Welcome all to the penultimate post for Spice and Wolf Season 2! Apologies for missing last week. I had a case of writers block and couldn’t figure out what to write and eventually it was to late. Thus a double header this week! So without further ado lets jump in and make up for lost time!
Starting off I want to talk about something I’ve noticed these last 2 episodes: Flashbacks. Spice and Wolf is using a lot of them. To much if you ask me! In the first half of the season it was rather nice. They are exploring and figuring out what their relationship means to them now. But in the second half they have so often, reminding us of things we have been reminded of many times before, that they feel like they’re filling time. These flashbacks take episodes that are already slow and bring them to a crawl. You readers know me! You know I get impatient sometimes! So when a show that I already consider slow gets even slower its going to bother me a bit. And that’s what Spice and Wolf is doing to me now. I don’t think the content has gotten any worse. Its just agonizingly slow.
As for the contents of the episodes themselves, lets talk about those starting with Holo and Lawrence. These two suffer the most from Spice and Wolf’s penchant for flashbacks. Because of how often it’s referencing back and reminding us of past events it makes it feel like we are repeating them. Like they are having the same/similar relationship troubles that they have had in previous arcs. Like the series is retreading old ground. On closer inspection I know this isn’t the case. Previous arcs have been about them figuring out how they feel about each other and sticking together, etc. They both know how they feel now! But they still aren’t committing to it. And this sort of half-assed “Will they/wont they”, when coupled with constant reminders of past relationship issues they have worked through, feels painful.
That isn’t to say that the two don’t have cute scenes! The core of why I like them, their dynamic and their banter, is still there. Whether it be walking through an alley together or their trust and comfort to actually talk through their feelings in the inn, to talk about the idea of ending their journey together there, it’s all good! But it feels like its taken a back seat in a way. Like this arc is being stretched out to fit the length of the season. From what I have been told by a friend, that would make sense. They told me that this was one of the best stopping points available from the original light novels. If true however this sadly means that they can’t afford to go past it and that we are seeing the effects of that here.
Moving on lets talk about Eve! I still don’t trust Eve and I feel justified in this. In fact, Spice and Wolf is going through great pains to make her untrustworthy. From hiding her face every scene, framing her over open fires, the slow build and revelations of her history. Everything points to her having a scheme and a willingness to carry it out. This may be a red herring of course. Spice and Wolf tried to pull that with the statue in Rigolo’s house in episode 11. The way it zoomed in, the music got tense, Lawrence inspected it only to POOF back to levity. But if you ask me… For those details and scenes to all result in a “gotcha” would be bad writing. And Spice and Wolf is not a poorly written show. At least not yet.
Of course this then begs the question: What the hell is up with this revolt? Seriously, this came out of nowhere. Maybe you could say the growing discontent with the merchants was an indicator enough but I disagree. This feels like something brought in to distract us from the growing evidence that Eve will betray us. As for how it effects the narrative… I’m undecided. If used as more of a backdrop I think the revolt could be good. Show us how the characters react to unexpected circumstances in the face of an existing plan, etc. But if the revolt becomes front and center, the primary conflict, then I think Spice and Wolf will suffer for it. Only time will tell.
So yeah, all in all these two episodes were alright. I’m definitely starting to lose steam with Spice and Wolf though. Whether it be watching 2 seasons back to back or that the actual content is starting to flag is up in the air. But its a fact that I’m finding it harder and harder to write these posts. They so often come down to “Holo and Lawrence good, story slow” and there’s nothing really to write about there. Hopefully I will be able to come up with something meaningful for the final review. Break through this writers block so I can talk about what makes the show work. For now though… Flashbacks bad, Holo good, Eve evil, Rigolo’s house pretty. See you next week.
