Spice & Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf

Episode 24

There's not too much to talk about in the first half of this week's episode, which continues the gang's stealthy escape from Tereo. It's not like the pacing slows or anything, but it's dominated by A-to-B movement, so I don't find it especially compelling to dig into. Holo does make a good quip about the snake god Truyeo, as she sympathizes with another large animal thrust into divinity by the wants of humans. I don't remember the novel well enough to know if he shows his scaly face at the end or not, but so far, I like that his presence is implied rather than confirmed. Whether it's a pagan deity like Holo or the God of the Church, the truth of their existence is secondary to the act of worship. And personally, I'd rather worship Holo.

The plot doesn't pick up until they spot the caravan from Enberch marching their way to Tereo. This falls in line with their predictions that Enberch would forcibly return the “poisoned” wheat to Tereo, but the clergy carriage gives Evan and Elsa pause. While I praised Holo and Lawrence's candor in (more or less) telling the villagers to go screw themselves, Evan and Elsa's connection to Tereo is understandably more complex. They grew up there. They lived there. They might have had a strained relationship with the general populace, but it's still their home.

This is where the arc tips its hand to reveal the thematic parallels between Tereo and Yoitsu—and between Elsa and Holo. The conversation between the young priestess and the wolf goddess is probably the highlight of the episode. Much of their dialogue is unspoken, but they understand each other perfectly. Elsa, torn about what to do, turns to the closest thing to divinity in front of her. Holo, however, is quick to distance herself from either Truyeo or God. She cannot be the village's protector. She has other goals. Rather than fall into despair, however, Elsa steels herself to become Tereo's protector instead. It's not a job for gods. It's a job for people.

Lawrence provides similar guidance to a confused Evan, who realizes his feelings for Elsa are more valuable than anything else he has to gain by running away. I like how this inverts Holo and Lawrence's relationship with Diana and Batos, the main couple from the previous arc. This time, our heroes are the ones doing the guiding and mentoring. They really have grown up a lot, both as people and as a pair.

That's not to say all is rosy, because Holo does very nearly smoosh Lawrence into a paste under her big paw. While some of you are undoubtedly lamenting, “God, I wish that were me,” it's a tense moment in the context of the scene. Holo, in part, is wildness incarnate, and this story, thankfully, isn't about Lawrence taming her. She has anger and frustration, and that's extremely warranted in this case. Elsa has a chance to save her village, which is something Holo missed out on. Whether or not Holo could have defeated the moon-hunting bear is irrelevant. There's a part of her who would rather have fallen in glorious combat than lived far away, oblivious of her home's destruction. That valiant Holo, however, would have ended her days in the pages of Father Franz's books. She would not have met Lawrence and all of the other acquaintances from her travels. She knows this, too, and with Lawrence's help, she's able to calm herself.

Ultimately, their consciences drive Holo and Lawrence back to Tereo. While they may not have felt any loyalty to the town itself, they're certainly sympathetic to Elsa and Evan. Furthermore, in Holo's mind, I'm sure she perceives this as a meager quantity of atonement for leaving Yoitsu undefended. If she can protect Tereo, that will symbolically soothe some of her guilt. And narratively, their prior discussion of miracles set up this solution well. This has been a very nicely and tightly plotted conflict, and it exhibits a lot of growth over the first arc. It took a while to get here, but I'm glad we finally got to experience it in anime form. All that's left is the conclusion next week.

Rating:

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.