It was full throttle action as Kuroshitsuji episode 4 features some outrageous train Black Butler fun. When I meant outrageous Black Butler fun I meant it!

A kidnapped boy and a ransom, an over eccentric archaeologist tomb raider, an overly obsessed train freak, a japanese couple with a secret heirloom, a cholera outbreak, a bomb, a shady tattooed priest, a mysterious caged prisoner, constable Aberlin of the Scotland Yard and Claude’s Butler?! What else can be more exciting then this full course chain of a events?

The episode really starts off with Ciel’s secondary butlers saying their farewells to Ciel and Sebastian on their short vacation having no clue that they are boarding the train on orders of the Queen of England. Finnian being the first time he’s been to a train station got over excited and bumped into a station worker hauling precious cargo into the train. The station worker fell along with the cargo onto his hand sustaining visible injury on his right hand as Ciel takes notice of it. The train departs…

It so happens that the Queen of England ordered the the Earl of Phantomhive to quell her displeasure in a kidnapping of Lord Aykroyd’s son. The ransom demands 5,000 pounds cash and Lord Aykroyd to be on board the train with it. Why the Queen’s displeasure you ask? Well put it bluntly, if Lord Aykroyd were to speak to the police his son being the hostage will be killed.

Ciel and Sebastian make their way around the train to search for clues of the kidnapper. What they found was suspects as expected. Too many suspects, in fact they found too many suspects that were all too suspicious. They noticed an over eccentric archaeologist/tomb raider, an overly obsessed train freak, a japanese couple with a secret heirloom, a shady tattooed priest and last but not least constable Aberlin of the Scotland Yard who shows up randomly.

Aberlin invites Ciel and Sebastian for a quick meal of Eel pie in the dining car. Sebastian notices another shady man sitting a couple rows down. It so happens to be Claude’s butler. They both locked eyes for a moment and Sebastian asks Ciel that they should be on their way. Meawhile Lord Aykroyd receives a note pinned to a chair from the kidnapper to leave the bag of the ransom money in the last lounge car. Traveling back to their quarters a strange man who concealed himself runs past Sebastian and Ciel. Noticing an injury on the man’s right hand Ciel grabs the man’s arm and Ciel recognizes the man to be the station worker. Curious, Ciel asks why the station worker is now disguised as a vacationer now. The man breaks free and makes a run for it. Ciel issues an order for Sebastian to capture him. The kidnapper manages to get to the last lounge car and detaches from the rest of the train. Ciel commands Sebastian to not let the kidnapper get away and as expected Sebastian jumps cars. Lord Aykroyd  being in the last car to drop off the bag is now cornered by the kidnapper whom reaches for his gun in his jacket to take Lord Aykroyd’s money by gun point only to realize that his gun is missing and Sebastian is cocking it behind the kidnapper’s head. Sebastian demands the kidnapper to reveal the kidnapped child. The kidnapper insists that its futile as his plan was to take the money on the last lounge car and detach with the train set to explode on the next stop. Sebastian does a simple but effective kick sending the kidnapper out of the train window incapacitated in a bush in the ditch. Sebastian pulls out his pocket watch and self quotes himself: “10 Minutes to the next stop…”

Meanwhile on the train, the guards guarding an imprisoned man gets wind that a car was detached and goes to investigate. The imprisoned man manages to escape. Ciel deduces that the station worker had to be the kidnapper because the best way to transport a body would be inside the precious cargo he was transporting which he recalled was a mummies sarcophagus. Ciel heads to the freight car and discovers the kidnapped boy, the imprisoned man grabs Ciel and uses him as hostage. Sebastian manges to catch up and notices the train station was only a couple kilometers away, he manages to shift the track to extend the trip narrowly missing the next stop. Sebastian makes his way to the engine operators and insists they don’t stop the train as there is a bomb set to detonate if they were to apply the brakes. A conductor makes their way to the passenger cabin and informs the passengers that the train tracks has been altered and that the train was heading towards an incomplete bridge and says that their next stop will be heaven.

The passengers freaks the hell out and then the imprisoned man comes out with Ciel as hostage demanding they stop the train right now. Sebastian makes it in time and jokingly comments on Ciel’s inclination on being captured every time. Ciel cuts the bullcrap and orders Sebastian to do something about the situation. Ciel’s gets dragged onto the roof of the train and Sebastian pursues and manages to get Ciel back and toss the imprisoned man towards the front of the train presumably killing him. Sebastian deduces that there was no need to diffuse the bomb from differentiating between the wires to cut as it was located in between the roof of the dining car and proceeds to tearing the roof off and tossing  it away. Sebastian looks back and notices the bridge coming up and makes his way to stop it from the front with his bear hands with only his heel just barely over the edge of the incomplete bridge as the train comes to a complete halt.

Ciel makes his way to the front of the train and comments that “Somehow, it all worked out.” Sebastian looking up to Ciel jokingly replies “How could one worthy of being the Phantomhive butler not be able to cook this critical, full course meal?”  - Sunset kicks in and another train comes to pick up the stranded passengers. Sebastian waits patiently to board the train when Claude’s butler hands Sebastian a letter. He quotes “if you wish to find out more about my master, it is best to waltz grandly through the front door. You want to take revenge for your Master Ciel, don’t you?”

The next morning, Sebastian delivers the letter to Ciel indicating it was an invitation to a ball at the Trancy’s mansion…

My Take

Alright so this episode had me full of suspense and laughs. For one thing, I almost forgot I was watching an anime – it was that tense! This episode was truly an episode showing off Sebastian’s capabilities as being “one hell of a butler.” Personally though there was a lot of unnecessary gibberish with the folks on the train but I guess its all in part of the story because in this show, you tend to always get the last second twist that leaves you going either “omg, really?!” or “wow, you dead” – Guess none of that happened in this episode but I do feel like the story was still progressing although this episode feels filler like. Maybe because the point of this episode was for Claude to deliver that letter. As with many people who are watching this series, they may have noticed that all the characters are off. Certain characters not being able to remember Ciel and the feeling that Sebastian is the only one who knows anything about the events of the previous season. This episode further eludes the fact. When Aberlin mentions about his brother being able to eat an Eel pie. He made it sound like his brother died. Could the current Aberlin be the previous Aberlin that died from the last season? Or like he said, could he be the other brother of Aberlin? If so who is this current Aberlin? Perhaps his name isn’t Aberlin but something else. Did Aberlin always have a brother to begin with? Furthermore Aberlin also mentions that he would like to further his relations with Ciel. Why is that so? Hasn’t Aberlin already had close relations to Ciel in season one? Even so, isn’t Aberlin supposed to be dead?

Questions questions questions… I’ll make a future post explaining my reasoning behind the reason why Ciel and the rest of the characters seem to be missing something and why Sebastian seems to know why everything’s out of whack. For now, I’ll wrap up my take on the episode – Probably the best episode I have seen in the whole Kuroshitsuji series thus far and look forward to seeing more of the crazy Black Butler antics in the next episode. Speaking about the next episode, It looks like there is going to be a dilemma at the Trancy mansion and Ciel and Sebastian will be up to something…

-Kai

No related posts.