How would you rate episode 9 of
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History ? Community score: 4.5
There's a pattern to stories. In romance, we often get outbursts of misdirected emotion: moments when one of the pair says something they shouldn't, alienating them from the other. The story then goes through ups and downs as they take their time to deal with their feelings of love, shame, and pride. It's a lot of angst and drama.
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History takes that predictable storyline cliché and throws it in the trash. Alicia may not be completely sure about her feelings for Duke and how they mesh with the villainess persona she has adopted, but she is sure about one thing: her ideal villainess is a woman of action. She doesn't sit around and mope when things get tough; she confronts the problem head-on. If she messed up, she'll apologize. If she's been wronged, she'll make it plain. And if she loves a man—she'll be damn sure she's the one on the attack.
It all makes for a fantastic scene where Alicia—in front of Liz and all her sycophants—makes it clear that she intends to make Duke hers by doing something as outrageous as touching the face of the crown prince without being given permission. And Duke's reaction? He laughs with surprise and joy. He has not only been put on the defensive but also been permitted to pursue Alicia out in the open, which is his heart's true desire.
Just as important as Duke's reaction is Liz's. Liz has just seen Alicia do something she has been unable to: make Duke smile. It's clear who is winning the war for his heart, and it's not Liz. This is a problem because, as Liz has told Alicia, things just work out for her. They always have and she had assumed they always would. But no matter how Liz tries to win over Duke or befriend Alicia, she can't seem to do so.
This is the first ongoing failure in her life where things don't seem to go as they should. While Liz is no doubt a kind person, she is also a spoiled child. She has always gotten exactly what she wanted, so she has never had to deal with emotions like disappointment and jealousy. She has no coping mechanisms, so her emotions rage unchecked inside her, seemingly altering the emotions of those around her.
If that scene weren't already awesome enough, we get a second: a villainess condemnation scene, though with a twist. While Alicia has played into her role as Liz's rival, she has not actually done any of the bullying that the villainess is supposed to do. Since Alicia's villainess is all about confronting the problem head-on, she's never physically assaulted Liz or berated her in private.
Thus, Jane—one of Liz's groupies—decides to frame Alicia for bullying. What's interesting is that this does not happen because of Liz's powers—Jane isn't even in the dining hall when Liz loses control of her emotions. Rather, Jane is acting as a white knight coming to her rescue, out of loyalty to Liz. Of course, there is also the clear motive of revenge lurking beneath. Alicia embarrassed Jane in public and got away with it. Now she wants to make the villainess pay.
Alicia, of course, is impressed by the whole frame job. As a villainess herself, she can appreciate the villainy of others. But before she can do anything—either play into the setup or refute it, someone else intervenes.
Through this girl, Carol, we learn that while many people are bewitched by Liz's powers, many others follow just due to peer pressure. Of course, just because Carol is speaking reason, that doesn't mean that she'll be believed. In fact, the mob starts to turn on her for no other reason than “siding” with Alicia.
However, it's here that we are, once again, reminded that Alicia is not a normal villainess. She has those who love and respect her that are doing their best to look out for her. Mel is Duke's spy among the girls and has tasked with protecting Alicia while at school. When she learned of the frame job being planned, she decided to make her own recording of the incident to refute it.
What's interesting about Mel is that, despite being a spy, she has longed to be able to operate in the open. With Alicia demanding that Duke stop sneaking around, she finally has the chance to do so. While she is more than a little obsessed with Alicia (which makes sense as it's literally been her job), she is also among those not charmed by Liz, going so far as to hate Liz for the unnatural way her powers warp the minds of those around her.
We see Alicia's team growing in size and strength with this episode. But before we get any more events at school, it looks like we need to spend some time fleshing out Will's story and how he ended up as a blind, deposed prince first. I'm excited to see how this develops him and the king as characters and the kingdom next week.
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I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.
Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.
