Spice and Wolf, season 2, episode 2 – When Lawrence is away, Horo will play

Last week’s drama of whether Lawrence will stick with Horo all the way to Yoitsu has seemingly blown over. And after a bit of the typical Horo-Lawrence flirting/teasing game, we finally jump into the thick of the story, with some background into the mythology of Horo and some Lawrence-jealousy enticing antics.

This is where I post my weekly lovefest for Horo and talk about how I love her willfully manipulative side, in trying to guilt Lawrence into spending the day with her to check out the festival. She’s being playful, but it’s amusing that she makes it so blatant about knowing how to take advantage of Lawrence’s weaknesses. Conversely, I like how Lawrence knows what his weaknesses are and when Horo’s trying to exploit them. It makes for some *snap, crackle, pop* fireworks between the two. The friendly tete a tete between the two is what makes them so addictive to watch, and Horo so awesome.

Horo offers to come along with Lawrence to take care of business, but he tells her to stay behind, which leads to a snappy comeback from Horo meant to raise fires of jealousy. However, Lawrence (sort of like Welkin) is a thickheaded chap. And if he didn’t notice his new friend, Amati making googly eyes at his stunningly crafty travelling partner, he basically puts her up to the mouth of the wolf (so to speak), taking up Amati’s offer to escort Horo around town for the day. How much damage could a girly-voiced bishonen do anyway? Well that depends on who you ask.

However, if we’re going to knock Lawrence for suggesting last week that he would leave Horo short of their final destination, let’s give him some credit this week for going to do some extra homework in order to find Yoitsu. Lawrence uses his guild connections to get a tour guide to lead him to find someone versed in legends, in the seedier part of town. Literally, a part of town that smells like sulfur. The dregs which only those outcasted by the church toil in. I was amused to hear Bartose and Lawrence talk about the presence of alchemists and magicians. I wondered if Edward and Alphonse would possibly make an appearance. It’s funny how something like a wolf god that turned into a human can feel plausible, but alchemists can suddenly feel implausible. Interestingly, Lawrence seemed put off by the talk about magicians – whether out of superstition or because of his ties to the church, who knows.

Once they reach their destination, Lawrence finds that the man he’s looking for, is actually a ridiculously beautiful woman. Seriously, you just don’t find too many girls like those in the ghetto. While she may look like a witch, in actually, she’s a chronicler, a historian or folktale collector of sorts. Incidentally, Lawrence’s friend mentions that chroniclers are paid by the church, but this didn’t really seem like the part of town that the church would want to do anything with. However, Deanna, as she’s called, tells Lawrence of the legend of Yoitsu, a town that was destroyed by the moon-hunting bear, and of the legend of Horo. It also seems the plans for heading to Niohira will change, because she talks of Yoitsu being near a town called Renose. I can’t help but wonder if we’ll eventually see Horo face-to-face with the moon-hunting bear.

Once Lawrence returns, he returns to find out that Amati is actually a player, paraded around town all day with Horo, liquored her up and then knocked her up. I’m just kidding about that last part. But if Horo’s efforts to get Lawrence jealous weren’t enough, Lawrence’s friend isn’t doing him any favors. Once he returns to the hotel room (relieved to find that Horo and Amati weren’t sharing a bed, no doubt), Horo soon follows drunk, sporting some foxy fur, and barely able to stumble into bed.

The next morning, Lawrence is surprised to find Horo holding a fine piece of pyrite (or fool’s gold), and she mentions how a fortune-teller was auctioning them off the day before. But not before giving a little boy a near-heart attack by pretending to be naked under the covers. As mischievous as she is, I’m surprised she’s a wolf-god and not a fox-god. Anyway, putting that aside, Lawrence realizes some strange things are afoot, as he sprints out the door, and the episode ends on a cliffhanger.

Overall, a good episode, and Lawrence redeems himself somewhat after suggesting that he’d leave Horo the week earlier. I can’t imagine what the cliffhanger’s leading up to, but I always liked the semi-conspiracy arcs that this show has taken in the past. I also hope we get to see a lot more of Deanna interacting with Horo in the future. I think her familiarity with the legends could make the chemistry between her and Horo really interesting. She seems like she’s sharp enough to suspect that Horo might be more than just a travelling nun.