Fate/Zero S1E3: “Fuyuki City”

Back to Fate/Zero! Let the schadenfreude begin as we watch assholes do terrible things to other assholes! Also, this show just came to my country's Netflix library, so watching it is a lot easier now.


This one starts with Goatee talking to the Archer. Looks like I did have them mixed up before; it's Kirei who had Hassan the Assassin all along, whereas it was Goatee who summoned the Archer later on. Wonder why he waited so long, getting Kirei's squared away first? Maybe he just knew Kirei could make better use of an Assassin type than he himself could, and was confident his snakeskin would still arrive in time. Anyway, the Archer is telling him that he's bored of these wargames, and wants to get started with the actual war already. Okay, so the end of the previous episode probably was still just a practice battle, then.

The Archer also identifies himself as Gilgamesh. Interesting. I don't recall the Epic of Gilgamesh calling attention to him using a bow, in particular, but it's been a while. It does explain the relevance of the snakeskin, though it's an explanation that raises a lot of very weird questions about how biology, mortality, and...sort of just reality in general, honestly...are supposed to work in the Fateverse. In a parallel to another ancient Semitic legend you might be familiar with, the Epic of Gilgamesh had the hero recover a magical herb that granted immortality to the consumer, only for it to be stolen by a snake. The snake then consumed that herb, which is how reptiles gained the ability to extend their lifespans by shedding their skins.

And, Kirei and Goatee did specify that this was "the first snakeskin ever shed" when they acquired the artifact. So. Did reptiles have very, very short lifespans back before that one snek robbed Gilgamesh, and only grow to very small sizes? Was Utnapishtim just fucking with Gilgamesh when he said that the herb granted immortality, when really it just adjusts your species' biology so that you have to shed your skin during growth instead of it growing with you? Or is the skin-shedding ACTUALLY just a side effect of immortality in the Fateverse, with the infinite lifespan of snakes and their relatives being an ongoing puzzle for muggle biologists? Also, there are arthropods that shed their skins. Did they get a piece of the herb, somehow? Or is that an unrelated and completely mundane biological process that just happens to resemble the reptilian immortality magic?

I'm being very, very silly, I know. But these are the kind of dumb questions that just jump out at me in "all myths are true" type settings, especially ones that also posit a world that looks just like our own to the uninitiated.

Anyway, Goatee assures him that this testing and intel-gathering that he's having him do will be vital for the glorious victories to come, ones worthy of the King of Heroes.

Goatee acts very deferential and humble throughout this conversation, even though he's obviously the one giving the orders. Almost like he's trying to convince the King of Uruk that he is actually still in charge, and thus make him more favorably inclined to his "vizier." I'm not sure if it's actually working, but Goatee is definitely at least trying something along those lines.

For his own part, Gilgamesh is finding modern Japan morbidly fascinating. He hates the urban, technological aesthetic, and the culture repulses him (though he doesn't say what specifically about it he hates so much), but he's willing to stick it out and see if there's anything worthy of him to engage with. Goatee reminds him that even if everything on earth was totally valueless, winning the Holy Grail would still be an accomplishment worthy of Gilgamesh's reputation. He does not remind him that he's a slave and has no choice anyway, but I wouldn't expect him to lol. Gilgamesh gives a final, egotistical rant that comes across as an attempt to ignore the reality of his servitude, and then vanishes to go spy on the opposition some more.

Once he's gone, Goatee lets out a deep breath and takes a drink of wine. Playing the sycophant to this degree is clearly taxing, for him. Once he's calmed down, he muses to himself at how surprising it was that Gilgamesh manifested as an Archer, since his most well-known feats all involved close quarters monster-wrangling. So the story is acknowledging that idiosyncrasy, cool. Hopefully it'll have an actual explanation for it at some point. Then again, if Queen Arturia got mangled as badly as she did by the following centuries of retelling, then it's entirely possible that Gilgamesh's bow just got reinterpreted as more traditionally glorious brawling by the time the Epic was written, with no further explanation being needed.

Hmmm...hang on. In Unlimited Blade Works, that WAS the broken remains of the same snakeskin that Rin used to summon her own Archer, right? And she was expecting the Servant she summoned to be a Saber. And, despite being an Archer, he had a tendency to use swords anyway. So, was that Gilgamesh? He looked totally different. Different outfit, different hair color (though similar hairstyle and features, now that I look closely...), different symbols on display, and he had a very different personality. Everything about the surrounding context checks out, but...it doesn't seem like the same character.

