Fate/Zero - "Night of Stratagems" - Episode 6 Recap

Out on a late night reckless drive, Saber and Irisviel unexpectedly find themselves face to face with Caster. He kneels before Saber and claims she is Jeanne d’Arc, his “beautiful maiden” that he wished to see revived during the Holy Grail War. Saber tries to reason with him but quickly realizes he is insane and gives him a warning blow from her sword. Caster claims she has gone mad and that he will use drastic measures to get her back, disappearing into the night. The scene shifts and Caster is back with Ryunosuke, who is in the middle of torturing a child. The two have been kidnapping children, intending to use them to erect a Tower of Babel filled with sacrificial corpses to “save” Saber. Through Assassin Kirei and the priest find out what Caster and Ryunosuke are doing, and decide that a truce among the masters and servants must be implemented in order to take the pair out. Meanwhile Kiritsugu has staged an assault on Lancer’s master and Kirei finds himself having a rather peculiar conversation with Archer.

Ryunosuke and Caster are undeniably horrible people. Ryunosuke murders and tortures children for the hell of it while Caster is insane and plans to sacrifice many, believing that Saber is rejecting him because God has cursed her into forgetting who she is. And yet I find the two so compelling because they are such huge variables in the war. They aren’t in it for the grail, they don’t play by the rules and by the looks of it don’t have any plans to engage in a fight with the other servants. When we first met them I wanted the two out as soon as possible, but now I want them to stick around since they make for appealing antagonists and bring unexpected twists to the war. I also find it interesting that a truce has now been called to deal with the two. Nothing like this was done in Fate/stay Night since the role of the church there was minimal, so suffice to say I am curious as to how this truce will play out. I doubt the truce will last long; I can’t imagine Caster standing much of a chance against all of the servants. Nevertheless, if it makes for more time where multiple heroes come together (like last episode) then I look forward to it.

In episode four Lancer landed a devastating blow on Saber and inflicted a wound on her left arm that won’t heal. Without the use of her left arm Saber is at a severe disadvantage, so Kiritsugu makes it his priority to eliminate Lancer from the game. During this plotting Lord Kayneth El-Melloi Archibald (Lancer’s Master) has taken residence in a hotel and is scolding Lancer for being unable to defeat Saber. We learn that Kayneth has made an alteration to the typical master-servant deal, setting up his wife Sola-Ui acts as an additional master that supplies mana to Lancer. From what we’ve seen of Kayneth he seems prideful and full of himself but Sola-Ui walks all over him, calling him pathetic and criticizing his use of Lancer. I have this sneaking suspicion that Kayneth will be eliminated from the game soon while Sola-Ui will play a bigger role later down the road. If she wasn’t going to play a bigger role, why bother introducing her?

Kiritsugu decides to take down Kayneth by blowing up his entire hotel. He concludes that no magical barrier could have protected Kayneth from the explosion, but with Lancer there we all know Kayneth is alive. The odd part about all of this is Kirei’s random appearance at the hotel. He comes out of nowhere, attacking Kiritsugu's partner Maiya with silly looking wolverine-like claws. I'm not sure about how he got there or what his purpose really was. I suppose it showed that Kirei is capable at one on one combat, but the entire scene came off as pointless. Nevertheless, it was neat to see Kiritsugu going to extreme lengths to take down the enemy. He hasn’t been named the mage killer for nothing, and at this point I do believe he could face a hero and hold his own.

The last part of the episode features a small chat between Kirei and Archer as Archer enjoys a few glasses of wine. Archer has taken an interest in Kirei and wishes to know his motivation in joining the Holy Grail War. Kirei explains that he is unsure why he has been chosen, and that he wants nothing. I find Archer’s arrogance and demeanor oddly endearing, so any screen time devoted to developing him is fine by me. He has a general curiosity for the world he has been summoned to and stirs the usually cold Kirei. For Fate/stay Night fans this conversation was particularly enlightening, due to what they know will inevitably happen with Archer.

I am truly grateful that Fate/Zero is taking the time to develop all of the masters and servants. It adds a higher level of complexity to the war and allows for the viewer to enjoy several different views of it. Summoning past heroes to the present is a fun premise to develop, and it works well when we see how the heroes adjust to and interact with those around them. While there hasn’t been a ton of fighting so far, these developments ultimately allow the viewer to become more invested in the characters and for the eventual fights to have more of an impact. Fate/Zero continues to hit the mark each and every episode, easily making it the best of the season for me and a must watch for any anime fan.

Fate/Zero is currently streaming on NicoNico with each new episode available for a week after it airs. The channel can be found here.