I'll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History

Episode 6

When it comes down to it, this episode is all about playing an otome game protagonist straight—showing the utter horror of an ultra-pure and innocent heroine in a world that bends to her will. This is portrayed in the key scene of the episode where, after being assaulted and kidnapped, Alicia turns the tables on her attackers to save Jill and herself from mortal danger. Even with her now in control of the situation, Alicia does not kill her attackers—and just when she is about to incapacitate the final fleeing thug, she finds herself magically restrained by Liz.

Liz then proceeds to berate Alicia rather than the kidnappers. Rather than focus on the kidnapped girl who managed to overcome her attackers, Liz simply sees Alicia as killing a “defenseless” man—and as killing is worse than kidnapping, Alicia is clearly in the wrong. Of course, this is Liz only seeing what she wants to see. While Alicia is more than willing to use lethal force if needed, she actually flips the blade to her knife's blunt side when preparing to make the blow Liz stops. Liz didn't notice this and Alicia knows there's no point in mentioning it—especially in the face of Liz's attempt at forced pacifism.

Simply put, Liz is incapable of seeing the world without comparing it to her ideal version of it. So even when her actions result in the attacker pulling a dagger on the defenseless, magically held Alicia, Liz still doesn't see herself as in the wrong. Rather, it's the world who is wrong. If everyone—Alicia and her kidnappers—“acted as they should,” then none of this would have happened. And worse still, as the worst didn't happen due to her and Duke's actions, Liz takes this as proof that her way of thinking is right—that by believing in her ideals of friendship and understanding, fate will take care of the rest.

The thing is, she might be right. Outside of Alicia, Jill, Henri, and Duke, all those in the academy take her words as gospel—throwing out even their core ideals for her own. When things don't work out for Liz, her underlings feel compelled to act on their own—to remove the obstruction that doesn't fit in Liz's idealized world. To make things worse, the king is content to use Alicia's life as a teaching aid for Liz's growth. He knew about the kidnapping plot and let it go on. It's possible he hoped for Alicia or Jill to be killed and show Liz that things don't always work out as she thinks they should. However, with everyone alive, this doesn't happen.

However, there is one thing making Liz doubt herself and her worldview—even if she doesn't quite see it as such. Liz is destined to be the saint and marry into the royal family, bringing prosperity to the kingdom. Even if she doesn't know her role, she clearly feels it—how the story is supposed to go.

There is just one problem: Duke doesn't love her. In fact, he appears to hate her and goes so far as to try and kill her in a fit of rage due to her narcissistic philosophy and wanton disregard for Alicia's life. In every other aspect of Liz's life, everything works out just how she imagines. But with Duke, it does not and that hurts—hurts her on a level and in a way she's never experienced before. How she deals with that pain will decide whether she grows into a woman with idealism tempered by pragmatism or a fanatical tyrant, imposing her will upon everyone.

Rating:

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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