Maybe Servants aren't actually just the ghost of the ancient hero? Maybe something about the personality of the summoner or the situation that they're summoned in causes like...an interpretation of them to appear?

Then again, Arturia looked exactly the same in UBW as she does in Zero. That's a hole in my theory. Of course, she's also the flagship/mascot character for Moontype, so it's possible that they kept her the same even though she really shouldn't be just for marketing purposes.

Anyway, Goatee turns around in his seat and says that this next stage of the plan is all on Kirei, confirming that episode 2's betrayal was in fact staged, and we roll the intro. My feelings about the F/Z opening haven't really changed over the month since I last saw it. It's nice looking, and the song is perfectly decent, but it doesn't stick with me the way that some really good anime intros do. It's just well made and fine. Afterward, we return to the guestroom that Waver weaseled himself into, to find out that Alexander has learned of the Assassin's fall, and that the dumb little fuck he had the misfortunate to be summoned by is falling for Goatee's ploy hook, line, and sinker.

Alexander himself isn't excited by what he learned, though. Unlike Gilgamesh, he's taking quite well to the late twentieth century, and is happily eating potato chips and watching his way through decades' worth of war movies. Despite Waver's constant attempts, Alexander still barely cares about the Grail, and is just obsessed with rebuilding his empire. When Waver tries to get him to understand why the Assassin's death is worth being excited over, Alexander tells him that the only enemy they should be worrying about right now is Bill Clinton, as his nation will have to be defeated to make room for a new hegemonic power.

Waver tries a different tac to get Alexander interested, saying that as an honorable warrior who favors face-to-face confrontations he should be glad to be rid of a particularly sneaky threat like the Assassin. But nope. Alexander is just geeking out over which models of bomber, cruise missile, and tank he should try to acquire for his new army.

...

Holy fuck why is there not a version of this show where Alexander just shoved that little twit in a locker where he belongs and started conquering? Why?

...

After listening to Waver babble on for a while, Alexander finally asks him how it was that the Assassin was destroyed. Oh, huh, I guess I misunderstood. It was Waver who found out that that happened, somehow, not Alexander. Wonder how he did that? Maybe using a divination trick that he learned at Type Mogwarts; other than hypnotic suggestion, we don't really know what powers Waver has yet, so that could be one of them. Waver says that he isn't sure who did the deed; just that he had a gold-based color scheme, and he thinks it might have been Clan Tohsaka's.

This prompts Alexander to shoot to his feet and knock the twerp across the room again. If Waver wants him to fight the other Servants so much, Alexander berates him, why would he ignore details as tactically vital as "who is currently on the offensive" and "which Servant has demonstrated the ability to defeat other Servants in single combat" in favor of focusing on the one who was eliminated and thus no longer relevant?

Damn. I will defend Waver a little bit here and say that knowing that the Assassin is gone is tactically significant, since it means they can let up on anti-Assassin precautions in favor of other things. But for the most part...yeah, Alexander is right. Intel about the proven and ongoing threat really should have taken priority. If Waver had framed the news as "another Servant with this flashy gold armor defeated the Assassin but I couldn't quite tell who it was, we need to figure that guy out and take him down before we're next" instead of making the Assassin himself the subject of the report, I think Alexander would have taken the same information much more appreciatively.

Still, when sufficiently terrorized, Waver does provide one other important detail about the victor. His "Noble Phantasm," his special conjuration that relates to his legend that every Servant has, seemed to involve releasing a rain of summoned blades that fly toward his enemies. Alexander seems to know about someone who can do that, and asks Waver if it looked like one sword that created copies of itself. However, Waver tells him that that's not it, as each of the conjured blades looked slightly different. Nevermind that, then. After giving Waver an appreciative clap on the back at this much more actionable intelligence (which leaves him on his face again. Alexander's approval and disappointment both have pretty much the same effect on Waver), Alexander decides that even if he can't identify the victor, he can still use this event to their advantage. If Waver saw that battle, then other competitors probably have as well. Thus, other Servants might well be on their way to deal with that victor, which makes this a perfect time to skulk around the city and ambush any that they catch en route.

