Thunderbolt Fantasy

Episode 8

At the end of last episode, Shāng Bù Huàn decided that he was finally done with all this nonsense. Having suffered through two trials worth of outright bullying from his so-called compatriots, he's decided to strike out alone and try taking out Miè Tiān Hái solo. (Note that he doesn't just give up on the entire endeavor altogether. Your soft spot is showing, Hero Boy – although it always is.) Too bad for Hero Boy, Guǐ Niǎo still needs him, so he and Dān Fěi follow him.

Unfortunately, it doesn't go as well as the last time a girl ran around a puppet labyrinth to retrieve her stolen property from a sexy sorcerer. When Miè Tiān Hái opens the door, Dān Fěi jumps him immediately. She can't resist an opportunity to avenge her fallen family, even if it means losing her life futilely against a much stronger opponent. Miè Tiān Hái would've easily slaughtered her, had Guǐ Niǎo not used his vape magic to disguise Shāng Bù Huàn as the evil swordsman. Dān Fěi gets an awesome fight scene against a suspiciously reticent opponent, Shāng Bù Huàn gets dunked on again, and Guǐ Niǎo gets to watch all the fun. All is right with the world.

And then Guǐ Niǎo betrays them to Miè Tiān Hái. Surprise! It turns out that I was way off with my “he's Seven Sins Tower's original owner” bet. The twist here is that Vape Wizard is not a wizard class at all, but a thief class opponent! (His elemental affinity is still vaping, though.) His real name is Lǐn Xuě Yā (who would have known), and he is in fact a legendary stuff-taker known for annoying people all across the land. This time, he's out for the Heaven's Retribution Sword, intending to steal it from the other guy who's trying to steal it. So the powerful Miè Tiān Hái takes out the sword's entrenched defenses, only for Lǐn Xuě Yā to swipe it while it's changing hands at its most vulnerable. That's pretty clever. Of course, this means that he's absolutely never been on Dān Fěi's side. Lǐn Xuě Yā delivered her to Miè Tiān Hái in order to ingratiate him.

Or at least that's what the party works out in light of his recent behavior. Shāng Bù Huàn and Dān Fěi are carted off to The Dungeons, which happen to be giant cages on the roof where the Demon Birds hang out. Dān Fěi has a breakdown where she acknowledges that her attempt at revenge was futile and selfish, but that she felt compelled to do it anyway out of the desire to punish herself for the loss of the Heaven's Retribution Sword. That's when the rest of our merry band shows up. Upon realizing that they'd been abandoned, they decided to make it through the intended way by using the GPS flute. They're all shocked that Shāng Bù Huàn is really so ignorant, having no idea that Guǐ Niǎo was the legendary Annoying Thief. (Apparently their bullying was an attempt to learn more about his skills. That makes a lot of sense and redeems Archer's horrible showing against the Rock Monster. They discern that Shāng Bù Huàn has freaky super strength but doesn't quite know how to use it. Curiouser and curiouser.) Together once again, they resolve to put a stop to Miè Tiān Hái and Lǐn Xuě Yā's nonsense.

Lǐn Xuě Yā truly will not stop until there isn't a single person in the world who he hasn't annoyed. But while our party has pretty definitively decided that he's a traitor, I suspect that it won't be so cut and dry. Lǐn Xuě Yā doesn't feel like the real big bad. At the very least, he has something else up his sleeve. He brought Shāng Bù Huàn along for some reason that is not yet apparent. There's also all that lore about the two countries cut off by the demon war. It'd be a waste not to use that. Plus, if all Lǐn Xuě Yā wanted to do was hand over Dān Fěi in preparation for a double cross, he probably would've taken the demon birds from the beginning. What was with all the effort to go through the back door with so many other party members?

The Guǐ Niǎo identity shoe has dropped in preparation for Thunderbolt Fantasy entering its climactic third act. The show is as strong as its ever been, unparalleled in its sheer watchability – hilarious, exciting, and smartly written. I liked seeing Dān Fěi get her own badass fight scene, even if it was instantly invalidated. I look forward to seeing what happens when the narrative no longer has anything to conceal, and they don't have to worry about conserving puppets for the next fight scene. I hope they blow one up. I can't believe that this show is already more than halfway over. I'll miss you, Thunderbolt Fantasy.

Grade: B+

Thunderbolt Fantasy is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Gabriella Ekens studies film and literature at a US university. Follow her on twitter.