English Dub Review: Requiem of the Rose King “Even if I sin…”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
The Yorkist cause seems desperate, with Warwick championing the Lancastrian cause and Henry back on the throne. Edward entrusts Richard to carry out a secret mission that could reverse their fortunes.

Our Take:
The episode continues to see Richard and Catesby on a rescue mission to rescue King Edward from Lancaster. During the mission, Richard runs into Prince Edward of Lancaster. Not knowing their true identities, Prince Edward secretly helps Richard save his brother from Warwick’s cruel wrath.
I was a bit concerned going into this one because I thought the Funimation website skipped this week’s episode. However, I later found out that the title name for episode seven was the only error, not the episode lineup. Instead, it was named after the eighth episode, with the remaining episodes following suit incorrectly. Hopefully, the website will fix that before the season’s over to avoid any more confusion.
Aside from that, this is another watchable chapter in the ongoing war between York and Lancaster. For starters, it explores more on Prince Edward’s affections towards Richard during their rescue mission, even going as far as impressing him at a marketplace. Here, we see him believing that Richard is a woman, but in reality, the latter is not whom he seems to be. Thus, it gave Prince Edward no knowledge that he’s sinning in loving someone else, let alone a man. At least, that’s what I believe since I have no experience with Shakespearean lore.
This is also the episode where we see Richard’s feminine parts working to the character’s advantage for once. The previous episodes usually depict Richard suffering from his physique. Here, there’s actually a bright side to having a woman’s body regarding the mission itself, as Richard pretends to be a maid to spring King Edward out of prison. While it didn’t expand on this scenario as I hoped, it works well enough to represent Richard’s intersex as more than just a curse.
Overall, “Even if I sin…” is a successful rescue mission that emphasizes the characters and the sins they brought within themselves, mainly Warwick. Despite some confusion with the episode lineup and the lack of strong exploration of Richard’s scenario, it’s suitable enough to turn the tide of the war. At least until Warwick gains another upper hand in the next episode.