I'm in Love with the Villainess

Episode 9

Just as quickly as it arrived, the conflict between the commoner uprising and the Aurousseau siblings has been wrapped up. You'd think that after hastily assembling this entire story and filling it with so many complicated and loaded ideas, it would run through the end of the season. Yet by the credits of this episode, the show has more or less put a lid on the whole thing, and the results are very mixed.

We've essentially just hit the pause button on all the broiling rage of the proletariat. That's disappointing, considering it was by far the most unique and compelling part of this show's story, but it at least hasn't been completely forgotten. The reveal that this particular spark was manipulated by the isekai equivalent of a foreign kingdom's CIA puts a damper on the common folk's anger. Still, the wiser members of the nobility – read: Prince Thane – recognize that the anti-noble sentiment didn't come from anywhere. The schemers behind the near-uprising brought things to a boil, but the heat was already rising, and if the nobles don't acknowledge that, they're well on their way to calling it Thermidore instead of July, if you catch my drift. This conflict should be revisited since it's far too juicy to abandon.

Lambert, meanwhile, stops existing. He's there, and we get a brief flashback of him telling Lene about his plan, but otherwise, he just fades into the background and has about five total lines in this episode. It leaves me scratching my head as to why he was involved in the first place, considering we barely knew him before or after his betrayal. You could easily shuffle a few things around to have Lene be the sole conspirator here, and it would work a lot better. Her betrayal would be more meaningful. Center the conflict on a character we care about, and cut out the weird incest subplot that goes nowhere after it's brought up. I hate to keep referencing the show's origins as an amateur web novel, but this particular element feels like something that a traditional editor would have ironed out before sending this thing to print. This feels like a gnarled plot cul-de-sac that only works to weaken the emotional climax it's in service of.

That sucks, because Claire and Lene's farewell is very touching on its own. We've seen firsthand how and why these two care about each other. Lene was the sole source of comfort for Claire after losing her mother, and yet the class divide prevented her from truly being the confidant she wished to be. Lene was one of the few people to see the vulnerable, insecure person behind Claire's noble facade, and to lose that connection so suddenly – and after Claire and Rae put themselves on the line to save Lene's life – is heartbreaking. That part of this story works and is suitably what the episode decides to focus on. The road to this moment was uneven and probably busted a tire, but seeing these two parts – and Claire finding comfort and support from Rae, even if she'll never admit it – just about makes it worth it.

Now, the question is: what the hell the show does from here? The largest conflict has been settled, and our heroines have found a new status quo in their relationship, so what's left for the next few episodes? The answer, according to the preview, is to bring in a hot new rival for Rae, and I am all for it. Rae's been on top for far too long, and it's time to watch that girl seethe like the gay little flower she is.

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I'm in Love with the Villainess is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.