Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf

Episode 18

I love an episode that gives us nothing but conversations. Dialogue, when written well, can carry a narrative. It can be the narrative. Spice & Wolf's conversational forte is certainly not news but it provides a good way to break down this chapter. Lawrence meets with four people this week, each steers him towards his iron (II) disulfide duel with Amati.

Lawrence's approach with Batos is supplicative. He can read the room. Even though the alchemist quarter sits on the outskirts of “acceptable” society, that doesn't preclude it from being wary of outsiders. If anything, they're probably more apprehensive than average—since their diminished social status might attract swindlers who would take advantage of that. Lawrence, aware of the power dynamics at play, wants to demonstrate his sincerity to Batos, so he appeals to him merchant-to-merchant. What truly tips the scales in his favor, though, is Batos' ability to read between the lines. He knows that Lawrence is talking about Holo when he speaks of “cargo” and his own relationship with Diana makes him sympathetic to the flustered man in front of him. Batos is a good guy.

Lawrence is similarly apologetic with Diana but her questions lead him down a more introspective path. To his credit, he realizes that his true adversary in this plot isn't Amati: it's Holo. Amati can't force Holo to take his hand in marriage, just like Lawrence can't force Holo to do anything. Holo makes her own decisions. Lawrence can only make his appeal and he figures the best way to do so is through his strengths as a merchant. This is dumb, naturally, but it does smack of the particular masculine bravado that Holo finds charming, so he's not a total lost cause. Lawrence also works up the courage to ask Diana directly about relationships between gods and mortals. This, too, is frankness that Holo would be amused by and Diana behaves like a bird of a feather in that regard. But she kindly affirms his question all the same. Like Batos, she sympathizes with this budding romance and she'd much rather help it bloom than take a pair of shears to it.

Lawrence finally lets off some steam over drinks with Marc. However, since Marc knows him the best out of anyone in this week's lineup, he lays into Lawrence the hardest. That's what friends are for. This is also where Spice & Wolf educates its audience further on the precarious nature of the pyrite bubble. But for my money, Marc's frankness is more important elsewhere in the conversation. Marc uses his colorful metaphors and blunt honesty to help Lawrence realize the truth: He is a wife guy. A wolf wife guy. While it's not like this was ever in doubt, it's an important step for Lawrence to admit so himself. He realizes what he should have said to her that evening.

Lawrence's last interaction is with Amati, who brazenly makes good on his end of the deal agreed to last week. I've done further research on this and Lawrence's plan here is known as naked short selling. Despite the lascivious name, it's about as fun to read up on as regular short selling. What makes it “naked” is that it's done without the short seller possessing the asset at the time of the original sale, i.e. Lawrence sold pyrite to Amati when he had zero. This is apparently a real thing that happens in the actual stock market (in case you need more proof that money is fake), although, as with regular short selling, it's regulated against. The main fictitious wrinkle in this case is that Amati knows Lawrence wants to shoot him. Most short sellers don't do it out in the open to woo their prospective wolf wife; they do it to make a lot of money. This, however, is why I enjoy Spice & Wolf despite never having taken a single economics class. I can tolerate learning about stocks if it's in service of juicy drama.

The one person Lawrence doesn't talk to is Holo. This is understandable, given the circumstances of their last chat. It's also a huge mistake. His concatenation of conversations this week led him to the conclusion that a relationship with Holo is worth pursuing. He should shove his way through that crowd and tell her posthaste. He should embarrass himself in front of Man, God, and The Market. She'd probably enjoy that. But he's still not quite there yet. Lawrence has a plan, and he's stubborn enough to stake their relationship on it.

I can't stress enough how much I enjoy revisiting this arc. My reappraisal of the first two volumes made their faults stand out more, and those faults in turn made the shortcomings of this adaptation feel more palpable. They were still good, but flawed. This pyrite plot, though, is peak Spice & Wolf. It leans harder into the economics and interpersonal conflicts. It foregoes action in favor of scheming and mind games. It gives both Holo and Lawrence more dramatic material to chew on. And the heavier conversational content fits the capabilities of this production much better. Let's hope it can stick to the landing next time.

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Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Twitter while it lasts. He still knows "The Wolf Whistling Song" by heart. You can also catch him chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.