English Dub Review: The Drops of God “The Missing Goddesses”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Shizuku and Tomine work together to get back stolen wine.

Our Take:
Instead of moving on to the Fifth Apostle, this week’s episode has Shizuku and Miyabi embarking on yet another side quest amid the competition.  This time, they got another unexpected help from Tomine and Loulan as they attempt to solve a dilemma involving the five missing priceless wines, with Robert being accused of the crime.  Cue Fred saying, “It looks like we got ourselves a mystery on our hands.”  The three actual suspects at large are the recent visitors to the wine cellar, Hamasaki, Ikegami, and Morishita.  Of course, what better way to expose the culprit than a “friendly” dinner to test their wine expertise?
This leads me back to my initial concern about the season’s structure.  While the side quest episodes continue to emphasize the show’s wine culture and character backgrounds, they tend to slow down the overall plot involving the Twelve Apostles a tad.  “The Missing Goddesses” is no different from the rest, as Shizuku and Tomine put aside their differences to achieve a common goal: catching the wine thief.  Fortunately, the episode gives us a clear reason for the competition’s delay: Robert is suspected of a crime he didn’t commit, though the moment involving him and the cops was pretty funny.  More importantly, it leverages its wine expertise to offer a refreshing take on its usual whodunit premise, including the proper way to hold a wine glass.  However, it also shows that this mystery is actually the beginning of a much larger one involving an old villa.