Take it away.
©バード・スタジオ/集英社 ©SAND LAND製作委員会
The big reveal for this episode is that our heroes have walked into a perfect trap—a Xanatos Gambit where no matter what they do, the bad guys have won. If Bred wins against Rao then he will capture the greatest general of the neighboring country. But losing the battle still gave him the excuse he needed to invade Sand Land—especially since he could report that Rao had succeeded in stealing weapons of mass destruction (even if they were fake).
Meanwhile, the same is true of both Beelzebub's war against Muniel and his attempt to rescue the deposed king. If Beelzebub wins, Muniel will become a martyr, uniting the nation against the demons of the Sand Land while publicly demonstrating the connection between the old king and the demons — offering support spacious for a fight. Meanwhile, if Muniel wins then everything will basically happen as we see in the episode.
In terms of content, this episode talks about two things: the power of information and the power of propaganda. Information gathered using drone cameras allowed Bred to establish his complex plan. He knows where our heroes will be, when, and what they're trying to do. It allows him to not only hinder our heroes but also control the popular narrative—all the while keeping our heroes blissfully unaware that they are pawns in his hands.
Furthermore, both Bred and Muniel are experts in controlling public opinion. Muniel, as the face, has established himself as a bleeding-heart hero who will do whatever it takes to keep people safe (even if it breaks his heart when do like that). And everyone ate it up—using the excuse that his mind controlled his soldiers, using them as human shields and even killing them as collateral damage for the “greater good.”
Knowing what we know, Muniel is clearly evil (despite his angelic status). However, the people of Forest Land only knew what Muniel and Bred told them. And because of this, they have a decade of missions to prepare for a genocidal war against the demons and people of the Sand Land.
All of this puts our heroes at the lowest point of their arc so far. But now that they are aware of the larger situation, we will have to see whether they can use the information and propaganda for their own benefit.
Rating:
Random thoughts:
→ So Ann is a half-demon. Succinct.
→ Beelzebub's speech is a great way to counter intentional propaganda (even if it's unintentional). By exploiting the stereotype that demons are as ugly and monstrous as they are evil, he is able to create doubt about Ann's supposed demonic nature.
$ Happy to have Swimmers help. However, I am confused as to why anyone would question why they would do such a thing. I mean, our trio of heroes literally returned water to the Sand Land—allowing the Swimmers to swim.
→ I like that Rao did not hesitate in his fight with Bred. He doesn't care if he's younger or a robot—he only cares about the face.
SAND LAND: THE SERIES is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.