English Dub Review: Re:ZERO ~Starting Life in Another World~ “The Witches’ Tea Party”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Subaru returns to the graveyard and goes through the process once more. At night he goes back to the graveyard to get Echidna’s help. When he does he starts the second trial where he is faced with the aftermath of his deaths in his previous loops and when it stops Rem is there. Rem tries to comfort him and tells him to rest, but it has the opposite effect as Subaru demands to know who she is. The imposter reveals herself to be the Witch of Lust, Carmilla who said that Echidna requested her to comfort him and the surroundings change as Echidna appears behind Subaru. They discuss the second trial and how it places Subaru in a reality that is almost real and her suggestion to form a contract with her.

However before they could form the contract, Minerva appears, stopping the two with a warning about Echidna. One by one the other witches appear with their own comments. After listening to some of their warnings, Subaru then asks Echidna about the contract and what she gets out of it. Once she reveals her intentions, Subaru asks if she knows the identity of that person, the person who Beatrice has been waiting for four hundred years. Her answer makes him decide not to enter a contract with her. Suddenly the sky darkens as the last of the witches appear, Satella, the Witch of Envy.

Our Take:

This week’s episode of Re:ZERO shows a different path for Subaru instead of his previous actions of crunching everything he wants to do in days. On this loop, Subaru starts the second trial facing the possible aftermath of his deaths in the previous loops all the way to Subaru’s first death when he arrived in the world. The repetition of “behold an unthinkable present” hammers down how many times Subaru has died. The small scenes of the emotional reactions of those he left behind in those loops like Emilia and Beatrice were a good emotional gut punch for Subaru to reflect on his actions. Given how he had to see it all again in succession without much time to process it all, it is no wonder Echidna sent Camilla to comfort him. The series brings back events and characters from the first season in surprising ways and it’s a subtle reminder that the series is a long journey for Subaru to obtain the future he desires in this world. Additionally, Subaru’s desire to save everyone while not ending up like Roswaal is a good goal for him to undertake for the continuation of his journey.

Then there’s the scene with Carmilla posing as Rem and how her words didn’t match the real Rem’s hope for Subaru to never give up. Even in a small scene like this Re:ZERO divulges in small details that the audience can pick up on that later reveal an important aspect of the situation. For example, when Carmilla slips out that it was Echidna who asked her to comfort him. The hint of intrigue to Echidna’s motives kept me interested in her plan.

Speaking of Echidna, we’ve seen bits of Echidna’s nature as a witch throughout the series, but this episode is where she finally shows her monstrous nature as an evil witch. Echidna’s voice actor, Anairis Quiñones did a great job during the whole episode especially with how Echidna admitted to her plan, it was unnerving to her voice in such a neutral and calm tone. First with Subaru and the contract she proposed to him which has Subaru using her wisdom and her using his ability to return by death. However, she didn’t mention the payment at the cost of the contract until it was brought up. Additionally, there’s her minor lie on swapping with the other witches. Then there’s Beatrice and her contract to the Forbidden Library that’s kept her there for four hundred years. Echidna didn’t even know who that person was going to be for Beatrice and just wanted to see the possibilities of Beatrice choosing or remaining inside the library while being wracked by loneliness. Everything she says can only be met with suspicion from Subaru at this point.

The 360-degree dolly shot of Echidna sets her up like a saint as she reveals her desire to make a contract with Subaru to satisfy her curiosity. Then when the camera stops and zooms to her face, the bubbly bright atmosphere turns dark with her questioning words of love for Subaru. That moment was chilling with the moment of the other witches in silence and it reminds me of Satella from that previous episode. The fact that her mouth didn’t even move during that sequence was even more unsettling.

There’s also the introductions of the Witch of Lust, Carmilla, and the Witch of Sloth, Sekhmet. Carmilla’s appearance was cute as it was dangerous with how Subaru couldn’t breathe as he approached her. Meanwhile, Sekhmet gives off that lazy badass vibe with her comment on Echidna’s promise. Lastly, there’s Satella, who appears to be uninvited to the Witches’ tea party, and how she got there is anyone’s guess at this point.

Overall the episode was great from the voice acting to animations. I look forward to the last episode of the first half of this season and what else it’ll bring with the witches.