WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Ranking of Kings Episode 8, "The Sacrifice of Dreams," now streaming on Funimation.
Ranking of Kings can make you love characters you expect to dislike, but it can just as effectively turn those you want to trust into the most loathsome people of all. With his resurrection inside the body of his son Daida, there seems to be no end to how much King Bosse can disappoint. Episode 8 uses both flashbacks and scenes set in the present to reveal just how horrible Bosse can be, while also reminding us of the one quality that could either be the source of his redemption or the crux of his villainy.
A flashback to when Bosse first made his deal with the demon that granted him his strength succinctly explains the nature of Bojji's curse. Bosse was already a powerful giant, but that wasn't enough for him -- he wanted to be the strongest man in the world. The demon he sought to acquire this power from could only give it to him by stealing it from a blood relative. Bosse had none at the time, so he chose to steal the strength of his future child instead.
To guarantee a kid he could steal extra strength from, Bosse chose to pursue the world's strongest woman. From what we see of her, it's clear Bojji takes after his mother's good nature. When she gave birth to her cartoonishly tiny little boy, she had no knowledge of the wicked deeds Bosse committed that cursed Bojji, but she was instantly loving and protective of him. While he never came clean about the curse to his wife, Bojji's birth seemingly made Bosse remorseful over his sacrifice and motivated him to become the celebrated king he was introduced as.
Had Bosse stayed dead, it would be tempting to compare him to Rose Quartz from Steven Universe, a mysterious parent with horrible crimes in their past but positively motivated by remorse for their actions. Unfortunately, Bosse is back, and he's continuing to hurt and manipulate those closest to him. If sending Daida to what's essentially The Sunken Place wasn't bad enough, the resurrected king is now plotting to murder Hiling, his second wife.
When Ranking of Kings began, what initially made King Bosse sympathetic was that he supported Bojji's ambitions while everyone else doubted the prince. As of Episode 8, Bosse still seems to have affection for his cursed son; when he asks the magic mirror who the strongest in the land is, he smiles at the reveal that the answer is somehow Bojji. Perhaps Bosse's love for Bojji could redeem him, but based on how Bosse has treated basically everyone else, it's possible that he'll only continue to get more horrible.
New episodes of Ranking of Kings premiere Thursdays on Funimation.
