We’re back with another episode of Spice and Wolf! This week Holo and Lawrence reunite and… not much else happens. Yet for some reason, I don’t mind it. So without further ado lets dive into it.
I typically try to start these posts off on a positive note, something to get us going. But since I can only think of one negative for this week, lets start there instead: The opening scene. I tried my best to follow it, I really did. But Spice and Wolf is going a mile a minute with these economic theories and plans to strong arm a King. I had to rewind and rewatch the segment a few times to really understand what they were saying. Part of that is because I’m just an idiot when it comes to economics but I do think they could have slowed it down a bit. What I caught across those rewatches though did make sense. The back and forth between Lawrence and Marlheit, basically haggling and threatening each other to free Holo, was good. I just wish I could follow it easier.
Speaking of freeing Holo, Lawrence and her are back together! That was surprisingly fast. I expected them to be apart for longer, to be a prolonged quest to find each other. I suppose when their dynamic is the core driving force of the show though you don’t want to do that. I did say last week that I thought the idea brave but maybe it was too brave for Spice and Wolf, this early at least. We are only 5 episodes in and there is a whole 2nd season after this. I wouldn’t be surprised, and actually I hope, that they get some alone time in there. Time for them to reflect on their journey together without having the other right next to them interrupting or distracting. You know what they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.
As for how the two got back together, I don’t have to much to say. The whole plot after the opening scene was pretty straight forward. Sneak in, get Holo out, sneak out of town and evade the church long enough to strike a deal with the King. Basically serving more to transition us to a chase series rather than the traveling merchants we were before. I do wish Spice and Wolf expanded on some bits though. How did the Milone get her out of the Medio dungeons for instance? Was no one on watch? Etc etc. These are small questions in the grand scheme of things. I didn’t even question them until I was writing this post and we do get to see just how connected traders can be through Milone, so there was something. They are just odd details to leave out of a rescue mission.
That said while very little actually happened plot wise, I was never actually bored. I don’t know how many times I can say this before it becomes trite, but Lawrence and Holo’s back and forth really carries Spice and Wolf. There is so much subtly, so many layers, to their conversations that you can’t help but be sucked in. Take their conversation in the sewers for instance: I can’t tell, and I’m sure they can’t either, whether or not they are flirting. They skirt this line between coy wit and honest admiration really well. Whether it be Holo’s playful anger at how Lawrence saved her or Lawrence’s awkward comfort in the face of being effectively abandoned by the village. It’s hard to write this bit without just quoting every single exchange between the two because they really are that good.
Finally lets talk about Chloe, Holo and Spice and Wolf embracing the idea of modernization vs mystical tradition. I really should have expected Chloe to make a return. She had far to big a part in the opening episode and we saw her getting rounded up by the church. Yet even with that seeing her again, and on the churches side, caught me by surprise. However I think its a bit to early to tell if she is doing this willingly or not. Based on her face, and the wolf mask, I would wager this is penance for the village’s pagan ways. That she was tasked to capture Holo. If that’s not the case though then I have to wonder, is this personal? Does she know Lawrence is here and is traveling with Holo? Is this all one big coincidence? I doubt it but her reintroduction makes things interesting.
Meanwhile on the modernization side I must admit, there isn’t much to talk about here but I love this theme. How the natural world interacts with the manmade one is fascinating when done well. It’s part of why I love Mushishi so much. So to know that Spice and Wolf is going to try and handle, and through a character we engaging as Holo, makes me very happy. Because by making Holo basically the personification of nature, the last of an ancient dying people, it gives the story a personal touch. Effectively allowing nature to emote, speak and react to the modernizing world around her. I said in the first episode I hoped Spice and Wolf did more with it, and I echo that again here. With traders knowing what she is, the church hunting them and Lawrence falling for her I can’t wait to see what happens.
So all in all, how was this episode of Spice and Wolf? While it felt fast and realistically not all that much happened, it was still a good episode with a decent amount of small details such as the village wheat festival legitimately trapping Holo in the village for another year, etc. A testament to the strength of the dialogue and character writing I suppose. The only downside is that it doesn’t really give me much to talk about. Do I dive in and analyze every single line, inflection of voice and facial expression, making this a much longer post? Or do I gloss over the details for the sake of being concise? It’s something I’ve struggled with so I want to put the question to you: Do you want me to really dive in with these posts? Or is the current “Why I enjoyed the episode or not” working?
Let me know down below and I will see you next week!
Dive in if there’s something to interesting to analyze. I guess it’s kinda hard if it’s just an episode of banter but when an arc is finished some thoughts on what worked and what didn’t is interesting to read. With a series like Spice and Wolf the most interesting thing is the relationship dynamics between the mains so analyzing every aspect of the economics probably isn’t necessary
Awesome, thanks! I want to strike a balance of keeping these short enough people actually read them while talking about the stuff people actually want to read about.
I don’t think this is much of a spoiler, but one interesting thing to note about Chloe is that she is an anime original character that replaced a male character that filled the same role in the novel.
Wait what?! Really? My god… I just watched episode 6 and am prepping the post for it now and this makes so much sense. I was expecting some kind of like… love triangle, or jealousy from her but got none of it.
It’s so weird, I wonder why they switched them out. To give the first episode a bit more of a narrative involving her and Lawrence perhaps? Damn.
As far as I understood it, the idea was to give the audience more of a emotional connection to her before the reveal.
She also had a slightly expanded role in the first episode compared to the novel, where Lawrence only mentions the character rather than having a scene with them actually meeting in the village.
To be honest I do think it was a good change, even if they could have done more with it.
Oh certainly. I can’t imagine the first episode without Chloe to lead us into the village life nor can I imagine episode 6’s finale without knowing her first so we have that emotional connection back to that same village.