everyone in sight? And even if he uses the fairy weapon, does Free Underbar stand a chance against someone like Beevee who lives for fighting?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.  

What’s in This Post

3 Favorite Moments

Moment 1: Serge Tova Issues a Prophecy! 

Serge might be prophetic: without public trust in the artificial fairies, the kingdom’s under increased risk of war! Capture from the Funimation stream

I like effective foreshadowing. At least, I think this is effective foreshadowing — I guess we’ll need to wait to be sure! But aside from the obvious reason of wanting to sow chaos in the kingdom, I’ve been a little unclear on why Ted Livingston and those encouraging him wanted him to sabotage the artificial fairies. I think Serge Tova just gave us a clue! He and Klara Kysenaria were in the Rondacia Palace’s Heavenly Gate Plaza, which was the location of the previous episode’s climatic scene. The plaza was almost empty, and I realized why when Serge actually said it: there were no artificial fairies on patrol. Klara responded by saying no one trusted either the new or old models anymore because of what had happened. That’s when Serge said, “If a war were to happen right now, it’d be a big mess” (9:39). Klara was upset with him for potentially jinxing them, but he’s right: The kingdom’s position is considerably weakened. It’s almost like that effect was intentional! 

Moment 2: Beevee Liscar’s Fairy Tactics

Knock the train off the tracks and incapacitate the Dorothea agents at the same time — good tactic! Capture from the Funimation stream

One of the things I liked about Goblin Slayer was its relatively realistic combat. I like a feeling that a world is lived in; that its properties have an effect on its inhabitants and on how things happen. I got a sense of that kind of realism when Beevee launched his attack on the train. The engineer wasn’t in on the plot, so I wondered how they would get the train to stop. I mean, it’s a train! It’s not like someone can just stand in the tracks and ask them to stop. Also, the train car carrying the fairy weapon was filled with armed Dorothea agents. So how were they going to stop it? The answer? Beevee’s fairy. When he released it, we could see that it was enormous (12:57) — almost like Cerberus or something! He sent it careening right into the side of the train, knocking most of it off the tracks. And not coincidentally, battering the Dorothea agents as the car slammed to the ground. That’s the best use of fairy tech I’ve seen all series! 

Moment 3: Oz Mare Pays the Ultimate Price

Oz gave his life to protect Mariya. This episode portrayed his death with dignity and realism. I don’t think I could have asked for anything more! Capture from the Funimation stream

I’ve never been a fan of overly dramatic and equally unrealistic death scenes. You know the ones: The fallen warrior/whatever is in agony, but somehow manages a moment of peace and unlabored breathing where they can say inspiring things to main character before expiring. Well, Fairy gone gave me two realistic moments this time around. During the fight with Beevee, Oz Mare took bullets to get Mariya Noel out of harm’s way. When Beevee slashed his fairy weapon across them, intending to kill both Oz and Mariya, Oz shifted his body so he took almost all of the slash. In doing so, he saved Mariya’s life. In the scene after the closing credits, we saw the price he paid. He was in agony. His body was broken; he couldn’t speak and his breath came in gasps. Despite Mariya’s tearful inquiry, he couldn’t speak. And so he died (23:10). I thought the way they presented the scene was powerful and effective. 

Thoughts

The train wreck seriously shook up the Dorothea agents, including Free and especially Mariya. Free tried to recover and showed real bravery in picking up the fairy weapon and attempting to defend against Beevee. But between his injuries and Beevee’s obviously superior strength and skill, Free didn’t stand a chance. I mean, did you see how Free rushed in, putting all his weight forward? Of course Beevee would simply swat him down. 

Back in episode 2, I wondered if Dorothea had put Mariya into the field too soon. In episode 4, in the catacombs under the deserted church, we got to see just what happens to Mariya is she’s alone and under pressure: She has no training to fall back on, so she panics or under performs. 

Training doesn’t just include using a weapon. It increases team communications. It includes how to withstand pain and operate in spite of it. it includes the means to keep yourself ready to fight under all conditions. It includes how to deal with the death of a comrade in arms. In this episode, we got another example of what happens to her in the field without adequate training, and this time, it cost Oz his life.

To be clear, I’m not faulting Mariya. I don’t mean this as an attack on the plot, either. I’m beginning to think that her lack of training is intentional to setup these situations so we can see how she reacts to them. Oz’s death is hard on all of them; we see Lily Heineman, one of his squad, weeping. But only Mariya loses her composure. 

Lily took Oz’s death hard. But I’m guessing she’s still capable of fighting. Is Mariya? Capture from the Funimation stream

What would happen if an enemy attacked in that moment? Nothing good for Mariya, that’s for sure.

The promo for next week gives us some quotes from Mariya that suggests she doesn’t deal well with this development. As harsh as I’ve been on this show until now, I welcome this! It’s interesting drama! Between this and Mariya seeming like an uneasy fit for Dorothea from the start, the show’s starting to balance its dance between world building, plot, and characters. 

I guess what I’m saying is that I saw some faint hope in episode 8. I’m seeing even more in this episode! I really hope they continue this trend.

What did you think of Mariya’s performance in this episode? What were your favorite moments? Let me know in the comments!

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2 thoughts on “Review of Fairy gone Episode 09: Out Maneuvered and Out Fought

  1. My question this episode is why are fairy weapons special. They’re limited in number, but why? Can’t you make new ones? Won’t you make new ones? (I mean they’re still working on artificial fairy soldiers.)

    Fairy tech is intriguing, in this setting. There are ecological overtones here that have been hinted at from the very first episode, but the topic’s never been addressed. What are fairies? I hope they’re not saving this for a last minute reveal; we saw how that worked out for Price of Smiles.

    1. “My question this episode is why are fairy weapons special.”

      That’s a good question! I was so busy feeling relieved that I saw the plot stirring that I didn’t take the time to think about it more deeply.

      “What are fairies?”

      We keep seeing those fairy jars with the fairy primordials swimming around. It’s almost like they’re giving us a hint of — something.

      “we saw how that worked out for Price of Smiles.”

      I hope this show doesn’t go thud the same way! Or any way…

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