The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt

Episode 4

This episode is a quickly flowing stream of political posturing and one-upmanship, and while it was entertaining throughout, I'll be the first to admit it was a bit hard to follow at times given all the moving parts. So, let's break it down a bit.

After all the smoke and mirrors surrounding Lowa's motivations in the last episode, this week promptly lays out exactly what is going on and what Lowa is hoping to achieve. The Empire she belongs to is a young one—little more than a generation removed from when most of the provinces it's made up of were still independent countries. Simply put, the longer the three princes are at civil war, the weaker they become and the more likely it is for a rebellion to rise and split the empire back into what it was before unification. And as rival countries on the western side of the continent know this, they are more than willing to secretly supply the tools of war to all three princes to keep them in a stalemate.

Lowa, with her own eyes on the imperial throne, obviously wants to avoid the destruction of the empire. Her plan is to prematurely spark a rebellion in a single province before any kind of country-wide rebellion could occur. This would allow her to A) show her brothers the danger of their ongoing conflict, B) build political clout for herself by putting down said rebellion, and C) show the world that Natra is her ally and hers alone. It's a solid plan. And better yet, it both fits all the clues from last episode and makes her seem like someone on Wein's level intellectually (unlike the other foes he has faced so far).

What's interesting about this whole geopolitical situation is that a general rebellion within the empire isn't really all that bad for Wein as the leader of his nation. His country would be far more stable without the Empire eyeing his border. However, without the Empire as a general looming threat, the nations on the west side of the continent would grow in influence. And should this happen, prejudice against Flahms like Ninym would likely grow as a result. Thus, Wein truly wants Lowa to succeed in her plan—he just doesn't want to be caught up in it.

But as Wein and Lowa play their big game of 4D chess—trying to outthink each other and making grandiose speeches to their aides in private—they forget one vital thing: it's hard to predict the actions of irrational actors. Gerard Antgatal is, quite simply, an entitled, self-important idiot. And while both Wein and Lowa eagerly use him as a pawn in their game, neither realize exactly what they are in for.

I have to admit, I lost it watching Gerard drunkenly lumber through a window and off a rampart to his death. On one level, it's cathartic to see such a pompous ass meet his end in such an ignoble way. But what's really hilarious is seeing both Wein and Lowa's schemes fall apart so completely right before their very eyes. After all, despite the room full of witnesses, no one in the Empire is going to believe that Wein didn't just assassinate the heir to an imperial province.

In the end, both Wein and Lowa achieved the opposite of what they wanted. Natra is a war and, rather than Gairan rebelling, it seems like their invasion is completely justified in the wake of a blatant assassination. Worse yet, it's a war that Natra can't help but lose as they are outnumbered by a factor of eight. Of course, this is the perfect situation to bring Lowa and Wein to the same side and use their combined intellect to its fullest. It should be a ton of fun watching next week as they attempt to reframe the narrative and prove that Marquis Antgatal was planning for rebellion all along.

Rating:

Random Thoughts:

• The big issue when it comes to understanding the twists and turns in this episode is a geographical one. Sometimes, “The West” appears to refer to “the recently conquered western half of the empire.” However, other times it means “the nations on the western half of the continent.” I had to watch the opening scene twice to make sure I understood what was going on.

• I think this is the first time we've seen such blatant PDA out of Ninym. While she agrees she can't be his wife, that doesn't mean there isn't some sort of physical relationship going on.

• Wein really sucks at trying to lose, doesn't he?

• I'm guessing it's princess Falanya's white-haired aide that we see pretending to be Gerard's exhausted squire. That would explain why Gerard's nobles weren't released. While they could tell the truth of what happened, they would also know that he is a spy.

The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt is currently streaming on Funimation.

Richard is an anime and video game journalist with over a decade of experience living and working in Japan. For more of his writings, check out his Twitter and blog.