WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Fena: Pirate Princess Episode 11, "At Mission's End," now streaming on Crunchyroll and Adult Swim.
Fena: Pirate Princess has certainly been a wild and disorienting ride. From the premiere all the way to Episode 11, the Crunchyroll/Adult Swim original has kept fans guessing as to what will happen next. Having mystery and intrigue keeps viewers interested but when there's a lot going on without much cohesion, it can be a point of frustration. With yet another storyline thrown into the penultimate episode, anything can happen in next week's finale.
Fena and Yukimaru emerge at the top of the stairs. It looks like they're standing on water in the middle of the sky with mountains surrounding them. The two walk on until they arrive on land where an enormous, rotting skeleton of an ark waits quietly -- the same one in the song. The ark must have been here for a million years going by how the wood is fossilized. It feels familiar to Fena but she can't put her finger on why.
Any thoughts about the ark ceases with Abel's appearance. And with Helena's reappearance and Abel's death shortly after, events came in quick succession as the episode is nearing its end. In the last few minutes, Fena's mother finally acknowledges her daughter but doesn't offer any kind of meaningful reassurance. She merely tells her that whatever happens next is up to her but she's sure Fena will be fine.
Another figure from Fena's past makes a shocking appearance: her father Franz, who had taken care of her for 10 years before dying on the Hope. He tells Fena that Helena and Abel's roles in Fena's story are over now that they are dead. He also drops another bombshell: he isn't Fena's father. This was already implied in Episode 7, where it's hinted that Fena and Abel may be half-siblings.
The image of Franz instantly changes into Cody, the young boy who was rescued by Abel years ago. He solemnly tells Fena that they are symbols before formally introducing himself as the Observer and storymaker of "the tale that is [Fena]."
Fena: Pirate Princess has a habit of creating interesting new plots for the sake of keeping viewers on the edge of their seats, but fails to follow through on either developing these threads or resolving them. For example, the legendary Japanese sword Kusanagi gets introduced and is one of the catalysts for why Shitan tries to drag the rest of the Samurai Seven away from Fena -- yet it's never explained exactly Kusanagi is legendary. Plus, the supposed threat on the Samurai Seven's lives for betraying their clan in the form of Shitan's brother, Kei, seems to be forgotten -- unless he makes a grand entrance in next week's episode, which might already be too late.
Perhaps we should have seen Cody's remarks of being Fena's storymaker earlier. After all, Fena: Pirate Princess had already thrown in legend after legend into each episode, making the latest development seem less like a natural progression. None of the legends mentioned have ever seemed to connect, other than the word "Eden." Using a character like Cody, who has made very few appearances throughout, to introduce this particular plot twist just adds more confusion.
With the revelation that Fena, Helena, and Abel had "roles" and everything that has transpired so far revolves around Fena, the series has now veered into more philosophical territory like fate and pre-ordained destiny. We also can't forget Fena's song, and the dream she had in Episode 4 about choosing between dark blue water and white storm clouds. For a girl like Fena, who was introduced as someone who likes to take charge of her own life, this new storyline could feel like a disservice if it's not dealt with properly in the finale.
With so many different things happening on screen and numerous questions still unanswered in viewers' minds, it's difficult to guess what the trajectory of Fena: Pirate Princess' season finale will be. But with a variety of plot threads, it has some work to do to deliver a conclusion viewers can feel satisfied with.
