English Dub Review: I Left My A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! “One Gold”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Clover returns to Glad Shi-im to infiltrate Vordan Castle and destroy the One Gold that threatens the world.

Our Take:
Following the further exploration of Glad Shi-im, we are now at another exposition-filled scenario defining the crucial evidence found in the dungeon.  As it turns out, the city’s appearance in the dungeon is because its ruler, King Vordan, was trying to save it by sending it to another dimension with an object called the “One Gold”.  However, the king’s plan only resulted in him transforming his people into monsters with his rings.  Additionally, the One Gold plays a role in the Twilight spell, the ability to grant wishes, and even the approaching culling of Clover’s world.  In short, the “One Gold” serves as a McGuffin that’ll determine the fate of this world and possibly many others, leaving Clover and the other teams determined to destroy the One Gold.
While this plot seemed straightforward, it was not without some minor obstacles that prolonged the episode.  One of which continues Rain’s personal family dilemma introduced in “The Capital Distorted by the Twilight”, in which her uncle Bran Crowder attempts to take her by force as part of his plan to establish ties with the royal family.  Of course, the greedy uncle isn’t in on this alone, as he’s cooperating with Duna’s Second Prince.  Unfortunately, Yuke’s actions in protecting Rain have made the other Clover girls the prince’s primary target.  Considering that the world is in danger of annihilation, the prince picked the worst time to mess with Clover.  In terms of the season’s structure, I think the arranged marriage subplot should be explored after the Glad Shi-im situation to make the plot less stuffed.
But that’s not the worst thing that dampens Clover’s chances of saving the world.  The party that was absent in the previous episode, Fullbound, has revealed their true colors by abducting Rune to beat the dungeon first, with Zaccard’s envy towards Clover leading the charge.  I would say that Fullbound is just as despicable and arrogant as Thunder Pike, but I still think Simon takes the cake as the show’s biggest piece of shit so far.  In Clover’s battle against Fullbound, we’ll determine whether Zaccard is worthy of taking that crown away from Thunder Pike’s leader.