Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation: Season 2 Episode 22 – Review/ Recap

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 Plot Recap

A Manatite Hydra – Rudy, Roxy, Elinalise, Geese, Paul, Talhand

So, what was on the final level? A Hydra. To be more specific, it was a rare Manatite Hydra with scales that absorbed mana, which made the initial encounter with it a failure. Mind you, was Zenith spotted? Yes. However, while Paul and Elinalise can do physical damage, Paul even cuts off heads, the heads would regrow. Add in the majority of the party, from Geese, Rudy, Roxy, and Talhand aren’t close combat fighters, and it seemed like this would be a case of getting so close yet being so far.

By Any Means Necessary – Rudy, Roxy, Elinalise, Geese, Paul, Talhand

Naturally, giving up isn’t an option. However, while Geese and Roxy may know something about Hydras, how to kill one, especially one that heals quickly and absorbs mana? That is something they haven’t read or experienced.

Luckily, Rudy remembers the Hercules myth and figures that the Hydra cannot recover its head if you burn the wound. With nothing else to go by or means to defeat the Hydra, it is agreed the strategy will be Paul cutting off the head, and between Rudy and Roxy, they’ll burn the wound. The idea of finally rescuing his wife makes Paul emotional, and he finds himself once again apologizing to Rudy for the father he was. But, in the end, he compensates for it immensely.

How? Well, as you can imagine, the Hydra doesn’t take well to the idea of its heads being cut off and unable to regenerate. It even rips off one of its necks to get beyond where the scarring occurred. This means being extra aggressive for Paul and Elinalise, it means Rudy, Roxy, and Talhand having to be too close for comfort.

As for what Geese does? It seems he mainly helps in escaping, but there is no going back, and with being close to the Hydra, him throwing smoke bombs won’t counteract the Hydra blowing fire or trying to rip everyone in half. But, in the end, the Hydra is defeated.

This isn’t without sacrifice, however. While Rudy is strong enough to protect everyone from the then three-headed Hydra blasting fire, his standing around, not using that foresight eye as he did for most of the battle, cost him his arm. As for Paul? In rescuing Rudy, more than once, that cost him his life.

What Or Who Did We Rescue? – Zenith, Rudy, Lilia

Rudy may have had a tumultuous relationship with Paul, but he had something. Zenith, as is noted, Rudy hasn’t seen in 10 years, since he was 7, so while he mourns his father, rescuing his mom doesn’t balance things out. Yes, he may have fed from her, and she might have been the first people proud of his magical abilities. She even advocated for him to get Roxy, but she is almost a stranger.

Thankfully, Lilia is gentle with him, since he lost not only a father but also his left hand and part of his forearm. However, what makes the moment go from bad to worse is, after four days asleep, Zenith awakens, and with the way she acts and talks, it is unclear if she, at best, has suffered memory loss or, at worst, brain damage.

Additional Information

1. Previous Episode: Season 2/ Episode 21
2. Series Page: Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
3. Character Guide:

Cast and Characters

Review

Season Review Trajectory: Positive (Watch This) – Recommended

While Rudy makes an unfathomable sacrifice, it does push the show to new emotional heights and reminds us that, to make battle scenes meaningful, you have to remind the audience of what can be lost if anything goes wrong.

Highlights

Paul’s Sacrifice

What an episode to premiere on Father’s Day, right? Paul and Rudy, probably in the best place they’ve been since he was a toddler, are about to reunite their family, and Paul is torn in half. Then, to make matters worse, he was torn in half not because he was overzealous in saving his wife but to save Rudy, who was idle as if he wasn’t aware of imminent danger.

You can see this as a fitting end to Paul’s story in many ways. He was always painted to be a hero, but we mostly got some kind of villain. Paul cheated on his wife with the maid, kicked Rudy out of the house, and forced him into the hands of his mad cousin, and for years, was estranged. Then, upon reuniting, things were still rough, and while, behind the scenes, Paul may have admitted he wasn’t the best dad and tried to make up for it with Rudy’s little sisters, it wasn’t until they met again, face to face, that it seems the healing that began in letters, was near completion.

So, to cut Rudy off at the point where he could have not only healed his relationship with his dad but built off of it, seen him as a grandfather, and get beyond the experiences he had in his past life, that was one of the many reasons we shed a tear. Especially since, if I recall correctly, Rudy didn’t have as much of a connection, good or bad, with his original parents, so this might be a new feeling for him.

What’s Wrong With Zenith?

With Paul gone, all eyes are on Zenith. What has she gone through, what happened, and the pertinent question right now: What’s wrong with her? Lilia looked scared. Rudy gave his classic terrified face, but no details were given.

Is it that she has suffered brain damage from being left in a state of stasis for years? Was the Hydra feeding off of her in some way? Hence, her being asleep for multiple days before awakening and babbling like a baby?

We only have two episodes left, so hopefully, we’ll get answers and maybe see Zenith on the path to recovery.

What’s To Come Next

There is so much to cover, and so much that could be left on a cliffhanger in the final episodes of the season. The lightest topic would be Roxy learning Rudy has a wife and kid on the way, but the heavier stuff would be how and when Zenith’s memories return and how Rudy’s little sisters react to losing their dad.

Not to forget, Man-God is surely overdue to say “I Told You So” whenever he appears again, and there is also the last big question: What’s next for Rudy? Zenith has been living in the background for a while, and her rescue means the teleportation event arc is just about done. Does this mean we’ll finally see what happened after Lord Sauros was assassinated, or will Ariel call in that favor and have Rudy join her to take back Asura? Heck, will we get an update on Ghislaine?

Come to think of it, if Rudy did join Ariel’s campaign, the only clear major arc there could be beyond Rudy being someone’s father, could his foray into politics lead to Eris popping up? Add in Nanahoshi’s desire to get home, and that meaning Orsted making an appearance, paired with the Superd book Rudy wants to work on; while it is clear what season 3 may hold, there is a good amount of reasons to wonder how season 2 will end.

General Information