Kumoko’s nest is scorched again!
Episode 10 is a bit of fresh air from the previous revelation-filled episode. It focused more on the aftermath of Julius’s sudden demise, and we are fully introduced to the royal family: King Meiges, and Shun’s half-brothers Cylis and Leston. News of Julius’s death has obvious affected the family, but they have to keep it a secret to the kingdom for the time being to avoid losing morale.
Still, that doesn’t mean that everything is settled. Shun is pretty much still a student, but now that he is the Hero, he has to leave his studies and prepare to take Julius’s place as the hope of the human race against the advancing demon army. Thankfully, his brothers are very supportive… apparently.
Meanwhile, the war effort is going badly with Analeit losing several major fortresses. Fortunately, the Mage Ronandt is there to win the day, though even he is apprehensive of the demons’s advance as a Queen Taratect appeared. And it is here that another twist is revealed: Ronandt has already faced Kumoko during a hunt fifteen years ago… which is what we are seeing in Kumoko’s POV.
The interesting part about this is not just how Kumoko decimated the hunting group with ease despite the presence of Ronandt, but how it happened fifteen years ago. This confirms that the Kumoko we have been following until now is just at the earlier stages of her adventure and has likely survived all these years. But this raises a big question: just how strong she is now?
Overall, episode 10 dials down the action and revelations by a little. Nevertheless, it presents us with some new information about the overarching story and sets up some plot threads down the road.
Episode score: 8/10.