Re:ZERO Season 4 Episode 3, “The Keeper of the Watchtower,” is now out, and it’s where it finally feels brutal in the way Arc 6 fans were waiting for and talking about. The first two episodes set the pace, but this one turned it up more than just a notch. Subaru is no longer just moving toward the watchtower, he’s already inside it facing its unknown logic, and it’s already obvious that fear, wrong choices, and a single bad step can lead to a reset and more of his usual suffering.
The episode begins simply. Ram wakes Subaru up and explains that they’ve separated from the rest. We learn that Subaru had caught Ram while they were falling, and that’s how the two ended up together. However, Anastasia and Patrasche are also with them, and Subaru was definitely glad his trusted earth dragon was there.
What makes the episode so strong is how simple it feels on the surface. They’re on a dark path. A few people split from the others. A wrong turn. Then a second chance. But the direction squeezes tension out of everything. Even before the violence starts, the episode already feels wrong.
The blue tunnel lighting scene was masterful. The color made each of the three look cold and worn down, with the faces holding for just long enough to feel uncomfortable. Seeing Subaru going at Ram was horrifying in its own right, and Anastasia (Foxidna)’s confused faces made it even more eerie. It was interesting to see that Ram seemingly saved Subaru despite the effects of the miasma after she was about to fight him herself just moments before.
But that is why the payoff works. The horror in this episode wasn’t just the gore. It was the loss of trust, especially between Subaru and Ram. The underground scene successfully made it feel like the watchtower was breaking the group apart before they even reached the real challenge. That idea is much scarier than a monster attack, and the episode understood that.
The best part is that WHITE FOX does not overplay anything. The episode doesn’t scream for attention, but it trusts the setting, the expressions, and the dread that was inescapable. Then, when it needs to hit, it hits HARD. The entire sequence involving Patrasche was horrifying, jumping right up there to possibly Subaru’s most brutal end yet.
The scene against the mysterious mabeast looked incredible as well. It felt as if Subaru ended up against a boss he wasn’t ready for, and it was just a matter of time before he ended up returning by death. Ram saved the day though, and it was the second time in the episode she saved him. Only this time she seems to have managed to survive as well.
If there is one reason this episode matters so much besides delivering an absolutely horror-filled episode, it is that it makes the watchtower feel like more than Subaru can handle. It’s not a reward at the end of a journey, but a place that has already started chewing Subaru up before he even got any sort of welcome. Those are the kinds of things we’re used to seeing Subaru go through, and I can’t wait to see what kind of person Shaula turns out to be and what her role is.
Episode 3 has definitely changed the feel of the season even after the previous episode’s own dark turns. And if this is the real start of Arc 6’s misery, then we better buckle up for the rest of Season 4. The ending video also made its debut, and you can check it out below.
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Images via Crunchyroll
©Tappei Nagatsuki,KADOKAWA/Re:ZERO4 PARTNERS
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