Re:Zero Episode 25: That's All This Story Is About (Review)
By: TheJewphin
***SPOILERS AHEAD***
The season (possibly series?) finale of Re:Zero did a great job of bringing closure to the current story lines with a heartwarming scene between Subaru and Emilia at the end that almost makes the bad times worth it. As of the publishing of this article, a season 3 for Re:Zero has not been announced, so it is quite possible the show will end here. If so, this was at least a satisfying way for Re:Zero to finish.Episode 25 begins with the battle between Julius and Betelgeuse. Given Julius' obvious superiority in the fight, it is a little surprising that the fight goes on for as long as it does. Wilhelm cut down Betelgeuse in half a second and he didn't have the advantage of being able to see all of Betelgeuse's magic.I was actually a little disappointed in the final fight, to be honest. They had already established that Betelgeuse was a pretty poor fighter aside from his magical tentacle arms and that Julius was one of the best fighters around. Yet Betelgeuse pulls out a power that allows him to control the earth to make himself a shield which Subaru immediately takes care of using some sort of fairy bomb. The show does not explain where either of these abilities came from and neither of them actually adds anything to the fight.
With Betelgeuse defeated, everyone is left wondering what trick Subaru will use to keep Betelgeuse out of his head. He had already explained to Julius and friends that Betelgeuse was able to use him as a meat puppet, so it only makes sense that somehow they would have worked out a solution together.That solution was... underwhelming. When Betelgeuse attempts to take over, Subaru screams out that he can Return from Death, thereby summoning the Witch to kick Betelgeuse out of his head. This leads to so many questions. Why did Subaru think the Witch would evict his tenant? How did he explain this plan to his friends without the Witch stopping him? With all of Subaru's other ingenious strategies, it was odd that the final strategy would have such a low likelihood of working (regardless of the fact that it works).
With Betelgeuse dead, the show quickly transitions to a new problem. One of the cultists left the equivalent of a bomb on Emilia's carriage and Subaru is the only one who can get there in time to stop it! He gets the help of one of the merchants (the one who left him to die with the white whale a few episodes back) and they race off to save Emilia. The merchant fortunately has a power which allows him to speak to all of nature to find the best route - at this point I am done asking why. Betelgeuse's body awakens and chases down the carriage, fueled by pure rage and the remnants of the Witch's power. This gives Subaru the chance to have a final confrontation with Betelgeuse which he ends by writing Betelgeuse's death into his gospel. That was a much more satisfying ending to Betelgeuse.
The ending of the Re:Zero is filled with sweet moments. Subaru shows jumps onto Emilia's carriage, grabs the bomb, and runs off (and there I sit, hoping the bomb would go off while he was running. Yes, he would have to go through the entire fight all over again, but it would have been really funny to watch him explode as he runs off into the sunset).He drops the bomb off at the base of the tree and survives the blast. He awakens in Emilia's lap and the two have a heartfelt conversation. Subaru expresses his love for Emilia and apologizes for the terrible things he's done. Emilia cries in happiness. Somewhere off in the distance, Rem cries bittersweet tears (not shown in the show). And with that, the show ends.
Re:Zero as a show had a lot of ups and downs, but the ending was satisfying and the majority of the show was enjoyable. Tune in next week as I review the entire season (or two seasons, technically) and leave your thoughts on the season in the comments below. What did you like about this show? What bothered you? I promise, I will only steal some of your ideas.
