Episode 12

Everyone's Reactions

The final episode's title, "The Steppe as Always," is the kind of title that sinks in slowly after you finish watching. Ogotai's "If you two find happiness here, I win" got so many reactions as the ultimate line a conqueror could say to the conquered. It really felt like a declaration of war, as if he were telling them to forget their revenge and submit. The scene where Shitara screams in response was praised by the original author, who said it was an idea that never came up while drawing the manga but gets right to the core of who Shitara is. The anime team's interpretation is just incredible. It was also fascinating that Shitara, who believes in a geocentric universe, is the one being outdone by Ogotai's almost heliocentric view. Seeing the limits of someone who considers herself a student of science was bittersweet. Sorkoktani's five arrows speech, standing up again for her sons, felt like a Mongol version of Mori Motonari, and everyone crowning Borakchin the "MVP" for seeing straight through Dregene made total sense. Hearing "Together, we can stir up a storm" spoken this time by Dregene to Shitara was so powerful, and after the C-part showed Shitara's homeland falling under Mongol rule, all we can do now is wait for season two.