In this week’s episode of The Ancient Magus’ Bride, fans got a deeper look into Philomela’s (Maki Kawase) life outside of the college, and in terms of tragic backgrounds, she seems to be right up there with Chise (Atsumi Tanezaki).
Along with a less-than-ideal home life, it seems Philomela’s fundamental purpose has nothing to do with learning magic at college, but her true intentions have yet to be revealed.
While she disappeared from school to visit home, Chise and the other students engaged in classes meant to test their survival skills ahead of a camping trip to Scotland.
- There’s a flashback to young Rian and Philomela climbing a tree. Although he struggles at first, Rian eventually makes it up the tree as well, complimenting her climbing skills.
- The scene returns to the present, where the students engage in a rock climbing unit in their physical education class.
- While walking in on the P.E. class, Adolf discovers Elias secretly watching Chise in class and realizes this is something the mage often does.
- After being summoned home, viewers meet Alcyone. They are a large figure who manifests when called on by Philomela. It is unclear whether they are human, magical creatures, or familiar.
- Alcyone tells Philomela that they’ve heard mages and witches are sensitive to the scene of certain emotions, and they speculate that this could be how Chise and Ruth were able to locate Philomela even when she was trying to hide.
- In class, Chise asks Isaac what Bushcraft is. He says Bushcraft is comparable to camping in that it’s where you learn skills needed to survive in nature without using sorcery.
- Chise and her friends learn to cook to prepare for their upcoming camping trip to Scotland. She wonders if Elias will insist on coming as well.
- The episode ends with the students being sent on a camping trip where they begin trying to use the survival skills they learned in class while a mysterious figure watches Chise from the forest.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 8 Release Date and Time
Season 2, Episode 8, will be released on Crunchyroll on Thursday, May 25th, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. ET. Episode 8 is titled “Slow and sure. II” and will have a run time of approximately 23 minutes.
Where to watch online
Viewers worldwide can catch The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 Episode 8 with a subscription to Crunchyroll on the date mentioned above.
Predictions
I wasn’t exactly right or wrong in my predictions last week. While Chise did end up in a P.E. class, she did not seem to struggle any more than anyone else. Also, while we learned more about Philomela, it was not enough to assume anything about her motivations.
- In the preview for next week, there appear to be monsters in the forest. I have a feeling that most if not all, will be hostile. I could see them attacking Chise and maybe even the entire class.
- Since Philomela has not shown back up yet, I have a feeling she may somehow be involved with these monster attacks in the forest.
