Sacrificial Princess & the King of Beasts ‒ Episode 16

I may not like Anubis very much, but he’s definitely in the right when it comes to politics this week. In fact, it may be the very reasons I dislike him – his anti-Sari stance – that allow him to be such a good chancellor now that Fenrir the wolf king is trying to usurp the Ozmargon throne. Anubis knows how much Leonhart loves his queen, but because he doesn’t share those sentiments (or any warm feelings for her whatsoever), he’s able to stand up to the king and force him to see that what he wants to do as a man isn’t what he ought to do as a ruler. Yes, Sariphi is the acting queen consort, and letting Fenrir do something unspeakable to her won’t reflect well on Ozmargo’s current government. But letting the king go flying off half-cocked would be equally bad because, without any strategy, it risks becoming a loss for Leonhart. And if Leonhart loses Fenrir’s challenge? That won’t be very good for his reign – and might even be fatal.

All of this goes to show what it’s been very easy to miss: that despite his bullheadedness where Sariphi is concerned, Anubis is very good at his job. He’s supposed to give Leonhart perspective and to look out for the well-being of the kingdom in a different way than the king does, and even his objections to Sariphi could be read as being in service of keeping Leonhart seated as ruler. Maybe it’s less that he doesn’t believe in human/beast equality and more that he’s afraid that no one else will, especially when faced with the specter of a human queen. Anubis is a bulwark between Leonhart’s rule and the rest of the world. He wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t point out the potential problems.

None of that means that he has to be as snarky about the whole thing as he’s been, but from how Jormungand talks to him, that’s probably just his personality. Still, it’s doubtless a good thing that he’s not present to see Lante get seasick, because he’d surely have some choice words for the poor guy. Seasickness is no joke if it really gets you, and Lante suffers from it. True, he doesn’t make a great showing against Fenrir’s lieutenant Nir, but that he could try at all instead of just being a puking mess is fairly impressive. Although, now that I say it, perhaps barfing on the wolves would have been more effective as a battle tactic…

There are two striking moments this week when a character could have raised their voice but chose not to, and Lante’s challenge isn’t either of them since we can attribute his tone to his nausea. Anubis standing quiet and firm in the face of his king’s fear and anger is another marker of how good he is at his work because it immediately forces Leonhart to back down and think about what he’s doing. Anubis’ measured words and actions show that he needs to step back and think, not let his emotions drive him. Even if the two of them have known each other since childhood, it can’t have been easy to face down a furious beast the way he did. But even more remarkable is Sari’s confrontation with Fenrir. With absolutely no fanfare, she jumps in front of the would-be wolf king and quietly and calmly lays out her position. She never raises her voice, never gets emotional; she makes a statement and sticks with it. If any of her detractors could have seen her, they’d immediately understand that this is genuine proof of her worthiness as a queen because she protects her people and does it with poise and grace.

Obviously, Fenrir and Leonhart have a troubled past, and Fenrir won’t care how well Sari fills her role. But between Anubis and Sariphi, cooler heads are present on both sides of the conflict. Hopefully, they can prevail, and everyone will see that Sari is, in fact, a true queen, no matter what she looks like.

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