Welcome back to Spice and Wolf everyone! This is a big week for the series, at least for me, as it completely breaks what expectations I had. So without further ado lets dive in!
Starting off, like I said, this isn’t what I expected Spice and Wolf to be. When I first heard/read about this show, when the other authors here described it to me, I figured it would be more Slice of Life-life. Either that or some kind of mercantile Kino’s Journey. Basically I expected the focus to be on following Holo and Lawrence around as they traveled the countryside. So imagine my surprise when not only have we not done much traveling, but that there is a legitimate plot! Back in my posts about episodes 1 and 2 I just wanted some one-offs surrounding the Church or Holo’s image. Individual stories to build up the world that has passed her by. Instead we get a fully-fledge plot about people kidnapping her for her control of the harvest and threatening to reveal her to the church, and I love it.
Speaking of that main plot, this thing with the coins has become a lot more involved than I expected. I figured this would get resolved this week, maybe next at most. That we would find out Zheren was working for someone and would have to travel to another town, something to get us moving again. To not only get some intrigue but actual action though was a big surprise. I like that the Medio trading company is taking proactive steps to defend their interests. Not only that, I like how perceptive they are to have noticed what Holo is and how they can take advantage of her. The spreading knowledge of her godhood opens up a lot of doors for the narrative and means Lawrence and Holo can’t just travel willy-nilly anymore. They are going to be pursued, which means conflict will continue to find them even after this episode.
On the other end of the trading spectrum we have the Milone company. I don’t know how I feel about them yet though. Ostensibly they are allies, they protected Lawrence and got in with him on the coin-flipping deal. But as Marlheit, the manager of this branch said, they don’t Lawrence anymore. They have all the information they need to make a profit and now that they know about Holo as well, what’s to stop them from taking her for themselves? Marlheit already made it clear there was no reason to help Lawrence before they knew this. They are only in it for the profit and there was none. So it stands to reason, what profit is there in them saving Holo and letting her leave with Lawrence? I’m fully expecting a betrayal as this arc goes on and can’t wait to see how our leads get out of it.
That’s assuming they do make it out of it. Spice and Wolf has an interesting opportunity here to keep them separated and to explore how that impacts each of them. For instance, one would expect Lawrence to be fine. He’s traveled alone for most of his life and now he’s back to that. But over the course of the last few episodes we’ve seen him start to fall for Holo. In just this episode alone we almost get a kiss! Meanwhile in a more metaphorical sense Lawrence lets her wipe her tears with a drawing of his store, literally comforting her by destroying his dream. It’s a bit of a reach since it’s only a piece of paper but I like visual metaphors damnit!
As for Holo, her reaction to such a separation is a lot more obvious. She even outright says it before she runs to distract the mob, “Solitude is a fatal disease”. Lawrence is her last connection in this world it seems, and one she cares deeply for, comparing him to others she used to know such as when he was leaning back in the chair. This only furthers my original theory from the first episode that Holo is the last of her kind. She lists off a few names this week while drunk, most likely of fellow wolves who have died or whom she parted ways with long ago. Maybe we will meet on in the future but I’m not really expecting to. It wouldn’t fit the general theme of being left being in a modernizing world. But if they do, they could work as a temptation away from Lawrence.
All that talk about what Spice and Wolf could do by separating the two, I think it would be a very brave decision. Up until now the show has been carried by their dynamic, their back and forth. And while that has done a good job of getting me to care about them and establishing their relationship, I’m not sure how well it would hold interest once broken. Whatever Spice and Wolf decides to do here though, for now, I’m in. I wasn’t expecting this sort of conflict nor to be this engaged by the series. I remember trying to watch it years ago and not being very interested past the 2nd episode. Maybe time has changed my tastes or I wasn’t in the right mindset then to watch it. Who knows.
But what I do know is that this was another good episode and we have, hopefully, 8 more to go.
