WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Love of Kill Episode 8, "Confusion," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Not long after Song Ryang-Ha and Chateau boarded the Artemisia cruise ship in recent episodes, Ryang-Ha's enemies attacked and nearly claimed Euripedes' life. Then, the assassin boy Jinon Won demanded that Chateau hand over Ryang-Ha alive as a prisoner, and Chateau didn't know what to do.
Now, Ryang-Ha takes action to spare Chateau and minimize the bloodshed in Episode 8, and he hands himself over to his enemies and his old mentor, Mr. Donny. Now it's up to Chateau to save the day and become the action star she was always meant to be in this seinen-inspired shojo story.
In a recent episode, Chateau struggled to face her inner demons, and she couldn't bear the thought of Ryang-Ha, Euripedes and her foster mother getting hurt because of her. That prompted Ryang-Ha to gently knock her out and hide her from their enemies, and in Episode 8, he surrenders to Jinon Won unarmed. Jinon escorts Ryang-Ha to a waiting car and gets into the driver's seat, while Jinon's hot-tempered associate questions Ryang-Ha.
Oddly, Ryang-Ha pretends to not know who Mr. Donny is, which frustrates and confuses his captors. Despite what he says, Ryang-Ha knows exactly who Mr. Donny is, and it's likely that Ryang-Ha betrayed Mr. Donny's group by running away, prompting Jinon Won to capture him. It's not clear what Ryang-Ha plans to do once he arrives at Mr. Donny's estate -- he might not have a plan in mind at all. He sometimes thinks with his heart rather than his head, and this time, it may cost him.
Elsewhere, Chateau emerges from cover and reunites with her co-worker Jim, just in time to confront Tom, another of Mr. Donny's thugs, aboard the Artemisia. Jim and Tom defeat him in a brief battle, and then Chateau finds Tom's phone, which receives a call from Mr. Donny. Chateau and Jim prepare to disembark from the ship and will likely launch a rescue mission to get Ryang-Ha away from Mr. Donny -- and ideally, also protect Mrs. Dankworth, Chateau's foster mother, from Mr. Donny's wrath. Chateau may be safe for now, but she has her work cut out for her, and she's about to be put to the test.
This turn of events is a dire one, but the episode ends on a somewhat hopeful note, even if Ryang-Ha is in Mr. Donny's clutches and Jim got hurt. Not only is Chateau unharmed, but she is now in a position to strike back and become the hero. She can't rely on Euripedes or Ryang-Ha to help her -- she must fight and win with only Jim to aid her, and Jim is no action hero. Up until now, Chateau has been a damsel in distress despite her training, having been captured twice by Ryang-Ha's enemies. As a shojo protagonist, Chateau hasn't been very inspirational or impressive so far, but this is her chance to turn that around and show Ryang-Ha and the viewers what she can do. She's off to a good start, reuniting with Jim who dispatched Tom. Now she must finish things.
It's still not entirely clear what Ryang-Ha's connection to Chateau is regarding Chateau's true origins or why her driver had been shot to death all those years ago. Should Chateau succeed in rescuing Ryang-Ha in the coming episodes, she may not only reclaim her title of the protagonist and inspire viewers but also get some long-overdue answers. Chateau has played a largely passive role so far, but now she's the one in charge, and she is fed up with both the yandere Ryang-Ha and their mutual enemies. Chateau may be in a strong position to change the course of Love of Kill completely and get what she wants at last. This may be a serious turning point in the story -- if Chateau can follow through.
