Re: Zero Season 3 Episode 6 Review

Last week on Re: Zero, the show’s third season continued its streak of being one of the darkest, most gruesome anime series of the Fall 2024 season, and perhaps even the year. The show seems to have thrust our protagonists into their darkest days, and considering the past experiences that these characters have gone through, that’s really saying something.

After being left short of one limb, floating down a chaos-made river last week, Subaru returned to our screens for Episode 6 of Re: Zero Season 3, and today, we’re talking all about this week’s instalment, but spoilers ahead, so be sure to check out the episode before reading on! Let’s get into the review for Re: Zero Season 3 Episode 6, ‘Conditions of the Knight’!

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The Review

Image by White Fox

The episode kicks off with Subaru awakening from his incapacitation at the hands of Capella last week, after our hero was left broken, bruised, and missing a leg. I, like many others, wondered how exactly Subaru would bounce back from this injury, given that any time he had faced a gruesome mutilation like this before, he would die and restart from prior to the injury. Well it turns out that his leg is back, but it was no miracle. Instead, it is determined that his leg regrew thanks to dragon blood, which Capella poured over his leg. I do wonder why she did this – maybe she wants Subaru around for some friendly competition? Either way, our protagonist’s stint without his leg is over as quickly as it began, and we’re back in business.

He awakens to the company of Priscilla, who is a character I’ve been waiting to see more from since she was first introduced to the series. After her introduction as just one member of the Royal Selection, Priscilla stood out from the crowd she was introduced amongst as one of its most intriguing candidates. So far, from her actions in this week’s episode, I’m a big fan of the character. To say I was not expecting her to pull out that giant sword and cut down the creatures surrounding them is an understatement.

Honestly, based on this episode, I’m starting to feel like Priscilla may actually be the best candidate to be selected for monarch, which is certainly not the vibe we got from the character back in the first season. In how it improved on this character’s reputation, this scene was great for this episode. However, this sequence did also have some negative effects on the episode’s score overall. There were a few corners cut here in terms of animation. At the end of the day, the animation thus far in this season has been great, and considering most of this week’s episode was fairly light on the action, I’m not surprised these corners were cut. Still, considering the standard has been so high so far, this took me out of the moment a little bit.

Image by White Fox

What also took me out of the flow of this week’s episode was Liliana and her multiple songs. I get it, the character is musically-inclined. Still though, her songs ended up feeling like padding for the episode’s runtime, as she explained in song situations that could have been run through in one line of dialogue from another character. We find out that her songs do have tactical relevance however, as she uses them to draw civilians out of Wrath’s trance. Still, let’s leave Liliana to do her work offscreen in the future, hopefully.

We then cut back to Regulus and his many wives, of which Emilia is next in line to become. I have so many questions about this whole set-up, I can only hope that they all end up being answered by the time this arc is over and done with. Why does he claim to love all of his wives? Is this just a typical, villainous remark, or does he genuinely believe that he loves each of these women? I understand why these women are subservient, given Regulus’ power, but I wonder if they genuinely do feel content in their lives as his wives? Is this Stockholm Syndrome, or are they chomping at the bit for any opportunity to escape? There’s layers to be explored here, and I hope we get to dive into all of them.

Emilia then, fairly casually, uses her magic to exit the building and begin scaling the side of it. I do wonder why Regulus left her next to an open window like this, knowing that she was able to hold her own against Sirius in past weeks. She resolves to inform Subaru of the goings on in Regulus’ world, but I do doubt she’ll be able to get away from him as easily as the show seems to be implying. I’m sure it’ll be up to Subaru to eventually help her get away, but I’m interested to see how the show explains away the fact that she isn’t using her magic to get down the side of the building.

Image by White Fox

I wouldn’t be surprised, however, if Regulus left Emilia such an obvious route of escape because he genuinely believes she wouldn’t want to leave him. After all, if his remarks on loving all of his wives are wholeheartedly true, then surely Emilia’s potential to escape wouldn’t even cross his mind. Once again, Regulus proves to be one of Re: Zero’s most fascinating villains, and even characters in general. If we get one thing out of this season, I hope it’s a full character study of him. I want to know how his mind works.

The final moments of the episode is likely where it got its name, as Subaru puts on his idealist hat and names all the ways in which he’s going to live up to his title as Emilia’s knight. I doubt he’ll find much fortune in the way of making these dreams come true, but one can only hope he has an easier time going forward in the show than he’s had over the past six episodes. Still, this is Re: Zero. I’m sure that regardless of his optimism, there’s plenty of suffering to come down the line for poor Subaru, and likely, plenty of grisly deaths.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Re: Zero? For me, the show is starting to fall back in line with what I would usually expect from it, in that there is action, but it takes somewhat of a backseat to the more dialogue-focused, story-driven elements that have pushed the plot along thus far. A lack of action does not equal a lack of stakes though, and Re: Zero Season 3 continues its strong streak with this episode for me. Let us know what you thought in the comments!

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Where to Watch Re: Zero Season 3?

Image by White Fox

Re: Zero Season 3 is set to air on Crunchyroll weekly, every Wednesday starting October 2nd 2024. The season is scheduled for 16 episodes weekly, meaning we’ll be keeping with Re: Zero through the Winter season also! Great news for fans of the series!

See also: Re: Zero Season 3 Episode 5 Review

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