Shadows House episode 5 finally brings us one step closer to finding out the truth behind Shadows mansion. We got a closer look at other masters, and we also got to see how they treat their dolls. Anime spoilers ahead.
Before we dive into the Debut, let’s take a look at Sarah, Mia’s master. We got to meet her in episode 2, and we saw a bit of her personality. At the time she seemed cruel, but this episode confirms it – she is abusing Mia. For the most part, Mia seems to be hiding it well.
She suffers in silence, even after Sarah breaks into her room and destroys her valuables. Sarah has a goal of becoming a Star Bearer, which implies that there are perks in it for the shadows as well. Mia having her own personality is simply unacceptable.
The Debut process seems to be focusing on how well dolls and masters work together. Their chemistry, behavior, even confidence, are all being rated. Other than Emilico and Kate, there are four more couples taking part in the event. We met all of them before to some extent.
Shaun and Rum, Emilico’s friends from episode 4 are attending with their masters, John and Shirley, respectively. Ricky, the smug confident doll from the previous episode, is also there with his master Patrick. Lou is representing Louise, a confident girl, who is in love with her face.
Interestingly enough, every couple has its own dynamic. While Emilico and Kate get off to a rocky start, Lou and Louise don’t have that problem. Louise is confident in her capabilities and talents and can take the lead. Lou is a passive observer in their relationship and has no issue abandoning her own personality to serve her master’s needs.
Ricky and Patrick are similar – they work well together, they are both smug, loud, and have no issues with insulting others to present themselves in a better light. However, this overconfident aura they have seems to land them in trouble sometimes, and they both try to wiggle their way out of it.
Edward, a special doll appointed to oversee the Debut, doesn’t hold back. Initially, he praises both Lou and Ricky for getting an answer to his questions correct, and he seems to be cold and calculated in every regard. He scares the dolls and the masters and he’s well aware of it. After all, nobody, except him, knows what happens to those who fail the Debut.
The quietest doll, Rum, seems to have an equally quiet master. While the other couples try to impress Edward, the two of them stay on the sidelines and don’t talk much. It seems they behave like this around each other in general, which possibly means that Rum is a good representation of Shirley. On the other hand, Shaun and John seem to be comfortable around each other, enough though their efforts are passable in Edward’s eyes.
All this brings us to the stars of the show – Emilico and Kate. We know that Emilico isn’t like Kate, they are good friends, they love each other but they aren’t similar. Kate seems to become painfully aware of that truth in this episode – Emilico will never be her face. Instead, they will have to learn how to work together and complement each other’s missing pieces. Kate accepts Emilico for who she is and admires her uniqueness, which might be either a wonderful thing or a recipe for disaster.
Shadows House episode 5 ends with Edward separating the shadows from the dolls. It almost feels like this episode was just an introduction to the Debut. What lies in the garden? What are the dolls supposed to do now? Hopefully, we’ll get the answers to these questions next week, as the 6th episode is titled The Grand Labyrinth.
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All images via Funimation
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