Nina the Starry Bride

Episode 7

If Sett has the emotional intelligence of a turnip, it's very likely that he came by it honestly. Prior to this episode, all we really knew about him was that his reputation for ruthlessness may very well have been more truth than exaggeration. That's not to accuse him of being utterly heartless, because some of his actions have seemed to have others' well-being in mind, and the fact that he's so good to his pet bird also speaks to the existence of a softer side. (That he raised Neena after she was orphaned as a chick definitely supports this.) But he's also been very single minded about his motives for even considering Alisha as a bride, and his rescue of her this week could just as easily be because he doesn't want to lose a valuable game piece as it could be about him actually caring.

What made him like this? The flashback indicates his childhood. Sett, it seems, wasn't raised in Galgada's palace, but in a cold northern religious institution. There he seems to have been starved, frozen, and indoctrinated, although that last seems to have had an opposite effect. Love, his parental figures told him, was to be given to God, and God alone, and the death of someone who may very well have been Sett's mother was a joyous occasion because she had returned home to God's embrace. When a very young Sett witnessed a man throwing himself off a roof while crying out praises, Sett barely blinked. Love and death seem to have been inextricably intertwined in his early childhood, and that's a very dangerous combination.

This could end up having some serious repercussions for Nina. Sett definitely seems to like her, even if his willingness not to sexually assault her stems more from his stated desire to use her to get to Fortna than any actual goodness on his part. Or does it? The Galgada royal family is even more contentious than Fortna's, with Sett's three brothers ready to seize their moment the second the ruler announces a change in succession plans. They're also not terribly impressed with Sett or Alisha, with the pugnacious Yor particularly displeased by both, although if years of consuming fantasy stories has taught me anything, it's that Bidoh is likely to be much more of a problem than Yor. (You always have to watch out for the affable pretty ones.) Yor's introductory behavior shows him acting before he thinks, and that's likely to be used against him in the coming battle for the crown. After all, as we see in the closing minutes of the episode, Azure was the seemingly biddable one, willing to carry out the previous king's mandates. And he just seized the throne.

Az's actions make it very clear that Alisha/Nina is the fulcrum on which two kingdoms balance. Azure must have blamed the current king (and possibly the former one) for moving up Nina's departure date, and I think we can safely assume that they refused to call her back. He therefore must have thought that taking the throne for himself was the only way to rescue her, even if that means a direct confrontation with Galgada. Meanwhile, the ruler of that nation has just declared that the crown will go to whomever conquers Fortna, a goal very much tied to Alisha, although whether this means the winner will marry or murder her is unclear. Nina's new tiger kitten isn't likely to be much help defending her, but she's going to need all of her wits to find a way to survive two succession fights and a brewing war.

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Nina the Starry Bride is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.