WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD. This episode definitely felt like Season 1’s climax and was excellent. It was very exciting to see the big showdown between Gabriel and Zelel. In addition, the episode was also hilarious as usual, and was a very fitting season finale. As a character, Zelel is awesome. The show did a nice job quickly developing her character so we understood who she was and how she would handle things. Up until now, the show had been lacking a clear villain. I am glad the show finally gave us one, and it gave us a great one. Given this is a comedy, it works that the group tried to fend off the villain through comedic means instead of serious ones.
The show also did a nice job with the irony and making the viewer wonder what was going on. I cannot speak for everyone, but personally, I was not certain at first whether or not Zelel knew Gab was lying. I also did not know if Gab was really back to being Old Gabriel or was just faking it. Another thing that was great here was how this came full circle with foreshadowing. The show foreshadowed multiple times that Gab might eventually redeem herself. This played out well with this episode when it seemed like Old Gabriel had returned. Additionally, during the first episode, Vignette gave Gab a warning about being a fallen angel. This was also a well-done aspect of foreshadowing.
I loved the ridiculous setup the group put on to fool Zelel. Gab’s lies were quite humorous. Vignette getting ticked and being torn between helping Gab by lying and being honest was also quite amusing. It was also enjoyable how enthusiastic Raphiel was with going along with Gab’s plans. Seeing Satania try to sabotage the plan was both humorous and cringeworthy. The fight scene between Gab and Zelel was exciting.
As for when Gab appeared to embrace her Old Gabriel persona, this felt quite touching and emotional. It really reminded me of how caring Gabriel was at first and what a positive impact she was having. The emotional part of it was strengthened by the fact that it played the same Old Gabriel theme song that has shown up multiple times in the show, including the first episode.
There were some parts about this episode that stuck out though. One thing that stuck out though was how out of character Vignette was when handling it. Throughout the show, Vignette has complained about Gab for being unangelic. Yet when she finally acts like an angel, Vignette finds she prefers decadent Gabriel. Her reasoning here did not seem to make much sense and seemed like such a petty reason for Vignette to act so out of character.
This also is interesting as it’s a rare instance of Vignette actually acting like a demon and doing something evil for a change. Honestly, I think this could have been much better. It would have made more sense here if they had given Vignette are better and more logical reason to want Gab to return to her negligent lifestyle. The show could have also made a bigger deal out of the fact that Vignette was truly acting demonic. The other big thing that stuck out here is that the show finally dropped the big elephant in the room—that Raphiel does not always act angelic either. I thought this was well done and fitting for the season finale.
Going forward, I do not know if they will make a Season 2 for this show or not. I have been reading the manga and there’s plenty of good material in the manga that has not yet been in the show. Additionally, the manga series is not yet finished and they are still writing more. If they do make a Season 2, which I hope they do, I am curious what role Zelel may play in it and if she will continue to be a villain to Gab.
Gabriel DropOut. Crunchyroll, 2017. Web.