Record of Grancrest War (Episode 4) - Decision

Siluca’s attempts to have Theo join the Alliance have failed. Her only choice now is to return to the lord she abandoned to serve Theo… Can’t imagine that will go well. Looks like this will be settled on the field of battle!

What happened?

Under the guidance of Siluca’s adopted father, Marrine Kreische refuses Theo’s request to join the alliance. It would set a bad precedent and soon they would be overrun with land-grabbing lords. Siluca is shocked but has another plan. However, when she arrives at the Earl of Artuk’s castle, she is promptly shown the door. This was the lord she was originally supposed to contract with and he’s not interested in the slightest.

All that remains is war. Theo and Siluca make preparations to face the Knights of Valdrind, but they are vastly outnumbered. Aishela attempts to hold them back at one gate and is mortally wounded. Her only hopes of survival rest in the healing hands of Priscilla. Word returns that one of Theo’s lords has fallen and so has the gate he was protecting. David Lassic is also on the run as the King of Savis closes in.

However, Lassic has lured them into a situation where the army is useless. They will have to fight him one on one, and there’s no one more suited to this style of fighting than David Lassic. He cuts down the enemy forces and eventually kills the King in single combat. With this news, the Knights of Valdrind retreat.

Siluca offers to have Theo stripped of his rank and left to wander the lands in exchange for a ceasefire, however, the Knights cannot accept the humiliation and demand Theo’s head. Amazingly, Theo was prepared to go through with it so save his people, but they refused his sacrifice. The Knights began the next stage of their attack, however, they left Marrine Kreische woefully unprotected and the Earl of Artuk saw his chance to attack. To thank him, Theo offers to become a knight under the Earl as long as he can maintain his contract with Siluca. It will mean giving up his land and title, but Theo has no hesitation.

Record of Grancrest War Episode 4 Margaret Odius

What did you think?

Things continue to move at an incredible pace with this series, and once again, I can’t decide whether this is a good thing or not. There has been so much political wrangling so far that it could have probably filled an entire twelve episode season. That’s right, these first four episodes could have easily been a full season if they had taken a little more time to flesh out the characters and the situations. It looks like things are about to take a bit of a shift in gears as Theo and Siluca move towards a quest-based story, which could be very interesting.

As with the other episodes, the fights continue to be pretty entertaining and quite bloody. There have been casualties, although I’ll be honest the lord that died was pretty much forgetable. I was worried that Aishela would die too, but there was no way they were going to take out one of their best characters.

Record of Grancrest War Episode 4 Aishela attacks the Knights of Valdrind

What have you learnt?

I feel like everything that’s happened so far could have been a prologue. Other than building some connections and setting the stage for future events, it feels a little bit like we’re back to episode one. Siluca is under the service of the Earl of Artuk all be it with Theo, but that was where she was going anyhow. What if Theo had shown up at the Earl’s or done something to get retained there anyhow. It would make this part kind of redundant. Hopefully, that won’t be the case, but it will be interesting to see where things go from here.