Well, Alexander is finally doing what Waver wanted him to do, so he's not complainingahahahahahaha I was lying, he complains anyway, because he's Waver.

Cut to Kirei approaching a Catholic church. His father greets him at the door. Either Kirei returned to Italy since the last episode, or his dad came here to oversee the battle and do his referee duties. Probably the latter. Kirei tells him that Hassan has been returned to the afterlife, and that he has come to take refuge here for the remainder of the Grail War. As per the rules, he is invited in.

So he actually did get his Assassin killed, back then. Just, he and Goatee had planned it. I'm guessing Hassan either wouldn't have gone along with this, or some metaphysical Servant bullshit would have forced him to refuse if he'd known.

I'm guessing the plan was more elaborate than just "give Goatee and Gilgamesh a freebie so they can start the game on a high note with one less opponent," though. Kirei's still supposed to do something from inside the church he's sheltering in, and his father who is hosting him is most certainly in on it. And, yep, once they're inside the building and protected by compact from spying or scrying, they start talking about it.

...

Granted, his dad is also prevented by compact from taking sides in the Grail War, so if he can break the rules it's entirely possible that the wizards can too, but for now they seem to be assuming that it's safe to talk.

...

They talk about how all the masters except one has been ID'd now, and at least most of the participants were probably able to scry/spy/whatever on Hassan's death. Then, to make sure that they're the only ones breaking the rules after all, Kirei summons Hassan to guard the church from spiritual invaders as is his specialty.

Oh. I see. Hassan faked his own death. The entire conversation between him and Kirei before he attacked the Tohsaka manor, when Kirei told him he was betraying Goatee and Hassan acted surprised about this, was staged for the benefit of spying enemies. Only, Hassan looks a lot different now. Sounds different, too. In fact, she's a Hasana.

Well, disguise is a traditional assassination skill, I suppose. Although I'm not sure why she was bothering to use it in this particular instance.

Oh...wait a minute. Then MORE Assassins start appearing. All of them look different. Different heights and builds. Some male, some female. But they all have the same aesthetic, and they speak together as if of one mind.

Hassan has a "summon the ghosts of the entire rest of the Hashashin Order" ability as his Noble Phantasm, perhaps? If so, it's possible that the one who Kirei has been making a point of conjuring and speaking with isn't actually the true Servant, but just one of his disposable summoned minions. In which case, Gilgamesh actually DID kill that one, thereby creating a more convincing appearance of Kirei having been defeated than any kind of illusion could produce.

It's either that, or the Church has been working on some huge necromancy project that used the Servant Hassan as a sort of catalyst to let them raise an army of his former comrades, so that they can deal with these quarrelsome mage clans once and for all. There could be some interesting fictional history behind this. In real life, despite what a certain video game franchise might have led some to believe, the Hashashins had a very complicated relationship with the Roman Church, and in fact allied with various Crusader factions against mutual rivals within the Islamic world as often as the reverse. A secret pact between magical Crusaders and magical Hashashins that opened the door for future ghost army cooperation would hardly be beyond the realm of possibility in an urban fantasy timeline like Fate's.

The former is more likely, intriguing though the latter might be.

The next morning, the Einzberns arrive in Japan. I'm not sure why they went through the trouble of summoning their Saber in Austria and then bringing her here with them instead of just doing it on location, but if my theory about the circumstances etc of the summoning having an effect on the Servant's incarnation is correct then they might have determined that doing it in their castle would get them the toughest/loyalest/etc version of Arthur.

If nothing else, Arturia is rocking the power suit look as she steps off the plane after Iri. It's too bad most people can't see her!

Aerospace technology notably does not impress her. I'm starting to get the impression that nothing does.

Arturia also tells her that upon being summoned, Servants immediately gain a vast general knowledge of the modern world, and that the way that interacts with her own minor in Rider means she could pilot this plane herself if she wanted to. Erm...tell that to Alexander, Arturia, he seems to have missed the orientation. Also, she doesn't seem to get it at all when she accidentally makes a That's What She Said-able comment about riding and putting one's legs around one's mount that gets Iri giggling, so that general knowledge trait doesn't extend to contemporary humor. Either that, or she just never got sex jokes even in life.

As they check in through customs, it's established that Arturia can't become intangible like other Servants can, and the way they talk about it makes it seem like she might not even be invisible to muggles like the others. Weird. Wonder why this would be? Also, Iri has been amusing herself picking out outfits for her for various occasions, to Arturia's mild exasperation, and it...there's one bit where it seems like it's trying to imply that Iri is crushing on her, but I'm not sure.

