"It's a waste of time asking people who they are. All you can do is accept them as is."
FULL EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD
Well after that hot mess of awkward that ended last episode, how can we start today's episode? By, of course, showing us yet again why Suguha's heart is broken! Yay!...?
Yeah, it's not as good the first time around, guys, we don't need to get that uncomfortable feeling all over again. It's kinda one I don't want to relive. All I can think of when I watch it, though, is trying to explain what's going on to someone whose never watched the show. So, she's his sister, but not really, they're related like cousins but then she loves his avatar and...
I'm really hungry.
Thankfully, we move past that, and finally get to see Kirito reflect on the real circumstance of the family. We find out that perhaps it was this revelation that he wasn't really a part of the family that kept him away from Suguha, and that drove him to online gaming. He figured he could become someone new there, someone who nobody knew about. And, in a way, that makes sense and was what happened. There's an unspoken rule in the online gaming community, in SAO, to not talk about real life. So, in the game, Kirito was a hero to everyone, not some tech-geek.
I do like that Kirito has this moment of reflection, because it seems to soften the blow for all of this. He doesn't just sit on the situation and mope about it, as he realizes that he wants to rebuild the friendship that he and Suguha had when they were younger, and decides to take action to do so in ALO. It's a wise move on his part, since at this moment in time, it's the biggest thing the two have in common. Yes, they do have the whole Kendo thing, but, they've been interacting so much, and so well, online together that their relationship is strongest in ALO, so asking to see her in game would make the most sense.
Suguha reflects on how she isn't as strong as Kirito, but that's crap. She might have had an emotional breakdown, but if she were really as weak as she were now, she wouldn't go back into the game to confront him like she does. She just had her whole world flipped on her and with everything happening so fast, it's okay to take a moment to try and break and have a small breakdown. What matters is picking the pieces back up and dealing with the issue. Thankfully, these characters are smart enough to realize that.
What I don't get is how she's dealing with what she said about blaming Kazuto for all this. No, it's not his fault, but, gah. Stop blaming yourself, girl. She feels tons of guilt and thinks she's pushed him too far away now, but, come on. He wouldn't have asked you to join him in game if that were the case.
Suguha awakens at the door of the World Tree, and there, Rekon meets with her, where he then professes his love for her. She doesn't accept but doesn't deny it, more just punches him in the face when he tries to kiss her. But with her spirits lifted after that silly moment, Leafa heads off to face Kirito.
There, Kirito is ready to say something, but Leafa challenges him to a duel. Aw yeah, finally a fight between Kirito and Leafa to see who really is the stronger ALO player...!
And it amounts to a couple swings of the sword. Seriously. The music is all legit, the set-up is cool, and all that happens is that both of them throw the fight. Come on, man.
Whatever. Kirito and Leafa both admit to wanting to throw the duel as a method of apologizing (???), and Kirito admits that for him, SAO isn't really over until he has Asuna back safe and sound. Only then will he be able to figure out his life back home, and Leafa says she'll wait for him so that they can rebuild the life they had before SAO.
Thank. God.
So, when I first watched it, I thought Kirito was basically giving Leafa false hope that they could end up together (which was discomforting) but watching it again I realize that he means for things to go back to the way they were, and maybe even better, since he's had the experience in SAO to realize what it means to have strong, long friendships with people he cares for.
And with their friendship renewed and the awkwardness over, Kirito, Leafa, and Rekon begin the battle within the World Tree to get to the top. Both the Sylphs fall back as support while Kirito manages to start things off a lot better than he had his first go-around, even without the help of Leafa and Rekon. But when the Guardians start targeting Rekon and Leafa, things start to get dicey.
Rekon, surprisingly, jumps into battle and begins using magic to start slicing up some of the Guardians, and eventually sacrifices himself to try and make a hole through the impenetrable wall of Guardians (think what the Nova Corps did in Guardians of the Galaxy). There is a pretty lame moment, in my opinion, where Leafa merely shouts "Heal!" to heal Kirito, which is bogus. If that were the case, then why are they constantly spewing that new language? What the heck!
Rekon's sacrifice, similar to Vegeta's in both appearance and outcome, is to no avail, and Kirito begins to get pounded by the Guardians as their numbers are too great and Leafa finds herself surrounded, the two losing hope in their odds.
However, much like in The Return of the King, a Deus Ex Machina army appears and saves the day! Yup, it's Alicia and Sakuya, returned with new armor and freaking dragons, baby! They begin tearing through the armies as Kirito is fully healed. He and Leafa lead the charge, paving the path for the army to get the upper hand.
Finally, Leafa tosses Kirito her sword, and he's able to use his great flying speed and abilities to bust through to the top.
I love this battle. The animation is much better in this fight than in previous ones in the ALO arc, the music is intense, Rekon's sacrifice is a good character moment (this episode overall was vital for him as a character, I must say), and getting to see Alicia and Sakuya again is pretty cool. Some of the orders they shout out are pretty lame (fire breath attack!) but who cares, it's the moment that matters. And seeing Leafa and Kirito fight side-by-side is also really great to see given how the whole episode started.
Kirito calls upon Yui to get the door to open, but Yui reveals that the door was never meant to be opened, and that the Grand Quest was indeed meant to be impossible. Guardians begin to surround them and just before they lose hope, Kirito remembers he still has the System Console card and Yui uses it to open the door, teleporting them away and ending the episode.
I would say that the card is also a Deus Ex Machina, but, it really isn't Asuna stole it a couple episodes ago and its original purpose was only to send a message to Kirito and Yui that she was indeed in the World Tree. The fact that it could be used to open the door is something of a coincidence, but when it's run by the same system you would think its code could open the door.
Anyway, this episode is surprisingly better than one would expect it to be. It doesn't at all dwell on the busted relationship between Kazuto and Suguha, instead mending it in a fast but meaningful way. Plus, there's great character development and some great action to carry us through.
Now, though, Kirito and Yui are finally in the World Tree. It's time to find Asuna! See you then.
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