Alright everyone, we’re diving back into Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha. The show’s previous episode was a goddamn barn-burner, both illustrating Fate’s continued integration into a loving civilian life, and also pulling off some of the most technically impressive fights of the series so far. To be honest, that feels like the Nanoha A’s experience in a nutshell – a looping sequence of thinking “surely they can’t top THIS fight,” only for that fight to be dutifully topped by whatever clash happens next. And in episode seven’s case, the introduction of cartridge shells to both of our heroines’ staffs meant their attacks grew in both power and flexibility, leading to Vita almost getting nuked out of orbit.

Instead, our masked spoiler arrived, saving Vita and stabbing Fate in the back. Right now my money’s on that guy secretly being the old admiral, but I have no in-text reason for that suspicion – it’s solely a “well, they introduced this guy and haven’t done anything with him, so maybe he’s secretly evil” meta-textual assumption. Whether we receive some actual clues or focus on some other thread entirely, I’m very ready to continue this bombastic adventure. Let’s check out Nanoha A’s!

Episode 8

Nanoha’s handling the opening monologue this time, which is understandable, given Fate currently has someone else’s arm sticking through her chest

The line “Even if they have an unhappy past…” is contrasted over the admiral himself, though that may just be a coincidence

It actually seems like the two biggest battles in the OP have now been passed in the show proper – they seem to depict Nanoha versus Vita from episode one, and Fate versus Signum from this most recent episode

“Shortly after you two were sent out, the station’s control security was cracked…” That is a big goddamn red flag, and seems to heavily support the “admiral is secretly the masked guy” theory. At the very least, it seems to indicate the existence of an inside man

Yeah, their discussion seems to indicate that it was most likely the hack came from inside

Signum actually apologized to Arf for what happened to Fate, which is the most intensely Signum move. They’ve done a terrific job of not just building up Hayate’s family as generally sympathetic, but individually fleshing out each of them into very unique and charming people. A credit once again to Nanoha’s signature strength, its willingness to let incidental scenes breathe in order to build our familiarity with and belief in its cast

Episode title: “A Sad Resolve, A Courageous Choice”

We jump to Hayate’s crew, who are discussing what they think of the masked man. It’s a testament to their sympathetic characterization that they immediately doubt this man’s motives; they’re not actively trying to undermine the space bureau, they just happen to have plans that run contrary to the bureau’s interests. A worse-written show would have them embrace this alliance of convenience, but they’re active characters with their own coherent perspectives, not just “villains”

And it’s Vita, of all people, who’s actually starting to doubt their mission. “It feels like we’ve forgotten something really important…” Having essentially become her sister, Vita is starting to value the desires of Hayate even over her own understanding of what’s best for her master

Hayate wakes alone. This wide shot, along with Vita’s stuffed animal in her bed, do an excellent job of emphasizing how her servants’ mission is actually leaving her isolated

And she collapses immediately. That makes sense – if the Book of Darkness was the thing causing her injury, then it stands to reason that empowering the book might naturally weaken Hayate

Once again, Hayate’s position is directly and immediately contrasted with our original heroes, as Fate wakes to see Lindy and Arf waiting at her bedside

Nice little beat here as Fate becomes hyper-aware of Lindy’s hand on her own, and Lindy withdraws and apologizes. The show is extending just as much care to depicting Fate’s processing of slowly growing past her trauma as it did to conveying that trauma in the first place

Simply learning to accept unconditional kindness is very hard for Fate, but Lindy is being wonderfully patient with her. Adopting Fate has made Lindy into a far more compelling character – she’s not just their captain now, she has an emotional stake in their day-to-day lives

The doctor informs Hayate’s moms that this might be a sign of the paralysis spreading, and that she should be hospitalized for a while. Their attempts to give Hayate everything are instead denying her the joy of a life she was already thankful for. Also like Shamael looking to Signum to make the hard call here; those two have a very convincing spousal relationship

Hayate’s “Hospitalization?” is contrasted against a shot through the window, emphasizing her entrapment

And as we leave, we see Hayate was actually hiding the fact that she’s still in extreme pain. Hayate here demonstrating a very unique and Nanoha-appropriate kind of heroism, as she fights hard to make sure her family doesn’t worry about her

A fairly creative transition into the library, using the curved pillars of the chamber to facilitate a series of wipe cuts moving us closer and closer to one of the catgirls. In contrast with season one’s Shinbo-style “fuck it, let’s just fill all the backgrounds with geometric madness,” season two seems to be working to echo that effect by actually building those curves into the physical architecture of their surroundings. It’s treating the show’s aesthetic more as “a series of sets that we film,” as opposed to Shinbo’s “a series of layouts that we fill with visual intrigue.” The first style is more common to action cinematography, while Shinbo’s attitude would go on to heavily influence Shaft’s designs, which almost universally favor an engaging visual composition over a believable set

Looks like Yuuno’s research is paying off. Apparently the Book of Darkness’ original name was the “Tome of the Night Sky”

It was originally used for the collection and study of magical spells

Someone among its later masters “altered its program” to make it destructive. “An ancient tome that works according to a computer program” is about as Nanoha genre-splicing as it gets

So the tome itself is essentially this season’s antagonist. It’s programmed to demand magical sustenance, cannibalize its master if denied, and once complete, expend all its master’s power in a destructive burst

“I almost feel sorry for the Book of Darkness… or rather, the Tome of the Night Sky.” And even this antagonist was made this way through the tampering of one misguided master. Abuse by the people we trust winds through every wounded character in this show

More hyping up of the masked man, discussing how he “must be a veteran at this.” I like the uniquely segmented view panels of their main bridge – another smart way of building the first season’s geometrical patterns into the overt architecture of their surroundings

Some nice shots of Nanoha and Fate returning to school, reminding me of the times when we didn’t have to fear background crowds would be conveyed through awful CG models

Suzuka and the girls decide to visit Hayate after school. Are we going to get that wonderful moment when they all bump into their enemies while visiting Hayate together?

It’s a classic trick, but one I’m pretty fond of. You can always mine some fun character moments out of characters who live in two worlds awkwardly watching those worlds collide

Damn, Shamal receives a picture with Suzuka and the magic users first. Cat’s out of the bag

“As long as they don’t run into us there, it should be fine.” Goddamnit Signum, stop being so calm and rational about this!

Alright, surely Vita’s got my back. She’s very good at fucking stuff up

Shamal reflects that it might have been a poor choice to proudly reveal all their names and faces to their most hated enemies

In order to look less suspicious, Shamal dresses up in shades and a giant trenchcoat. This woman is a tactical genius

It’s actually great to me that Signum is clearly the brains of the pair, while Shamal is the heart

Hayate sets a timer on the plot – Christmas day, twelve days from now

And we end on a slow, ominous fade into the admiral. OH COME ON

And Done

Hell yeah, we are really moving towards endgame at this point. This was essentially a transition episode, but it covered some pretty darn rich transitions. The contrasting of Fate growing closer to Lindy and Hayate trying to keep her family from worrying offered terrific material for both sides, with Shamal and Vita in particular poignantly articulating the strength of their feelings for Hayate. Additionally, what exposition did exist was livened through consistently inventive background art, which did a very clever job of emulating the first season’s visual appeal without outright abandoning representative art altogether. It was a fine, workmanly episode in what has turned out to be an incredibly sturdy season, and I’m ready for whatever tragedies await!

This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.