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The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 was released on Thursday, May 25, 2023, bringing with it the exciting continuation of Chise and the group's expedition to Scotland. In the most recent episode, fans discovered what was stalking Chise and Lucy, as well as a new and intriguing skill of Elias'.
The fact that Chise is continuing to strengthen her bonds with her peers in The Ancient Magus' Bride season 2 episode 8 is particularly exciting. More notably, her friendships with Lucy Webster, Philomela Sargant and Rian Scrimgeour all seem to advance significantly in this most recent chapter.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Chise face her first real struggle without Elias’ powers
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8: New skills on display
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 opens with Chise and Lucy back with the others, now collecting firewood around the forest. Chise hears and sees an apparition of Elias asking if he can speak to her now, with the chapter circling back to Chise and Elias’ home in the past. Elias says he thinks he’ll come along to Scotland, prompting Chise to remind him that he has to teach.
He responds that it’s just one class in the afternoon, but she remains adamant that he shouldn’t miss it. His presence would defeat the aim of the expedition, which is to learn to live alone in the wilderness. However, Elias keeps insisting, saying no one will know he’s there, but Chise expresses concern that she will end up relying on him.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Elias interpret this as he has to make sure he’s not useful to her, as he puts his hand to his face and seemingly splits it in two. The issue then returns to the present, where Chise reveals that Elias has duplicated himself, with the form accompanying her being a dog-like creature.
Elias then explains that he can’t share visions or other senses concurrently, but they’ll be shared when he’s back in one piece. Likewise, since he’s not himself without the other piece, he’ll stay at home, but Chise doubts this. Elias’ duplicate then tells her it caught some fish from the river, which she appears to have no issues with.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 then sees the two of them surrounded by magical “neighbors,” prompting Elias to explain that there are many old stories about them. He asserts that they must’ve had a deep relationship with humans in the past. While Chise claims it’s relaxing, she can’t help but be anxious.
Lucy then calls out to and finds Chise, telling her to start the fire if she’s got enough firewood. Back at camp, she and others try to start a fire, but she can’t get it to work. Lucy instructs her to be quicker, get better sparks, and shave more kindling to start the fire with. After she successfully does it, Chise asks her for help tomorrow, before volunteering to go get water.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 then sees Chise run into a horse-like fair, which Elias says is a kelpie at first before calling it an each-uisge. He explains that they take reckless travelers and farmers on their backs, drown them, and eat them, as the each-uisge tugs on Chise’s arm and tries to get her to ride it.
She tells it she’s not getting on, prompting it to walk away while telling her it’ll be at the lake ahead of the river. The sun soon sets, with Chise returning back to camp and warning Lucy not to get on a horse if she sees one in the woods. Chise comments on how it’s getting dark, while Lucy thinks to herself that Chise’s eyes don’t look like human ones, questioning if all mages are like this.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 then cuts to Chise’s tent, where she’s awake in her sleeping bag and looking out the door. She hears voices, and can’t tell if they’re students or neighbors. Ruth and Elias then remind her that they’re both here, prompting her to remind them that this is supposed to be a practical exam for her.
The two then cuddle up next to her in bed, seemingly allowing her to go to sleep. The episode then shifts perspectives yet again, showing an amorphous blob-like creature with one giant eye rising up from the ocean. Chise is then shown waking up the next morning, complaining about how the birds are so loud, before finding Philomela by the river.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees the two awkwardly lock eyes before Chise begins making small talk. Philomela then departs shortly thereafter, as Chise remembers when she gave Philomela the potpourri. She seems happy to realize that she’s still hanging onto it, prompting Lucy to come out and ask Chise why she cares about Philomela.
Chise says she doesn’t know, saying that she’s not exactly relatable, but that she thinks Philomela could talk more. Chise then asks Lucy why she dislikes Philomela, who in turn asks if this is a bad thing. The former says she just wants to know if there’s a reason, prompting Lucy to say she hates sorcerers despite attending the College.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8: Midnight terrors
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Chise ask why this is, but Lucy instead asks her to set things up to reignite the fire while she washes her face. Chise agrees, with the episode then showing her successfully getting a fire going. The other students are seen gathering and cooking foodstuffs, as well as playing in the river and getting lessons from the PE coach.
Night falls yet again, with Chise revealing that they’re going home tomorrow. Lucy says she has to study as soon as she gets home, prompting Chise to ask if she likes studying. Lucy says there’s a lot she needs to accomplish, unlike Chise, who in turn says that she actually has something she needs to do as well. However, she doesn’t know when it will be done, offering no more information to a seemingly disinterested Lucy.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 then sees Lucy roll over and demand to be told what it is, prompting Chise to laugh and say goodnight. Lucy then wakes up in the night and has to go to the bathroom, waking and walking by Ruth as she exits the tent. As she walks back, shots of a book's pages being flipped are shown, as Lucy suddenly stops with a worried expression on her face.
The book is then slammed shut, seemingly awakening Chise who says her skin is prickling. Elias’ duplicate says he felt that disturbance too, as Chise realizes that Lucy is gone. Ruth says she’s been gone for a while, prompting Chise to go out looking for her. Thankfully, she does find Lucy, but unconscious.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Elias claim her magic power has dried up, explaining that it’s as important to them as lifeforce is to normal people. Elias says Lucy is in a bit of danger, prompting Chise to ask if they can share their magic power with her. Elias confirms this, adding that Chise has far more than enough.
Chise then picks up Lucy and holds her close as Elias says that she'll naturally absorb Chise's power because her own has dried up. She then tells Ruth to let Mr. Whoopi, the PE coach, know about this, as she says they need to get back to the tent. Chise takes a step forward, but then suddenly stops, as it’s revealed that a massive creature is behind her.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 then cuts to what appears to be sometime in the past, where Chise is explaining that her senses have broadened since her arm changed. She elaborates that she can see “the outlines of things” she couldn’t before, as well as their movements, whispers, and touch, all of which became easier to sense.
