The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2

Episode 19

After cruising along on a tense but leisurely drive, The Ancient Magus' Bride has just pulled out onto the highway and started barreling down the interstate pulling triple digits. It would seem Philomela's transformation was the stopper holding back all that building pressure, and now that she's been consumed, the story is firing forward like a fire hose. It makes for a super compelling watch, but one that's a bit difficult to write about, considering just how much gets thrown at us all at once.

For one, there are some things that I just straight up don't understand how they happened. After weeks of slow and deliberate pacing, it's borderline disorienting to see so much stuff happen with almost no breathing room to ponder any of it. The vice-principal can turn into a bear! Cool! Morrigan is here! For reasons not yet understood! Bodies are piling up, eyes are being gouged out, and somehow there are five more episodes! It's an exhilarating drama. How we got from slow-burn mystery to a werewolf fighting a bear-man over the crumbling homunculus of a tortured sorceress in the span of a few minutes – and that's not even going into Chise turning into a dragon.

The big scene comes so suddenly and violently that my only solace is none of the other characters know what the hell is going on either. I appreciate just how unmoored the whole sequence leaves us, with nothing but Elias' conjecture and the Witches' terrified reaction as context. We've spent this whole season in the realm of Sorcerers, following magic made by and for humans, and defined by the order such origin requires. Now, we're back in the realm of wild magic, where being a Mage doesn't just mean playing with fire but mixing the flame into your soul and flesh to reshape the world with your own hands. That contrast, and the unpredictable nature of the fae realm, are what give this episode its impact. Chise can transform, and follow the scent of Philomela's soul. Then just as suddenly be confronted by a Celtic warrior-goddess demanding a Yule offering. The walls of the College have been torn down, and the chaotic old magic has come rushing back in.

The disparity between Mage and Sorcerer also leads to my favorite scene of the whole episode. The one character beat that perhaps goes by too quickly is Liza realizing Philomela is the magic-stealing assailant, and deciding it's better to let the girl she tried to protect destroy herself rather than risk the rest of the students. It's a move that makes sense, but the turn happens so fast that it takes a second to figure out why she's so adamant about not going after Philomela, or why she's so harsh with Chise about it. Thankfully, Elias' response is pitch-perfect, reminding his apprentice that while they've made friends with the College's residents, they are not bound by human rules or order. Liza's prioritizing of victims over a person willingly destroying herself is sensible, reasonable even. But sense and reason have never meant much to Mages.

It's an altogether wonderful moment that brings our core cast to the foreground in that classic anime way. We've got our band of misfits, our damsel who needs to be saved from herself, and plenty of lingering questions to pull us forward into the climax. What's Granny Sargant after? What did Chise do to earn interest from Morrigan, now of all times? What happened with Philomela's parents leaving their daughter in this state, clinging to a fractured memory and tearing her body apart just to see them again? We're finally on the cusp of some serious, concrete answers, and the journey there has certainly been worth the wait so far.

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The Ancient Magus' Bride is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.