Black Clover

Episode 154

Before the training with the Spirit Guardians of the Heart Kingdom can finally get started, one final matter needs to be attended to: the situation of Langris Vaude, Finral's brother and Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn. In his rare appearances since the elf incident, Langris has seemed much more subdued than before, as if being possessed by an elf made him realize some ugly truths about himself. Nowhere is that more apparent than in this episode.

Yuno getting promoted to the same Magic Knight rank as Langris was certain to draw some sort of reaction from the latter, and this episode at first made it look like some of his previous arrogance towards commoners has been reignited. However, even from the moment Langris approached Yuno, that never felt right, and it is to the production team's credit that they conveyed that difference effectively, as well as the way Yuno seemed to pick up on this not being the same display of arrogance as before. (But that shouldn't be a surprise, since a certain degree of intuition has always been one of Yuno's strong points.) William also seemed to understand that this was not truly about either putting an upstart in his place or vying for the vice-captaincy, which is presumably why he did not interfere.

By the end of the fight, Langris's real motivation is revealed: he was looking for a way out. He chose to use a defeat to Yuno as his excuse, since his pride would not allow him to openly admit that he needed to go on a journey of self-discovery to sort things out. Yuno, to his credit, did not let him off that easily, forcing Langris to take the fight seriously rather than just tanking it. That even Yuno – who almost never admits out loud that something is hard – acknowledged it as a narrow victory shows that he recognizes how strong Langris is and how much of an asset he could be for the upcoming Spade Kingdom mission. Indeed, Langris seems to be continuing the theme of the formerly elf-possessed tapping into some of the power that they had as elves. His departure from Finral and Finesse and admission that he hasn't totally conceded on her was a good finishing touch.

Among other matters, does Langris's departure mean that Yuno is the de facto new vice-captain? Frankly, he does not seem well-suited to a leadership position. He is too narrowly-focused and too often seems unconcerned with what anyone but Asta is doing around him. Also, if any administrative duties are involved then Yuno probably does not fall into the “well-educated” category. (He did have some schooling but flashbacks suggest that it was only primary-level.) Gordon exiting for his training without anyone noticing seems fitting, and Charmy seems likely to appear in the Heart Kingdom. (She always seems to find a way to tag along when she wants to.) Petite Clover's return this episode is also utterly forgettable.

The stalling is almost over. The progression of the main plotline awaits.

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Black Clover is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and FUNimation.