The Ancient Magus' Bride Episode 18 Review: Forgive and Forget

Things are starting to escalate in The Ancient Magus’ Bride! Even though it started off pretty peaceful and fluffy, diving deeper into Elias and Chise’s relationship, as well as Chise’s own abilities as a mage, by the end of it, things did not look too good! Pretty sure we’re in for a wild ride after this, so start holding on to your seats, folks!

Plot

Stella proves good on her word when she visits Chise’s home to deliver baked goodies, as they had originally agreed on when they looked for Ethan. Chise was quite happy to finally have a friend over, but Elias was not. Looks like the centuries-old mage truly has the tendency to act like a kid when it comes to her because this time he was jealous of her second newfound friend!

Episode Highlights

Friend: Huhuhu my heart! I’m betting each and every single one of us was so happy for Chise when Stella came to visit! It wasn’t just to fulfill her promise too! She truly saw Chise as her friend. I mean, if she wasn’t at all interested, she would’ve just dropped off her desserts and left immediately, right? But, she was so excited, she even invited Chise over to visit her house next time! She also gave our introverted protagonist some tips on how to hang out with friends and just saying what she wants to say. She can bake a ton, too! How mature and capable for a ten-year-old! Chise’s really fortunate to have a friend like her. Or more like, she’s fortunate to have two friends now! There are no longer any worries of Stella being weirded out too, as just like with Alice, she already knows that her new friend is a mage!

Jealousy: Elias is really showing more of his true feelings now, huh? Even if he doesn’t realize it. During that part when he kept clinging onto Chise, and even bit her shoulder, somehow I got the image of a kid throwing a tantrum, clinging to his toy while pouting! Then again, he’s a very powerful mage, so he’s also dangerous. He almost suffocated Chise! I have to hand it to her, she kept acting mature and composed even in that situation, so it’s not just Stella. She drew wisdom from her own feelings, how she was scared of Elias leaving her, how she was jealous of others, especially Stella, for having a family. But, the best example of her maturity is how she’s able to conquer her own feelings, unlike Elias who definitely needs to understand more about himself and how to act. At least he realized how much trouble he caused his treasured person. It was so surreal to see him super apologetic!

Sleep: Chise’s lullaby was beautiful, no? She seemed even more like a mother to Elias then, patting him gently as she sang. That’s why I’m not surprised he fell asleep immediately! But to think the student accidentally cast a spell on her teacher without her intending to because she had a talent for things regarding sleep! I’m just glad she has Angelica to run to with these things! The lady really is like a mother to her, and even her husband treated her warmly! It’s also great that Angie was able to help her figure out how to wake Elias up. It was so amusing to see how Chise just didn’t care about being pleasant anymore. She just up and stuck her hand in his mouth to get him drinking her potion! Well, if I were in her shoes and I was already so darn sleepy, I probably would’ve done the same.

Fleeting lives: Being a mage comes with its pros and cons, huh? You’re privileged to be able to use magic, talk to fairies and enlist their help, and live a really long life, which are all things most people want to have. But then, the latter is also a curse, because your loved ones will always leave you first. To think that Angelica eventually got married to the young boy who only started with a crush on her! Their relationship sounds super sweet; David had the patience to woo her for years, so for sure he won’t ever leave her, except when he dies way before she does. So you can’t help but understand why Angie hesitated to fall in love. The angst is real! No wonder David seemed so genuinely worried for Chise when she started coughing out blood. He also wanted her to live a long life, so she can keep on being with the people she loves.

Guess who’s back? It’s your boy, Joseph! He even teamed up with Ashen Eye! And when two unpleasant people get together to scheme, you know everyone’s going to have a bad time! What do they both want to achieve this time anyway? They even got Stella involved! Don’t you dare harm the precious baby girl! Then again, Cartaphilus already kidnapped two baby dragons, putting that awful look on Lindel’s (beautiful) face! How dare!!!

Themes & Trivia

Forgive and forget – This means to not only forgive but to also forget that the person ever hurt you. Because usually, when people decide to forgive someone who wronged them, they still tend to bring up the incident to spite them, which is unfortunate.

Triple Goddess – If you’re wondering why the goddess Ruth mentioned that she’ll be her mother next winter, it’s probably because she’s the Triple Goddess, the wife of the Horned God in Neopaganism. She represents the cycle of birth, life and death (then rebirth) as the Maiden, the Mother and the Crone. These titles also serve as an archetype, and one of the goddesses that fit as the Maiden is Brigid, who seems to resemble the one we saw.

Comments

You know how you’re already expecting the thrill of a rollercoaster ride but still get surprised anyway? That’s how it was for me with this episode! I just love the pacing so much, the way the writing had been focusing on peaceful and heartwarming events so far, then something sinister started to creep in. You then know a dangerous new arc is coming, but it’s never forced in! It’s all so interesting and intriguing too that you can’t help but want the next chapter quickly! Really, we’re already into the 18th episode and the show is still so beautiful, every single aspect of it.

Terrible, terrible, terrible!

Cartaphilus is here to mess with Chise and the gang again, and it seems like new characters will be dragged in, too! What awaits our protagonist, especially since she shouldn’t use her magic anymore?

Jot down your thoughts and opinions over in the comments! I look forward to reading them! Please keep on reading our other Winter 2018 series reviews, too!