REVIEW: ‘To Your Eternity,’ Season 2 Episode 7 “Crime and Forgiveness”

With the last episode leaving Bon and Todo locked away and Fushi sealed in iron, To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 7 focuses on Bon and his trial as the Church of Bennett attempts to force him to renounce Fushi as a servant of demons.

While every early impression of the Church of Bennett gave off noticeably sinister vibes, this week’s story throws back the veil, revealing that the church is just as heinous as we all assumed. It becomes clear very quickly that the church’s ministers have less interest in helping people and far more interest in stamping out anyone who will not bend the knee to their authority.

With Bon at the center of the narrative, To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 7 does an excellent job of building out the character in deep and meaningful ways. With recent episodes shining a negative light on him for his refusal to inform Fushi about the true nature of his powers, this episode does a great job of letting the character shine again as someone who cares about those around him, even if he isn’t perfect.

Perhaps the best example of this is how the show has Bon interact with his cellmate. A young boy whose only crime was stealing bread, the child eagerly awaits the day he may be reunited with his mother, who was also taken prisoner. But Bon can see the mother’s ghost and tries to explain to the boy that his mother is not coming. Todo chastizes Bon for speaking cruelly, but as the days go by, we see the young boy saving bits of his meager rations to give to his mother upon their reunion.

This scenario crafts a complicated example of what cruelty really is and how harsh words can often be better than sweet lies. The malnourished boy should be eating what little he has rather than saving it for a happy moment that cannot come.

While the emotional struggles endured by Bon and Todo are handled excellently, this episode does have one glaring weakness. This weakness revolves around Fushi and his escape from his iron prison. While it was clear from the start that his imprisonment wouldn’t last since it wouldn’t be much of a show without him, how he escapes makes no sense whatsoever. A vaguely explained feature of Fushi’s existence that has never been mentioned before is suddenly there to save the day. It’s not the worst choice a fantasy series can make. Still, it always feels weak when a narrative has to free a protagonist from a previously inescapable trap because of “magic”!

The visuals deliver all the tragedy of this episode well. Bon’s struggles are felt through the visuals as much as the words, and while I didn’t love the means of Fushi’s escape, the way it is shown is really cool.

To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 7 delivers some great character moments, even if it has to fudge some of its larger story beats. While Bon still isn’t my favorite companion Fushi has had, this story does a great job of strengthening his place in the story.

To Your Eternity Season 2 Episode 7 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.