Also, Gray has apparently arrived in Japan in advance of them. Huh? Is he not Arturia's master after all, if Iri is the one leading her around including at very remote distances from him? I could have sworn he was the one she was sworn to for this Grail War, but I also mixed up Hassan and Gilgamesh's masters, so I could be wrong. In that case, Iri is the master, and Gray is just here to provide some possibly illegal backup? Or else Arturia's uniquely solid and visible state allows her to move more independently of her master for some reason? IDK.

Iri wants to enjoy Japan for a little while before the fighting begins (erm...hasn't the fighting already begun, as far as anyone knows? How could that ploy of Goatee and Kirei's have meant anything, otherwise?), but Arturia is all business, saying they should secure a local base, fortify it, and start talking battle plans with Gray.

She changes her demeanor a little, though, when Iri tells her that this is her first time outside of the cursed eternal winter realm of the Einzberns.

I'm...surprised Arturia didn't pick up on this at any point between leaving the eldritch snow drifts and them boarding their rental car in Fuyuki. Could be that Iri was reigning it in and only just now letting things slip, or it could be bad writing.

Anyway, Iri repeats that she is a puppet created for the purpose of letting Clan Einzbern participate in this Grail War. How literal is she being, I'm starting to wonder? She could mean that her parents had and raised her for a monomaniacal purpose, or she could literally be a synthetic life form (albeit one able to have children with a human husband, seemingly). The family guarded their investment very carefully, and never let her off of their property. Even her knowledge of the world outside was limited until Gray started properly educating her and providing non-censored media.

Fate Wizards! Those lovable wacky scamps!

Upon hearing this, Arturia agrees that they should just do tourist stuff until the hostilities really kick off. She tells their driver to pull over (so muggles can see her, then. Assuming he is one) and they get out into the sun. On one hand, this seems like a nice gesture on Arturia's part. On the other...she honestly has no reason to give a shit about who wins the Grail War, outside of whatever magical compulsions the Servants are under, and Alexander proves that those are far from reliable. So, really, from her perspective, why bother talking strategy if the wizard currently bossing her around doesn't even care? She's seemed businesslike about the Grail War so far, not passionate about it; nothing indicates that she has any personal investment in the outcome.

The music suggests that this is supposed to be touching moment that speaks a lot to Arturia's kindness and so forth, but I'm not sure that it actually is.

Cut to the hotel Gray is staying at. An assistant is informing him that his wife and Servant have landed, and also helping him inspect his more mundane arsenal before use.

She also reports on the Assassin's fall, and Gray finds the details of it rather suspicious. It seemed a little too easy, detecting a stealth-specced Servant, reacting to it with such incredible rapidity, and then dispatching it almost without a fight. And, he knows that Goatee is said to be skilled at misdirection and deceit. It's possible that he just used those very qualities of his to trick the Assassin's master into a well-designed trap, of course, but something about this just seems too fishy to Gray. He tells his assistant to send one of her "familiars" to watch the church that Assassin's master - the Kirei who he's been warned about - is now taking refuge. Surveillance of the sanctuary is against the rules, but he tells her he's confident her spirit can avoid detection if it watches from maximum range and does nothing besides watch.

...

Hmm. If there are no mystical compulsions that force everyone to play by the rules, then the ban on observing the sanctuary really doesn't make much sense. What assurance do any of the wizards have that the church isn't doing something sneaky? Or that the defeated masters aren't working some subtle magic from the sanctuary to spite the people who beat them?

It would make a hell of a lot more sense if everyone was officially granted observer privileges at the sanctuary. Everyone can keep a familiar or the equivalent at the church to make sure everyone else is playing fair, etc.

This...yeah, I have trouble believing that these families of Machiavellian schemers would ever agree to the terms as given.

...

Gray than plays with his guns and grenades for a bit, including practicing his draw with an over-decorated antique pistol that's probably enchanted. When he starts moaning about how married life has slowed his reflexes, his assistant lady comes over and comforts him.

Guess they're a thing, then. I suppose turnabout is fair play, what with his wife throwing herself at his Stand.

