Reel Tastes & Travels – a light dose of entertainment to wake you up

What a finale! Over-blotted Riddle is truly terrifying – utterly insane and ready to murder everyone at the drop of a hat, combined with enough raw magical power to actually do so. And at first then situation looks completely hopeless. If noone could match Riddle on a normal day, how could they hope to defeat him in his overpowered mode?

Luckily our quartet have some experience dealing with overpowered adversaries and go into team battle mode to face him. Yu had faded into the background a bit the last couple of episodes, but his quiet strength and leadership come to the forefront here as he leads the charge on Riddle. Even Trey and Cater join in to provide cover, and the 6-1 odds just about manage to hold Riddle’s attacks at bay. 

More importantly, his failure to instantly obliterate them and their steadfast refusal to serve him allow a seed of self-doubt to snake its way through Riddle’s facade. After all, if he is as right as he is convinced he is, why is he not able to get his way and why can’t anyone else understand his point of view! Yu recognizes that this moment of internal conflict is the perfect opportunity to strike. And with the others help, and his own martial abilities, he takes down Riddle’s monster and saves the day! 

As I had predicted though, it is Trey who actually saves Riddle. This sequence is so beautifully animated showing Riddle’s inner desire for a normal childhood while desperately clinging to the belief that ‘Mother knows best’. And now that Riddle finally questions that, the floor is yanked out from under him and he is literally crushed by her expectations, heart wrenchingly calling out for her to come help him. Instead it is Trey whom he hears and who brings him back to sanity. The locked door is an apt metaphor since Riddle has figuratively locked himself behind his fanatical devotion to the rules. He’s unable to get out on his own but Trey’s hand reaching through the keyhole gives him the support he needs to break free. 

Of course, after all this mayhem, Ace is not going to let him off easy and makes sure to tell him exactly what terror he unleashed. Which may seem a bit harsh, but part of the reason things got to this point was noone was willing to be honest with him. So having someone in his circle who’s unafraid to call him out is not the worst thing. 

So, all’s well that ends well as we see everyone enjoy the do-over of the unbirthday party. Riddle is trying his best to find a better balance, Trey is at peace now that he finally feels he is helping his friend, and our quartet is simply enjoying some well-deserved downtime. It looks like next season is going to center around Savanaclaw and the interdorm Spelldrive tournament. This season had to do a lot of the heavy lifting with regards to character back stories and world building so hopefully next season will be better paced. Looking forward to it!

Stray Musings

• There goes my theory that the Headmage doesn’t have magic. Though for someone in a position of authority he doesn’t seem to be too strong in it. Still, he had his brief moments of usefulness when he defended against Riddle’s initial attacks.
• Not quite sure how Chenya (Trey and Riddle’s friend from a rival academy) fits in, apart from the clear Cheshire cat inspiration from Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps he’ll play a bigger role next season