Last episode, Heathcliff challenged Kirito to a duel for custody of Asuna. It sits a little strangely with me, because Asuna’s a capable swordswoman in her own right, but it’s a chance for Kirito and Asuna to go adventuring together without any ill will from the Knights of the Blood Oath, so Kirito accepts.

Let me apologise right away, because I already knew who was going to win the duel before it began because the thumbnail for the episode on Crunchyroll revealed the outcome (the thumbnail has since been changed). I can talk about the artistry of the duel, though, and I think it was a step up from previous battles (though still not amazing). The fight is close-ish – Heathcliff’s defence is near impenetrable, and his ability to attack with his shield is a pleasant surprise. Kirito is able to land a few cuts, and the sheer force of his assault is enough to knock the shield aside, but then…

Kirito’s sword is about one inch from Heathcliff’s head. Somehow, Heatchliff manages to block it and counterattack, defeating Kirito.

The end of the duel goes for shock value in that Heathcliff’s defence seems so unlikely. Too unlikely for my taste – it felt like a lame deus ex machina. Still, I think it’s important for Kirito to lose once in a while, because it’s difficult to get behind someone who can battle too well.

After Kirito’s loss, Asuna apologises for involving him by trying to leave the guild. Kirito… doesn’t apologise for accepting the duel and losing. Real smooth, hotshot. At least he opens up to Asuna about Sachi and co.’s deaths in episode 3 when she enquires why he’s so reluctant to join a guild.

Time for some training with Godfrey and that guy who’s evil because he doesn’t trust beta testers, Kuradeel!

Godfrey’s the latest meathead who doesn’t take the whole “death is real” thing seriously enough, deciding that it’s a good idea to take all the healing and teleportation crystals into his possession. And guess what? It turns out it wasn’t such a good idea after all! Seriously, it’s been two years since the game began, and I don’t think I’ve seen a single death that wasn’t down to recklessness. It’s an easy way to create dramatic situations, but it doesn’t make sense to me.

It turns out Kuradeel spiked the drinks with a paralysing agent, and before Godfrey can use an antidote crystal, Kuradeel knocks it out of his hand. No RPG that I know allows you to steal someone’s item just as they’re about to use it, but this is just another example of Sword Art Online forcing the drama a little, and I’m tired of talking about that. Instead, I’ll talk about how Sword Art Online is a conducive environment for psychotic nutjobs.

In case you were wondering who this week’s psychotic nutjob is, it’s this guy. Trust me, I have a sixth sense for this kind of thing.

It’s easier to be a crazy killer in Sword Art Online than in the real world, because there aren’t any hard laws in place for dealing with murderers in Aincrad. In fact, the killers form their own guilds for protection and to share the latest assassination tips (hey, it’s safer than publishing a magazine). It’s a bit disturbing, really. Is it a statement by the author that there’s a homicidal maniac within many of us, and the reason we don’t unleash the beast is for fear of justice catching up with us? Actually, wait – this is Sword Art Online, the show that will do pretty much anything for drama. I’m obviously thinking too hard.

Kirito struggles to pull Kuradeel’s sword from his leg, but he can’t manage it due to the paralysis. Just in the nick of time, a seriously pissed off Asuna appears! Sure, it was an expected entrance, but it’s so good to finally see Asuna do something. Too long has she seemed like an ineffectual fighter who exists solely to give Kirito some impetus, but this time she knocks Kuradeel back, heals Kirito, then outclasses the hapless Kuradeel with some quick swordplay. She mercifully stops short of killing him, but Kuradeel seizes the chance to disarm her and gets ready to strike. Luckily, Kirito gets his hand in the way and stabs Kuradeel through the heart with his other hand, killing him. There’s no way one slash from Kuradeel would have taken out Asuna (who was at full HP), but it was still pretty cool to see Kirito have his hand cut clean off because he wanted to save her. The murder is extreme, but you can see why Kirito did it. I think it’s likely to bite him in the bum later, though.

Then Asuna apologises again (she does that far too much for things that are hardly her fault) and says that she should leave Kirito because she keeps causing him trouble. Kirito rejects this idea with a kiss, and the two head back to Asuna’s for some cybersex.

…no, I’m serious. Take a look at this:

With no idea this was coming, Kirito’s quite disconcerted by Sexy Asuna Online.

Okay, so it’s not 100% certain that they did the deed, but Asuna wakes up naked in bed, so I’d say it happened. Then they vow to get cybermarried and have their cyberhoneymoon at a cybercottage away from the front lines to catch a break from mortal cyberdanger. I’m glad that Kirito and Asuna have gotten closer because they’re both more interesting characters together than they are alone, but this feels… off. Kirito seems attracted to Asuna because she makes nice food and saved his life, and Asuna seems attracted to Kirito because he’s a refreshing alternative to her oppressive guild. Less than 24 hours ago in the Kokoro Connect 10 post, I talked about how you can’t break love down into necessity and logic, but I honestly don’t see much more in this partnership than that. The series has been focusing so much on action and out-of-nowhere plot twists that there just hasn’t been enough time to develop the relationship between Kirito and Asuna convincingly enough to justify this turn of events.

Careful development is not the series’s strong point, and this let the episode’s conclusion down. On the whole, though, this episode was an improvement on the last few – the action was better, and Kirito and Asuna both had at least one awesome moment each. Cool action is not mutually exclusive with sense and subtlety, though, so the series can definitely improve there. The new couple is looking to escape from the action next week, so the bigger weaknesses of the series could be in the spotlight next time. Can Sword Art Online cope with this?