English Dub Review: The Executioner and Her Way of Life “The Duo’s Journey”

Overview (Spoilers Below):
Chaos reigns in the fight against Pandemonium, and with ether in short supply, Menou is running out of options to defeat the looming evil. But through Akari, there is a way…

Our Take:
The season’s second half truly has some interesting moments compared to what the first half offered. In addition to the monstrine that quickly came and went, the previous episodes introduced us to one of the beings responsible for the Major Human Errors: Pandemonium. What seemed to be the name of a fog prison that houses monsters is actually a young Lost One who’s indestructible (and incredibly creepy). With the finale already on display, this seemed like a great opportunity for the executioner to take her down.
The first half of “The Duo’s Journey” continues where the previous episode left off, with Menou and Ashuna teaming up to destroy Pandemonium. With the help of Akari’s Ether and Ashuna’s sword, the executioner finally manages to kill Pandemonium before the demon child reveals the solution to killing Akari.
Regarding Pandemonium’s voice and the CGI effects for her monstrous centipede form, it was probably for the best that the battle covers the majority of the episode’s first half. The showdown itself is admittedly thrilling without feeling too rushed, with Menou battling Pandemonium and Ashuna punching the hell out of her limbs. Although, the fact that Pandemonium’s fragment is active left me feeling a bit disappointed that we’ll be seeing her again soon.
The finale’s second half follows the usual formula of exposing brief teases of what direction the show will go for its potential sophomore season. One of them is the Sword of Salt, the product responsible for one of the Human Errors. The Sword has the ability to destroy any Pure Concept, meaning that Menou has finally found a way to kill Akari. But as usual, Menou’s hidden feelings towards Akari keep distracting her from the mission. So it looks like Menou may have to secretly find a solution to prevent Akari from becoming a threat without killing her in season two.
Another tease is that Manon is revived by the Pandemonium fragment in the real world. It is also implied that Pandemonium is Manon’s older sister. So we’ll definitely be seeing them again if the series continues. But that’s nothing compared to the final two scenes. One of which has Momo vowing to kill Akari herself after growing more jealous of the unkillable Lost One. The big question to that is how far she would go to accomplish her mission and how it would affect her relationship with Menou. Then we have Flare, who overhears about Pandemonium and the Mechanical Society Human Errors becoming active. She resolves to kill Menou so she can force Akari to reset the timeline and continue the process.
So there’s a lot to look forward to in the show’s second season if it happens. Old enemies will return to spread chaos, and Menou’s closest allies will have bigger plans for Akari. All while trying to complete the impossible task. “The Duo’s Journey” marks a decent end to the seasonal arc and a new start of the executioner’s next chapter in her journey. While it doesn’t have anything too unique in the series, it offers enough to get me interested in its potential second season.