Re:ZERO Season 2 Part 2 Episode 42 – Audaces fortuna iuvat

2 thoughts on “Re:ZERO Season 2 Part 2 Episode 42 – Audaces fortuna iuvat”

1. Since this was a setup episode and was more quiet than usual, I’ll finally post my analysis of the Priscilla and Subaru scene in episode 16.

   My interpretation of the scenes in which Priscilla had an extreme reaction to Subaru considering licking her foot and her decision to grab Subaru’s arm and say to Emilia, “Is there a reason you stare at my manservant, half-wit?” is that Priscilla actually found Subaru to be attractive and possibly a potential lover after he had the moxie to show her that appas have red skin and stand up to the thugs even though he was a weakling. To me, Priscilla saying, “It seems you really are just an insignificant man!” shows that she thought Subaru was more than just a loser before he made a fool of himself at the castle, and her challenging Subaru to lick her foot was an attempt to see if he actually had any dignity left and to see whether he’d show the same kind of attitude he had when they first met, which was one that didn’t show deference to her and even taught her something new. Basically, I believe Priscilla was shit testing Subaru to see if he was worthy of her after her initial positive impression of him contrasted with his ugly outburst at the castle.

   On the surface, Priscilla may have been calling Subaru a jester and a clown, which would give reason for people to think she isn’t attracted to Subaru, but I didn’t take Priscilla’s words at face value because of just how offended Priscilla actually was by Subaru deciding to actually lick her foot. She lectured him about what he displayed not being an act of loyalty or devotion but more akin to a pig’s greed, leading her to say she would strike down any camp he was a part of, and this tells me that Subaru’s decision to lick her foot was something that was the complete opposite of what Priscilla wanted even though on the surface she made it sound like favouring his miniscule pride would lead to an undesirable result. I believe Priscilla decided that she would make a weak pathetic Subaru her mortal enemy was because he did something that insulted her to the core, and for someone as extremely proud and confident in herself to the extreme as Priscilla is, it would be to show that she was wrong about her judgement in some way, and that would be that Subaru showed that he was pathetic and not worth her time after she would go as far as to try and make Emilia jealous by grabbing his arm and suggesting that Subaru was her (Priscilla’s) manservant at the Royal Palace. Showing that she was wrong to think more of Subaru was shameful to her, so much that she beat the hell out of him, lectured him, and threatened him to strike down any camp he was a part of. Her wanting to strike down any camp he is part of shows she wants Subaru to be humiliated as much as she had been or even moreso because it was a personal humiliation for her that she misjudged Subaru, and for a guy who fancies himself a hero, what greater shame could he face than to have his ambitions be thwarted by Priscilla, the one who had him on his knees and asked him to savour the humiliation of licking her foot, every time he tried to make something of himself? This interpretation is backed by Priscilla saying, “Your careless behavior and attitude have lead me to that decision!” I do note that Priscilla may also have been angry because Subaru abandoned his pride, and for someone who values her pride so much, seeing Subaru lower himself to that level might have disgusted her, but I believe the main source of her anger that bordered on rage was a sense of humiliation. If Subaru was just a little ant or clown to her, she would not have reacted the way she did in my opinion. I believe this shit test showed to Priscilla that Subaru does not value himself and is a low-value man, which went against her initial impression of him, leading to her being furious at herself and at Subaru for defying her expectations. Subaru botched up the interaction completely and should have tried to turn the tables on Priscilla somehow. I’m sure Priscilla sees herself as a very high value woman who has no trouble finding a man for herself, and this results in her putting men through shit tests to root out those who are unworthy of her affection because she doesn’t want just any man but someone who is confident and self-assured.

   I know it might be a tough sell since it’s just one scene from a character that has only showed up in 3 episodes so far, but Priscilla’s outrage along with her body language during the scene which included her playing with her hair and uncrossing and crossing her legs says to me that she thought of Subaru as being more than just a clown or jester. I have seen some people say that the author has a mean streak with that Priscilla scene and was being nasty to Subaru for the hell of it, but I think that that scene had a lot of care and craft in how it was presented based on Priscilla’s tone of voice and also the music and tension and that it might be relevant to the endgame of Re:zero. I do acknowledge that it’ll be extremely difficult to convince Re:zero watchers that this particular interpretation is correct barring the airing of additional unreleased content that might be on the longer side of several seasons away, but I try my best to put myself into the shoes of the characters and see whether their interactions made sense, and coming to the conclusion I did was the only way I could make sense of Priscilla’s outrage in that scene. Her reaction changing from disappointment initially (judging by the voice acting and the line, “It seems you really are just an insignificant man!”) to that of righteous indignation is why I believe what I do about that scene.

   Now comes the part that will be something I don’t think anyone but me has predicted. I believe that Subaru will end up with a look-alike of Priscilla at the end of Re:zero when he gets sent back to the regular modern human world after Satella, the Witch of Envy, possesses Emilia’s body and gets Subaru to kill her with the help of a coalition of fighters, and Satella sends him back to where he came from in her dying moments. I believe Subaru will eventually grow closer to Priscilla in future arcs of Re:zero, and Subaru will have to settle with a look-alike of her when he returns to the world he grew up in. Luckily for Subaru, Priscilla has no recollection of the time he seriously considered licking her foot given that he was killed off by Puck in that loop, so there is time to mend that relationship.

   Why do I believe that Subaru has no chance of being with Emilia at the end of Re:zero? In the anime, there are already two incidents that suggest that Satella will possess Emilia at the end of the series. In Season 1, Petelgeuse stated that the Witch Cult’s goal is to test Emilia to see if she can be a vessel for the Witch, and if so, the Witch will be revived on a coming fated day. Given that he was following the words of his Gospel, which is based off the original Tome of Wisdom that tells the true future, I believe this could very well happen. The second incident is in Season 2 when Satella told Subaru to come kill her one day, and given that Satella’s original body is immortal, that would only be possible if Satella possessed a body that can be killed, and Emilia’s body fits the bill for that purpose. Thus, Satella’s endgame goal is to possess Emilia’s body and finally be killed off. I see no reason why this will not come to pass given the hints we’ve gotten from the anime already. Emilia is the first person Subaru was attracted to in this world, but she won’t be the one he ends up with in my opinion.

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   1. Subaru and Priscilla (or a lookalike), huh?

      Well, I’ll remember that you forecast it! A this point, I really don’t know what the narrative is building towards. I can’t deny your logic, especially regarding what Satella’s plans might be for Emilia’s body. It makes sense! But honestly, I don’t want to see Emilia die.

      After the first cour of the second season, I don’t want to see Satella die, either!

      I keep coming back this: Re:ZERO is so complex and well constructed that it supports this kind of conjecture. That’s a cool and rare thing!

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