Episode 11 – Crossroads Butler – 岐路執事 (Kiro shitsuji)
I mentioned last week that I just knew that Hannah had alternative motivations behind her actions, but wow, this show went completely beyond what I had expected in regards to her past and background. With really crazy plot twists, this show has really been creative with it’s plot and characters; case in point would be Alois, Hanna, and Claude’s characterizations throughout the show.
This episode was just plain awesome, with some great plot developments involving Claude’s betrayal, Hanna’s surprise revelations, and Ciel’s recovery of his memories. Of course, there was also a bunch of fanservice that I really wish this series didn’t have, but it can’t be helped.
Alois, after taking over Ciel’s body, decides to test our two butlers Claude and Sebastian by having them go through a maze garden, where they’ll have to answer questions about Claude in order for to proceed. Questions range from stuff as silly as “What is Claude’s favorite food” to more serious questions such as “Why did Claude kill Alois Trancy”. The maze and it’s questions were a great way to display Alois’ inner torment, though I guess his constant crying, yelling, and even self-mutilation, got that same message across pretty well.
It’s amidst all of Alois’ crazy antics that Ciel (at least, his consciousness) makes a reappearance. After thinking though and sorting out his own memories from Alois’, Ciel finally comes to the realization that his revenge against the queen and her angel was complete, and that his soul should have been eaten by Sebastian a long time ago.
The way in which they showed Ciel’s remembrance of his old memories was well done, by altering the corridors of the maze so that Sebastian would be answering Ciel’s, not Alois’, questions. Through that, Ciel finally confirms that he indeed did carry out his revenge, and also learns exactly why Sebastian hadn’t eaten Ciel’s soul yet.
Apparently, in the moment where Sebastian and Ciel’s contract had been removed (so that Sebastian could eat Ciel’s soul), Claude had actually stolen Ciel’s soul from him. That clarifies quite a bit in regards to exactly what happened to Ciel, now that Sebastian himself gave an explanation.
I did get a small laugh about how Claude finally outright revealed that he had “killed Alois Trancy because was a tool to get to Ciel’s soul”. It was pretty obvious that Claude’s original target was Ciel’s soul, but his backstabbing methods just make him more of a disgusting “intriguing” character.
The big curveball this episode, though, was the revelations involved around Hanna’s past. I did not expect that it was actually Hanna that forged a contract with Luka, and subsequently devoured his soul. Hanna’s lingering attachment to Luka had managed to get her to look after her beloved “brother” even after Luka’s death. I’m not exactly sure why Hanna calls Alois her “brother”, but maybe it’s due to the influence of Luka’s soul inside of her.
It seems like, in the end, all our tragic character Alois wanted was some genuine, true love from another. Alois had originally seeked love from Claude, but in the end, it was Hanna’s affections that finally laid Alois to rest. As to whether Alois’ soul is completely gone hasn’t been revealed yet, but with Hanna making a contract with Alois, it seems like there’s more plot stuff yet to be revealed.
Not to mention, in the brief moment Ciel managed to regain control over his body, he orders Sebastian to “devour his soul”, to which Sebsatian promptly bows down to. No matter what happens in our final episode next week, there’s bound to be a few more deaths and farewells.
This episode had some completely unexpected plot twists, and like I mentioned earlier, was pretty awesome. I don’t like the fanservice in particular, but besides that, the plot has gotten really convoluted, twisted, and plain outright captivating. I’m definitely looking forward to next week’s finale of this surprisingly good show.
Overall Enjoyment: 4.6/5
Screenshots are later in the post.
Final Episode Preview: Black Butler – 黒執事 (Kuroshitsuji)
Distant Paradise 
