Bartender Glass of God – Episode 2 Recap & Review

 Old Pal/One for the Road

Episode 2 of Bartender Glass of God begins with Miwa and Hikari’s unending search for a bartender, but this time it’s for Ryu. They visit Edenhall only to find it closed. On the internet, they discover that such an instance happens when Ryu is serving in a different bar. Miwa suggests to start looking for him in every bar around the locality. 

Elsewhere, we discover Ryu at a different bar on account of the owner’s request. An old man, later discovered to be a frequent customer, visit the bar and asks Ryu to serve the man however he pleases. Curiously though, he terms all Ryu’s concoctions as “awful”. Poor Ryu tries his best but is unable to win his approval. On asking about the customer to a co-worker, he finds that the old man has been visiting the bar every month on the late owner’s death anniversary. Every time he visits, he behaves the same way – disliking every drink presented to him. 

Ryu is puzzled by this behaviour and while drinking at his regular bar, Ogura, he comes across Miwa and Hikari. Miwa instantly tries to recruit him – suggesting all the best benefits but he refuses. The next day, Miwa and Hikari find Edenhall closed again.

Elsewhere, we find Ryu with the same old man in the alternate bar. It seems Ryu had requested the man’s presence to be able to serve him. Ryu serves him a drink from the times passed by, as he narrates a story about the history of Japanese bars which came into being in Yokohama, the port town, influenced by imported western liquors. He presents the man with a drink from his past, “Old Pal”, recreating it while imagining the lack of refrigerators and coolants of the bygone era.

The man is impressed and we discover that the man was searching for the taste from his past, one that would remind him of his friend. The old man also tells him that he did not drink cocktails made by others out of respect for the late owner. He gives Ryu his card and leaves. The old man turns out to be the chairman of Hotel Cardinal! 

Elsewhere, Miwa and Hikari report to the office that they will make sure to get Ryu onboard for the hotel’s bar. They try to convince Ryu at Edenhall later in the day, when a woman drenched in rain enter the bar. She is in a foul mood and pose to be another difficult customer as she requests to get drunk without tasting alcohol. Ryu makes her a cocktail called Bullshot that seems to appear as soup. The drink instantly warms the woman who is pleased with her drink. She later apologises for her behaviour and explains that she had to sit through 3 terrible parties and was tired of her “asshole”, blunt self. 

Ryu explains to her the concept of “one for the road” which means “a final round shared with someone before reluctantly separating” and suggest to leave her “asshole” persona of today behind after the drink. After the woman leaves, Ryu explains that she is a lawyer to Miwa and Hikari, as he had observed her “lawyer’s bag”. He also mentions that he cannot take the position at Hotel Cardinal because he is scared of heights. Ryu’s lie is revealed when Hikari and Miwa look up his previous workplace on the internet, located at the top floor of a hotel in Paris. 

Elsewhere, the lawyer feels annoyed by the incessant cases that come before her but she tries to change her perspective, inspired by Ryu. It seems Ryu has bagged himself a regular customer. 

The Episode Review

The second episode for Bartender Glass of God had the similar structure like the first – Ryu meets a customer, serves them drinks that changes their lives, along with his dose of  heartwarming dialogues. The charm lies in these instances in an otherwise straightforward and slightly monotonous plot. 

The two customer stories in this episode felt a bit too rushed, clearly from the lack of time and seems to have been following the exact trope of a disgruntled customer being served the right drink and their newfound respect for Ryu. Hopefully, the plot and characters would have something more to give us in the upcoming episodes.