[frodonk]

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

I'd say flame's explanation is pretty spot on. Just because she didn't know Melty would join the Shield doesn't mean she couldn't still plan to use the Shield as scapegoats. My understanding is that she honestly didn't care one way or the other about the Shield, she just saw the hatred being expressed as a convenient tool. She used the Shield to get some extra cash and create a rescue plot that would give her greater influence over the popular Spear. She then made serious efforts to keep the Shield's already-damaged reputation from rising so that people would be willing to believe what she wants them to believe. While she may not have known or even suspected that the queen or Malty would side with the Shield, she probably could've predicted that some form of contact would occur just from the importance of the Heroes and the problems surrounding him. Even if Malty never encountered him on the road they could still meet in the castle. There'd be plenty of ways to frame the Shield with Melty's death really. And yeah, I'm pretty sure the attempt in this ep was just resentment. Naofumi may have saved her, but he also humiliated her and thwarted her plans over and over again. In her mind, he's probably become the one responsible for all the pain she's gone through, so him "saving" her may have come across more as a further demonstration of power to humiliate her even further.

Originally Posted by Twi

2.) Myne wanted power and did what it took to get it. Melty pointed out her mother knew about that personality flaw so she removed her from the running. Shield Hero was a scapegoat in order to the Church of Three Heroes on her side and use them to deal with her mother presumably, but they were playing her like a fiddle. Remember, Melty shouldn't have been there and only came back because her mother needed someone to try to talk sense into her husband, so Myne decided to kill two birds with one stone by having her innocent sister killed by the Shield Demon and her avenging the death as an excuse to back her reputation while securing her place as the only heiress to the throne.

This makes myne clever enough to use an opportunity when it presents itself but not clever enough to fool either the pope and the queen, meaning she's an expert in making the shield's life hell but not enough to actually take the throne.

Yeah I guess I can live with this explanation. If the king didn't have this hatred for the shield and the 3 stooges were a bit more perceptive myne's plan wouldn't have advanced this far.

Still though, the contrast between malty and melty's personality would probably never be explained. I'd still go with the theory that she ate something bad as a kid and the queen gave up on her and focused on melty instead.

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

Given the prejudice of the upper class against the Shield, it probably wouldn't have worked to just say "send me the Shield". I mean, Naofumi himself tried to leave and the King and B*tch forbade it. I suspect that, given the hate shown toward demi-humans, they may fear that the Shield in the hands of a demi-human nation could become a sort of symbol used to gather all kinds of forces to attack Melromarc. Better to keep the divine avatar their enemy worships out of their hands.

Additionally, while her word may be law, that doesn't necessarily mean that the queen's influence is completely invulnerable. She's far from the capital in a time of crisis, her main ally to be used to maintain her influence was killed and his people enslaved, and positions of power are held by people opposed to her policies. While with her authority it'd be simple enough to take control if she was present giving orders, stability could have been shaky enough and those who oppose her strong enough to make the degree of action you suggest infeasible through long-distance carried decrees.

The king is key to all these, that's why his reason for hating the shield is that important. All these could've been prevented, and myne's supposed assault wouldn't have had that much of an impact, if the king wasn't prejudiced against the shield already.

The queen herself admitted that her only ally in all these was the lord of seyaette, meaning she knew about her husband beforehand, even before the start of the first wave. It doesn't exactly paint a great picture of their relationship if your wife had to go to another guy to follow her orders because she doesn't trust you lol.

But I guess the reason's not going to be revealed by the end of this series.

Originally Posted by BWTraveller

The way things were portrayed, it's pretty clear that the Church is not universally loved. Seems like for the most part it's only tentatively followed by those outside of the nobility, and the nobility support it at least in part on account of the fact that it's useful to their own ends. Bear in mind this was written in Japan. People practice bits and pieces of multiple religions (visiting Shinto shrines and praying to the gods, worshipping their ancestors and observing Buddhist traditions like Bon, etc.) but the majority don't really adhere strongly to any particular faith.

This might be the answer to why we got demi-human slaves around but everyone is kind to loli raphtalia.

Originally Posted by Twi

4.) Not just the Shield Hero. She should have had Shield, Sword, and Bow sent to their respective countries if she was going to make amends. But if she did that it would be giving up some advantages as well from a political point of view, as the heroes are easily some of the best assets they have. Until they actually get into the details about what concessions she made, it's probably just an excuse.

I don't think we will ever get to see how the queen was able to get the kingdom out of what they did when they summoned all 4 heroes. The plot will just say that she's a master of politics and that's it.