One little word…

Long recaps are kind of baked in to my perspective on Black Butler at this point. They’re annoying, but some series just do them (Boku no Hero Academia is another). They don’t come as a surprise, and are really the only consistent negative I can point to in these otherwise superb past few seasons. Still, almost five minutes here – that’s beyond the pale. I don’t think it’s a budgetary issue, either money or production schedule – Kuroshitsuji seems very well-taken care of in that regard. Rather, it’s likely a pacing thing. Whatever the reason I don’t dwell on it when it’s a minute or two. But this? Woof.

Once that was over and the few minutes (it felt like that anyway) of actual episode kicked in, it was all systems go (as usual). With Sebastian otherwise occupied (destroying Sieglinde’s formula for mustard gas mass production beyond recovery) and mostly absent, it fell to Team Phantomhive to fill the gap. We haven’t seen the staff get too many moments to shine individually since before the “Circus” arc, but they all had their spotlight dance here. The group splits up, with Baldroy and Snake fleeing with the Emerald Witch. Or so their pursuers are led to believe, anyway.

Baldroy is the soldier in the group, and puts his skills to good use. But Wolfram is a soldier too, and a damn good one. Snake’s snake attack manages to sideline most of the pursuit, but Wolf eventually shakes off Baldroy (wounded in the arm by a gunshot) and quickly catches up. There he’s in for a rude surprise, as there’s more than one child in the escaping party. This seems like the end for Wolfram, but while he may not be an actual werewolf, his reflexes and dexterity do seem more than human. He dodges Ciel’s shot, managing to escape with all but his right ear intact.

Finnian has, once more, been given the honor of the crucial assignment. It’s he Ciel entrusts Sieglinde to, for reasons both obvious and less so. Of course Finnian is the fastest in the side, and the strongest to boot. But – as these flashbacks continue to illustrate – I’ve come to believe Ciel feels a special connection to him. Both are boys who were subject to inhuman treatment by adults and survived. I think that’s why Ciel saw Finn as more than just a useful tool, but as someone with a shared experience (as is Sieglinde now). He was kinder than he needed to be to Finnian when he brought him home, and while fierce loyalty was certainly an intended benefit, I don’t think it was the only reason.

It’s Mey-Rin who’s given the assignment of covering Finn’s escape, and Hilbard that of chasing him down and retrieving the Emerald Witch. Both are very good at their jobs, but it seems as if Hilbard has made the checkmate ploy. That is, until Tanaka-san makes his move. The mysterious old man promptly slices Hilbard’s rifle shot in half with his katana and tells Finny to hit the trail, while he stays behind and deals with her. And with that, every one of the support team has had their chance to show off.

Even so, Wolf’s miraculous escape seems to leave the good(?) guys one card short of a full hand. Ciel is now at his mercy, with no one close enough to offer assistance. Sieglinde isn’t present for Wolfram to take into custody, but his rage is real and Ciel is its obvious target. All looks grim, but there’s a wild card to be played. He was referenced as recently as Episode 6 of Kishuku Gakkou-hen, and spoke twice in this arc (and briefly in Book of Circus). But finally Diedrich (Hamada Kenji) makes his formal appearance. And it’s a much different appearance than he had in the flashback Ciel sees upon hearing his voice.

Diedrich does save Ciel from Wolfram’s bullet, for starters. And it seems he’s fulfilling a promise to Vincent, complainingly but perhaps not unwillingly. But it’s Vincent’s wording in that flashback that sticks out to me – Diedrich would look out for “Omaetachi” if something happened to him. That word choice is intentionally opaque of course, but the feeling is something like “you guys”. Ciel and his mother – or did Vincent have somethone else in mind? Toboso-sensei is not ready for the answer to take center stage – for now. And there’s certainly enough else going on. But it still feels like the most important moment of the episode…