After the change in tone between the first and the second and third episodes, the fourth episode is again something of a different flavour in order to provide a time skip to get events closer to those of the first episode. Unfortunately a lot of the tension that could have been present in this episode is lost due to already knowing the outcome of some events.

Sion is greeted by Ferris at the Eris estate and informs her that he is now being treated as a hero and was summoned to the estate. The head of the estate Lucile then appears and says he was the one who invited him.

Lucile tells Sion that he is going to ask him questions to see if he is suitable to be King and if he doesn’t like any of the answers he will kill Sion. Ferris tells Sion that it is a waste for him to throw away his hard earned survival here and Sion responds by saying that gives him more reason for this.

One of the nice little touches in the beginning of this episode is that Sion remembers to bring some dango’s (japanese dumplings) along for Ferris following her request in their last meeting. The talk with Lucile again indicates that he wants to use Sion but only if their goals coincide. It also appears that in Roland anyone who is a descendant of the first king can come to the throne if they have the right requirements.

Sadly what would have been a tense scene is not at all tense since we know Sion becomes king (and is unharmed) so there is never any doubt at all that he passes the interview, which would not have been the case if we did not have foreknowledge especially given the events of the previous episode.

Ryner has arrived at Roland high prison and the guard and his wife who have a newborn baby girl discuss how it is sad that he will never see outside again. In the cell Ryner asks the Guard for a pencil and paper and to get him some books which the Guard agrees to. A little later later after the Guard got the first lot of books Ryner asks for some more to the guards surprise.

Time passes and the guard is surprised at Ryner’s upbeat attitude. Ryner continues to get books and is working on a report of some sort, during this time he and the guard bond and talk about various things including how they would not like the guards daughter go to war and how the guard quit the army due to losing all his friends in the war despite having the chance to become an officer.

More time passes and Ryner continues writing, when one night someone sneaks into his cell while he is sleeping and reads his report and comments that he wont be able to take afternoon naps in the prison forever.

After another passage of time, the guard arrives with a sad look on his face after some banter he opens the cell and Ryner says he doesn’t need to say anything and he was surprised they let him live for 2 years. As Ryner leaves the prison he is greeted by Ferris who takes him off the guards hands.

The part of the episode showing the time Ryner spends left me with very mixed feelings. On the one hand I thought it was very well done and showed effectively how he bonded with his jailer. I found the scene where the guard explained why he quit the army very poignant and thought it demonstrated part of the reason why they could bond as they had both been through similar experiences. I also thought that the main problem to do with the prison scenes were if anything they were too short and could have used a whole episode rather than half of one to be fully effective.

On the other hand they where used to implement a 2-3 year time skip (Ryner refers to 2 years but the Guards daughter is a few months old at the start and 3 by the end), during which time we know nothing about how Sion became King, though it is always possible that this could be revisited at a later date.

There where however a few oddities about the time in prison with the first being why would any library in a feudal state be willing to give books to a prisoner especially one on death row, the only way around this that I can think of is if Sion was pulling strings. The second oddity was why did the Guards daughter recognise Ryner and why was the recognition apparently mutual. My best guess is that in the source material she either sneaked visits to Ryner or was taken tsee him by her father and despite this not being shown in the episode, the scene where Ryner leaves is kept as it is in the source material.

There is then the bizarre situation where Sion has only sent Ferris to escort Ryner to the capital. Given that Ryner knows nothing at this stage and has shown the capacity to wipe out an entire squad of magic knights without breaking a sweat just sending Ferris seems a tad reckless despite the outcome which is then demonstrated in the next scene. Having Ferris be the escort and the knowledge that Ryner eventually teams up with her also ruins any tension that Ryner going to his execution would otherwise have.

In the forest Ryner tells Ferris that he is making a break for it and launches an attack and is surprised when Ferris manages to counter it. After Ryner mentions he was not being fully serious Ferris states that she sees why he wants him now.

A more serious battle then ensues during which Ryner is shocked that Ferris is managing to keep up with him despite not using magic. Ferris eventually manages to subdue Ryner when Ryner goes too easy on her as he did not want to kill her. Ferris then tells Ryner that the King awaits and he will regret it if he stays behind.

This battle goes back to the tone of the first episode with it for a large part being played for laughs. I enjoyed the banter between Ryner and Ferris at the start of the scene with Ferris calling Ryner a sex fiend in response to being called a hottie. I do wonder if the personal history she refers to is just Kiefer or if as intimated in the first episode Ryner has a history of women falling for him.

In terms of the battle itself, I feel the main purpose was to let us know that Ferris is a more than capable warrior and to establish the start of some mutual respect between the two of them before they are thrown together.

In the Castle Town Ryner is surprised by the changes and stunned when he sees the King is Sion. In response to this he decides to take a nap in the throne room. Sion has gotten a hold of Ryner’s report and title aside is impressed by the idea of using the Relics of the legendary heroes as a deterrent to prevent war and then assigns Ryner and Ferris to gather the relics.

To counter their mutual reluctance, Ryner is threatened with execution, while Sion has been given Lucile’s permission, with the message that if Ferris disobeys the Wynnit dango shop will be crushed on the spot. Lucile then speaks from the shadows saying they have two minutes to start their journey.

This causes Ferris to drag Ryner out to start their journey. Sion then asks Lucile if this is his goal, Lucile responds by saying its one possibility and that a King is just a cog in a machine which wont break when its new and he is still new.

There then follows a narration by Ryner where he states his desire to change things so that no one has to lose anything and a world that doesn’t make a child or Kiefer cry and where his friends don’t die. A world where everyone can laugh and take afternoon naps all the time.

If there was every any doubt it is confirmed that Sion is now the King and was the person who was in Ryner’s cell given that he has obtained Ryner’s Report and is acting on it. Given that Kiefer is mentioned a few times at the end of the episode I think that despite her not being in the opening credits there is a good chance that she will turn up again.

Given that Sion let her live and leave the country it appears that he either did not blame her for the ambush or did not want to harm someone Ryner cared for. Given that she acted under duress I suspect it was a combination of the two. Given that Sion does not have any qualms about using friends I wonder if Kiefer is also travelling under instructions.

The threats given by Sion now make some of the dialog in the first episode from Ferris and Ryner make a lot more sense as Ferris’ comments about holding Dango’s hostage now come across as truth rather than making her appear to be a crazy woman. Again demonstrating why it was a bizarre choice to have the first episode be a flash forward.

At the end of the scene Lucille again comes across as very sinister with his talk about cogs in machines, and Sion seems well aware that he is only King for as long as Lucille wishes it and that Lucille is more than capable of killing him without any effort. As such I suspect there is a good chance that the previous King was killed by Lucille once Sion was in a position to be able to take the throne following his death.

Ryner’s end narration again indicated that despite what he told Kiefer about being a monster he is anything but a monster at heart, (though Alpha Stigma can turn him into one). The main question I had at the end of the episode is how far into Ryner’s quest did the first episode occur, with my personal hope being that the fifth episode is set after the first.

In regards to the episode as a whole I personally found it a slight disappointment as I was looking forward to seeing how Sion became King, despite this and the slow pace of the episode I still found it enjoyable. Now that the stage has been set and we know why Ferris and Ryner are travelling it will be interesting to see how the series settles down and if it will be more in line with the humerous tone of the first and fourth episodes or the dark tone of the third.

Episode Rating

7/10 – A little on the slow side but was an effective time skip, sadly a lot of tension was lost due to the first episode being set after the fourth.