Flash over to said wife at the beach that evening, and said stand watching her with an impassive smile as she frolics in the surf. Arturia is loosening up a little more, as she and Iri jest about being a royal lady and her knight. Arturia mentions that she never particularly liked the sea herself, since back during her mortal life it was mostly just a source of endless European raids and invasions of her island kingdom. However, seeing Iri's innocent exultation in its natural beauty is giving her a bit more of an appreciation of it than she ever had before. Okay, that's a lot more touching than the earlier moment in the car, well done show.

Iri next asks Arturia what she did for fun back when she was alive. The answer, which Iri sort of expected, is that she kind of stopped having fun after she pulled the sword from the stone and had to wrangle the endlessly fractious Briton lords for the rest of her life. Someone should introduce her to Kirei's father, I think they'd have a lot to bond over. When Iri says she's glad to have her here while she explores the outside world for the first time, Arturia asks her if she wouldn't rather do that with her husband. To which Iri responds that Gray hates being happy, so she's given up trying to make him.

Arturia steps closer. They exchange a long, silent gaze in the moonlight. Then, literally seconds before the necrophilia was about to happen, Arturia detects another Servant inbound.

I'd think Alexander and Waver, but they said they were going to try and intercept people on their way to the Tohsaka house, which this beach doesn't seem like the place for. Then again, it seemed like that was at least a night ago, so...wait, what have they been doing SINCE then, in that case? This show is not doing a good job at placing things in time relative to one another.

Arturia says that the enemy is holding position just at the edge of detection range. Issuing a silent challenge. Deciding they should probably wait until after this immediate threat is neutralized before feasting at each other's round tables, Iri gets her shoes back on and they head toward the opponent.

Cut to Alexander sitting atop the support scaffolding of a major bridge, having a drink and enjoying the night sky over the ocean. Waver is huddled into a ball next to him and complaining about things, because he is Waver.

Alexander detects another Servant approaching, finally. That couldn't be Arturia, though, if he's been sitting put here for a while. Maybe this bridge is just near-ish to the beach where she and Iri are, and the third party is approaching in between them, right at the edge of both their detection ranges? Or this could just be totally unrelated, two different confrontations happening at opposite sides of the city.

Cut back to Arturia and Iri, who come inland past the boardwalk and run into...oh, it's that guy!

The Lancer dude with the particularly ruthless master in UBW. Looks a lot like him, at least. Is he the Matou Servant, who's had the berserker spell cast on him? He doesn't seem especially berserk, but the spell may not do exactly what it sounds like it does. Either that, or he represents the one master who we haven't met yet.

They recognize each other as this war's Saber and Lancer. Lancer regrets that the rules of the game prevent them from introducing themselves by name, and Arturia nods agreement. He waves his spears around. Arturia megukas her armor and sword out of the ether. What happened to that lovely power suit Iri picked out for her, when the armor appeared? It was probably sent to Hell or something. Poor Iri.

Iri tells Arturia that she has some healing spells that she can support her with, but Arturia says that the Lancer's master might be sneaking around preparing a surprise attack of his own, so she should keep watch for them while the stands duke it out. End episode.


I think this was the best Fate Zero ep of the three I've seen so far. There were some very questionable plot and worldbuilding details here and there that felt like the author outsmarting himself, but only a few, and everything in between them was pretty tightly written and directed. The archaic-sounding musical leitmotifs for each Servant are also starting to tickle me, though I only really started appreciating them toward the end. I will pay more attention to the soundtrack next episode, for sure.

Of course, part of the reason I liked this episode better than the last two is due to the exclusion of boring grimderp specialists Matou and Uwu. That obviously isn't going to last, and I'm kinda dreading that, because experiencing an episode of the show without them has taught me how much better it is without all that monotonous edge. So, the other shoe is going to drop soon at least as far as that goes.

But, on the other hand, the budding friendship-and-probably-romance between Iri and Arturia is giving the story an emotional center that I found to be lacking until now. Which is a pleasant surprise, since the Einzberns came across as sort of a sideshow up to this episode despite occupying the pilot's teaser. Meanwhile, Alexander provides a much sillier and more lighthearted, but equally watchable, plotline of his own, and watching Waver suffer isn't going to get boring for me anytime soon.

So, yeah, at this point I'd say that Fate/Zero is a pretty fun show despite its foibles. The Mooniverse definitely came a long way since the Garden of Sinners era.