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The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 23 – Quick Summary
In The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 23, “The Hour of Awakening,” Cid felt disappointed. He’d done the Atomic-thing, but he could find no sign of a Big Bad. Disappointed, thinking that maybe this scenario didn’t have a Boss Fight, he went off to find something else fun to do. That’s when Mary and Claire arrived – just in time to see Elizabeth wake up! Though they didn’t see her wake up as much as feel her… How badly was Claire wounded? Can Mary get her to safety? And will Cid find anything else to keep himself occupied?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 23
Well. That quote didn’t go where I thought it would! Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Cid just walking away after stomping Crimson made me laugh. Thinking he had misjudged the situation, Cid decided to wander off looking for entertainment. That’s when Elizabeth began to revive. Mary and Claire found that out the hard way when Elizabeth punched a tentacle through Claire.
That had to sting!
That’s when Beta and two others from Shadow Garden showed up. Thinking that Cid having a higher priority explained him not being present, Beta knew her mission: protect Claire. Which she tried to do.
She and Mary struck Elizabeth hard. Enough to blow her head off, which, admittedly, slowed her down. For a moment. As she reassembled herself, Mary said (04:51), “It’s no use. I admit, you people are strong. But my Lady… My queen has always…”
I thought Mary was going to say something like “been indestructible” or “been impervious to harm.” Instead, she finished with, “… been a slow riser due to low blood pressure!”
Seriously. Quotes like that make it feel like this show had been written with my sense of humor in mind.
Favorite Moment from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 23
That was unexpected. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Setup: A Beta-tastic Episode
As a fan of Beta, I have to say that I am very pleased with this episode. We got to see Beta in all sorts of moods and with all sorts of expressions. We even saw her in a misunderstanding that was almost my favorite moment. In her defense, Cid almost had me convinced he really cared for Shadow Garden when he said (14:55), “It doesn’t matter the weight of the load. I can’t afford to lose a single one.”
It took another ten seconds before I realized he really didn’t want to lose another gold coin. Well, at least Beta felt supported!
It was great seeing Aurora again, wasn’t it? I like her attitude and I like how ridiculously powerful she is. She had me going, too, when she seemed like she was going to do the Atomic thing to Elizabeth. It’s not Aurora’s fault that Claire’s body wasn’t up to it. That whole scene, where Aurora smacked Elizabeth around, then said she’d done what she needed to because “I was only buying time until he arrived,” was a ton of fun to watch.
Aurora only needed to buy enough time for Cid to arrive. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
This show is just ODCTAA: One Damned Cool Thing After Another. Have I ever told you where I heard the original ODTAA? It was back in – well. I just looked it up. It was January 8, 1983. I was in college. I had submitted a short story to Amazing Science Fiction Stories. George H. Scithers was the editor. In the rejection letter, he wrote that my story was “distressingly episodic – just O.D.T.A.A. – for which the concluding remarks about the unexpected do not provide sufficient excuse.”
Now, part of me was elated he bothered to respond at all. Another part of me stung mightily from the rejection. I didn’t have any idea what O.D.T.A.A. meant. And remember: 1983 was pre-internet, so no Urban Dictionary. So, being a writer, I wrote and asked him. He told me it was One Damned Thing After Another. And that I should have been able to figure it out.
He’s right. But at the time, it didn’t feel great. But I bring it up to show that I learned from this experience: I defined ODCTAA for you! So, never let it be said that I can’t learn. Or at least, never let it be said that I couldn’t learn back in 1983.
Delivery: Cid’s Power Ramps Up
My favorite moment in this episode impressed me with Cid’s power. There shouldn’t be much room left to be amazed, should there? I mean, we’ve seen “I AM ATOMIC” twice now. We’ve seen him level several city blocks. Hell, I think we see him torque the fabric of reality as a matter of course. But this time, what he did made me sit up and laugh in appreciation.
Remember how he fought Elizabeth? It reminded me of his battle with Aurora. He clearly respected her – and she, now that her blood pressure had risen to an acceptable level, seemed to respect him. But he said it was time to end it. He started (16:47), “I…”
I was like, “Oh, cool, it’s Atomic time!”
He said (16:47), “Am…”
Mary felt terrified that Cid was going to incinerate Elizabeth. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
I began to worry that Mary, Beta, Claire, and the others were too close. Mary worried, too, but she worried more for Elizabeth. She begged him to wait.
Elizabeth closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. Then Cid did something that I completely did not expect. His voice changed from the deep, resonate Lord Shadow, to Cid’s normal voice. He said (16:58), “Recovery Atomic.”
Suddenly, instead of Cid’s power destroying Elizabeth and the surrounding, his power healed her. And all the Ghouls (including his friends). He even restored peace across the city! I’ve always said that the power to create and heal is greater than the power to destroy. I’ve rarely seen it dramatized well, but I think this is a great example. In my eyes, this makes Cid even more powerful!
What did you think of Beta’s fight against Elizabeth? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 23: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Season 2 • The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 – Episode 3 discussion
- The Otaku Author: The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 23) – The Hour of Awakening
- Otaku Sinh: The Craziest Plot Twist! The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 3 [Review]
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 21: The Lawless City
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 22: The Haven
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 23: The Hour of Awakening
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 24: The Mask of Falsehood
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 25: He Who Pulls the Strings
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 26: John Smith
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Something Precious
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 28: The Dragon’s Tears
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 29: The Key
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 30: The Caged Bird
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 31: Determination
- The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 32: Highest
ODCTAA – Definitely a useful acronym for this show!
I love how Aurora is helping Cid protect Claire from another plane of existence. Her almost using I AM ATOMIC (IAA?) was a neat fakeout, as was Cid’s “Recovery Atomic”. The battle was phenomenal fun from start to finish.
I like IAA!
I think one of the reasons the parody in this show is so effective is that they know exactly what they’re doing. That battle scene was right up there. I’d compare it ufotable (which might heresy — I hope I don’t get excommunicated!) in terms of raw artwork and excitement.