I shall now reveal reality to you.
The battle for revolution commences…
Expect many images for this post, as the imagery in this episode is quite dense.
The lead up to the title card is just Utena ascending the gondola like in every duel, except that she pauses to hold hands with Anthy at the top.
They find the statue of the prince at the top, and then Akio comes out to join them.
Utena: The prince…
Akio: Yes. The prince.
Utena: So, you were End of the World all along! You were the cause of everything that’s happened!
Akio: You figured that out long ago. But I am still your prince. You’ve come here for the purpose of being with me.
Utena: I want to know what you’re after.
Akio: What I’m after?
Utena: Your reason for making everyone duel each other! The reason for what you’re doing at this school!
Akio: How valiant…what have you been dreaming about lately? All I ever dream about is the castle.
Some part of her might want to take him up on this offer, but another part just wants to know why he’s cooked up this convoluted scheme to begin with, and for now, that’s foremost in her thoughts.
Utena: Castle?
Akio: Yes. The castle where a prince and princess will live happily ever after, forever and ever. I am the prince. And you…the princess.
Then Anthy vanishes.
Akio: Don’t panic. Anthy is over there
And she’s wearing the same thing as in the flashback to when she first became a “witch”…
Akio: As I promised, that ring did eventually lead you back here to me. You really have done well not to lose that noble heart I saw. I wasn’t wrong about you…
He seems to only have vague memory of their meeting, too, as he seemingly forgot that what motivated Utena was not (or not necessarily) reuniting with her prince, but to save Anthy.
and then he just draws the sword from her
Akio: Beautiful. As your noble heart has led you this far, you’ve proven yourself to truly be my princess. A sword is unsuited for you from now on. I shall now take up this sword. And from this day forward, I shall protect you.
This is presumably why he wanted her “noble heart” in the first place — to get an equally noble sword.
But Utena’s not so easily swayed into giving up her autonomy (which is essentially what giving her sword to someone else would entail).
Utena: And then what?
Akio: We’ll be happy. Eternity will be ours, and we shall love each other forever. And together, as prince and princess, we’ll live in the castle, forever and ever.
But she still has second thoughts.
Utena: We’ll be living happily in the castle, but what will happen to Himemiya?
Akio: She will remain the Rose Bride. Forever.
And this is what really gets her.
We flashback to the rooftop scene from last episode, but the scene didn’t end after Utena got Anthy back on solid ground.
Anthy: Because I’m the Rose Bride, because I’m a heartless doll, I thought no matter what happened to my body, I wouldn’t feel the pain on the inside. Forgive me, Utena-sama. The pain I feel comes with the curse of being the Rose Bride. But…the pain I caused you…! You were swept up into all this against your will. And even knowing that, I…! I used you and your naivete. I took advantage of your kindness. Forgive me, Utena-sama. I’ve cheated you. I’ve used you. I’ve betrayed you from the very beginning.
She thought that even if she DIED she couldn’t escape her torment. But she also doesn’t want to hurt Utena any more than she already has (and, to be clear, Utena IS in a horribly messed up situation, which she would never have been in but for Anthy).
Utena: No…I…I never realized the pain you were in. I never noticed how much you were suffering. And despite that, I…! I kept acting like I was a noble prince who would save you! The truth is, my protecting you was just for my ego! The night I learned about you and Akio-san…! I thought you had betrayed me. Even though you were suffering so much…! After I said we should help each other, no matter what…! I was the one who cheated you! I was the one who used you! I was the one who betrayed you…
It’s not exactly great that, upon realizing that Akio was committing incest with her, Utena’s first thought was seeing her as COMPETITION. But considering how Akio’s groomed her, it’s not exactly unexpected. Kinda sad that Nanami had the most appropriate response to incest (even if she still victim-blamed Anthy)…
But they’re FINALLY actually talking! Even if they’re still trapped, at least they have each other now.
Anthy: It doesn’t matter now. Just leave this school. Forget about everything that happened here!
Utena: You know I can’t do that!
Then we return to the duel.
