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Monday, 10 August 2009 00:00 |
 I've noted before that poor Gretel seems to be on a hiding to nowhere - no matter what she does, getting praise or recognition from her beloved brother seems to be almost an impossibility. Now, that realisation finally seems to be breaking on her, and she's planning to do something about it. She may, however, be going about it all wrong...
The gang have taken a break in their trip in the Strange Forest, where they've been listening to a tree tell them fairytales. The forest certainly lives up to its name, at any rate - and given Souta's interest in fairytales, its not wasted time. Many years ago, Hansel and Gretel had passed through the Forest - it was a time when they were much closer, before Hansel became quite so focussed on Cendrillon. He may have forgotten those days, but Gretel hasn't - and begins to think that the power of the Key to Erde could be used to bring the brother she loved back to her. As an idea, that's all well and good - she still has to get her hands on the key, though. This time, though, she's got a different approach: she's going to ask nicely. But will anyone believe her..?
It's always nice to see a show's storyline go in a direction you've wanted it to go in, but weren't sure that it would. I've long said that poor Gretel was really on the wrong side - she's a sweet little girl at heart, just trapped into doing nasty things in the vain hope of getting some recognition from Hansel (who is a nasty piece of work). This episode sees her finally wake up to the situation that she's in, and while I can't see that making an effort to get Hansel out from under Cendrillon's influence will meet with much success, it's in her nature to try. Good for her.
What does surprise me, though, is the lack of help that she gets from the Muskteers. Yes, she's been their enemy, but I would have assumed that Red and the others were the sort to at least give someone the benefit of the doubt once - but no such luck, they're straight into hostile mode and Gretel gets no help, despite her pleas. Even Ringo and Souta, who can see that she's being sincere, aren't able to influence the situation, and that leads to an unfortunate end to Gretel's potential change of sides - for now, at least.
After a long stretch where the series seemed to be treading water, Fairy Muskteers finally does something I'd been wanting to see for a while, and it's done in a way that really did draw me into the story and make me choose sides - always a good thing. Hopefully Gretel hasn't given up on her plan just yet, as things are definitely starting to ger interesting...
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