Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation: Season 1/ Episode 22 “Dreams and Reality” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

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In what is partly a recap episode, the completely unexpected happens left and right as Rudy and Eris finally make it home.

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Aired	12/12/2021
Network	Hulu
Directed By	Kai Hasako
Written By	Atsushi Takayama
Introduced This Episode
Alphonse	Nobuo Tobita

Recap

The First Goodbye – Ruijerd, Eris, Rudy

With coming upon Rudy’s former village, a desolate wasteland befitting of a horror movie, Ruijerd feels like he accomplished what he said he would. He got the kids home, and with that, he plans to take his leave.

This, as you can imagine, isn’t what Eris or Rudy want to hear, but thanks to Rudy, Ruijerd has made gains in healing the reputation of his people, and he has more work to do. And while, yes, he could follow Rudy to the ends of the planet, it seems Ruijerd realizes these two, though not even 16, are coming to the point where they don’t need him anymore. So, with that in mind, he lets them grow by letting them go so that he doesn’t stifle them.

The Silver Lining – Ghislaine, Rudy, Eris, Alphonse

While losing Ruijerd is devastating, Rudy and Eris are reunited with Ghislaine, who doesn’t look much different from before. But before they can talk about visiting Ghislaine’s village, where she has been, or where they have been, the immediate question is what happened in Fittoa and to Eris’ people.

The answer? Everyone is dead. More specifically, Eris’ mom and dad died after the teleportation took them somewhere and Eris’ grandfather, as we saw, was executed and blamed for the whole event. But, to make matters worse, Alphonse, the representative of what remains of the family, notes that Lord Pilemon Notos Greyrat, who I believe is Rudy’s uncle, wants to take Eris as his concubine.

What is Eris’ reaction to all this? Mainly silence. Rudy is the one flipping out, alongside Ghislaine, but since Eris has seemingly long come to accept the possibility of everything she is being told, she just asks for a minute to herself. After all, it is one thing to think of the worse but hope for the best and another to have every bad thing you thought of confirmed.

But, after all is said and done, that night, Eris visits Rudy to talk about what’s next, in minor detail. Mainly, her focus is on what’s next for her and Rudy, including sex. Though the agreement was when Rudy turned 15, Eris beat him to the punch and aks this of him, seemingly to feel close to someone.

At first, Rudy thinks this isn’t a good idea since, while a perv, he isn’t exploitative, and he knows Eris is dealing with the trauma of losing her family. Yet, she seems to be very much aware of what she is doing and what she wants, and with Rudy having an erection and being given consent, they have sex.

The Silver Lining Was Lightning, Not A Glimpse At The Sun – Rudy, Alphonse

Thus, the following day, Rudy was happier than we have ever seen him! Well, at least until he sees Eris’ hair on the floor and a letter to Rudy noting they are not well matched. Pair this with Alphonse saying Eris and Ghislaine went off somewhere, and Alphonse was explicitly told not to tell Rudy where. This makes it so that while Eris was talking about having no one and presenting feelings of abandonment, she seemingly dumped those feelings onto Rudy. Who, yes, knows his father and younger sisters are alive, but how could they compare to the two people he spent the most tumultuous years of his life with? Never mind the first person modern-day, or past Rudy, had sex with?

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Where was Ghislaine all this time? Is she the one updating the survivor and dead list?
2. Granted, Rudy was propositioned with sex, so that clouded his thoughts but, wouldn’t Eris noting how she has no family be a good time to reveal he is her cousin? Even if once or twice removed?
3. Okay, it was a bit of an assumption on our part to say Eris was Rudy’s first both in this and the past life but, did they ever mention Rudy doing anything with anyone in the past?

What Could Happen Next

1. Rudy will likely focus on finding Sylphie and his mom.

Review

Highlights

It Moved Things Forward While Reminding Us How Far We Came

From what it appears, this is the penultimate episode of the season, and who knows whether it will be for the series? So to cover everything since the first turning point, while making it clear we are closing a major chapter in Rudy’s life, it stirs up your emotions a bit. I’d even submit, I wish more anime would do their recap episodes like this, rather than making them feel like filler.

For with Ruijerd leaving, Eris, and Ghislaine, before there could even be a real reunion, that was a lot. Add in Rudy’s first time and him being on his own for the first time ever and, it’s hard to not get overwhelmed by emotion. Especially since you can see Rudy already getting affected by the idea of being alone, through us seeing the old him feeling like everyone he knows and loves leaving him behind. So I must admit that I’m wondering what’s next for him, all things considered? Because, why a guilt member, he doesn’t have a group anymore.

Clues About Where We Are Going Next

With Sylphie alive and no word on Zenith’s whereabouts, we’ll have one of two things. Either Rudy will seek to reunite with his father, or Rudy will seek the girl who was the first love of his life. Someone who, even in his dreams or nightmares rather, he can’t imagine how she looks. Yet, with Rudy likely in a mindset where he needs something, or rather someone familiar and with whom he had a foundation of friendship, I think he’ll likely seek out Sylphie than his mom. If only due to him hoping, if not outright relying, on his dad to handle that task.

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