As I noted last week, Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid is a sort of anti-tragedy. That is to say it follows the tragedy structure, where we know the ending and the pathos is derived from watching how things end up that way. But it’s a reversal in that in fact, the tragedy (Bocchan’s curse) has already taken place when the story begins. And the narrative is all about peeling away layers of that tragedy one by one – anger, loneliness, isolation from family – until we arrive at an ending where the curse itself has been lifted. And after that too, because all the events of this episode were so heavily foreshadowed as to be a foregone conclusion.

As such, that litany of events is really quite predictable. Sade fighting her own magic is one such event – she can’t lose, or she won’t be able to break the curse. It comes off a little too easily but in truth, there were too many other things I’d prefer to spend time on for that to bother me. The big decision with Sade, in face, is whether she can come back to the future. And when it’s decided she can’t (that’s deemed too big a change, though not the other stuff she does?), whether she should still go ahead and curse baby Bocchan (don’t forget she hasn’t done so yet).

Bocchan’s choice makes sense. “A blessing and a curse” may be an old saw, but there’s a lot of truth to it here. That curse is what brought Bocchan and Alice together, and molded him (as with a welding torch) into the empathetic and kind figure he is now. That decided, it’s just a matter of Sade breaking the curses. And naturally she starts with Nico – you can’t stage the main event before the undercard. We never do get to see what Nico really looks like, but it’s clear he’s pretty up there (hell, he’s old enough for Viola to think he’s hot).

Alice and Bocchan finally being able to touch was literally built up for the entire series, so there was really almost no way the realization could live up to that. Still, it was more than satisfying. One takes for granted something as simple as to be able to have contact with someone you love – simply to be comforted. And for all that Bocchan coped with his fate as well as anyone could, there’s no substitute for physical intimacy. In point of fact – as it was with the Victor and Liz – it’s the moment with Rob that really got to me. Stoic for all these years, Rob – I was a bit disappointed Bocchan didn’t hug him too, to be honest.

There’s another reunion to come – with Victor and Liz. And Sade is dragged along this time, torn away from tormenting Viola at chess and coy about what she’s been up to while since the others saw her. Sade is obviously better equipped to cope with this meeting now, but the key moment comes when Victor passes along a message to Rob and Alice – a “cruel something”. This is another one of those turns we had to know was coming. Of course if his curse is lifted, Bocchan has to go back to the main house. And if he’s to be the heir, he can’t marry a maid – even if she is the daughter of Gerbera’s only real friend.

This is really the ultimate telegraphed development. Of course Alice was going to leave, because she doesn’t want to be the one standing between Bocchan and his family legacy and she knows he’d never make this decision himself. Swearing Rob to secrecy about such a thing was cruel, but he’s the MVP of the episode for giving Bocchan the lowdown on her getaway plans. Now, at last, we reach the final stop on this journey – when all the threads are tied together and everyone must decide what their priorities are.