You’ve really done it now, Claude – you’ve tainted dear Ciel’s beautiful soul with Alois’ icky, trampy one. And not only that, seriously pissed off Sebastian in the process. I wouldn’t give much for your chances at this point.

The big news is, apparently Alois really is dead – although of course so was Ciel after S1. Claude kept the soul in a ring hidden in a tin of tea (which should look familiar) and came up with an admittedly clever idea – lure Ciel out with a fake message from the Queen, kidnap him and muddle his memories with Alois. Effectively Claude has now swapped one bochan for another, much better model – and left Sebby frozen out by brainwashing Ciel into ordering him away. A worthy gambit for a demon butler. But I can’t help but think that Sebastian is going to regain the upper hand in the end, one way or the other – he seems to have all the answers when the chips are down.

Though Sebastian always ends up feeling something like a hero character, the hard truth of this story is that he’s treating Ciel no better than Claude would. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Ciel – his entire life he’s been a tool of those more powerful than he, and his only real friend wants nothing more in the end than to devour his soul. There’s a distinct and undeniable nobility to the boy – courage in the face of danger and stoicism in the face of seemingly endless despair. It would be nice to see a better ending for him than S1 offered, but Kuroshitsuji doesn’t seem to specialize in happy endings so I don’t hold out too much hope.