Nina the Starry Bride

Episode 6

Cliffs are like magnets to people going by “Alisha” in Nina the Starry Bride. But this accident raises the distinct possibility that while carriages are drawn over the edge, that doesn't mean the resultant accidents are fatal. That's previously been the assumption, because Nina was brought in as a replacement for Princess Alisha after her carriage went down, but both Nina and Neena survive what looks like a remarkably similar accident. Nina's not unharmed, although we don't know if her previous Sett-given injury has simply been reopened (although I'd put my money on broken ribs instead), but she is, unequivocally, alive. So what does that say about the original princess, whose body we never saw?

Intriguing as that question is, it's also not one we're likely to get an answer to either this week or next, mostly because Nina is being whisked off to Galgada proper to meet her potential future in-laws. This seems less important in itself than the fact that Sett is the one who decided that it needed to happen. We know that he hasn't made a great impression on his other potential brides, to the tune of one of them attempting to kill him and the other two running away. Frankly, the way he feels entitled to their bodies has been remarkably off-putting, even though that's reading the situation with a modern lens. (Which I feel we can absolutely do, given that this is set in the past, rather than written in the past.) But he can't seem to get under Nina's skin, which makes her infinitely more interesting to him. This isn't a passive princess he can browbeat into any form of submission, and her show of being a worthy queen in no way indicates that she'll be a submissive partner; if anything, she seems to view that as being antithetical to the role of a queen. Instead, Nina is presenting herself as a good choice because she can think for herself and maintains a sunny attitude, something Sett just isn't prepared for.

Without a doubt, Nina's best display of her talents is the way she takes down the scummy guard captain. She's known he's gross from almost the start of their acquaintance, but when she realizes that Anne has been told not to wander around the palace alone because of him, Nina suddenly sees the situation for what it is in its entirety. Sett may be able to keep the man in check (if he feels like it), but he's not always present. And that means that the guard can continue to prey on the ladies-in-waiting and the maids with impunity, as long as he times it right. Nina's plan to take him out is impressive, not just because she succeeds, but also because she uses Sett against both the guard captain and Sett himself. By setting herself up to be grabbed (and she had no way of knowing that it was just her arm that was touched), she's both constructing a means of trapping a predator and forcing Sett to acknowledge her as “his.” Not that she loves his kiss, but that's regretfully the sort of response she will have to expect if she manages to marry him, something I don't think she's fully understood yet.

For his part, Sett is much more invested in Nina than he wants to let anyone know. When he gives her charge of Neena, he's testing her on a different level, showing the amount of trust she's gained, because that bird seems to be the only person Sett genuinely cares for. (He may also figure that Neena is perfectly capable of annoying Nina in her own defense.) We don't know much about the rest of the Galgada royal family, but Sett makes a passing comment about how they're not going to be what Nina's expecting. There's a good chance he's going to be more upset about Neena going over that cliff than about a tiger stalking Nina. People may not often live up to his hopes while always living down to his expectations.

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Nina the Starry Bride is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.