The Ancient Magus’ Bride – Season 2 Episode 8 Recap & Review

Slow and Sure. II

Episode 8 of The Ancient Magus Bride Season 2 begins with a flashback before Chise went on her camping trip. Elias tells her he plans to tag along. Chise says Elias shouldn’t come because the camping trip must teach her how to live alone in the wild. Elias promises not to interfere and that he will remain hidden. Chise denies his offer, but Elias insists on going, so he duplicates himself.

In the present, Chise’s surprised Elias knows how to duplicate himself. Chise recalls Elias saying he can’t sense his vision or other senses concurrently. He must be in one piece to do so. Lucy checks on Chise and tells her to return to camp since she has enough wood for a fire. Lucy shows Chise how to start a fire since she’s struggling to do so. Chise leaves to collect more water and spots an Each-usige, a carnivorous horse that likes drowning victims in the water and eating them if people hop on their back.

Chise returns and informs Lucy about the Each-usige. After a good night’s rest, Chise heads to the river and spots Philomela. Philomela greets Chise and leaves. Chise realizes Philomela still has the potpourri she gave her in episode two. Lucy arrives and asks Chise why she cares so much about Philomela. Chise replies it’s because she wants her to get her to conversate more. Lucy explains why she despises Philomela, and she says she hates sorcerers. Lucy avoids answering Chise’s question about why she’s attending this college and asks her to reignite the fire. We receive a short montage of everyone having fun.

Lucy and Chise chat for a while before heading to sleep. Lucy wakes up in the middle of the night because she needs to use the bathroom. Chise and Elias wake up because they sense a disturbance. Chise finds Lucy unconscious in the forest. Elias says Lucy’s magic power dried up, but Chise can share some of her power with her. Chise tells Ruth to inform their teacher, Mr. Whoopi, about the situation.

Chise, Elias, and Lucy encounter a nuckelavee, a sea monster known for bringing calamity to islanders and highlanders alike. Elias tells Chise to head for a river because the nuckelavee can’t touch fresh water. Elias proposes the nuckelavee is chasing them because they can see it and believes it’s not responsible for draining Lucy’s magic power. Chise and Elias bump into Zoe and the others. The nuckelavee spews poison mist from its mouth. Chise tells the others to head to the other side of the river.

They make it across. Elias reminds Chise she must fight through her struggles without his help. Chise asks Elias if he thinks the Each-usige and the lake up ahead can assist her. Elias summons the Each-usige to the surface and asks it to help Chise deal with the nuckelavee. Rian accompanies Chise and the Each-usige to distract the nuckelavee. The Each-usige knocks Chise, Rian, and Elias into the water before they hop off. It turns to the nuckelavee to kick it in there too.

The nuckelavee grabs Chise and plans to consume her. Chise’s curse activates, allowing her to free herself and destroy the nuckelavee. The Each-usige is furious that Rian escaped from the water, so he plans to eat Chise. Rian distracts the Each-usige long enough for Chise to get out of the water. The Each-usige flees. Chise questions what happened between her and the nuckelavee. The episode closes with Rian and Chise reuniting with Zoe and the others.

The Episode Review

This episode shows how little of The Ancient Magus Bride universe we still don’t know. It gave us some new creatures and more insight into the curse implanted in Chise’s arm. The Each-usige and nuckelavee are interesting creatures in design and concept. It was pleasant seeing Chise interact with them even though both harbored ill intent against her.

Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to seeing Chise understand her new dragon abilities and use them in combat down the line. It’ll make her feel more formidable and capable of standing up for herself without Elias’s help. It was unfortunate we didn’t get more intel about Lucy’s grievances with Philomela or her reasons for attending a school filled with beings she doesn’t like.

We’ve been teased about it numerous times, so hopefully the topic gets tackled in a future episode. Lucy’s an intriguing character and I’m sure viewers would like to know more about her and the Webster incident. Overall, this was a great episode with great peaceful and action-centric moments. I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for Chise, Lucy, and the rest of the cast before this season concludes.