This week’s episode was very enjoyable. This iteration of the Seven Deadly Sins was split into two parts. The first half was rather emotional with the back story of Ban and Zhivago and second was more light-hearted. However, at the end, the story got more and more tense, escalating into the confrontation by King of Meliodas and his past with the Ten Commandments.
After Meliodas passed his trial we see the other members of the Seven Deadly Sins waiting outside. King is very angry at Hendrickson for what he did to Helbram. Hendrickson says: “I will accept any punishment when the times comes … I need to protect Lioness.” But King doesn’t really care. After the opening, we join again Ban, Jericho and the Ware-Fox. We finally see the full backstory of Ban with the thief Zhivago. Ban was mistreated by his parents. He never had food, so he was always hungry. On the look out for food, he was even kidnapped by a man and a woman. They wanted to sell him to Lady Roxane. However, he is saved by Zhivago. In their hideout, Ban asks Zhivago to teach him how to steal. Zhivago is at first reluctant to teach him how to steal. He says, that he will never be able to be part of the normal human society. Nevertheless, the thief teaches him how to steal. After some time, Ban asks Zhivago about his son.
After a short description of his son, Zhivago says to Ban, that he should never trust humans. We see, that Zhivago sees Ban almost like his own son. To Ban, the thief is like the perfect father. However, tragedy takes hold of them and they are torn apart. Zhivago leaves behind Ban, who is being beaten after a failed steeling attempt, to save his son, who is threatened to be killed by some soldiers, who have found his hideout. Back to present, Ban realizes, that the beastman in the bed is Zhivago and there is a very heartful reunion. Back to the other Seven Deadly Sins. King doesn’t want to train with the others, because he is not in the mood anymore. To train, the team has to go in pairs inside a cave with the bare minimum to face different kinds of creatures and monsters. We see some good fighting by the different pairs. Outside, King reevaluates his situation and decides to train with the others anyhow. However, at first, he should have train with Hendrickson. But, Meliodas intervenes and both of them enter the cave to face some monsters of their own. Inside, King is sceptical of Meliodas’ past in the Demon Clan and with the Ten Commandments. He is not sure if his captain is really with the Seven Deadly Sins. He confronts his leader about his obscure past.
- The past of Ban and the beastman Zhivago. The scene where Zhivago had to decide if he should help his son or Ban was very tough. I am very glad that Ban could understand the decision of Zhivago.
- Training arc. The protagonists have to improve their skills to be able to fight the Ten Commandments.
- King obviously is eager to find his love Diane.
- The confrontation between King and Meliodas. It’s obvious, that King is sceptical of Meliodas’ past with the Demon Clan. He doubts his captain, if he is really on the side of the Seven Deadly Sins.
This week’s episode was again very good. I quite like the division of the episode in two halves. I never enjoyed it, when a movie or a series jumps between two plot points back and forth. With every jump, I usually fall out of the story because I am so invested with the current plotline but the I get ripped away. This clear separation was refreshing, and I have to give props for that. Ok, lets talk about King and Meliodas. It’s now obvious, that King is sceptical of Meliodas’ past in the Demon Clan and with the Ten Commandments. He is not sure if his captain is really with the Seven Deadly Sins. Man, this cliff-hanger got me hyped-up for next week. I can’t wait to see the two overpowered characters duke it out.
Images: Screenshots from the anime