I won’t be surprised if there’s another round of “it wasn’t that bad” complains about Chi Chikyuu’s depiction of the Inquisition this week. Though the series isn’t getting that much discussion in English so maybe the complainers have moved on to flashier targets. Nowak and his career have been out of the spotlight for a good while but he roared back into ugly prominence this week. There’s no pretty way to depict what men like him did for a living, and Orb certainly doesn’t try. Whatever embellishment it uses is largely irrelevant in my view – on the larger question of their role, there’s no ambiguity.

An interesting question, to me, is whether Nowak believes the stuff he spouts about acting for the benefit of humankind. But only to a point, because ultimately I really don’t think it matters whether he does or not. And that ties into the question of whether Uoto is trying to present him as a sympathetic figure. I’ve seen some viewers express that belief, and – while far be it for me to presume to know an author’s intentions – I strongly disagree with that interpretation. Frankly he hasn’t shown a single redeeming quality in any of his appearances, and his interactions with his daughter are strictly neutral.

There’s a point which must be reiterated, shouted to the high Heavens for as long as it takes. Torture is useless as an information-gathering device. Testimony under torture is completely unreliable, partly for the very reason one of Nowak’s inquisitor acolytes referred to. It doesn’t work – period. Rigorous studies have borne this out, over and over. So did the Church (among others, some still doing it – including some that would surprise a lot of people) know this? Were they genuinely trying to gather information and thought this was the best way, or was the whole point altogether different?

Again, I’m not so sure it really matters much. In fact I’m pretty sure it doesn’t. Uoto uses “Chi” in several fashions throughout this series, the translations of some of which are a bit dodgy. He says that in context “Chi” has three meanings: “Chi of the earth, Chi of blood, and Chi of knowledge” (thanks to my friend Mel for referring me to that quote). Netflix translates it as “terror” this week, which is a bit liberal but for the sake of argument, it does cut to the heart of why the Inquisition existed and persisted for so long. This was all about cowing people, terrorizing them into staying in line. If the majority of victims were something other than academics espousing cosmic theory, that’s not really the point.

As we’ve already seen, the local Bishop is a big Inquisition fan. Through Nowak’s “training” we learn that he’s especially focused on matters of the Cosmos, and used to be an astronomer himself (note that all this comes in the context of Nowak explaining inquisitor career growth). We also meet his son Antoni (Mikami Satoshi) who, judging by his own words, holds both his father and the Inquisition he champions in great contempt. Nowak spends a lot of his time playing politician, and he’s clearly as good at that as he is removing fingernails.

It’s easy to see where all this is headed. Badeni has largely completed his research, though the matter of the natural philosophy to back up the mechanics is still very much a work in progress. He calls a meeting in town with Oczy and Jolenta, apparently as a sort of dissolution of their fellowship. He plans to leave the clergy and lose himself about the laity, supporting himself by tutoring in the lands to the southwest (where Moorish influence was stronger and science more openly practiced) until he’s ready to publish and change the world. Oczy says he wants to go to university (Badeni makes no effort to hide his astonishment). And Jolenta will join her credit-stealing boss as a research assistant at the observatory.

Enter Nowak, who stops by to see Jolenta as she’s drinking with the two men. Oczy certainly recognizes him; whether he recognizes Oczy (who was masked when they met) is unclear. Nowak’s instincts are good enough that he could have deduced that these two were potentially big fish, and for a climber like him that would prove irresistible. Whether it’s that or recognizing Oczy that draws him to confront them after sending Jolenta home, confront them he does. And we’ve seen where this has led before.

The complicating factor, of course, is Jolenta. While Oczy would cover for her I have no doubt that Badeni would use her role to his advantage – he’s openly said as much, in fact. This is a test for Nowak – is he a total hypocrite on top of everything else he is? Assuming he is and is willing to turn a blind eye, Badeni would seemingly still have some leverage over him because of her involvement. Both these men are formidable and ruthless, and a full-on battle of wits and wills between them could certainly prove to be a fascinating spectacle.