However, she says she let her guard down a bit as a result while the series returns to the present. The creature takes a step forward while peering down at Chise, who glances back up and claims there's more in the darkness she's not aware of. Elias explains that it’s a sea monster called a nuckelavee, as it raises its hand and smacks it down towards Chise.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Elias tell Chise to run, explaining that the creature can’t touch freshwater. She then begins running to the river, as Mr. Whoopi realizes that the magic power isn’t flowing naturally and looks into it. The other students are shown to also be waking up, as Chise ask Elias why it’s attacking them.
He says he doesn’t know, but has heard that it can’t help but kill humans on sight. Elias theorizes that the creature left the sea because nothing that can see it like they can has come along in a while. She asks if the nuckelavee attacked Lucy, but Elias says that isn’t how it fights. Ruth then calls out to Chise and Elias, saying that he couldn’t find Mr. Whoopi, but he did find the other students.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Chise tell the others to run as the nuckelavee approaches, knocking Zoe Ivy to the ground and his headphones off. Isaac Fowler calls out for Zoe as Rian Scrimgeour reaches for something in his pocket, with the nuckelavee approaching Zoe all the while.
Zoe’s snakes then affix their gaze to the nuckelavee, successfully freezing it in place which Isaac congratulates the former for. However, Zoe passes out shortly thereafter, seemingly allowing the creature to move once more. It then lets out poison mist, as Chise tells everyone to get to the other side of the river.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8: A dangerous strategy
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees the nuckelavee approach the river’s edge before yelling and bucking up in the air. Chise asks Elias what they can do, prompting him to explain that his normal self could do something, but his current state can’t. He adds that, as she wished, his current self can’t do anything, adding that this training is supposed to allow her to not rely on him.
Chise then asks for advice, asking if the fairy and the lake past the river from yesterday would help. Elias says he doesn’t mind giving her advice, saying that the each-uisge would make for a good ride. Elias then begins pouring his magic into the water, seemingly calling the creature to come.
Chise asks it if it can draw the nuckelavee towards the lake, prompting it to say it can if Chise gets on. She tells Ruth to take Lucy, while Rian says he’s coming with her. She says it’s dangerous, but she says it’s more dangerous for her to go alone. The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Isaac throw Rian a key of some kind before they depart, which he thanks him for.
Chise and Rian then race past the creature, successfully grabbing its attention while Isaac says he envies Rian’s ability to run off without looking back. Mr. Whoopi then arrives, asking what they’re doing out there so late. Meanwhile, Chise explains to Rian that it hates freshwater, so if they lure it to the lake and dunk it in, it might run away.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees Elias say that while this may happen, the each-uisge eats humans in the water. In other words, they need to get back to the shore as quickly as they can. As they approach the lake, the each-uisge snickers before bucking and knocking Chise, Rian, and Elias off.
The nuckelavee stops and stares at the each-uisge, with the two seemingly communicating with each other. Thankfully, the each-uisge then races behind the nuckelavee and bucks it into the water. Rian tells Chise they need to get back to the shore, but the nuckelavee grabs Chise and drags her under, realizing that she perceives and recognizes things behind the shadow.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees it say it won’t spare her, as Elias tries to attack it. The nuckelavee says that so long as she continues to look into their side, they’ll do something. However, this is interrupted by a voice that says the word “horror,” followed by what appears to be the manifestation of Chise’s dragon curse saying that horrors must be destroyed.
Chise’s arm then transforms, allowing her to rip the nuckelavee’s arms off as her eyes turn a gold color. After finishing it off, Chise’s eyes return to their normal green hue, while she puts her normal right hand over her mouth. Meanwhile, the each-uisge says that since Rian got out of the water, it’ll have to eat Chise who’s still in the water instead.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 then sees Rian somehow summon a battleax from the key Isaac gave him earlier. The each-uisge backs down as it realizes the ax is made of metal, prompting Rian to explain that he’s not good at using sorcery on others, but can use it on himself without any issue.
Chise arrives at the shoreline at that point, with the each-uisge declaring that it can no longer devour her and departs. She asks where Elias is, as he wraps her up in a bunch of tentacles and Rian asks him why he’s here. Chise then comments on how she’s now dry once Elias lets go, before remembering what she did to the nuckelavee.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 sees her question what that was, adding that she would’ve died if she didn’t act how she did. However, she says she “still feels it” as the each-uisge watches from the water. Chise says she can’t give it her flesh, but she does offer it a chunk of her hair. The each-uisge then comments on how there are no more drunkards at night or night travelers, as well as no one standing around.
It calls it disappointing to not eat her as it sinks into the lake, prompting Elias to say they should head back. On the walk back, Rian asks if she’s okay, saying he’s seen that face before in the mirror as an image of him washing blood off his hands appears. As they approach the others, she says she didn’t know what to do, to which Rian agrees as the episode ends.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8: In summation
Overall, The Ancient Magus’ Bride season 2 episode 8 is a fairly exciting and intriguing installment to the series. Especially pleasant to see is Chise starting to be able to solve her own problems without needing to rely on Elias’ power. While his knowledge and advice did still come into play, Chise at least was able to actually defeat the nuckelavee without Elias’ abilities.
The episode also shows that Chise’s bonds with her friends are deepening, especially when it comes to Philomela, Rian, and Lucy. With the second season set to begin its final third with next week’s installment, fans are hoping and expecting an exciting and eventful conclusion to Chise’s adventures at the College.
Be sure to keep up with all The Ancient Magus’ Bride anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.
