Shadows House episode 6, The Grand Labyrinth, picks up right where the last week’s episode left off. Edward takes the shadows into the mysterious garden, leaving dolls alone in the first testing area.
The biggest thing that stands out in this episode is Edward himself. The test isn’t just for shadows and masters, but also Edward. But, for some reason, he is biased against Kate and wants to stop her from passing. Does she remind him of someone he once knew, or does the issue lie with her mysterious soot-controlling power?
Obviously, his issues with Kate extend to Emilico, but it seems like he doesn’t care about her as much. He only treats her as an extension of Kate, which is a bit unusual if we remember that Edward is also a living doll.
After Edward takes the masters outside, Ricky and Shaun bicker. Rum and Lou stand by quietly, leaving Emilico to solve the puzzle on her own. Her bubbly personality aids her in the first task – she finds the first clue by accident. She is also the one to open the door to the garden, while other dolls worry about what might be behind them.
Ricky is especially insecure and vulnerable without his master, and he deals with this by becoming insufferable and mocking everyone. Lou also seems lost without Louise, after all, her personality is highly dependent on Louise. She is nothing but her master’s face.
Into the Garden
Edward greets the dolls once they enter the garden, in his own smug way. He tells them more about the test and lets them pick an item that will help in solving the puzzle. Lou lets random luck decide, and ends up with a pair of shears. Shaun and Ricky argue over choosing the next item, but Emilico steps in and helps them realize they want different things.
Shaun ends up with a magnifying glass, which will surely come in handy with his bad eyesight. Ricky picks the soot suit. Rum picks a lantern, while Emilico picks a wheelbarrow. The goal is to find their masters within 2 hours, but also to stay safe (no harm must come to the living doll’s face) and keep their masters’ attires from getting dirty.
The dolls split up, but Emilico ends up running into Rum, and the two of them team-up. Emilico’s kindness helps Rum overcome her shyness, as she loudly proclaims she wants to be of help. Ricky runs into Lou, who is cutting her way through the labyrinth. Shaun is all alone, trying to read the map the dolls were given.
Meanwhile, the masters are confined in various places throughout the labyrinth. John ends up breaking out and stumbling upon Kate, who is locked in a bird’s cage. He asks her to marry him, which makes Kate scoff. However, he does say something that implies he used his soot-controlling powers to break out, leading Kate to think that maybe all shadows have these powers to an extent. John ends up going back to wait for Shaun, leaving Kate to ponder on her own.
What is the purpose of the Debut?
While all this is happening, mysterious shadows sit in the mansion and observe the test. We don’t know who they are, but they appear to be nobles in charge of overseeing the test. One of them points out that they don’t have better things to do anyway, which leads to the following question: what exactly do shadows do once they pass the Debut? We know some of them want to become Star Bearers, but we still don’t really know anything about the nature and the true purpose of the mansion.
Next week’s episode is titled An Incomplete Map. While we wait for it, you can watch Shadows House episode 6 on Funimation. Don’t forget to vote for it as the best anime of the week on our poll.
All images via Funimation
©ソウマトウ／集英社・シャドーハウス製作委員会
