May 20th, 2009 
AstroNerdBoy フェイト／ステイナイト Ep 12
Fate/stay night episode 12
SPOILER Summary/Synopsis:
Shirou wants to go after Rider and Shinji immediately and gets Saber to agree to this, though Saber cautions Shirou about pushing himself too much as rest is also part of being a warrior. The two talk things over with Rin regarding Rider and her abilities. Saber and Shirou set out, first stopping at Shinji’s and Sakura’s home, but he’s not there. Shirou declines saying anything to Sakura lest she get involved in the war. They head into town and search without success. Late that afternoon, Shirou is exhausted, leading Saber to insist on getting some rest. They stop at a park near where Shirou’s old home town was destroyed and Shirou gets an hour’s sleep on Saber’s lap.
After waking up, Saber asks about the importance of this place and Shirou tells her his story. Saber has an understanding of Shirou’s honorable intentions but warns that he may regret this and tells him he has to take better care of himself. The two head back into the city and soon locate Rider in what is obviously a trap. Saber engages Rider on the side of the building while Shirou goes inside to get to the roof to find Shinji. The elevator won’t go to the top so Shirou races out to take the stairs, completely missing Ilya and Berserker standing in the shadows.
Shirou emerges to find Saber battling Rider on the roof. Rider is astride the winged horse Pegasus — a millennial phantasmal creature which is a weakness for Saber. Saber sees Shirou on the roof as does Shinji, who orders Rider kill them both starting with Saber. Saber activates her own Noble Phantasm and produces the sword Excalibur. Launching an energy attack from the sword, Saber takes out Rider, breaking her mask and causing her to disappear. Shinji screams as his book burns and Shirou races to Saber, who’s fallen unconscious.
Thoughts/Review:
Wow! Some interesting revelations in this episode. First, Saber carries Excalibur, the legendary sword of King Arthur. Please don’t tell me that King Arthur turned into the woman Saber for the purposes of the Holy Grail War. Ugh. I think that would make me vomit. *lol* Even if she’s not King Arthur, she is somehow linked to that legend. I’m not that well versed in the Arthur legend so I don’t know if someone else other than King Arthur had Excalibur.
Then there’s Rider riding Pegasus and calling out “Bellerophon.” This I did look up and see that Bellerophon was a male hero who along with Pegasus was born from Medusa’s head being cut off (if I remember right). So Rider cannot be Bellerophon because why would she call out her own name? (I’m assuming there is a possibility of people from the past coming back to life with a new sex.) Further, Saber ID’d Rider not as a hero type and Bellerophon is a hero in legend.
So even though Rider is on Pegasus, this is not Bellerophon. Could this be Medusa then? That might explain Rider’s eyes being covered always and instead of snakes for hair, Rider uses those chain weapons like snakes (that may be a stretch). Rider also referred to herself as non-human and Medusa was not human. Just wild speculation on my part based on reading about Bellerophon online. Since Rider is apparently been removed from the playing field, you guys can let me know who she really is.
So, what becomes of Shinji? I guess that in losing, Shirou doesn’t get to automatically claim Shinji’s remaining Command Spells. What of Sakura, who saw Saber’s Noble Phantasm attack from a distance (and mouthed out something)? It just seems like Sakura knows more than we’ve been shown.
Ilya and Berserker were also at the school. Well, it makes sense to let Saber duke it out with Rider — one less Servant 
Ilya will have to deal with and should she choose, Ilya can easily take out the now ultra-weak Saber.
Still, I loved seeing Saber unleashed, even if it is on an inferior Servant like Rider. ^_^ Its about time too.
So more good stuff here. ^_^
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You’re on the right track. Next episode will go further into depth about Saber.
As for Rider, you got it. She’s Medusa. She’s actually one of the more tragic characters in a show full of tragic characters. She fits her (true) master quite well.
The origin of Medusa in the Nasuverse (not explained until Fate/Hollow Ataraxia):
Technically, Rider is closer to a monster. She was originally a goddess of a sort. She and her two older sisters were created from the wish of people for gods superior to the Greek gods. However, Medusa was the only one born mortal, which cursed her to grow older and taller, a fact which caused her to be ridiculed by her sisters. She was also cursed with a petrifying gaze, causing her to wear a blindfold. She was gifted with Pegasus from Poseiden.
Athena, who was jealous of the sisters, goaded their worshipers into attacking them. They took refuge on an island. Medusa defended her older sisters from the lustful advances of men. Eventually, she began to revel in the bloodshed and devoured the attackers gleefully. This pleasure found in slaughter caused her to change into the monstrous and fearsome Gorgon of legend.
