Overlord (Episode 5) – Two Venturers
Lord Ainz Ooal Gown looks to expand his information network by becoming a high-ranking adventurer. Not long after getting into E-Rantel he is hired by Nfirea Bareare to accompany him on a quest. However, something seems off!
Overlord (Episode 5) – Two Venturers
What did you watch?
After a couple of episodes of posturing and explaining Ainz Ooal Gown’s situation, we got to see how powerful he is and it made the local tough guys look like babies. That alone was worth the slow start, however, things are just getting going. We’re about to enter my favourite arc in the first season as Ainz Ooal Gown takes on another identity and goes undercover. The flexibility of the characters is one of this series’ strengths, allowing us to go anywhere and see anything. Anyhow, let’s dive in.
What happened?
Ainz Ooal Gown is busy strengthening his information network as he searches for other players from Yggdrasil and learns about this new world. His latest plan is to infiltrate the adventurers’ guild. Once he’s risen up to the top ranks, he should have access to the hardest quests which will give him connections with some of the most influential people. However, since he’s new, he has to start at the bottom – copper. He’s brought one of the Pleiades Six Stars, Naberal Gamma with him as his accomplice, although she’ll be known as Nabe.
During a scene in a tavern, Momon (Ainz Ooal Gown’s adventurer alias) breaks a girl’s healing potion and offers her a replacement. However, it’s a red potion and all potions in E-Rantel are blue. She takes it to a famous pharmacist who is surprised to learn how strong the potion is. When the girl refuses to sell it, they instead get some information about where she got it from. That leads them to Momon who they hire to accompany them on a quest to the woodland outside Carne Village. He accepts the quest along with his new partners, the Swords of Darkness, although something is making him feel uneasy. What is Nfirea up to?
What did you think?
I alluded earlier to this being my favourite arc in the first season and that stands. I’m a sucker for the adventurers’ guild and that part of life in these fantasy worlds. It’s great that Momon is able to change his class by using the armour. That way we get to see him as a dual sword wielder as well as the scariest mage in the world. I also love Nabe as his assistant. Just like Albedo, Nabe detests humans and is very quick to overreact. Of course, Momon catches her before she can cause any trouble which just adds to their relationship. She struggles to refer to him without a title and is caught out whenever he casually talks to her. I love the way she shoots down Lukeluther Volve’s advances.
What was your favourite moment?
When you really think about this episode not a lot happened that could be considered action. There was a lot of talking and plotting, which is also very entertaining. For some reason, I have a soft spot for the scenes where Albedo and Shalltear get into an argument about Lord Ainz. However, that wasn’t my favourite moment. I loved how this episode built things up towards the scene with Khajiit Dale Badantel and Clementine. When we heard about Nfirea’s ability, both Nabe and Momon agreed that it could be useful. We also heard about how having a potion so powerful would be dangerous for the adventurer. I liked how they took that warning and turned it onto Nfirea. Also, Clementine is a wonderfully insane character. I can’t wait for more scenes with her, even knowing what happens.
Who was the most impactful character?
There were lots of smaller introductions in this episode and as such no one really stole the show. I am a big fan of Nabe so her introduction was nice. It’s fun watching her trying not to take offence whenever anyone does anything she deems disrespectful to Lord Ainz. I liked Nfirea and his grandmother. Even the adventurer who got the potion, Brita seemed like a lively character. However, it’s impossible to overlook Clementine. Everything about her screams crazy and that’s just what we need right now, especially with Momon being so considerate about his actions. Crazy in real life is a pain, but in a story, it’s practically required.
What have you learned?
Earlier this week, I was talking about how Goblin Slayer manages to alternate between slower episodes and episodes packed full of action. The same can be said for Overlord and another of my favourite isakei shows, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. I think it’s a true measure of how interesting the story and the characters are if we can sit around and watch them strategize and plot without it getting boring. If we can sit down with them and listen to them talking about nothing and everything while having a drink or something to eat, even better. The idea is to capture the audience’s attention with characters that they want to be around. Once you’ve done that, they’ll more than likely follow those characters to the end.
Other posts in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – End and Beginning
- Episode 2 – Floor Guardians
- Episode 3 – Battle at Carne Village
- Episode 4 – Ruler of Death
- Episode 5 – Two Venturers
- Episode 6 – Journey
- Episode 7 – Wise King of Forest
- Episode 8 – Twin Swords of Slashing Death
- Episode 9 – The Dark Warrior
- Episode 10 – True Vampire
- Episode 11 – Confusion and Understanding
- Episode 12 – The Bloody Valkyrie
- Episode 13 – Player VS Non Player Character
- Bonus
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