【Re:ZERO】S4 E10 Impressions

Season 4 of Re: ZERO seemed pretty straight forward: Find the stage of this mysterious tower to hopefully find a way to reverse the effects of the Sin Archbishop known as “Gluttony”. However, things have not been nearly that simple, and this episode is a continuation of the madness that occurred back in Episode 7 and fully realized in Episode 8.

Subaru not having his memories means that everything is brand new to him, including experiencing his power “Return by Death”. The problem is we have no idea why Subaru has lost his memories, who pushed him down the stairs to kill him back in Episode 8, and what everything is building up to. It feels like complete filler but, maybe the reason behind this detour will be worth it.

Episode 10 has seen Subaru wake up next to Meili’s dead body, to which he has a carving in his arm presumably from the original Natsuki Subaru (or at least the one who has his memories intact). It makes me wonder if Meili was the one responsible for killing Subaru back in Episode 8, or if there was a way to warn himself of impending danger. There’s also a possibility of Meili’s death being sort of a guide towards the proper path that the present Subaru needs to take. It’s so confusing.

What significance does Meili’s death hold and why did Subaru need to read her book? Why was the deceased Meili within Subaru’s conscience and seemingly torturing him with her presence and the guilt of knowing “he” was the one who killed her? Not to mention we have the case of Beatrice, Ram, and Patrasche (the ground dragon).

There’s a strong suspicion at the end of the episode that Beatrice, Ram, and Patrasche are all aware that Subaru was the one who killed Meili. Sure, Beatrice healed Subaru’s hand and did not allude to anything, but she loves him and considers him her most special person. If Meili was killed by Subaru, Beatrice would trust there had to be a good reason he’d keep it hidden from everyone. This also goes for Patrasche, who loves Subaru enough to sacrifice herself out in the desert when the needle was aimed at him. Ram would be the one to call things out and get to the bottom of it, but at least had respect enough to do so away from any listening ears or prying eyes.

Considering that Subaru has murdered time and time again within this place — within the tunnels beneath the tower, Meili, etc. — he may very well believe that killing Ram would be the appropriate route. The anime seems to foreshadow this with Subaru’s thoughts and the episode title (“Murder is a habit”), but leaves on a savage cliffhanger.

I’m really unsure about what is going on here, if Subaru will wind up killing Ram and if anyone else really knows what he did. Why is it that Ram considers Subaru a fake, or at least has an inkling that he isn’t his usual self despite only his awkward behavior to judge things by? I really cannot wait until Episode 11.