Utena: That’s right. There’s no way I can do that.
AND SHE TAKES BACK HER SWORD!
Akio: Girls shouldn’t brandish swords like that.
Utena: I’m going to free Himemiya from you!
Akio: Truly, you are valiant…I never thought you’d get this far. […] Still, as I said years ago, with the passage of time, you’ve lost the pure soul that wished only to be a prince. Swords don’t really go with dresses, do they? Looking at you reminds me of what I used to be. However, for that reason, you cannot save Anthy. In the end, both the prince and the castle where eternity dwells are just illusions. I shall now reveal reality to you.
Utena: Reality?
Akio: The End of the World.
Then he reveals that they were in his chambers the whole time.
Utena: This is…isn’t this your room?
Akio: A marvelous planetarium, isn’t it? With this equipment, I can project fairy-tale illusions for the naive people who think “eternity” and “miraculous power” really exist. However, there is no place higher than this room. This room is the summit of Ohtori Academy. The summit of the world itself.
Utena: I hate this room.
Akio: Someone as young as yourself may not see the value it has. That’s why, rather than aspiring to reach the Chairman’s Residence, you chose an illusory castle in the sky instead.
Note that the phrase translated here as “summit of the world” is the same as “End of the World”. Anyhow, Anthy was actually telling the truth when she said the castle was a “mirage” at the beginning of the series…but there’s still clearly some sort of magic in this world, as the power of Dios, which Anthy holds in her agony, is very real.
Utena: That’s not the reason! This room is where you and Himemiya always…
Akio: Always what? Oh, that? Don’t tell me you’re angry about that. Is what I’ve done really so wrong? Assuming it is, you’re just as bad as I am.
Akio: Surely you haven’t forgotten. Observe. The memories we share. You didn’t reject me, even though I have a fiancée. That’s a sin, isn’t it?
Sadly, Akio’s reasoning here isn’t far off from what you can find in modern American evangelicalism — that’s why churches continue to support convicted sex offenders, because they believe that even if a man did make a “mistake”, as long as he says he’s repented, it’s a sin that can be forgiven. And when you consider all sin essentially equal, Utena’s “sin” of adultery IS just as bad as Akio’s. As a matter of fact, while “adultery” is clearly listed in the Ten Commandments, incest is only listed as an offense in the bylaws (and of course, there’s no mention in the Bible of “statutory rape”). Because Christianity and the Church are built on patriarchal systems, as well, where women and girls aren’t nearly as important as men and boys.
Utena: This isn’t fair…!
Akio: Unfair? Isn’t turning away from the truth and blaming others even more unfair? Isn’t it unfair to pretend only you are noble and in the right?
Utena: That’s not true! I care about Himemiya!
Akio: Oh, yes…and you never even tried to understand Anthy. In the end, you were too busy thinking about yourself. How adorable…you really are a fine woman. You really should remain a girl.
I mean, obviously, she’s better than Akio, because she tries to improve herself (and she already admitted her self-righteousness to Anthy, too). And although this conversation is a strong point in favor of a trans reading of the character, the main point here is about agency, because “being a girl” in this context is conflated with being passive.
Akio: Once upon a time, reality got the better of you. You were powerless to stand against it. You couldn’t escape the cruel truth of the world before you. So you cut yourself off from it. And the one who saved you from that darkness…was me. Thanks to me, you regained the strength you needed to face the world. To you, at that time, I was a prince. However, I’m still the same person I was then.
Again, he forgets the role Utena played in her own story — and the role Anthy played, for that matter.
Akio: Anthy, then as now, was the Rose Bride. As well as a witch…it’s the same for you. As you were then, you remain a girl. There’s no reason to carry a sword and fight now. You have become a lovely and unspoiled princess. Now then, won’t you please let me have that sword?
Utena: And what will you do with it?
Akio: Bring revolution to this world.
Utena: Aren’t you her brother?! You’re not going to help her?!
Then he sheds tears, and it’s unclear for what — maybe it’s frustration, or maybe he still cares about Anthy in his own twisted way, but one thing’s clear: His “revolution” wouldn’t involve freeing her.
