Remembering the Past
Goblin Slayer remembers his dreams of becoming a hero. He wished to become a hero powerful enough to “defeat dragons,” and become a “platinum-ranked adventurer.” We see flashbacks of the battle between the Heroine and the Demon Lord. He awakens in a carriage with the other adventurers. He remembers having an argument with his sister and how is sister cooked for him.
Downtime in town
As is typical of Goblin Slayer this episode is largely about the time in-between battles. While, there is no goblin quest to be had there are plenty of the Demon Lord army remaining to be killed. Obviously, GS doesn’t care about non goblin quests. He goes to get his newly repaired gear and is told that there’s no magic scrolls left. Heavy Warrior and Female Knight are training rookies. The Priestess greets GS. They share a meal with the other members of the group.
The Sword Maiden’s Letter
The Sword Maiden writes GS to say that she is grateful. She thanks GS and his comrades for “freeing” her mind from constantly thinking of goblins. The Demon Lord is defeated, but his army is still a treat. While reading the letter, GS completes chores ending when he finds a large amount of goblin footprints. This episode was largely useless. However, I do find it interesting that the big bad (Demon Lord) wasn’t defeated by the main characters. They will likely face a major monsters later but it does deviate from what we expect from series.
Actually, I see this as one of the most important episodes. Even as others begin to breathe easy, Goblin Slayer sees with his own eyes evidence that his safe haven–including the people with whom he has shared his life–is now facing the danger he most fears. No dragon or demon lord could ever inspire the tumult of hatred and fear that he must feel seeing those footprints so close to his last real home. . .in my mind, this is the only climatic battle that could have made sense for this character.
The series has gone out of its way to emphasize the fact that even the “smallest” enemies are a threat. You make a good point. For the Goblin Slayer his dragons and the demon lord are just monsters that exists. His experience with the goblins has created hatred in him. He must exterminate them all.
I like that we are seeing a hero who isn’t necessarily saving the world. He is protecting what he needs to from what he can and it is a fairly solid story that doesn’t need to throw bigger and bladder does at our heroes.
Goblin Slayer has bucked the trend, becoming anything but predictable. All heroes can’t save the world. The Goblin Slayer aims to protect his friends and family.