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The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Favorites

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The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27 – Quick Summary

In The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27, “Something Precious,” Cid’s plan to crash the kingdom’s economy worked – and worked very, very well. Even Shadow Garden’s Mitsugoshi teetered on the edge of collapse. With Alpha in a state of despair, and with Yukime on the verge of achieving her revenge, what’s next for Shadow Garden? Or have we missed something? And what was so important that Eta stayed awake for more than a few minutes at a time? 

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

Favorite Quote from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Alpha's words broke Gamma

The fear she had let Lord Shadow down hit Gamma like a physical punch. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.

I felt bad for Alpha in the previous episode. This episode demonstrated to me that I am capable of feeling much worse. Take, for example, my favorite quote.

Alpha had crashed hard. She sat, barefoot, staring into the fire. Gamma came in and reported just how bad the situation was. Her projections showed Mitsugoshi would be toast in days. She tried to come up with ideas. But Alpha shut her down. She said it didn’t matter anymore. She said Cid put this into motion; that he had forsaken them. Gamma, bless her heart, tried to argue that Lord Shadow would never abandon them.

“We failed to live up to his expectations,” Alpha said in a monotone (05:20). “And this is the result. He gave us the best environment, the best of knowledge… But we failed to reach his level. He has washed his hands of our incompetence.”

That was too much for Gamma. She fell to her knees. 

I went into this episode feeling terrible for Alpha. Now I felt even more terrible for Alpha – and for Gamma, too! Damn it, Cid! Get your act together, man!

Favorite Moment from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Yukime immediately understood Alpha's offer

Yukime knew the value of Alpha’s proposition. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.

Setup: What Is Cid’s Journey?

Am I the only one who feels like Cid got off easy in this episode? He broke Alpha’s heart. He sank a despair-bankshot off Alpha and hit Gamma. It took Beta bouncing into the room with Eta’s translation to save them (and remind me once again how much I like Beta – she’s a writer, you know!).

I think Cid should have had to interact with them. I think he should have used that talk to get past his wilful delusions. It’s for his good, and the good of the women who follow him. Wait, you might say – does Cid even deserve that much? He’s a bit of a bastard, isn’t he?

Yeah. I’ve thinking about some of the great comments on my post about the previous episode. I’m beginning to see that this story is about Cid’s journey. I hope the destination is mental health, but I don’t really know. the plot brought him to the edge of revelation in this arc. I’ve always thought of this show as a romp with no destination. Dark humor for dark humor’s sake. I doubt that, now.

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Cid didn't need to heal Yukime; but he did

There are times Cid does things that make him seem like a sane, almost empathetic person. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.

But that has nothing to do with my favorite moment. In that context, while I feel like Cid got off easy, I am glad to see Alpha’s confidence restored. So much so that she reengaged with Shadow Garden. She re-assumed her role as long-sighted force behind Shadow Garden’s success. And she was intent on building on that success.

Shadow Garden, using the gold that Cid had “given” then, now controlled all commerce, from the store fronts to the banks. If it was above-board, they controlled it.

Which brings me to Alpha meeting Yukime. Yukime had just discovered that the gold wasn’t where she expected. Shadow Garden had already cleaned everything out. They’d even found a message from Gettan to her. Alpha personally handed it to her.

Delivery: Alpha Moves Forward

Yukime was no fool. She could sense Alpha’s power. She also knew that with her revenge achieved, she was currently unemployed. Yukime had even figured out that John Smith was Cid. What she hadn’t figured out, and I was initially shocked see Alpha tell her, was that Mitsugoshi was the business front for Shadow Garden. 

Alpha put her offer on the table (20:06): “We are prepared to welcome you into our ranks.”

I was pretty happy to see Rose join. I was even happier to see Yukime receive the offer. Her answer was absolutely perfect (20:09): “Mitsugoshi as your front, and myself as your underbelly. I expect that is your proposal?”

The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Yukime joining Shadow Garden is going to extend their capabilities

This relationship is going to pay dividends. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.

When Alpha confirmed it, they shook. And created a phenomenally powerful alliance. 

So, Shadow Garden’s power grows. Cid ducked responsibility again. But… how much does he really know about himself? How much does he suspect? Yes, his journey of “self discovery” was a cover for getting away from the women he thought were furious with him. At the end, he said (23:27), “Because, while while I am the victor, I am simultaneously the loser.”

Does he know? At this point, I’m not sure, but I still want to know. Relieved that Alpha’s back to being herself and Shadow Garden is back on the rails, even after 27 episodes, I’m still excited to see where the show’s going. 

What did you think of Delta’s return? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

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8 thoughts on “The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 27: Favorites

  1. At least, he admitted that his approach to apologising was exactly how a baby does it and who can get mad at a baby. However, I was disappointed that he didn’t have to face up to what he did, but he did lose the gold so there is some retribution. I can’t wait to see what Delta dug up at the end!

    1. I’m really curious what Delta found, too!

      And insights like that — where he knows he’s messed up. That’s got to lead somewhere, doesn’t it? At least, I’d love for it to.

      1. I think that makes it more frustrating, though. He knows what he did to them was wrong, but he’s still not prepared to stand up and face them like a man. He’d sooner use baby tactics and pretend that it never happened…

        1. That’s what I’m trying to figure out. Is he mentally injured? What’s going on with him? Cid’s condition and his relationship to this world are the central mystery. I hope that by the end of the series, it gets resolved, or at least fleshed out some more.

    1. It’s either a pure fantasy in a dying Cid’s head (which, honestly, would be consistent with the new OP), or he’s a god in this universe, given how much the fabric of reality bends to his will.

      Unless… it’s not bending, and his BS is fueled by an unconscious knowledge of how this world really is.

  2. About the closest thing to proper justice which Cid got was to lose the pile of money he had put together and thought would be all his. It’s even better to know that it was taken by the people he’d most wronged in all this, his Alpha and the Shadow Garden girls. But for his wild delusions to continue to their eventual conclusion and for Yukime to truly join his devoted harem, as well as to push forward whatever comes next in the plot, he basically got off scot free, though he does go into hiding under the assumption that the girls would be mad at him.

    Seriously, if he wanted to keep the gold, he probably should not have told them where it was, LOL.

    1. That point about him telling Shadow Garden where the gold was — that’s really throwing off my theories! If he didn’t want to them to know, he could easily have just not told them. One of the most prevalent theories I’ve seen is that he didn’t expect Eta to be that fast. I’m not sure I buy that — or if I do, if I see it as a complete solution.

      If he didn’t want them to know, why’d he tell them?

      This episode made me think that maybe Cid’s actually in conflict with himself. I’m probably reading too much into it, but it really looked like he was fighting both sides of this conflict — Cid’s childish wish to be rich, and Shadow Garden’s need for capital to finance their war.

      I’ll say this: I like how the show isn’t unidimensional. I haven’t been bored yet!

Please let me know what you think!

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