Record of Grancrest War (Episode 18) – Leader

Theo assumes control of the treaty group without any objection. He announces that they are to break away from the union. How will that go down with the Union and the Alliance?
What happened?
Theo hopes that as a third party, they will be able to create the balance needed to deliver a long and lasting peace. It’s not going to be easy as Theo will need the Union to make moves against the Alliance, which seems unlikely given the Alexis Doucet is still their leader. That may be about to change, however, as the Earl of LeCouleurs has been betrayed by Lord Dawson.
Siluca arranges for Theo to meet up with Alexis in private. There Alexis asks Theo to rejoin the Union and even lead it. Theo must refuse as he believes that only Alexis can save Marrine from herself. He tells Alexis that she still loves him and is afraid of what happened to their fathers happening to them.
After some consideration, Alexis takes up arms against Lord Dawson and plans on entering the battle. If this is what he must do to save Marrine, then so be it.
Meanwhile, the Pope has declared himself to be the Holy Grail, a vessel capable of uniting the crests and summoning a god to banish the chaos. That would be fine if Prescilla wasn’t the Holy Grail. Something is not right about this and I’ll be it’s all connected to the Black Witch!

What did you think?
So, this was a much slower episode, but that’s probably a good thing after the action of the last couple of episodes. It did a good job of showing how the power has shifted and Theo creating a third party is an interesting idea. He now should find himself in a position to play both sides without appearing bias. And let’s be honest here, a two-party system is just asking for trouble!
I’m curious to see what the Pope side of the story will bring, especially as there are only six episodes left. That’s one of the reasons I think it will tie together with everything else and help bring to an epic climax… No, no. I’m not talking about Edokia…

What have you learnt?
It’s about time Alexis stepped up and did something, and the best thing about it is that it feels like the natural thing for him to do at this stage. Given his nature, it would have been far too forced had he jumped into action sooner. He had to make a decision based on his character at that time and it cost him. He lost Villar and the Earl of LeCouleurs. However, even that wasn’t enough to drive him into action.
It was only when Theo told him about Marrine and what she is doing to herself to save him. He now has a good reason to take action. This has been an interesting character development, although not because of the change, but because it was Theo that made it happen. Sure, Alexis had to make the choice, but he would never have got there without the guidance. Let’s see if he can build on this momentum.

Other reviews in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – Contract
- Episode 2 – Ambition
- Episode 3 – Battle Flag
- Episode 4 – Decision
- Episode 5 – Forest of Eternal Darkness
- Episode 6 – March
- Episode 7 – The White Prince
- Episode 8 – The Congress Dances
- Episode 9 – The Black Princess
- Episode 10 – Blade of Betrayal
- Episode 11 – The Fall of Castle Unicorn
- Episode 12 – A Treaty Formed
- Episode 13 – To the Homeland
- Episode 14 – The Liberator of Sistina
- Episode 15 – Return
- Episode 16 – Outpost
- Episode 17 – Two Heroes
- Episode 18 – Leader
- Episode 19 – The Awakening of a Noble
- Episode 20 – Pitched Battle of the Three Forces
- Episode 21 – Purge
- Episode 22 – The Holy Grail
- Episode 23 – Castle Walls
- Episode 24 – Grancrest
