Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4 ‒ Episode 8

© 長月達平・株式会社KADOKAWA刊／Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活4製作委員会

On one hand, a lot of the episode is just kind of going through the motions—it practically writes itself. Subaru wakes up, plays the self-deprecating fool, and dies (several times). Through this process he gets re-acquainted with the other characters and learns the “rules” placed upon him.

What keeps things interesting is the other characters' reactions to what's happened. Ram is broken by the fact that the last person to remember her sister—and the one most driven to save her—no longer has those memories. Likewise, Julius has lost the only person in the world who remembered him as well—even if they're often antagonistic allies. Emilia outright flinches at being called “Emilia-chan” instead of “Emilia-tan” and Beatrice—well, she's putting on a brave face despite having potentially lost her chosen person.

While to his face everyone is insisting that Subaru is still Subaru despite lacking a year of memories, deep down, they know this isn't true. While they don't know the details, without him “starting from zero,” overcoming the trials of the sanctuary (and making peace with his family in the process), and finally taking on the mantle of “hero” to save an entire city, Subaru is fundamentally a different person. He is a liability—a stranger in a strange world who has no idea about common sense or the specific dangers they are facing. Sidelining him is the best choice for both him and the group. (Of course, the arrogant Subaru, who sees himself as some isekai protagonist, sees this as a personal betrayal rather than the pragmatic choice it is.)

In addition to all the general catching up Subaru is doing, there are several mysteries that he's attempting to solve. The obvious one is what happened to make him lose his memories but, honestly, it's the other two that are more important. The first is Subaru trying to figure out his past (now forgotten) actions and the reasons behind them. With Subaru ignorant of the fact that Satella would kill him directly for telling other people about “Return by Death,” he takes the logical step and assumes that he did not trust the rest of the group. This ongoing dilemma also serves to show that Subaru has changed so much in a year that he can't even understand himself.

Then there's the second important mystery: Who keeps killing Subaru in the tower? While he, in the midst of a full blown panic attack, hasn't realized it, he actually has all the information needed to narrow this one down. After his first death and subsequent splitting up from the group, he eavesdrops on them and is killed moments later. We hear Anastasia, Rem, Emilia, Julius, and Beatrice talking so we can assume none of them are the culprit. This leaves just two suspects: Shaula and Meili. Shaula's goal seems to be to stay with Subaru forever—thus killing him isn't something she wants. So it seems safe to say that the killer is Meili (unless it's somehow Ram, Patrasche, or a completely unknown third party). And considering that Subaru had a big hand in Elsa's death, it's not surprising Meili'd take the chance to get revenge when such a fall could easily appear to be an accident.

We probably won't have to wait too long for this reveal either. After all, we're obviously moments away from another game over (since Shaula now has to kill him for breaking the rules by leaving the tower).

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Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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