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Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 03: Favorites – Quick Summary
In Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 episode 03, “One Single Magic Spell,” the creatures that Marze and Headless unleashed relentlessly push the mages back – with catastrophic losses. Rosti’s fall put Will out of the fight. But now, Marze is coming for him, and he’s out of places to hide. Can Will summon the courage for a last stand? Would it even matter if he did?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 03
They grow up so fast! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
I like elves. Not sure why, because in DanMachi and Wistoria, the elves aren’t even like Tolkien’s elves, and Tolkien is my benchmark for Excellence in Literature. Maybe it’s because of something I’ve mentioned before: these are hot elves. I mean, just look at Ellenor. It could also be because the show portrays them are at least somewhat more elegant than other characters.
But then there’s Lefiya Viridis, an aide to Ellenor and a member of the Loki Familia from the series Sword Oratoria: Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? On the Side. In Sword Oratoria, she was a klutz. But she was younger and less experienced. Now, as one of Ellenor’s aids, she’s matured. She’s more subdued. She’s also quite observant.
As several of the Magia Vander geared up to fight among themselves, Lefiya kept her cool. As she poured wine for Ellenor, she made a quiet observation.
“This may turn into a disgraceful spectacle,” she said in a serene voice (02:21). She might have been discussing the weather.
I think the Sword Oratoria version of Lefiya would have panicked. It cool to see how much she’s grown since then!
Favorite Moment from Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 03
Fin helped Will remember. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: I’d Forgotten Something Key
The whole “you’ve had the magic inside you all along!” trope is a tough one to pull off. As a writer, you have to plant a lot of foreshadowing seeds leading up to the moment. The world has to be configured such that the reveal is a complete surprise and as natural as breathing.
When I first saw Fin release Will’s limiter, I’ll admit that I felt misgivings. In the moment, I didn’t feel like the show had prepared me. I felt partly that it came out of nowhere. At the same time, I felt like it was contrived. But then, reading the Reddit comments, I came across this post from Redditor AniMayor:
And then after that we saw Finn delivering the mage slayer sword they found to the academy’s headmistress, where he seemed kind of pissed at her for not telling him about Will sooner, saying “Your lot looks after the wands, swords are supposed to be my territory.”
Here’s a link to the full comment.
That unlocked a well of meaning. The timing wasn’t contrived. The school didn’t keep Fin informed; it was only at the end of the previous season (and, from the perspective of the timeline, not long ago at all) that Fin even learned Will existed. Of course, after an attack of this magnitude, it made perfect sense that Fin would expedite his search for Will. Which is exactly what we saw in this episode.
It took Fin a while to find Will. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
With that point clarified, I found I could now enjoy the where Fin unlocked Will’s potential. Will, traumatized by witnessing the death of Rosti, reeling from seeing a hole blown in Workner’s chest, was past distraught. He was drowning in despair. He was also bitterly confused. Workner’s last words had to do with Will actually being able to practice magic.
Delivery: Will’s Unique Power
And, of course, Workner died before he could say how or even name the spell.
That’s when Fin arrived, carrying the sword that Will had dropped. “Even the tiniest bit of gumption and a light that can pierce anything,” he said (16:50). “An argent light.”
After shocking Will by saying that Workner merely had a flesh wound (seriously, you could easily throw a musk melon through the hole in his chest!), Fin asked what Will thought he was doing. He basically told Will it was time to stop being all whiny and get to work.
Now, to be fair, Will whined a lot in this episode. Previous one, too. He was mostly justified, but still, it was getting annoying. But Fin had had enough. He told him to get his crap together and that (18:07) “Those who cannot transform themselves will never change the world!”
Then, after basically telling Will to remember who he was, Finn dropped a single drop of his blood on the sword’s hilt. The sword erupted in lightning. Finn asked if Will remembered the name of his magic.
Will recalled the key moments of his life. Standing, he grasped the sword and swung it. He called aloud the name of his single spell.
Looks like Will found the “on” switch. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
“Courage,” he said (19:21).
If it hadn’t been for AniMayor’s reminder in Reddit, I could not have recognized this moment for what it was. But recognize it I did – enough to make it my favorite moment in the episode!
What did you think of Iris’ calm analysis of the battle – even on the cusp of defeat? What were your favorite moments? Feel free to let me know in the comments!
Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 03: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 01: Barrier Day
- Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 02: The Party from Hell Begins
- Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 03: One Single Magic Spell
- Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 04: And the Story Begins
- Wistoria – Wand and Sword Season 2 Episode 05: The Day of Departure
I just rewatched the first season and I’m going into the second . It’s pretty good
It’s one of those series that isn’t particularly deep but is a lot of fun to watch! I also enjoy the links it shares with DanMachi.