We have a very tender Princess Principal episode this week. Instead of exciting spy action like previous weeks, we get to the place that is largely ignored by the rest of the world: a morgue. A place where they’re near the dead than the living, where time just passes by slowly but endlessly. A place that feel like an endless cycle of corpses stacking up. I’m in awe with this setting. Normally anime shows don’t depict a morgue right; they tend to play up its creepy atmosphere for cheap horror effect; but here, they nail that grim atmosphere perfectly. Certainly didn’t expect this from a stylish spy show with cute girls like Princess Principal. The pacing, when you compare with their previous episodes, is much slower and this case is the least relevant to the main plot. That said, this episode is dedicated to give a spotlight to Dorothy and in that regards, this episode excels. Not only Dorothy becomes the most genuine character in this spy team (something that they remark as being weak), the solid execution towards the ending part successfully make us root for this poor girl without being overly manipulated. We have another solid Princess Principal in our hands.
The case this week, case18 (which is the most recent chronologically) – Dorothy is given a mission by Control to work in London’s morgue and recover a code cipher hidden inside the tooth of a deceased Kingdom agent. She takes Beatrice with her to the morgue and meet the person who is tasked by the Duke of Normandy to find the agent’s body – her father, Danny. Danny is a sore sight though, bursting out all the times, blaming the others for his own misfortune and has debt all over the place. The father-daughter reunion is uncomfortable because Dorothy (her real name: Daisy) has a mixed feeling about him. He’s aggressive and vulnerable at the same time, caring at one time, out of control at others. If I have a say myself, this was a very abusive relationship and she did the right thing of running away from that madman. The episode keeps teasing us on whether behind his loud mouth, does he indeed care for his daughter. Dorothy, on the other hand, has gotten soft. Too soft for a spy really, as when she finds the code cipher, she still intends to hand it to Danny for him to pay off his debts. It is telling that she uses her mother’s name as her alias, as a way that she regards her family as dear and important to her.
And it does seem like most of our girls have daddy issues. Beatrice has her throat sliced altered by insane papa. Chise had to go all the way to foreign land to kill off her insane dad, and now Dorothy was beaten by her insane otousan. I also like the coupling of Dorothy and Beatrice this time. They have a nice chemistry and like Dorothy remarks, only Beatrice can be able to understand why despite all the hardships, Dorothy still comes to trust and love her father and for once, the girls’ relationship feels genuine and base on mutual understanding, instead of lies. This episode gives a necessary development for the last girl of the team, Dorothy, make her the most grounded character out of the spy team. Well, I still prefer they give more time to show how these girls bounce of each other, as Ange, Chise and Princess are all relegated to some minor scenes in this episode. Plot-wise, not much to gain either as this case adds little to the main conflict. I can see Princess Principal divide the audience sharply this week: those who look for non-stop action will end up disappointed; those who look for more character’s development (like me) will have a lot to boast about. Whatever side you’re on.
