What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? (SukaSuka)

Episode 11

Life's tough when you're a fairy soldier; Chtholly only gets a few minutes to bask in the glow of her new relationship before everything around her goes to hell. As she accompanies Willem to the ruins of his old home, a swarm of beasts tunnels up to the surface from the dig site. The other fairies fight to defend the airship, but Chtholly's too busy having another unconscious encounter with Elq to join the battle. She learns the truth behind Elq's past and her own origin, along with the details of her seemingly inevitable fate. With things looking increasingly hopeless for the remaining soldiers, everyone's survival may depend on whether or not Chtholly is able to come back for one last fight.

SukaSuka has slowed itself down with detours and distractions all season long, so it's nice to finally see an episode that feels truly focused on the task at hand. The big priorities here are Chtholly's breakdown and the attack on the airship, and just about everything that happens contributes to one or both of those plot points. Sure, there are a few moments of exposition to help put things into context, but this episode steers clear of the aimless side stories that have so often derailed the show's pacing. With no big narrative stumbling blocks to hinder it, the series is able to deliver one of its best efforts to date.

This episode's revelations, especially as they relate to Elq and the demise of humanity, mostly confirm and clarify what had already been hinted. Humanity fought a war against beings that posed an existential threat, defeated them at great cost, then devolved into the beasts of the present timeline all on their own. That's not exactly a vote of confidence for human nature, but what's interesting is the clarification of Elq's role in the conflict. As a young, godlike being who led the war against humanity, her motivations are a bit more nuanced than I expected. She's neither an innocent casualty nor a fully malevolent entity, which sets up some mixed emotions around her gradual takeover of Chtholly's mind. The conversation between them suggests that while Chtholly might already be too far gone to go back to normal, she may be able to talk Elq into letting her stick around long enough to save her friends.

They're certainly going to need the help, because this battle has all the makings of a “last stand” situation. Where past conflicts have been light on dramatic tension, this one succeeds in conveying the idea that no one's survival is guaranteed. Part of that comes from the general consensus among the characters that they're in over their heads, although the dialogue often overreaches in its attempts to mix big ideas in with the characters' emotions. Perhaps more significant is the slow-burning revelation that we're headed toward the scene that was teased out of context at the beginning of the series: an airship under siege by monsters, a red-haired heroine who seems strangely at peace with her fate, and a very long fall. The question now is how that scene is going to end.

With time running out, it looks like some loose ends will be left hanging in this series. I doubt we'll get any satisfying resolution for what Souwong and Eboncandle are up to, and the dug weapon that was supposed to cure Chtholly seems to have gone missing in action. Even so, this episode does a fine job of setting the stage for a conclusion to the central storyline. The stakes feel high, the tension has been dialed up a few notches, and enough narrative options remain open to keep the ending unpredictable. All that remains is to find out to what extent Willem and Chtholly are able to fight against the tragic fate that seems to have been hanging over them from the very beginning. As long as SukaSuka can stick the landing, it has the potential to end on a strong note.

Rating: B+

What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us? is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.