Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 11 – Quick Summary
In The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 11, “The small leak will sink a great ship. I,” Philomela noticed, with no small amount of regret, that the potpourri Chise gave her had begun to lose its aroma. She worked up the courage to ask if she could have a refill, and of course Chise agreed cheerfully. But Chise took another step – she offered to teach Philomela how to make her own. If Chise felt surprised at Philomela’s tearful gratitude, she didn’t show it. But that gratitude was about to be put to the test, and in a very, very dangerous way. Will Philomela be able to do the right thing?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 11
Those don’t look like flirting eyes to me! Though this is Lucy we’re talking about. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
This series has a habit of giving me memorable characters. The first season gave us Redcurrant and Silky, among others. For me, Lucy is one of those characters for the current season. Her attitude makes complete sense, given her past. Her distrust of her brother, Seth, makes sense, too.
In this episode, we learned that she loved the Webster family’s spiders. Now, if you have arachnophobia, the scenes where we learned of Lucy’s affections might have been uncomfortable. Fortunately, I like spiders. Their appetite works with my desire to have a bug-free house. So, I found endearing the scenes of her interacting with the spiders as if they were cherished pets.
Growing up as she did, Lucy isn’t squeamish around creatures that make others squeamish. That’s what led to my favorite line.
Zoe had entered her hospital alcove to check on her. Turns out he’s fond of Lucy, which I think is cool. He felt bad when he saw he had awakened her, and he said he had just wanted to check on her. He turned to leave.
“Your snakes,” she said, making him turn back to face her (08:26). “Can I pet your snakes?”
If this were anyone but Lucy, I would have immediately thought that was a pick-up line. Because, come on – what guy’s ears wouldn’t perk up at a question like that? Though, maybe I’m making assumptions about Lucy that I shouldn’t! But in this case, I think she just finds them comforting. And maybe Zoe, too!
Favorite Moment from The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 11
Chise’s question was far outside of Philomela’s experience. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Warm Emotional Moments
This episode had several emotional moments that touched me. Remember Silky’s reaction to Chise saying she was going to stay at the college for the night? Or Lucy remembering how she adored the family’s spiders? Relationships drove those moments with their authentic depth and variety.
My favorite moment in this episode is one of those little emotional moments. Though for Philomela, I think it was anything but “little.” In fact, I think it challenged her perception of herself and her world.
We’ve seen implicit and explicit evidence that Philomela has survived a lot of physical and emotional abuse. She has struggled to respond to typical social cues. She has also reacted with astonishment to Chise’s overtures of friendship.
Remember how she tested and retested the tea that Chise had given her? Philomela could not believe that Chise had simply given her tea. But eventually, given the results of her tests, she had to conclude: Chise wasn’t trying to kill her. As astonished as it was, Chise just wanted to share some tasty tea.
Philomela felt sad that the potpourri’s scent had faded. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
The episode opened with Philomela waking up. The scene was awash in grays and dull tones. Despite having slept, she still had bags under her eyes. The composition of the picture put her partially-closed fist in the foreground. She grasped the small bag of potpourri that Chise had given her.
That by itself earned a pang. Philomela’s life has so few gestures of kindness that Chise’s incidental gift felt like a talisman. But it got more painful: the potpourri had lost most of its scent. Then Philomela did something we haven’t seen her do – she took the initiative.
Delivery: Chise Reaches Out to Philomela
Philomela stood waiting as Chise emerged from the hospital wing.
She had to work up her courage to ask if Chise had any more potpourri. You could see the hesitancy in her movement; you could hear the lack of confidence in her voice.
Is there any doubt in our minds how Chise would react? Probably not. But there was doubt in Philomela’s mind. The next shot showed them in the courtyard. Chise sat on a bench with her case of leaves, herbs, and spices. Philomela didn’t feel confident in their budding friendship to sit beside her. Instead, she knelt in front of her. She handed Chise the small bag.
Chise was shocked to see how worn it was. But she knew what it meant. As she prepared her materials, she asked Philomela (05:59), “Want to make some together sometime?”
Philomela would have been less surprised if Chise had punched her in the face. The question took her breath away. It took her several heartbeats to recover, and then she could only ask, “Is that something I could do?”
Chise’s act of friendship touched Philomela. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Chise smiled her reassuring, kind smile and said she’d bring enough material to make different kinds. That small act of kindness so overwhelmed Philomela that she put her face into her hands and said, “Someday, then.”
It wasn’t just that Chise had been kind. Her motivation was an authentic affection for Philomela, and Chise communicated that affection. Seeing Philomela’s plight, seeing her start to make real friends like Chise, had been a delight this season. I just hope Chise can free Philomela from her evil grandmother and whatever happened at the end of this episode.
What did you think of Chise’s conversation with Hazel? What were your favorite moments in this episode? Feel free to share in the comments!
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 11: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Mahou Tsukai no Yome Season 2 • The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 – Episode 11 discussion
- Kvasir369: Ancient Magus Bride: Season 2 – Episode 11 Review
- RABUJOI: The Ancient Magus’ Bride – S2 11 – Patience Makes Prudence
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 1: Live and let live. II
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 2: Birds of a feather flock together
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 3: Birds of a feather flock together. II
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 4: The cowl does not make the monk.
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 5: First impressions are the most lasting.
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 6: Better bend than break.
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 7: Slow and Sure
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 8: Slow and sure II.
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 9: Conscience does make cowards of us all.
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 10: Conscience does make cowards of us all. II
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 11: The small leak will sink a great ship. I
- The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 12: A small leak will sink a great ship. II