Akio: Foolish creature. There never was a prince in this world to begin with.
Utena: Didn’t you say before that you were a prince?!
Akio: Do you know what that [statue] is? The grave of Dios, the prince. When she became known as a witch, Dios the prince vanished from this world. The prince I was no longer exists.
Utena: It looks like I have no choice left but to fight you!
Akio: For Anthy’s sake? I once thought of her as a goddess who sacrificed herself for me. For the one that she loved. I thought that, once upon a time…perhaps that really is why she did it. But now, she is a witch. And she now enjoys being a witch.
If Anthy does “enjoy” her power now, it’s just because she has nothing else to take pleasure in.
Utena: You made her a witch!
Akio: You’re wrong. We both love each other. She can no longer be happy any other way.
they may love each other, but it’s a toxic love however you slice it
It might not be true that Akio “made” Anthy a witch — she was dubbed a witch by the world when she stole the power of Dios. And it’s telling that Anthy hasn’t said a word since the duel started (her only dialogue is from flashbacks this episode).
Then Akio draws a sword from Anthy…and we cut to the other Duelists for a moment.
Touga: If it cannot break its egg’s shell, a chick will die without being born.
Mickey: We are the chick.
Juri: The world is our egg.
Nanami: If we don’t crack the world’s shell, we will die without being born.
Saionji: Smash the world’s shell!
All: For the revolution of the world!
Nanami: I wonder who will win this game in the end.
Touga: No one knows the answer to that. But the final ordeal for her, the duel named “Revolution,” has now begun.
So they’ve all gathered to await their fate, determined by the winner of the duel…
Akio: I’m not a Duelist. Fighting me isn’t like playing the dueling game!
Utena: I’ve never just “played” at dueling!
Akio: No. You only know of play dueling. But if you do not draw back your sword, you will learn just how terrifying a real duel can be.
It’s unclear whether Akio’s rose is supposed to be white or purple, but whether he’s playing the prince or the revolutionary, it’s all the same for Utena.
Utena: I won’t lose to you!
Akio: A child like you cannot understand my ideals. The Rose Bride exists for ideals you do not understand.
Utena: What sort of insane “ideals” make you control other people from this room?!
Akio: A child wouldn’t understand the value of this room!
He begins transforming the room to suit his purposes, and the Duel Theme finally begins.
The ancient orrery, automatic device!
12 constellations of I, the ecliptic.
A zodiac. I am the zodiac! Inside my body is ancient.
There, a hundred towers stand.
My internal organs, an ideal city.
The graveyard, church, abbey. The eyeball of Earth.
An example of motion. An intellectual organ of stone.
A dynamic constellation. An incomplete embryo.
Death’s mystery. Theaters, hospitals, museums.
The key to this song seems to be the orrery, a mechanical model of the solar system dating back to ancient Greece. Because, once again, it comes back to cycles of revolution.
Utena: What value is there in this room?! All it does is torment Himemiya!
Akio: She is the Rose Bride of her own free will! There is no need for you to interfere!
Anthy:“I am the Rose Bride. From this day forward, I belong to you.” “The truth is, I…” “Forgive me, Utena-sama! Forgive me!”
Utena: I’m going to be the one who will free Himemiya from you!
Because Utena actually wanted to hear what Anthy was saying, and once she had a better understanding of her situation, she did. It was always a small voice, but it was there.
Akio: Do you understand what you’re saying?!
Utena: I do understand! I’m going to be a prince!
She doesn’t completely understand, if only because she does not yet know exactly what she’s up against…
And the statue begins to crumble, because Utena no longer needs a prince of her own.
and this is also where the flashing lights start to get overwhelming
Utena begins a furious attack, only ending when Akio shoves Anthy at her. She pushes Anthy behind her in a protective gesture…
which is when anthy stabs her in the back. THROUGH HER OWN BODY
Utena: Why…? Himemiya…! Why…?
we’ll discuss that question at length
next time, in the revolution
