Overlord S02E03 Review: Inter-Tribal Alliance

Overlord, Season 2, Episode 3: Lizardmen Gathering

A bit more scenes in this episode is just kind of showing how the lizardmen tribes are joining together, with the beginning of the episode having Zaryusu fight against the huge-armed, crocodilian Zenberu Gugu, the leader of the Dragon Tusk Tribe. Zenberu is a monk, apparently, and we get a bit of a backstory about Zaryusu's legendary ice fork magical weapon, Frost Claw, which Zaryusu uses to deal constant ice damage to Zenberu while blocking his blows. There's some talk about how the enemy is "too arrogant" and how they're going to at least break their pride at being confident. There's also an interesting discussion between Crusch and Zaryusu about whether it's better to live in chains or to die instead of never being able to experience true freedom.

We have Zaryusu, Crush and Zenberu return to the main Green Claw camp, and we meet the other two chiefs of the allied tribes, a crazy looking yellow lizard with a tongue sticking out (which I found hilarious) and a dude clad from head to toe in full bony armour. Again, how much you really care depends on how much the previous episode ended up causing you to be invested with these lizardfolk, and while I do still think that the pacing was too slow, I kind of am somewhat invested in them enough to not want Cocytus to brutally murder all of them. They definitely did spend a fair bit too much time with them and I kinda wished we had cutaways to other scenes.

Cocytus, meanwhile, observes the lizardmen as they gather forces, and he has strict orders from Ainz to not head out himself, which is interesting -- Cocytus also doesn't have that many troops assigned to them, although it is still pretty intimidating to the lizardmen. We've got a lot of pretty neat undead variants other than the simple skeleton soldiers -- we've got skeleton soldiers riding on skeleton horses with burning blue flames, we've got skeletal rat-hound things, undead boars, giant undead bears.... the lizardmen are also apparently able to summon 'swamp elementals', which are... giant blobby gloops of mud with tendrils that rip rats apart.

Again, it's not a matter if the lizardmen will ever prevail against Ainz's forces. We know that Ainz or any of the more powerful guardians could wipe out the entire swamp in a blink if they wanted to, but if these typical heroic characters can actually prevail against a severely handicapped Cocytus.

For his credit, Cocytus is troubled. As much as a giant metal bug-ice-golem-man can look troubled, anyway. He sends a message to Demiurge, and I really do like how Cocytus and Demiurge are apparently best buddies -- Cocytus asks Demiurge for advice, and he notes that he is definitely manly enough in his pride that he'll swallow the defeat and failure, but he refuses to bring any shame to Ainz Ooal Gown. Demiurge's reply is kind of enigmatic, noting that perhaps Cocytus should ask the question of "Did Lord Ainz even want you to win?",  noting if, perhaps, Ainz wanted Cocytus to think for himself to ensure victory. It's not 100% clear at this point whether Demiurge is being truthful, trying to motivate Cocytus, or trying to instill a sense of distrust within Cocytus. Regardless, though, for what has previously been a simple, fanatical brute ends up being slightly more complex.

Meanwhile, Entoma is being adorable, nom-nom-noming in the background and eating through the bottom part of her chin. So her mouth is... just for show? What the hell kind of bug lady is she? I am growing to like both Cocytus and Entoma more and more.

Cocytus, for his part, doesn't have much of a choice but to send in the reserves, and sends in the only sentient undead among his forces -- an Elder Lich. The Elder Lich is called Iguva and I think it's implied that this is Iguvarge, the adventurer Ainz killed in the final episodes of season 1 to maintain his cover? Whatever the case, he's completely loyal to Ainz and is a typical fanatical bad guy minion. The Elder Lich, for what's supposedly a low-level undead that's far, far low on the totem pole of Nazarick's forces, manages to prove a worthy boss fight for the Lizardmen characters,  and from the Lizardmen's point of view, this was probably a great, awesome moment of combined teamwork and friendship prevailing against a weaker enemy commander. Maybe in a couple of levels they can fight against the villain, and then the villain's master! Or, well, maybe in a different setting.

Anyway, the lizardmen battle against the elder lich is actually pretty cool, and that's my big opinion about a good chunk of this episode, really. As much as the animation quality of Overlord tended to falter (which honestly doesn't bother me all that much -- I'm not such a snobby anime connoisseur that every frame of movement must look like a classical painting) it's still a pretty great series of action scenes with lots of undead and lizardmen action. We've got the cool bits with the lich shooting fireballs and blowing up the swamp elementals, We get a badass charge from Rororo the hydra that refuses to die to fireballs, allowing the chieftains to bullrush the lich, we get Zaryusu unleashing icy blasts towards the lich, the lich unleashing a "Scare" spell (Fear for D&D players), we get Crush healing and buffing everyone, and we get a pretty badass moment of Zaryusu unleashing a cloud of ice, and then stabbing the Elder Lich in the face and destroying him.


It's definitely a blood-pumping scene and a badass scene (as much as the sheer futility of these lizards' struggles hang over their head), and I do love how this transitions straight into Entoma informing Cocytus with her cute-but-unsettling, unmoving face that "Ainz-sama is calling for you."

Overall, I do like this episode a lot. Lots of neat character moments for Cocytus and Zaryusu. Crusch and Zenberu feel very one-note to me, although they at least tried to make them memorable. The action scenes and the buildup to them are pretty great, though, and it really just drives home how horrifyingly powerful Ainz's real force is when this is essentially just a trifling plaything to him.