Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 30 – Quick Summary
In The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 30, “Caged Bird,” Shadow Garden tried to come to grips with Rose’s defection. Lambda in particular felt responsible and expressed alarm when she heard Lord Shadow himself would administer punishment. What will Cid do when he finds Rose? Will Victoria approve? And will Epsilon ever suspect that it’s her fine control over her powers that Cid admires?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 30
Epsilon showed some surprising traits here. Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
I like Epsilon. I like all of the Seven Shades, of course, but in Epsilon I see a lot of intelligence and talent. Particularly with magic – the effort she puts into maintaining her figure is truly amazing. But that’s only slight related to with my favorite quote.
The Seven Shades seem to be an independent lot. They make up their own minds, and they don’t seem particularly susceptible to peer pressure. Late in this episode, Victoria had her reasons for wanting Rose dead, and she made them plain to Epsilon. But Epsilon had a different take.
In my favorite quote, Epsilon not only showed her independence. She showed a willingness to accept responsibility – something I find all too rare these days. She said (18:15), “Her actions were thoughtless and hasty, but I suspect it’s too soon to declare her a traitor just yet.” And then a little later (18:38), “This is our responsibility, for not telling Princess Rose about her mother.”
Independence, a willingness to accept personal responsibility, and empathy! Epsilon has a lot going for her.
Favorite Moment from The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 30
I almost felt sorry for the guy. Well, not really… Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Setup: A Formula That’s Working
The show’s going to run into trouble – it’s so good at subverting expectations for a given kind of scene that I’m beginning to expect the their version of the unexpected! Cid’s heart-to-heart with Rose, for example, could have easily played as a straight and effective emotional scene. But Cid kept tossing cookies in his mouth!
And he reached up to touch her cheek, he had a cookie between two fingers. I laughed; I enjoy scenes like that. But they’re going to have to start either tossing in an actual, honest emotional scene from time to time, or really get crazy. Otherwise, I’m going to get used to it.
The cookie… Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Another pattern the show’s great at delivering are instances of dialogue where the speaker and audience are on two completely different pages. Usually, we in the audience know the full story and can only smile at the characters as they stride forward, oblivious.
That was the case with my favorite moment. Perv Asshat had just updated his boss, Modred, a Knight of the Rounds. Perv hated the guy; he thought his boss was senile and incompetent. In spite of that, he wanted something Modred could give him: a promotion. Perv wanted to be a Knight of the Rounds.
Delivery: A Formula That Still Feels Fresh (or at least Fresh-ish)
From his perspective, Perv’s plan was coming together. He had Rose. He had his Perv Faction (which I think is still funnier than it should be). And he thought he had the ring that would unlock the Block Rose, a massively powerful device (kinda seems a bit like Cid’s Atomic blast).
In my favorite moment, Perv held up the ring’s box and said (21:51), “What will you do about it, Shadow Garden?”
Except, we know that box is empty. Cid pick-pocketed it. Not because it was the ring of power, but because he thought it would be valuable. Cid doesn’t know what he has; Perv thinks he still has it.
Cid wondered for a moment if maybe he should not have taken this from “Mr. Perv.” Capture from the HIDIVE stream.
Is that a vintage Eminence in Shadow moment, or what? Like I said earlier, the show’s great at delivering moments like this – and it ways that feel unforced! I’m almost afraid to ask how much longer they can keep it up. But for now, this moment cracked me up.
What did you think of Cid’s devastating verbal blow against Epsilon? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 30: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! Season 2 • The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 – Episode 10 discussion
- The Otaku Author: The Eminence in Shadow (Episode 30) – Caged Bird
- Otaku Sinh: The Damsel in Distress Cannot Be Saved?! The Eminence in Shadow Season 2 Episode 10 [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
This is a good year to have several shows I’m really enjoying and Shadow is one of them.
It’s good and bad. Good, because, absolutely, I’m enjoying a lot of shows. Bad, because there are at least two other shows airing that I would love to review, but I just don’t have the time!
I guess it’s a great problem to have, though!
There’s Eminence, and Magus’ Bride, and Freiren and Apothecary, plus a bunch of others I consider good but mot first rank. YMMV.
The joy of this show week in and week out is that it is constantly balancing two or more perspectives. We can be confident we’ll never be bogged down in either zany comedy or over-the-top melodrama—we’re almost always going to get a little of both!
Epsilon is a capable and thoughtful leader while also being so vain she has to use magic slime to bump up her assets. I too was thoroughly moved by cookie crumb-strewn Cid-Rose reunion, because Cid had *no idea* that he sounded like the very would-be lover and companion Rose wants more than anything, but cannot have, at least as long as her mom is a hostage and the Cult’s tentacles are tightening around her kingdom.
I’m wondering what you thought about a lingerie-donning Queen Reina calling out for Perv after his evil Zoom call. The reviewer at ANN seemed to think Reina was legit into him, but I suspect he’s using mind control to make her more agreeable (with magic I assume doesn’t work on the more powerful Rose).
Eh, I know they drugged Rose’s father to the point of insensibility, but her mother? The moment she clung on to Rose last episode, going on about, “I’m so scared,” in such a cliched way, I figured she was actually with Perv and the Cult willingly. And the way Perv’s demeanor shifted to one of “duty calls” tells me he has to keep her happy, at least for the moment.
You’re probably right about her being a willing partner and essentially a Cult collaborator … which definitely makes things hella awkward for Rose!
Rose’s mom’s actions when she first saw Rose triggered my suspicions, too. She flipped on the tears way too easily.
I’m still wondering if he thinks he has to keep her happy, or just doesn’t want to admit he really likes keeping her happy. He’s an evil Perv; he can’t just be admitting he lets anyone enjoy themselves!
Good point about the show balancing two or more perspectives — and as a writer, I’m in awe at how easy they make it seem.
I’m not sure what to think about the queen. I like Merlin’s insights; if Perv were just using mind control, he wouldn’t need to be so quick to go to her.
Though, to be crass, if he has any libido at all, she’s pretty hot — he might be protesting too much to cover his enthusiasm.
I think it’s an open topic right now. Which is another thing I think the show does well: give us enough information to fuel conjecture, then give us an answer that at first seems out of nowhere, but on further reflection, completely matches the evidence.