If anyone read this article on Sunday and has come back they will notice I just edited it. ToastCrust thankfully pointed out that Fate/Zero is 13 and not 12 episodes long this season. That explains SO much about the pace of this episode. So I decided that everything in the middle of the post is fine but I had to update the introduction and conclusion if for nothing else so it looks a little nicer in the archives. Hey I can still use the opening next week as it is no less true next week than is today. Otherwise this would have rather anticlimactic for a final episode.  It would be like having your cliff hanger season finale be the infamous soccer episode of Eureka Seven. While important things happen in that episode and revelations are made it would still feel a bit odd to end at that point. What would leave you with this burning desire to finish the next season? Thankfully this is just the penultimate episode and the series will end the season with a major confrontation with Caster.  Until then it is time for Kirei to do some soul-searching (or more exactly an examination of his lack thereof) and Irisviel to be filled with tragic illness.

The first Servant has been eliminated and so the original deception at the beginning of the war has become a reality. This time Assassin truly has died. But that does not mean that the other participants can rest on their laurels. There are still plans to be made and a prize to be won for killing Caster. So Saber and Irisviel relocate to a new base of operations while Kirei learns that his role in the Holy Grail War is not over.

Now that the number of Servants has gone from 7 to 6 the most dangerous players are stepping up their games. Tokiomi seems to think that the war is pretty much wrapped up. With the intelligence he has gathered he seems not to fear anyone but Rider and now that he knows the King of Conquerors powers he assumes it is only a matter of time before he wraps up this little conflict. Kiritsugu on the other hand still see most of the remaining Masters as a threat worth worrying about. But he is most perplexed by Kirei’s acti0ns. If Kirei was just supposed to act as recon with Assassin why did he stick his neck out to fight when they seems like a completely useless tactical decision. Kiritsugu knows there is something more to Kirei but he has no idea what that is.

At the same time there is someone who knows the deal with Kirei even more than Kirei himself. Kirei says that he is glad to be out of the Holy Grail War as now he can be protected by the church. But Gilgamesh sees the truth. Gilgamesh sees a man who says he knows nothing of pleasure but knows exactly what bring joy to this priest. Gilgamesh sees a man who says he has no wishes in his heart but know what he truly longs for in his heart. Gilgamesh knows that Kirei enjoys suffering. That Kirei is happiest when committing sacrilege. But Kirei still considers himself a man of the cloth. He still feels that what makes him happy is a sin. And so at the end of the episode when Kirei regains his command seals Gilgamesh knows exactly why he is back in the fight. Kirei is a twisted man who needs a Servant. Gilgamesh is a twisted Servant who need a more interesting Master. All that is left is for both parties to realize their mutual compatibility. Gilgamesh gives need to give him that little push to betray his mentor.

Now that Einzbern castle has been compromised Saber and Irisviel must relocate themselves. Any fans of Fate/Stay Night will instantly recognize this their new base of operations will eventually become Shiro’s house. It might be a little run down now but is clearly the same place. As they look around Saber notices that Irisviel is not herself and it is revealed that the homunculus is not feeling quite well. She plays it off that she is just feeling ill but being a magical construct she can not run the local doctor. Irisviel seems like she being honest but she is holding back on a vital detail. She is not merely sick. She is falling apart. As the vessel for the Holy Grail as each Servant dies she lowly unravels as a human being and starts to become the Grail. Ilya dealt with this better than her mother but only because they went out of improve on her after her mother’s design. But clearly Irisviel will only get worse as the war goes on slowly becoming less and less herself as the Grail erupts out of her.

Those who played Fate/Stay Night will also remember that Saber is summoned by Shiro in the shed of this house. A neat little nudge and the wink is they show us that while Irisviel was working here it was her who created that magic circle that is later used as the point in which Saber arrives on the scene of the 5th Holy Grail War. That is a bit of retcon. I assume that circle originally was either supposed to be just a visual effect, something Kiritsugu made after the war, or something Shiro made practicing in the shed. Despite that I think it is a clever wink and a nod and therefore I approve of how it ties to two series together.

This episode is a nice little breather between the death of Assassin and the battle royal that will go down around Caster. Oddly enough episode twelve did not really set up that fight but they also had no need to. The previous few episodes have shown that everyone is getting ready to stop Caster’s reign of madness. What these episodes do is set up some of the subtler things going down in the next season. Kirei’s sudden but inevitable betrayal as well as Irisviel’s equally unavoidable demise. I do have to say it was unexpected to see Kirei was actually struggling with his darkness. I had assumed any allegiances he had were all an act. Apparently he did have something approximating a conscience at one point. You learn something new every day. That said the next episode is the last episode we shall see for a while so hopefully they end on a spectacular note.