Re:Zero (Starting Life in Another World): Season 1/ Episode 17 “Disgrace in the Extreme” – Overview/ Review (with Spoilers)

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Recap

Imagine some of the worse things which could happen to Subaru, outside of him dying. Two of those things happen in this episode, and then something quite surprising happens.

Trigger Warning(s):
Blood

Major Characters

Rem | Emilia | Subaru

Main Plot (with Commentary)

Topic 1: The White Whale (Subaru & Rem)

From where we left off, it seems it is time for another rewind for Subaru. The White Whale, who is so large we don’t even get to see its full size, is chasing solely Subaru, Otto, and Rem. Many times, it even almost has Subaru in its mouth as he struggles to stay in the caravan. However, Rem decides she’d rather sacrifice herself than see her beloved hurt. So with a bump leading to an embrace, she gets an unspoken wish and decides to knock out Subaru so he won’t stop her from distracting the whale. Something that ends up being an act in vain for once Subaru reveals he is the reason this whale is chasing them, Otto kicks his ass off with the swiftness.

Jokes on him though for, so it seems, the Witch’s cult get to him and while we see no dead body, there is a drying pool of blood so you get the gist. Now, as for how Subaru magically gets away from that whale and the fog magically dissipates? Who knows. There are times when I honestly think either luck is on Subaru’s side, hence why he has gotten this far, or simply even the writer got tired of retracing their steps and coming up with new ways to get things done.

Topic 2: You All Have Forgotten Everything?! (Subaru & Emilia)

Though that doesn’t mean a monkey wrench or two can’t be written in. Said monkey wrench is everyone, even Otto I should note, wondering who the hell Rem is. Something so perplexing to Subaru for it isn’t like they don’t remember things she did, but their memories seem rewritten to make it so anything she did never hand her hand in it. That includes the handling of the mabeasts in the past.

As you can imagine, this bewilders Subaru, he punches Otto for it, and when Ram and Emilia say they don’t remember her, it seems he becomes broken. However, he doesn’t become broken as he did before where after seeing the village children killed in all he doesn’t speak. No, this broken is different. This broken has it where he stops caring about the pain of the unseen hands and decides, as Emilia refuses to budge when he says they have to leave, to attempt to tell her everything. Keyword is attempt. For as the hands are shown and we think they are about to grip his heart and squeeze, instead they pet it the way you would a domesticated animal. Then we see Emilia go unconscious, begin to bleed profusely, and then she is assumed dead.

Afterwards, in walks Beatrice who seems so indifferent to the whole situation. That is until Subaru asks her to kill him and she sends him away for she doesn’t want to suffer from the image of his dead corpse. Leading to the first time, I can recall, where Beatrice had any showing of emotion on her face.

Topic 3: The Unseen Hands (Subaru)

In the middle of the woods the witch’s cult appears and so does Betelgeuse. Someone we learn is the likely culprit when it comes to Emilia’s past murder, and maybe even the one before the mabeasts was discovered. He is surprised, if not enthralled, Subaru has this dead girl waiting and ready for him. However, he gets quite upset when he won’t let him have her. Though what really makes him mad is when he figures out he can see the unseen hands. Now, for those who have seen Elfen Lied, pretty much the situation is similar. Hands which cannot be seen, though have a dark glow, spring from Betelgeuse’s back and he can use them like regular appendages. The only difference is that by biting his fingers he can create more – which he does so he can hold down Subaru and rip apart Emilia.

But this doesn’t get to be done! Puck, or at least an entity who looks like Puck but speaks as Emilia’s mother, stops them from doing any harm to her body. Leading to the question of what was Puck really; what are Emilia’s parents, in terms of who are they and what they look like; and where can we go from here? Rem is gone, Emilia seemingly is dead, so are they gone forever or will another loop occur? Could this being possibly reverse the memory wipe? Much less, where the hell is Roswaal and does he have a hand in all this or not?

Review Summary

Highlights

Subaru survived another episode. Albeit barely, and he probably shouldn’t have, but with two significant deaths, he would, as of now, have to commit suicide to reverse, we come at a crossroad. Will he keep moving forward, in hopes magic can undo what has happened, or will he end his life to give Rem and Emilia’s a 2^nd chance?

As weird and crazy as Betelgeuse is, you must admit he is the type of villain you love to hate. One where, in short doses, you are entertained and in long doses, you just want to see tortured as much as he tortures others.

On The Fence

I’m a bit on the fence about this Rem thing. While it could lead to an interesting ultimatum for Subaru, it happening so suddenly, without why or reason, gives me pause.