THIS. IS. WAR!
Episode 20 brings us back to the past as the main focus of the story. And this time, it seems that Kumoko has found herself in deeper trouble! Her stay in Sariella has caused unwanted results: the second visit of the man in the armor, hereafter name Gilly-Gilly due to his ridiculous name, and the declaration of war by the Ohts kingdom and its allied nations.
Gilly is an interesting character, to say the least. For one, he manages to make Kumoko actually converse with another person, though it is not easy for our favorite spider. Moreover, he actually respects Kumoko’s strength and requests for her to stop interacting with the humans as well as cease her attack on Ariel, both of which she can’t fulfill for various reasons. Foremost of which, of course, is her growing attachment to Sophia and the revelation that the world will be destroyed.
Meanwhile, the war with Ohts is already expected. After all, Kumoko “accidentally” destroyed an Ohts fortress during her escape out of the labyrinth, and they would naturally want revenge for it. It just so happens that they hate Sariella as well even before Kumoko settled there, so they are hitting two birds in one stone. Further complicating matters is the fact that Kumoko killed an Ohts diplomat just because he annoyed her.
It is no surprise then that Kumoko would feel guilty about causing the whole thing and ultimately decides to help the city… which may or may not be due to the amount of EXP she would get from the humans.
Back to the present, we finally learn more about Oka and her lives both as a teacher and as a reincarnation. It seems that she truly cares for the well-being of her students, to the point that she would modify her personality just to get closer to them and even kidnap them in their new lives, no matter how much they would hate her. This stems from the fact that her skills allow her to know the time of death of her students, among other useful information, though she can’t reveal it to them, which makes her that much desperate.
However, it seems everyone is not out of danger at all. Hugo’s massive army continues to advance, and behind him, an even greater force from Ariel.
Overall, episode 20 is slightly slow-paced and focused on setting up the last four episodes of the season. But despite that, the stage has been set for an explosive showdown.
Episode score: 8.5/10.