Cardinal Dies At the End

Sword Art Online: Alicization Episode 23 Review/Recap

Having been drawn out of hiding to save Kirito and Alice, Cardinal comes face to face with her nemesis, Quinella. The battle for the fate of Underworld begins, and admittedly, it’s better than last episode.

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Recap

To stop Cardinal for good, Quinella splits the 100th floor off from the rest of Underworld. To break Cardinal’s will to fight, she then reveals a gut-wrenching revelation: she made the Sword Golem from the humans of Underworld. Specifically, the memories of the Integrity Knights. Worse, Quinella’s plan to beat the Dark Territory is sacrificing half of the Human Empire to create more Sword Golems. Unable to fight against the people she must protect, Cardinal offers her life for the three. Quinella accepts, and kills Cardinal.

However, with her dying breath, Eugeo asks Cardinal to do one last thing: turn him into a sword that can defeat the Sword Golem. He fuses with Alice’s memory crystal and the Blue Rose Sword, to become an ultimate Sword.

In his Sword form, Eugeo effortlessly destroys the Sword Golem before turning his attention to Quinella. Despite his best efforts, all he can do is chop her arm off before being shattered, leaving him dying. All that’s left to defeat Quinella is Kirito.

Review

What have we learned today? That Quinella’s the worst, and that everyone except for the main character can be cannon fodder. Seriously, we knew that no one else was going to beat Quinella, so why did Cardinal and Eugeo bother? They should have let Kirito handle it like he always does.

I already know what’s going to happen next, and this may be my least favorite boss-fight in SAO. I’m bummed, though, because Eugeo’s dying. Kirito finally had another guy to hang with, and this happens! Next week’s the last episode before the break, so let’s see how this ends

I give “Administrator” a 2.5/5. I’m generous because we got to see Quinella squirm.

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