This is one of the stronger episodes of this series but looking at it has made me resign myself that this is really going to be as good as it gets. It’s a pity but I am in this for the long run so I might as well cover this to the end. Not to say this episode wasn’t enjoyable but it is below my expectations. The start of this episode deals with Mordred’s past and I think there may be those among you that are rather confused about it. So how’s about I fill you in on one of the weirdest things in Fate Canon? Now as established here, Mordred is Arturia’s son(Well Daughter really.) so with Arturia being a woman does that mean she gave birth at some point? No, the truth is much stranger than that. Now believe me, this is legitimate canon no matter how ridiculous it sounds but for a period of time Arturia was turned into a Pseudo-male by Merlin to produce an heir. And yes, that does mean for a period of time that the poster girl of the fate franchise was a futanari. During this time, Morgan le Fay used a spell to capture her seed and used it to impregnate herself with a homunculus clone of Arturia.
Thus was was born Mordred who grew to adulthood fast and was sent to Camelot disguised in her armour. There she was made a Knight of the Round table and worked as a loyal knight who idolised her king. Though when she found out about her origin she attempted to get Arturia to recognise her as a rightful heir to the throne only to have Arturia outright reject her. Mordred believes that having been born from Morgan that she would never be recognised by Arturia, no matter how much she excelled above others. Thus causing her to hate Arturia and eventually lead a rebellion against her. That at least is the canon of Mordred in the fate universe and you really can tell there was some shoehorned contrived circumstances to accommodate King Arthur being female. However I still at least like where it leaves the character now, as her accelerated grown does explain her childish nature and her love hate relationship with her father makes for an interesting character dynamic.
I do find the animation lacking somewhat in the fights. There are rare moments of brilliance but the fights lack any real weight behind them and more often feel over far too fast. What i don’t have complaints about is the music. I have a bit of a bias for celtic sounding tunes but these songs really do give Apocrypha a difference sense of identity. However they may not be used very well, this episode had a point where Jack used poison gas(Actually concentrated smog from Jack’s noble phantasm representing the terrible population of London at the time.) and a highly dramatic and face paced song played as…Mordred and Sisigou ran out of the mist. The song ended the moment they exited it so I found myself questioning why they would play such a battle themed piece for just Mordred and Sisigou running through streets. I did really like when Assassin actually appeared suddenly and made the right move of aiming to kill the master. Too many Assassins forget their class and try fighting other servants which is by far the dumbest thing you could do with them. Assassins are the class specifically designed to take out masters, not servants. That’s the whole reason they have presence concealment, but so many masters just use them like they would use a Saber or a Lancer.
With all the fights going on this really should be the point where I gush my heart out but I watched this with a layer of apathy as this series really didn’t take the time to truly flesh out two of the people in this fight. Assassin has had barely any screentime at all and just comes across as weak and unthreatening. While Chiron and his master have had only the bare minimum in interaction. To contrast that, Mordred and Sisigou have had plenty of time for us to get a feel of their character. Still it feels like they were prioritised not because of story significance but rather because they can make Mordred more Moe. That cat chasing that Mordred did during the phone call scene was a step too far for me. I get that due to her accelerated grown that her mentality can be childish but just what was that?
Oh right and Waver is now Lord El-Melloi the second, not sure how he obtained it in this timeline but in the original Waver eventually married into that Mage family and ended up taking the title of the man who previously mocked him in Fate/Zero. Man, that is some truly sweet revenge and it’s likely the reason he’s insisting on being called “The second”. So at the moment i am rather confused over the use of technology with these mages. The Yggdmillennia’s I get in that they are rebelling against the mages association. So it would make sense to a degree that they would make use of technology despite mages having an aversion to it. Sisigou is strange in that regard in that he seems to be using a combination of his Necromancy and weapons while still using magic devices for communication for the most part. Though this could be because of his status as more of a mercenary than a mage. So he’s managed to corner the master of the Archer of Black, does this mean that we are getting another servant taken out of the running? Not a chance if the blatant foreshadowing is correct. What a weak cliffhanger.
I was somewhat disappointed that the scene about Mordred’s past wasn’t presented more as the dream it was, with snatches of memory, associated sound effect distortions, etc. rather than as a set of full flashback scenes. They were able to do this with Sieg in earlier episodes. I’m particular taken aback by Arthur getting disarmed and suddenly having a giant jousting lance in her hand. That form of Rhongomyniad I thought was an exaggerated Noble Phantasm of an alternate Lancer-class Arthur. In reality, Mordred mortally wounded Arthur but we don’t see this here. This whole scene, or at least it’s aftermath have been seen in several adaptations now so there’s a lot of weight and expectation on this final showdown. So…yeah.
I was very happy to see such a fleshed out appearance of Morgana though. Seeing this makes me wonder if she’ll soon make an appearance in Fate/Grand Order.
Assassin has had barely any screentime at all and just comes across as weak and unthreatening.
Actually, I thought she was holding her own. She seemed very aggressive and didn’t back down in spite of facing a Saber-class and managed to get right up to Mordred’s back with cover from her fog but felt confident enough to just tease Mordred instead of dealing a blow to her. Mordred’s move did dispel the fog but I’m not sure if that’s all Jack has up her sleeve. Very curious what might have happened if Chiron hadn’t interrupted. I’m not sure if it’s canon but Jack in Fate/Grand Order is one of the most powerful assassin class servants who has an innate advantage over female enemies. I’m also a bit surprised how lively she is here. In FGO, she comes off a bit cool, monotone and doll-like but she looks almost feral with battle lust here.
Now believe me, this is legitimate canon no matter how ridiculous it sounds but for a period of time
I think they skipped this for a reason. Maybe to get the audience to come to their own conclusions. I’m personally happy to think of Mordred as something like a homunculus or clone made from Arthur’s genetic material. Merlin giving Arthuria the ability to sire an heir seems strange since…well, DID he sire an heir???? Does Arthuria actually have a legitimate son out there somewhere? Cos the procedure surely wasn’t for Morgana’s sake. Or was it?? Was Merlin in her pocket or something at the time?
not sure how he obtained it in this timeline
THIS! From what I can tell, the apocrypha timeline was altered from the Third War, which means Fate/Zero (the Fourth War) never happened. So what is Waver doing there? And he seems familiar with Grail Wars as if he had gone through the Fourth War. I’m also trying to figure out the timeline here cos Waver as a young man fought in the Fourth War and looks like that probably in the Fifth (Shirou’s time).