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Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler Episode Six “His Butler, at the Funeral”–Review

by bog bit

The episode picks up where the previous episode left us after a short prologue containing brief scenes from earlier episodes in this arc. Madame Red had been killed by Grell, and Sebastian has been ordered by Ciel to take out Grell. Grell however, seems to be taking this as a first date. She expounds on how her (nonexistent) relationship with Sebastian is like Romeo and Juliet. Sebastian disagrees rather strongly, and they take the battle to the rooftops.

Grell paraphrases Romeo and Juliet and asks if Sebastian will deny the name Ciel gave him. Proving he can play along, Sebastian states that once Ciel gave him his name, he swore by the moon to be Ciel’s butler. Grell, still in Shakespeare mode calls Sebastian inconstant. Grell waxes poetic, and then wanes into flirtatious silliness which serves to annoy Sebastian. The battle continues, with various moments where there is a definite standoff. Demon and Reaper both seem to be at equal levels of power and strength, neither one quite gaining for very long.

After a few exchanges, Grell manages to get a fatal blow. She’s very excited about seeing Sebastian’s Cinematic Record, but it turns out that the only thing there is two years’ worth of being a butler for Ciel. When she expresses her disappointment, Sebastian states that he charges admission to see anything more than that, and attacks. He jams her chain saw with his jacket, after which it is not that hard to defeat her.

Sebastian is about to find out whether or not a Grim Reaper’s scythe will successfully kill a Grim Reaper when the fun and games are interrupted by another Reaper. William T. Spears is Grell’s boss and he is deeply annoyed by her shenanigans. He apologizes to Sebastian for Grell being nuisance (though he is disgusted by the idea of having to apologize to a demon) and heads off with Grell in tow. Literally. Sebastian seems to have a certain sense of disgust for Grim Reapers, and as Will is walking off, he throws the chainsaw at William, who immediately catches it between two fingers.

Ciel seems to be stunned and upset at the death of his aunt, but rejects Sebastian’s attempt to coddle him when he stumbles as he is leaving the crime scene.

The next scene involves a few children wondering what is going on as Madame Red’s funeral is getting started. They do not seem to understand what a funeral looks like, (which is very anachronistic if you are considering the mortality rate in Victorian Era.) The Undertaker explains that what is happening is “a lady’s last party.” Then the scene shifts to inside the church, where the funeral is taking place. Everyone is in black, and Lady Angela is in white, surrounded by lilies in her coffin.

What happens next is rather bizarrely romantic. The doors to the church open suddenly, revealing Ciel dressed in funeral clothes and carrying a bright red gown over his shoulder. He slowly walks down the aisle, and the doors behind him open further. He walks up to the coffin, and lays the dress over Madame Red, with a romantic line about how his aunt always looked best in red. Then the wind blows in thousands of red rose petals, from a cart piled high with roses. As the rose petals go drifting about, there is a brief flash of a young girl in a dress, bonnet and parasol, singing a nursery rhyme as she skips along, before returning to the scene of the funeral. Then Ciel has a flash back to when he had been a small child, playing “London Bridge” with his aunt, cousin and mother.

The next scene is Fred Abberline being very earnest, and trying to pursue the Jack the Ripper case, even though it had been officially closed. Sir Randall tries to put a damper on Fred’s enthusiasm, stating that there was nothing else to be done. Fred however is stubborn, so Sir Randall walks off, telling him that if he really wants to know, he should get promoted–but he will regret what he finds out.

As the episode draws to a close, there are various conversations. Lau questions Ciel’s decision to cover up the details of the case, while the Undertaker points out that Ciel’s obligations may get him killed, (which according to the Undertaker would be “boring.”) The final conversation is between Sebastian and Ciel, which is a return to the familiar testing and prying away at Ciel’s reasoning concerning the case, followed by explanations, and ending with Sebastian’s repeated affirmation to stay by Ciel’s side.

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