Fate/Apocrypha 23
フェイト/アポクリファ episode 23

SPOILER Summary/Synopsis

Red Saber and Sisigou engage in banter and conversation about winning the Grail. Upon entering Red Assassin’s throne room, Red Saber kicks Sisigou out, realizing they’ve set off a poison trap. Red Assassin prevents Sisigou’s Command Spell from working to summon Red Saber to him. Red Saber engages in a desperate fight as all liquids in the area are poison. With Red Saber seemingly defeated, Red Assassin gives her a choice to help the Red Faction.

Red Saber understands her true wish was to take the burden from her “father”, so she opens the way for Sisigou to enter. He injects her with an antidote, allowing Red Saber to apparently kill Red Assassin. However, Sisigou has taken fatal damage. He tells her she has time to partner with Caules or Fiore, but Red Saber declines. Instead, she has her first and last smoke as Sisigou has his last smoke. He reveals his true was was to have his child brought back. With that he dies and Red Saber dissolves into energy.

Red Caster confronts Ruler, where she finds herself within his Noble Phantasm. His first two “acts” to bring her to despair fail, but when his third act starts, she finds Sieg getting burned at the stake instead of her. Red Caster points out that this scene is from Ruler’s own heart and her fear that she’s killing Sieg. Red Caster summons Marshal Gilles (Saber form), who loved Jeanne in real life. He hold Sieg’s head and as Gilles talks, he begins to become more evil, like his Caster persona. Ruler begins giving into despair as Ruler’s host persona Laeticia apologizes for not being honest about her feelings.

Thoughts/Review

There’s one really good thing about Fate/Apocrypha 23 — the crappy art/animation from the previous episode was at a minimum. And I admit, I was touched by Red Saber’s and Sisigou’s end.

Red Saber vs. Red Assassin

Red Assassin is such an impressive mage, it is hard to think of her as an Assassin. Were it not for her poison attacks and abilities, her abilities would cause her to be an impressive Caster to say the least.

That aside, what is still unclear to me is what happened when Red Saber and Sisigou were in the jet, bound for Red Assassin. We just are shown the pair walking the corridors of the Hanging Gardens until they get to the throne room. Then after that, the fight is on with Red Saber on the bad end of it. So if there was no battle before the throne room fight, then why didn’t Red Assassin go ahead and kill Black Rider when she had the chance?

Although I believe Red Saber killed the mythical Bašmu that Red Assassin summoned, I don’t believe Red Assassin is dead. We didn’t see her dissolve into energy for a start. Further, Red Saber stated that Red Assassin was dying. That just means that Shirou comes back and does some voodoo that restores her as far as I’m concerned. I’m not sure why Red Saber didn’t finish the job. Too late now.

Mordred and Sisigou

I don’t mind admitting that the ending for Red Saber and Sisigou touched me greatly. During her fight with Red Assassin, I liked how Red Saber again recalled her life as Mordred and recalled what her true wish was. It wasn’t that she wanted to be king, but she wanted to help her “father” Altria (the official spelling of Saber’s name from Fate/stay night and Fate/Zero) and lift her burden.

As for Sisigou, I liked learning that his real wish for the Holy Grail would have been to have his child brought back to life.

Finally, Mordred having her first cigarette with her dying Master was a very touching moment for me. Sisigou gave her an option to become the Servant for Fiore or Caules, but instead, Mordred decided her time as Red Saber was done and stayed with Sisigou. I loved that moment for sure.

Ruler vs. Red Caster

As expected, Red Caster snares Ruler in his Noble Phantasm. Initially, things went as I expected as Ruler has had to harden her heart for certain things, such as the deaths in war. However, when it comes to Sieg (and the romance I cared not a whit for), Ruler is vulnerable since as the woman Jeanne, she loves him (as does her host, Laeticia).

The surprising element here was Red Caster summoning Gilles, who initially appears in his sane, Saber form. Ruler knows what Gilles would eventually go on to do (slaughter children). What was freaky was how Gilles slowly turned into the evil, googly-eyed being that would be summoned as Caster in Fate/Zero. That combined with his words seems to have caused Ruler to fall to despair, though I suspect she’ll survive somehow.

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

Time to wrap up my review of Fate/Apocrypha 23. (I’m glad I was able to write a few reviews before I had to travel to and fro this whole week through snowy conditions.)

• So, by my reckoning, Red Assassin is still alive, even if injured. Red Caster is still alive. Ruler is still alive, though in trouble. Black Rider is still alive. And I suppose Sieg could summon Black Saber one final time. All other Servants are now dead.
• Shirou’s lengthy time in the Holy Grail continues to be convenient.
• Loved seeing Saber-chan Atria back for a flashback.
• Is that Merlin we see in Mordred’s flashback? I’m guessing so.

In the end, Fate/Apocrypha 23 is a rather enjoyable and touching episode, mainly because Red Saber (Mordred) and Sisigou were characters I actually cared about. However, because of Jeanne’s ties to Gilles and knowing what he became in Fate/Zero, that was also an enjoyable element in this episode.