You’d think a giant dinosaur-looking creature would pose a lot of trouble for our heroes but the fight with The One Who Stops the Water ends at around the 4:30 minute mark (and that’s counting the OP). To be fair, the team employs some really good tactics to fight the beast, with Goblin Slayer knocking it down by trapping its legs with some rope. Admittedly, it’s really funny how Goblin Slayer just throws the rope and it just conveniently takes shape and wraps around the right places in an instant but whatever. I also like that Cow Girl and Guild Girl throw the rope over to Goblin Slayer. It’s a small contribution but it’s nice to see those two more involved in a fight beyond hiding in some corner.
Being a show titled GOBLIN SLAYER, it naturally ties The One Who Stops the Water’s rampage to the goblins. It’s to be the expected given the premise of the show, though I do wonder how exactly the goblins managed to control such a giant and sacred beast. Also, that goblin riding on top of it like it’s one of its pet wolves is way too funny.
After the fight, Forest Princess once again talks to High Elf Archer and relents that her younger sister will just do as she pleases, instead requesting that she come home more often. It’s a decent scene though I wish the drama lasted a little bit longer and was tied more to the action and adventure. Also, it’s kind of weird to have the sisters speak in this show’s version of Elvish when they didn’t do that last episode and they then drop it partway through this scene anyway.
Parallel to that, we see Goblin Slayer, Dwarf Shaman, Lizard Priest, and Elder Brother discuss the next course of action while also having an impromptu bachelor party for Elder Brother. An interesting combination. I particularly like the part where Goblin Slayer confides with the other guys that he blames himself for his sister’s death, wondering if she’d still alive if he didn’t exist in her life. The others then assure him that he was not a burden to his sister and that there’s no guarantee if his sister’s life would play out different if he didn’t exist and she lived somewhere else. It’s a surprising moment for this conference/party but otherwise, it’s a good examination of Goblin Slayer’s survivor’s guilt and his comradery with some of the other characters.
We then get a brief interlude set in Water Town, with Sword Maiden deciphering the tablet. She concludes that it may actually be of use for Goblin Slayer so she asks one of her nuns to retrieve some pen and paper. I chuckled pretty hard when the nun asks Sword Maiden if she’s writing another love letter. I guess the whole temple is aware of her crush on Goblin Slayer.
So seeing as there are still goblins lurking around, Goblin Slayer’s party heads out to slay them all, with the aim of returning before the day of the wedding. Elder Brother informs them that there’ll be a fog settling in as they sail upriver though that proves to be advantageous for them as they use it to execute a sneak attack on the goblins patrolling the riverbanks in a fun little action scene. The gang eventually finds their way to an elven fortress occupied by the goblins.
The ensuing raid is the most graphic the show has been in some time. The fortress is filled with the rotting and often mutilated bodies of dead elves and we learn that the goblins are using their feces and blood to poison the village’s water supply. The most obscene implications are obscured by the lighting and the framing but there’s enough for this scene to come across as disturbing as intended. Out of the five adventurers, Priestess is the most troubled by the atrocities, to the point that she’s barely able to get some rest when the team takes a break. That makes me wonder how she’ll fare in the remainder of the adventure.
Ending the episode is a very nice heart to heart between Goblin Slayer and High Elf Archer. Honestly, it’s about time the show give us something along these lines. Goblin Slayer has had plenty of one on one moments with Priestess and Cow Girl but he hasn’t really had one with High Elf Archer. It’d also be a crime to not having a scene such as this when this arc takes place in High Elf Archer’s home. Thank goodness the show delivers in these regards. Goblin Slayer apologizes that this trip to Elven town is yet another goblin killing spree and he admits that he doesn’t know how to have a proper, fun adventure. High Elf Archer accepts the apology as she wouldn’t want any goblins terrorizing her home anyway. She also tells Goblin Slayer that despite all of her complaining, she doesn’t regret adventuring with him.
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