REVIEW: ‘Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia’ Episode 5 – “A Snake Shows Its Colors, Man Hides His Colors”

After some build-up, Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia Episode 5 ramps up the tension and political intrigue. What at first appears to be a series of increasingly absurd errors begins to open doors Fatima couldn’t even imagine. She’s now stumbled her way into something far bigger than her own desire for revenge and freedom. But it may also be exactly what she needs. 

Even so, “A Snake Shows Its Colors, Man Hides His Colors” is kind of wheel-spinning, taking a while to put the pieces together. Fatima (Akira Sekine) is dragged from point to point from the moment she’s given her spying mission by Princess Sorghaghtani (Misaki Kuno) without much understanding of what is going on. When comparing to how much time passes in Episode 4, it might be a bit of whiplash. 

There is some structural fun that comes from this pacing, however. Fatima once again encounters fellow Persians who have come to accept their conditions and build new lives. At first, that seems to be exactly how she’ll sneak into Chagatai’s (Daisuke Namikawa) cohort. Instead, it becomes a chance for her to struggle with her grief yet again. There’s no ill will that Fatima shows towards her fellow slaves, but she refuses to be like them and release her resentment.

Fatima and Töregene’s rage drives the plot in Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia Episode 5.

It is a credit to Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia Episode 5 that this line can be maintained. There’s a version of this story that would extend Fatima’s rage towards anyone who didn’t share it. Such a version would be a lesser one, pushing Fatima far beyond what is reasonable. She’s not a misguided villain. She’s a victim. 

Keeping that focus is critical when Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia Episode 5 finally brings its other main character to the forefront. The now-Queen Töregene (Ami Koshimizu) clearly carries her own version of traumatic rage, as has been seen previously.

Now is the first time the series lingers on her long enough to get a real sense of how much of an impact it has on her. Her issue with the theft of her stone didn’t fathom that a slave might steal it for their own sake, but that it must be at the behest of her husband. The few frames of her mania paint a picture of someone on the brink. 

A sense of scale is established as Science Saru conjures animated magic. 

These subtle moments of expression are proving to be the most important scenes in Jaadugar. Fatima’s false smile is part of what is repeatedly helping and protecting her. For those paying attention, it reveals something deep about who she is, and it brings her properly into Töregene’s sight. It’s a moment the anime has been teasing in its opening the entire time, to the point where it could be argued that it’s only now that the series is moving beyond prologue. 

Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia Episode 5 remains gorgeous in every scene. Fatima being taken by horseback to see Töregene is a beautiful sequence. While the “difficult to draw horses” meme is just that, it’s hard not to be in awe of a really good horse running anyway. Science Saru doesn’t have to go hard on all these seemingly simple moments, but it really raises the bar. Even when not much is happening, it looks like each moment is important. 

These sequences help establish something else that Jaadugar hasn’t yet been able to do: scale. Up to now, the series hops from steppe camp to steppe camp, then skips eight years. It can be hard to understand the scale of these Mongol territories in a wide shot alone. Thanks to this episode’s events, the scale of this gathering, one extra large due to the political change happening, is far more clear. Fatima not being able to find her way back and stumbling upon the new Khan, from where she was, clicks better with that context. 

The historical drama moves forward and out of the prologue stage. 

Scale also explains Fatima’s true position in the flow of things. For the first time since Episode 2, there’s real terror in Sekine’s performance. At multiple points, Fatima could easily meet her end at the hands of someone less patient.

There’s a moment at the end of the episode that indicates that Prince Chagatai is, in fact, posturing, but that same scene strongly suggests that Khan Ögedei (Hiro Shimono) is not the same order-seeking man. He holds the empire’s future in his hands, and it’s very likely that he disregards his wives and Fatima because he sees himself far above them all. That doesn’t bode well for what the reaction might be should that vision change.

Yet again, Jaadugar: A Witch In Mongolia Episode 5 builds up a compelling historical drama bit by bit. The series two protagonists are finally together, about to find out how much pain they share. While on its own, Episode 5 isn’t the most compelling, being the final piece of the season’s foundation makes it critical. 

Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia Episode 5 is streaming now, exclusively on Crunchyroll.

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