Shuumatsu no Izetta – 07

Yuri bait intensifies.

The majority of this episode consists of an extended action piece, but there is definitely a handful of juicy plot points that deserve close examination.

It’s A Trap!

Magical dead zones.

To quickly summarize the meat of the episode, Finé proposes that Izetta destroy a newly constructed Germanian carrier as a show of power and goodwill to convince the allies to lend their military aid in defeating the Germanian empire. As it turns out, the whole situation was a trap set by Berkman, who has an informant. The crafty guy is using the threat of the carrier as bait to draw out the titular witch in hopes of confirming his suspicions about her powers. And unfortunately for the good guys, things pretty much go according to his plan. Izetta shows up with torpedoes in tow. But the Germanian forces stationed on the carrier, led by Captain Bassler and his new fighter plane, put up a good fight, almost driving Izetta into a corner as she cannot outmaneuver Bassler’s new toy and protect the torpedoes from being shot down during the ambush. To further complicate things, she encounters magical “dead zones” during the aerial combat, which cause her to momentarily plummet into the water. Izetta’s sporadic movement when she encounters these dead zones provide Berkman with the solid evidence that he has been looking for, and after observing the battle from afar, he is able to conclude that the witch’s power is in fact limited geographically. All that remains is to determine where she can and cannot use her powers. And thanks to his informants in Eylstadt, Berkman also knows that his best lead in this regard is to investigate the secret of the White Witch that is hidden away in the old Eylstadt Castle.

The carrier is sunk.

If I had to complain about something, I’d say that it seems a bit too convenient for Berkman to know exactly where to look to uncover the secret of the White Witch. But I suppose this can be excused due to time constraints and isn’t completely unreasonable given the guy’s intelligence network. Now that we’re closing in on the final third of the season, the segment of discovering Izetta’s weakness should come to a close and the matter of facing her boldly in combat, armed with this knowledge, should begin. That said, there could still be some hoops for the story to jump through. Berkman’s right hand man has personally volunteered for the mission of uncovering the secret of the White Witch, no doubt because he wants to prove his self-worth as has been previously alluded to. And the next episode preview hints that he might have a change of heart upon infiltrating Eylstadt and learning about its people and its magical protector(s). Or that could be a red herring entirely, as previews are wont to do. Personally, I don’t think there will be any change in allegience, but I do think it’s possible that learning the White Witch’s supposedly sad history with the people of Eylstadt will cause Berkman’s right hand man to question his boss when Germania’s own magical meddlings are revealed later on.

Another Witch?

The workshop’s secret.

Which brings us to the elephant in the room. It’s only shown for a moment and not elaborated upon, but we do catch a glimpse of what Berkman saw in the workshop last week. And it looks like… a witch? To be precise, we see the silhouette of a girl within a magical containment chamber much like the one Izetta was being transported in during the series premiere. So right off the bat, we’re led to believe that Germania has captured another witch at some point. Since we’re told that Izetta is supposed to be the last witch, and there’s no reason for us to believe otherwise at the moment, this would suggest to me that this witch was captured before Izetta’s time. Which would explain why Otto, the Germanian emperor, was not skeptical upon hearing about titular witch; he already has one of his own in his grasp. The identity of this potential witch is not revealed, and speculation on this matter could go in any direction given the lack of information. But at the moment, two possibilities are most likely. Either the identity of the witch is irrelevant, and she is merely to become a weapon when the time is right. Or she could somehow be the original White Witch. In which case, I am inclined to believe that she has long since passed away and her remains are being preserved in the chamber so that Germania can study them to develop magical weapons.

Friendly neighborhood witch.

Whatever the case, this revelation means that the direction of the plot could change dramatically. Rather than Berkman directing Germania’s military against Izetta, the conflict may take a completely magical turn, with Germania introducing its own magical weapons or its own witch. This makes Berkman’s investigations twice as significant, as he would be not only figuring out the weakness of the empire’s enemy, but also determining the limits of Germania’s own magical weapons for the time when they can be deployed against Eylstadt and the allies in general. With the greatest military power of its time bolstered by the addition of magic, Germania could become an unstoppable force. The biggest problem with this development though, is that it would undermine one of the core establishments of the show; that being Izetta’s unique role as the last witch. It’s even in the title, after all. Suddenly introducing another witch on Germania’s side, or some kind of Germanian magical weapon derived from the study of another witch’s body would completely overturn this establishment. And as much of a pleasant surprise as it would be, I have my doubts that the show would travel down this path. A much more conservative estimate would be that the chamber merely preserves the remains of another witch, and that these remains serve only as proof to Otto that witches do exist. This would give him his conviction that witches and magic exist while not violating the idea that Izetta is special in being the one and only witch remaining, and in extension, the only person left who can use magic.

So what do you make of this latest development? Who do you think the mystery witch is, and what purpose might she serve in the future? There’s really too much in the air right now to draw any solid conclusions, but this kind of speculation is the most fun. I’m interested to hear different theories about what is going on and what will happen, so definitely leave a comment if you have your own ideas.

Finé is fine.

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