With both the magical power and physical and mental support of Isaac, Lucy, and Chise, Philomela links back up with the book, but ends up trapped in a stormy seaside construct. Lizbeth is down but not out, and tries...
With both the magical power and physical and mental support of Isaac, Lucy, and Chise, Philomela links back up with the book, but ends up trapped in a stormy seaside construct. Lizbeth is down but not out, and tries her patented psychological torture on her only granddaughter.
Philomela isn’t having it. She produces the rune amulet Chise gave her, with the symbol that, among other things, represents Thor’s Hammer. And just as Chise did, Mela brings the hammer down, both on Lizbeth’s bullshit, and the incomplete god she summoned.
Snapped out of the construct, Philomela urges everyone to keep holding onto her; it’s amazing how quickly she’s changed now that she knows she has people in her corner. She recites the incantation to get rid of the god, which is done by summoning another, stronger god. Once this god, at whose visage Elias warns Chise not to look, snatches up the abomination, the portal closes up.
Morrigan thanks Chise and Philomela for putting on such a show and giving her fun battles to fight, and is in such a good mood she declines to ask for any further compensation. Then Lucy and Isaac, drained of all their magical power, pass out in Ruth’s arms.
Lizbeth, who is still alive, asks Not-Adam why he didn’t just kill her when he had the chance. He responds by asking why she didn’t kill Philomela’s mother, or Philomela, for that matter. Lizbeth will only say she hoped she could make use of Philomela someday.
Instead, Philomela, like her father, managed to escape a life of abuse and horror, leaving Lizbeth all alone. All Philomela wants from her now is the reason she murdered the Websters. Before Lizbeth can say much, she’s beheaded … by the lil’ werewolf we saw with Fabio.
It steals the book and runs off, and when Ruth and Fabio’s summoned snakes try to give chase, the female werewolf violently stops them, as she believes she’s protecting her child. Philomela collapses in Chise’s lap, Chise leans against Elias, and the two agree to go home.
It’s at Elias and Chise’s house where Philomela wakes up with the others. Upon emerging from her room, Silver grabs her with a warm smile and bundles her for the wintry outside. There, Mela sees two sets of footprints and follows them to Chise and Ruth.
She’s up early harvesting mistletoe, and tells Philomela that she figured it would be nice to get away from the College. And since it’s Winter Break anyway, she brought everyone to her home to relax. Philomela’s first follow-up question is what she should worry about.
Chise asks Mela what she wants to do, and Mela reflects the question. Chise provides a holiday-appropriate list: decorating the tree, shopping, party crackers, Silver time. Then Mela answers firmly but bashfully: she wants to make potpourri … with Chise. Chise smiles back at her and says “of course.”
Rian is among those at Chises for the break, and while he initially grabs Philomela like he’s going to yell at her, instead he falls to his knees and tells her he’s glad she’s safe. They head back to the house while Chise and Elias head into the woods with the mistletoe.
The provide it to Morrigan, who has aged considerably since the battle. But the offering of mistletoe is the trigger for her death and rebirth as the younger version of Morrigan. Elias suggests they pick the snowdrops where Morrigan once sat, handing one to Chise and being accidentally extremely charming and romantic.
They head back home where everything is merry, bright, and warm. After everything they’ve been through it’s so nice to see these kids finally get to be kids and have fun without worrying about curses, books, or their tragic family histories. Most importantly, Mela gets to make potpourri with Chise.
Chise does slip away for a brief visit to Carty, who can tell she’s been through some shit, but come out of it more like him than she thought. Through all of this, Chise realizes what she had, and what she wanted: to protect and befriend Philomela and the others.
She achieved that, but many lives were lost in the struggle. Many more will be in the future, which Chise doesn’t know if it’s right or worth it, but she still needs to go on. When she returns to the others, the roughhousing boys end up knocking Philomela to the ground and causing all of the cloth she was looking at to fall on top of her.
When she looks up at Zoe, Isaac, Rian, Lucy, and Chise, her new, dear friends, she gives the brightest smile she given since her parents were alive, and lets out a beautiful melodic laugh. This is what Chise fought for: for Philomela, someone in whom she saw her past wretched self, to be able to smile and laugh and do what she wants to do.
Whatever Veronica intends to do with the book she had the baby werewolf retrieve, or whatever dangers and intrigue the next arc contains, Chise and Philomela and their friends will always have this warm, cozy winter break to look back on. The joy of that time will sustain them in the darker times to come, and let them return to the brighter ones.
