In the Land of Leadale

Episode 10

I feel like Leadale is finally starting to have a firmer grasp of its tone. We get introduced to some more fun characters that have more of an equal back-and-forth with Cayna. Not only do they prove themselves helpful and capable, but one of them is actually an old friend of hers. Maybe the issue before was that Cayna was very inconsistent in her interactions with the NPCs; her characterization in recent episodes have brought out the quirky, doting motherly side that I think Leadale has always been trying to show but got lost in her unjustified anger-filled outbursts. Now, she comes off as a lot more likable and capable, and her interactions with other players also give us a better insight into her relationships and personality before she got trapped in this game. It does make me wonder if her former friends and guildmates knew of her medical condition, since it's implied the only reason why she is as broken as she is in-game is that there was literally nothing else she can do outside of logging tens of thousands of hours into the game. That said, I'm surprised that the conversations about her past don't lead to any flashbacks or framing devices to properly show these things to the audience. The show has been setting up this character who seemed especially close to Cayna, and his eventual introduction looks like it could lead to some interesting revelations about Cayna as a character, but overall it still feels as if the show is withholding a lot of information from us yet acting like we've had that information all along.

This is especially apparent towards the end of the episode where Cayna pretty much adopts a young child traumatized by her village getting destroyed. We know nothing about this little girl and while I'm glad that Cayna made a conscious decision to adopt her, a lot of the dialogue in this scene felt very awkward and disjointed. The episode imbues the scene with a sense of hope that I couldn't really connect to because it feels like there was an emotional scene or two that was skipped before such a heavy decision was made. Maybe they're saving that for later? I hope so because it would be interesting if the show ended up going full circle with this theme of family, especially since it's implied that Cayna was actually good at doting on others and taking care of them. I already know the show is going to end with the majority of its plot threads and ideas left unresolved, but if it can wrap things up thematically, then it might just be able to stick the landing.

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In the Land of Leadale is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.