Overlord III

Episode 13

In terms of coming to a dramatic climax, the third season of Overlord easily ranks as the least of the seasons so far. Though there are potential battles on two occasions, neither actually materializes; Ains' duel against Gazeff is over so quickly that Gazeff never even has time to flinch, while the later confrontation between Albedo and Momon (I'm guessing Pandora's Actor was playing the role of Ains there?) is merely a posturing standoff rather than a real fight. Neither result was unexpected; Gazeff knew as well as we did that the duel was tantamount to committing suicide, while the latter bit was obviously just a show for the people of E-Rantel to convince them not to be as afraid of Ains because they had a supposed intermediary in Momon. That even the otherwise-sharp Demiurge couldn't figure out that this was more a coincidence than something Ains actually planned adds a faint amusing touch to the scene, but that still leaves the episode short on drama.

The finale at least partly makes up for this in other ways. The polite progression of arranging the duel's conditions shows the respect both men had for each other, but even so, it still looks on the surface more like Ains' interpretation that Gazeff was foolishly throwing his life away. Both the circumstances and Climb's later insight on the matter speak otherwise, however. This wasn't just a matter of honor or pride or fulfilling his loyalty to the king; Gazeff has shown signs of knowing that his time was coming, and he decided to use it to make a point. He was trying to forestall any other foolish opposition to Ains by demonstrating its utter pointlessness, in the process making sure that Climb or especially Brain didn't try to follow in his footsteps. He also gambled on drawing more of Ains' capabilities out so that the Kingdom would have a better sense of what they faced. This makes for an entirely different situation than the hopeless fights of the lizard men or Midnight Eye, where they were given no choice but to fight for survival.

The rest of the episode was mostly little character moments, like the crushed king having to deal with the aftermath, the Emperor realizing the absurdity of what he was planning based on the battlefield reports, the middle son of the king taking over most duties, and Renner's twisted little smile at Climb doing her bidding. And of course the season has to end with all of the major denizens of Nazarick once again bowing before Ains and pledging their loyalty as he formally declares the establishment of the Sorcerer Kingdom. I know that's one of the series' core hallmarks, but it is starting to get a little tiresome.

The revelation that Gazeff's sword could actually harm Ains if he'd had a chance to swing it is an interesting little tidbit, but it's a pointless one unless another season is animated. There are a couple of other places in the episode where it felt like little details were missing too. Still, the season as a whole was strong enough to warrant being my runner-up best for the summer 2018, and since not all of the characters introduced at the beginning of season 2 have appeared again yet, there's certainly room left for more.

Rating: B

Overlord III is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.