Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 29 – Quick Summary
In The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 29, “The Key,” Rose/666 found herself on another assignment with 664 and 665. It was supposed to be a simple recon mission, but that was before Victoria/559 joined them. Victoria and Rose share a common trait – one that sets them apart from the other underlings. And Victoria has an agenda. And that agenda doesn’t bode well for Rose. What’s Victoria up to? Why does she so distrust Rose? And how badly will Cid misunderstand things this time?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 29
Looking cool is good and all. But what’s the point? Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Did you see what I saw? Did you see Cid – yes, Cid! – asking self-aware questions? In an appropriate context? I’m exaggerating for comedic effect, but still. Cid saw something in the last few episodes that caused him to question himself. He even admitted he didn’t know what the Eminence in Shadow should actually be.
We’ll see how long this lasts.
But starting the episode like that really caught my attention. It might actually bias me towards this quote, because the episode had quite a few quotes I enjoyed. This one, though, struck me because it was some tangible proof he was thinking about what he wanted to do.
Shortly after admitting he really didn’t have a clear idea of what he wanted to be as the Eminence in Shadow, he said (00:56), “When stuff came up, I think I was just happy to do whatever kinda looked Eminence-in-Shadowy.”
I’m really curious to see if the show develops this newfound sense of self-awareness!
Favorite Moment from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 29
Marie felt astonished to see someone had left money for her. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Setup: Well-Executed Perspectives
The way this show sets up misunderstandings based on perspective continues to amaze me. I’ve seen shows who try to pull off a single event like that, and it can come off as contrived. But time and time again, this show spins up those misunderstandings, and they seem to flow naturally from the characters and situations. Look at how the show set up the misunderstanding between Victoria/559 and Cid. She was all about killing Rose for defending her mom. Why? Because Victoria is a zealot and Rose tried to protect her mom – against Victoria.
At the same time, we’d spent most of the episode in Cid’s head. We knew he wanted to set Rose up as an evil tyrant (because of a ridiculous and hilarious and thoroughly Cid way of interpreting Rose’s motivations for killing her father). As Victoria begged Cid to give her leave to kill Rose, Cid saw an announcement (that happened to blow by in that moment) of Rose’s impending marriage to Perv Asshat.
Cid had no idea who 666 was or what Victoria was talking about. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Cid called Rose a traitor – to his vision of having a cool entrance while Rose the evil tyrant was on a rampage. Victoria felt delighted that Cid endorsed her view. And it all flowed.
Speaking of Perv Asshat, I feel like I have the sense of humor of a twelve year old boy, but lines like this will never get old (05:09): “That stronghold fell to the Perv faction two days ago.” I mean, come on – that’s funny stuff!
Speaking of misunderstandings, my favorite moment generated one. And at this point, I think Cid might be misunderstanding himself! I’m almost left wondering how many perspectives he has in that brain of his.
Remember Marie? Lord Shadow accidentally saved her back in episode 21 (around 14:50). Well, she set up an inn in the war-torn capital of Rose’s homeland. Cid stayed at her inn, and of course he had no idea who she was.
Delivery: A Bag of Gold for Marie
But that was part of what made my favorite moment so interesting. Some extortionists came in and demanded all her money. When she didn’t have enough, they suggested they might use her body instead. Cid burst into action. He pretended to be a scared yet upstanding young man. He said he would protect Marie.
They beat the crap out of him. But that wasn’t my favorite moment. They left Marie destitute. So much so that she thought she might have to resort to her old profession (the one she had when Cid found her back in episode 21) to pay the bills. But later that day, after Cid had tracked down the ruffians and went all “Lord Shadow” on their behinds, she heard a noise outside. Scared, she peeked out the door. She saw the huge bag of gold that Cid had left for her.
Sure, he made sure she saw him leaving the scene as Lord Shadow (I think). Yes, she misunderstood and even said (18:20), “You’ve been watching over me…” And of course, he had not been.
Well, at least Marie felt protected! Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Had he?
How much is Cid aware of what Cid does? He didn’t need to give Marie that money. He loves money – more than pretty much anything else, at least as far as he’ll admit. But here, he dropped bag of gold to help Marie – after he had allowed himself to get beat up to protect her from being assaulted.
I just don’t exactly know how to frame Cid. He’s crass. He hurt Alpha just for the optics. And yet, he does things like help Marie. He tells himself it’s to look cool. That’s probably true. But I don’t think it’s the only reason. That actually gives me hope for his character! I think.
What did you think of Rose ending up engaged to Asshat? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 29: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Season 2 • The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 – Episode 9 discussion
- The Otaku Author: The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 29) – The Key
- Otaku Sinh: When the Script is Flipped! The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 9 [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
What did I think of Rose ending up engaged to Asshat? I think it SUCKS! I don’t like it one bit and I want that engagement dismissed with prejudice!
I loved all the scenes with Marie though. Glad they got M・A・O to voice her. So much good stuff with her in such a small amount of screen time!
I hope Rose gets to finish off Asshat. She deserves at least that much.
I liked Marie’s scenes too. Her determination to make it no matter what spoke to me.
I don’t think Cid wants to be an Eminence in Shadow. He likes the idea of pulling the strings in the background, but when it comes down to it, he just wants to be the hero to jump in from nowhere and make everyone notice him. That’s why he revealed himself in the tournament rather than continuing as Mundane Mann. He wants everyone to know. Everything he did in the montage was what someone who operates from the shadows does. They don’t take the credit, they just manipulate things to their benefit. However, he wants Rose to be the tyrant so that he can save the day.
Very good points (with supporting evidence!).
He seems like he really doesn’t know what he wants, and he’s starting to realize that. Though I think he’s getting caught up in his own BS again, so he might forget these important questions!
I think Rose may have given up on Shadow Garden? One of them did try to kill her mother.
I’m really not sure! Maybe? Or maybe she’s just desparate and is in react mode — just playing it by ear?
Perhaps she has a deeper plot. Perv becomes king and she kills him to be the new queen. Bloody Rose?
I kinda wish she had thought of that! Might have made for an exciting wedding night — for her!
To me, I don’t think we should label Cid as a hero nor a villain. As he said before, he is not any of them as he is not supposed to have character development.
He just insert himself into a story that has characters.
You might be right. He just might be an eminence MacGuffin.
Still, I like thinking about the question!