WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 3 of Joran: The Princess of Snow and Blood, "Confidential File 614, The Enemy Within," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Nue’s traitor continues to wreak havoc within the organization as Sawa and her fellow executioners continue to tie up loose ends in Joran Episode 3. With things getting more dangerous by the day, Sawa’s attention turns to Asahi. Fearing that the young girl might be in danger, Sawa attempts to drive her off, though things don’t exactly go as planned.
Having learned that Jin ordered the execution of The Treasurer on Yoshinobu’s command, Sawa is left feeling conflicted over Nue’s actions. This doesn’t last long, as she doubles down on her goal to seek out and bring Janome to justice.
Following her meeting with Jin, Sawa runs into Makoto who suggests that she send Asahi away, claiming that her presence makes Sawa more of a vulnerable target for potential foes. Makoto gives her the name of a temple willing to take the orphan girl in and leaves Sawa to consider the offer. After she returns home that night, Sawa informs Asahi of her decision to send her away. Though the young girl is reluctant to leave, Sawa gives her some money and convinces her it's for the best.
The Nue squad soon zeroes in on the alleged traitor, with all arrows pointing to the organization’s “cleaner” as the prime suspect. Sawa, Makoto and Elena confront him, but it ultimately leads to a dead-end when the cleaner ends up dead. With little to no information to go on, and their best potential lead unable to provide them with any useful information, Nue’s search for Janome is once again stymied.
With the cleaner dead, Sawa and Elena dispose of the body while discussing what color coffins they’d like to have once they die. Meanwhile, Asahi readies herself for her trip to the temple. On the way, she encounters an old woman, with who she’d become familiar, and makes her way to a nearby home.
Following the completion of her mission, Sawa returns home. Upon entering the empty bookstore, she notices a trail of blood. Following it to Asahi’s room, Sawa finds evidence of a struggle, with various bloodstained tracks leading outside the house. In an unknown lair, Janome disposes of a disguise – revealing himself to be the local and Asahi’s kidnapper. As Janome readies himself for the upcoming confrontation, Makoto reveals herself to be his accomplice, as well as Nue’s traitor.
Makoto has always been somewhat suspect, but the way she conducted herself this episode all but assured her status as Nue’s traitor. Janome’s role in the series seems to grow with every episode. While he has yet to do much in the current storyline, his involvement in Asahi’s kidnapping should guarantee a larger role for Joran’s antagonist in the coming episodes.
