Here is where this series gets interesting. We finally learned a lot more about Livius’ past. I had a feeling his mother was a foreigner just like Nike. I really enjoyed how this episode pushed Livius further with his protection of Nike. This had a more serious side to the episode than all the other ones that have aired so far.

Livius doesn’t make all the decisions here. There are some real people aiding in the personal affairs of the King’s final decision making. Nice detail there! What was strange was how rushed this episode felt. We went from a slow-paced shoujo into a fantasy series within 20 minutes. Nike was supposed to gather information under a disguise and not even a full minute later she has blown her cover. It was to be expected for her character.

We do get introduced to an antagonist to this series. Only catch here was we find out its really one person that sets this up. Rani Aristes. I really don’t like flashbacks told in this manner. Someone else other than who experienced it first hand is giving the background. Sometimes flashbacks are necessary like this, but for this scene it was stale. It felt completely rushed having all the details in a couple of minutes. He’s going to make the rite of passage for Nike incredibly tough. Which in a sense he did towards the end there. I was really hope they would have shown more of the Rite of Illumination. She can’t use her rain and wind powers yet she managed to get through what was supposed to be a tough underground cave. Few scenes actually showed her having trouble with this quest.

What happened here? Don’t get me wrong I still like the characters and the romance between them. The shoujo aspect of this series is great, its just that the story they developed into this episode was rather weak, and forced. After watching this episode, I went ahead and read more of the manga chapters and they left a whole chapter out! Such a shame. This was a pretty big step down from the first three episodes especially episode 3. I really do hope it redeems itself next week.

OVERALL IMPRESSION: 4/10