As Arriopa erupts into total chaos, Elida must find and stop Lazaro before it’s too late. But it won’t be easy, and there are surprises in store.

After the previous, absolutely incredible episode, I was sure that Vagrant Queen couldn’t possibly match it in its finale. And I was right. Sort of. You see, whereas it can’t ever quite get that same sense of surprise and wonder from the twists and turns that its penultimate episode threw at the audience, what it does for this finale is continue all the very finest elements of the series to date.

That means yes, we get a continuation of the type of shocking, left-field curves we saw last time out, as Lazaro’s ultimate plan becomes clear, and as the revelation of Elida’s mother being very much in the land of the living causes us to have chance to further examine Elida’s childhood. That includes the strictness of her mother’s attempts to prepare her for the throne and – for the first time – Elida’s father and where he fitted in with all this. Turns out, he was the one with the Royal blood. He also wasn’t necessarily who we might have assumed. Once again, that revolution doesn’t necessarily seem like it started for the worst of reasons.

It also means that we get the trademark silliness that has exuberantly marked the series since its debut. Whether it’s a deliberate and massive subversion of the trope of the final hero vs antagonist showdown, or the constant banter flying around between the crew, the show never manages to let the fact of a genocidal maniac and potential planetary slaughter get in the way of a joke. A particular favourite – which I imagine the lawyers wrangled about for a while – involves a comparison I myself made last week (ish) and lands because this show has always been about self-aware self-deprecation.

There’s also the welcome return of some familiar faces, and it’s nice to see Isaac reunite with a former acquaintance and also to see the return of someone who hasn’t had much screen time in this series but feels like they’re being set up for a larger role in season 2.

Most of all, what I appreciate is that the show’s themes and the various motivations and desires of the various characters remain a constant. Isaac only ever wants to go back home. Elida only ever wants to be as far away from her genetic destiny as possible. Amae is looking for love. And Lazaro is just the frustrated little boy who only ever wanted to step out of his father’s shadow.

It’s been a wild ride with Vagrant Queen these last ten episodes, and the ending both sets up another series nicely and leaves our heroes with an all new set of challenges to face. I for one really hope this one gets renewed.

Verdict: Slick, fun, deep and impossible to ever really nail down. I love it. 9/10

Greg D. Smith