The Ancient Magus’ Bride - Episodes 19-20 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlex Things have really started to heat up in The Ancient Magus’ Bride. With the most recent episodes so connected, I figured it would be best to combine them in one super review. Need to catch up? Check out my previous review here.With Cartaphilus now in possession of two young dragons (and as revealed in one of Chise’s dreams, currently in London), it’s a race against the clock to save them. Despite Elias’ objections, he and Chise team up with Renfred and his associates from the college - Adolf and Tory. Joined by Alice, the gang infiltrates the auction where Chise was bought and sold ala Ocean’s Eleven. With the intent to purchase the dragons at the auction, Chise finds their budget is increased from her profit of selling herself into slavery, adding a cool 2.5 million pounds to their total. As the auction begins, Chise hears the voice of a mysterious woman. Chise agrees to use the woman for assistance if the auction bid goes too high, but doesn’t mention what she will give the woman in return for her services.Before Chise can use the woman, the dragon suddenly transforms into a horrifying monster. The trauma of the experience combined with the procedure Cartaphilus performed has caused the dragon to become an atavism; to take on an ancestral form. The dragon also bears some resemblance to a chimera, and it wastes no time in showing the audience how upset it is with this predicament. Having such a strong connection with the younger dragon, Chise begins to feel its pain and fear, and begs Elias to help her help the dragon.With the others posing as a distraction, Chise and Elias make their way onto the dragon’s back. As the pair ready themselves to absorb the dragon’s energy, it suddenly takes off and singes Elias off of its back. It is suddenly up to Chise to help the dragon and stop its destruction on London. Chise takes off her magic-restricting bracelet, and begins to absorb the dragon’s energy. The shock of suddenly being weakened causes them both to fall into the Thames, rendering Chise unconscious.Chise wakes up later in bed and is surprised to see Shannon by her side. As she gains her bearings, she notices there is something wrong with her arm. Indeed, her arm is larger, scaly, and cursed. When Chise absorbed the dragon’s energy, she was imbued with the Dragon’s Curse, which will work very slowly and painfully at killing her. Trying to make light of the situation, Chise says that she at least has proof of her selflessness as the dragon is safe, which causes Elias to leave the room in anger. When Shannon mentions that Chise may have a life if she goes to the faerie world, Chise tells Shannon that she’ll consider it.What follows is a montage of Chise walking around and talking with people. We see Joel’s house is for sale and the Leanan sidhe appears to say goodbye to Chise. Back at home, Chise is surprised to see the mysterious woman from the auction speaking with Elias. The woman - Mariel - is a witch and was hoping to receive the agreed payment of dragon’s blood for her help at the auction. However, once she sees Chise’s arm, her attention shifts and she begins trying to heal it with a spell. Mariel tells them that she is a witch and if Chise joins her coven, she may be able to help her break the curse. Initially saying no, Elias breaks and agrees that he will do whatever he can to make sure Chise is safe.We finally have an intense plot and end game established! It will be incredibly interesting to see why Chise could see Cartaphilus in her dreams, and what connection the two share. Along with that, what is Cartaphilus planning for the other dragon? Will Chise and Elias be able to save Chise’s life? I’m hoping that all of these plot points are neatly wrapped up before the show ends.One way they won’t get wrapped up nicely is if this show continues to have montages. There is honestly no reason for it, as it provides nothing for the story and leaves me wondering what the heck is happening. If the writers don’t think it’s important for the show’s narrative to include, then they should just exclude it and make for a more concise story. I doubt they’ll do that, so we’ll just have to hope that the montages are done with.New episodes of The Ancient Magus’ Bride stream on Saturday’s on Crunchyroll and VRV platforms.