Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 22 Review: Finally A Clue

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 22 finally gives some hints regarding the quest of Holo and Lawrence. Let’s recap what happened in the 22nd episode.

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 21 Recap

In this episode, Lawrence and Holo visit the local pub, where they indulge in drinks and conversations with the townsfolk. Through these interactions, they learned that, despite having a church in their village, they secretly pray to a snake god, believed to be their true protector. This clandestine worship has created tension between the village and the church, particularly with the church in Enberch.

The strained relationship intensified when the authorities in Enberch attempted to impose taxes on the village of Tereo, essentially forcing them to pay for the right to worship their snake deity. However, Father Franz intervened, earning the villagers’ respect, even though his faith wasn’t widely accepted.

Meanwhile, the current head of the church, Elsa, refuses to assist Lawrence and Holo in their quest. Even the village leader, who was aware of Father Franz’s interest in pagan tales, feigns ignorance, raising Lawrence’s suspicions. To dig deeper, Lawrence decides to speak with the miller, who is known to have close ties with Elsa.

As the episode progresses, Lawrence confronts Holo about her motivations. He questions why she is so determined to find someone with knowledge of her distant homeland when she might never find anyone from her past ever again.

Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 22 Review and Recap

Today, we got another engaging episode, as much gets covered here. Lawrence again approaches Elsa, the current head of the church, in the guise of praying to god before they begin their journey. It is only natural that ELsa could not turn them down and even agreed to hear his confession. But this is where things get interesting as Lawrence finally lets her know about his real intentions and his knowledge about Father Franz.

You see, Father Franz is the one who collected stories about pagan gods, though he believes in a separate god. This is major news, and this whole town can be executed if this info goes out, especially to Enberch. Not only that, but Holo also reveals herself as a pagan deity herself and makes Elsa practically faint with so many revelations. But she finally settles down and decides to help Holo out with the few books Father Franz has written about pagan stories.

This episode touched many subjects, and it did so with great charm. The question of faith comes when Elsa and Lawrence discuss the existence of god, their reality and Franz’s intentions behind his research, even when he served another religion. Other than that, the question of what the fate of our couple will be when Holo finally finds Yoitsu also arrives. But they both decide it is still too early to ponder on sad endings and focus on their research again.

The parallel of Elsa and Evans’s relationship is beautifully portrayed with Lawrence and Holo’s. Both these pairs can not be together because society will shun them, but nonetheless, they plan to triumph over it.  

Verdict

This episode was really interesting as it discussed many engaging aspects. The episode never felt boring, and even the romance was well-timed and executed. The conclusion ends with a sense of impending doom, and I hope everything will be all right for our protagonists.

Also Read: Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 21 Review: The Mysteries Of Tereo