Most of this episode is spent keeping things at a light simmer after the boiling explosion of last episode’s big climax. In terms of The Eminence in Shadow, this means a lot of Cid’s goofing around. As he mentioned back during the last fighting tournament, one of the story clichés he’s always wanted to try is to enter a tournament in disguise, look really weak but somehow win his matches, and finally reveal himself as The Eminence in Shadow at the climax. So, we get a lot of little comical scenes as he lives out his fantasy—with newcomer Annerose playing her part as the bewildered veteran in the archetypical story perfectly.
Through this, we get some hints about the greater plot of this arc. The tournament itself is taking place in the Kingdom of Oriana. Oriana, where arts are revered far more than…