Seeing what their actions had done to their sister, Stheno and Euryale allowed themselves to be devoured by the Gorgon Medusa. Despite all that had transpired, they still loved their sister.
Medusa was finally decapitated by the hero Perseus who was armed with five Noble Phantasms (Perseus is described as being like a successful version of Shinji).
Poor Rider. She comes off as being such an inferior Servant, although it’s really undeserved. With her original Master, she’s quite powerful (all of the Servants summoned in this Ritual are really top class; all are at least above average). Her Noble Phantasm is really very powerful and it’s Noble Phantasms that are the deciding factor when Servants battle. It just happened that Saber’s was better (really, there’s probably only one Noble Phantasm stronger than Excalibur in raw offensive power). It isn’t until the Heaven’s Feel route that we get to see her truly unleashed.
Here, have some pics:
http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc280/brizzle_035/Rider/1198474219207.jpghttp://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc280/brizzle_035/Rider/1200885395791.jpghttp://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc280/brizzle_035/Rider/1199653778063.jpg
Wow! Rider is Medusa. *lol* Well, after reading about Bellerophon, she seemed like a logical choice from what the episode laid out, but I really wasn’t sure at all.
So if Bellerophon is the offspring of Medusa, does this Fate franchise state why she’d call his name? I’m guessing it would be because he is her son.
Oh, I see what your mistake is.
Bellerophon is the name of the golden bridle. It is this Noble Phantasm that Rider uses to make the usually passive pegasus into a weapon.
The pegasus is just a pegasus, albeit one that’s very ancient and therefore very powerful. He is a summoned beast and not a Noble Phantasm. Summoning him is one of her natural abilities, like the Bloodfort or her petrifying gaze.
Ah! OK. I was thrown off by reading about the legend of Bellerophon and didn’t realize she was actually referring to her Nobel Phantasm. Thanks for the clarification. ^_^
T^T and thus ends my favorite servant’s role in this anime…
Ah well, at least Garik covered anything I would’ve said >.>’
As for Saber, more will be revealed later on…@.@
Ah, so Rider is your favorite. I love Saber but I like Archer too. Berserker is just a brute so there’s nothing there and I never really had a feel for Rider other than a sense of her devotion to Shinji. Now that I know that Rider was Medusa, her actions seem more admirable.
This video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTZsenhCNPA
I couldn’t find it subbed (unfortunately, the dub is atrocious), but it gives a better idea of Rider’s disposition. It’s an extra from the DVD. It is rather accurate despite not being “official”.
Rider has no stake in the War, she has no wish. All she wants is for her true master to be safe.
My favorite Servant is probably Archer, but Rider is very close behind.
Rider was always my absolute favorite.
Don’t know if this counts as a spoiler or not but I was so happy when I found out that Rider had a huge part in the Heaven’s Feel scenario of the eroge. Her personality is deeper explored and you get to see her interact more with the other characters. Check out this funny little scene I put up on youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pom7DrA2KIQ&feature=channel_page
She also has a cute little complex about her height ^_^
In some versions of the original myth, Medusa wasn’t a monster from the beginning but was later cursed by Athena, so Rider’s story in the game isn’t baseless.
Also notice that she summons Pegasus with her own blood, by stabbing herself in the neck, and in the legend Pegasus was born from Medusa’s severed head or her blood. 🙂
I love Saber too, altough she’s not my favorite female character from F/SN.
And Archer will have a chance to shine very soon. 😉
Also notice that she summons Pegasus with her own blood, by stabbing herself in the neck, and in the legend Pegasus was born from Medusa’s severed head or her blood. 🙂
I wondered why she’d stab her own neck. Now that makes sense. *lol*
Garik and Ultimaniac — thanks for the video links. I see that in the VN, Sakura knows about Rider. ^_^; Well, if in the anime she knows about Shinji and Rider, that would explain a few things. Also, it is interesting that Rider did stuff to help Sakura in that VN clip. Now I’m really looking forward to doing the VN. ^_^
As far i remember, Medusa was cursed by Athena because she was pregnant of Zeus’s son… Pegasus. When turned into a monster, she couldn’t give birth to her son, who became trapped inside her body. That’s why Pegasus went out of her body when her head was severed.
>> I see that in the VN, Sakura knows about Rider.
To tell the truth Sakura is Rider’s real master… a magician far more talented than Shinji.
But she discovered Shirou became a master too, more likely when she saw Saber in his house. She was in love with him, so Sakura would not be able to fight him, much less try to kill him. So she used her magic to transfer her marks to a magic book and gave it to her “brother” Shinji, turning him Rider’s new master.
Poor Rider. It’s not her fault that Shinji is a brainless worm.