Spoilers for Episode 10 of the TV anime, “Let’s Split the Curse.” Nothing from the novels beyond what has aired.
Short version: Consort Shu’s hostage plan actually works for a moment. Keigetsu freezes because she won’t risk Reirin getting hurt. Then Reirin yells “Got an opening!”, frees herself, stomps the giant curse centipede, and picks it up with her bare hand.
Before that, though, Episode 10 is Keigetsu’s episode.
She suddenly has way more presence. And no, that isn’t about fan service. It’s the mix of her sharp attitude, hard stare, and stubborn pride with the soft spot she now has for Reirin. She’s still prickly. She just has someone she cares about now.
Then Consort Shu and Reirin take that heartfelt friendship episode and flip it into total chaos.
A hostage is taken. Keigetsu stops. The plan works.
That should be the end of it.
A few seconds later:
Reirin: “Got an opening!”
The hostage quits being a hostage.
Then she stomps on the huge curse centipede.
Then she picks it up.
With her bare hand.
This woman is the worst hostage ever.
1. Why Keigetsu suddenly shines in Episode 10
The episode is officially titled “Let’s Split the Curse.” Reirin and Keigetsu face the curse that threatens the empress, and Keigetsu even tries to take the blame for what the Shu family did.[1][2][3]
Until now, what you mostly saw in Keigetsu was jealousy, a short temper, pride, and a lot of self-defense.
Episode 10 doesn’t erase any of that. It adds affection on top.
She gets softer without going soft.
She’s still rude, but she cares.
She still acts tough, but now she has something to lose.
That’s why she suddenly feels so alive, even graceful. Pride, embarrassment, fear, resolve, and affection all show up on her face at once.
2. Consort Shu’s hostage plan really does work at first
It’s tempting to say, “Reirin is strong, so the hostage plan never had a chance.”
But that misses the fun part. The plan works.
Consort Shu grabs Reirin — to be exact, Reirin’s mind inside Keigetsu’s body — and holds a blade to her. Keigetsu stops.
She doesn’t want Reirin hurt.
Viewer recaps written after the broadcast describe the same flow: Reirin is taken hostage, Keigetsu stops sending the curse back, and the centipede gets loose.[4]
So Consort Shu read Keigetsu correctly.
Threaten Reirin, and Keigetsu stops.
That moment shows how much their relationship has changed.
The problem is what comes next.
3. Reirin wrecks the whole setup with “Got an opening!”
A hostage scene only works if the captive stays the one who needs saving.
Reirin won’t play that part.
She waits.
An opening shows up.
She hits back.
She gets free.
“Do what I say or the hostage gets hurt” falls apart, because the hostage herself changes the situation.
And this isn’t a random power-up made up for the joke.
Reirin was trying to build up her strength even back when she was sickly. Once she got Keigetsu’s healthy body, all that drive finally had somewhere to go.
So the gag is really a payoff for her character:
everything the show has set up about Reirin lands on Consort Shu at the worst possible moment.
The story sets up the classic “captured princess,” and Reirin punches her own way out of it.
4. Then comes the bare-handed curse centipede
If the scene ended with the counterattack, it would just be a cool escape.
It doesn’t end there.
The giant centipede used for the curse breaks loose.
Reirin stomps on it.
Then she picks it up.
Bare-handed.
TOHO animation itself posted the Episode 10 centipede scene as an official clip.[5]
The scary ritual creature turns, in Reirin’s hands, into something she just tidied up.
Meanwhile, Keigetsu is the one visibly grossed out by the bug.
The roles flip completely.
Keigetsu, who knows curses: nope.
Reirin, who doesn’t: got it.
Of course that’s funny.
In real life, though, please don’t copy her. Nagoya City warns that centipedes can bite when touched, and a bite can cause intense pain, swelling, and fever.[6]
In real life, after “Got an opening!” comes a pair of gloves.
Reirin skipped that step.
5. Why the scene is so funny
The setup works almost like clockwork.
- The episode builds Reirin and Keigetsu’s friendship in a sincere way.
- Consort Shu shows up with a blade and a hostage, and the mood turns scary.
- Keigetsu really does stop, so the danger feels real.
- Reirin escapes on her own.
- She deals with the giant centipede with her own hands, too.
- Keigetsu ends up looking more horrified by the bug than anyone.
The joke doesn’t cancel out the serious feelings.
Keigetsu stops because she truly doesn’t want to lose Reirin.
Reirin fights back because she truly is someone who acts instead of waiting.
The emotions stay real. Only the result is absurd.
The proof of their friendship and the joke are the same action.
That’s why Episode 10 hits so well.
6. “Let’s split the curse,” Reirin style
Reirin wants to share the danger and the responsibility with Keigetsu.
Keigetsu, for her part, will drop her own plan to protect Reirin.
They’re not enemies anymore.
But when the crisis hits, Reirin ends up doing a ridiculous amount of the physical work herself.
Gets out of the hostage situation.
Hits back.
Stomps the centipede.
Picks up the centipede.
Pretty much hands Keigetsu the last step.
The one who said “let’s split it” has already done most of the heavy lifting.
That’s so Reirin.
Keigetsu, meanwhile, now has a weak spot exactly because she’s learned to care about someone.
If nobody matters to you, there’s nothing to threaten you with.
Once someone matters, there’s more to fear.
Episode 10 treats that change seriously, as real friendship, and then adds the punch line right away: bad luck for the villain, the hostage is Reirin.
7. Bottom line: Consort Shu picked the wrong opponent
The plan made sense.
Grab Reirin.
Keigetsu stops.
And she did.
That should have been the winning move.
Too bad the captive was Reirin.
She waits for an opening.
She strikes when it comes.
She stomps the runaway curse centipede.
Then she picks it up bare-handed.
Consort Shu’s plan needed a helpless hostage.
That part never showed up.
Episode 10 first gives us Keigetsu’s clumsy affection and resolve, then ends with Reirin smashing the hostage cliché with her own hands.
“Let’s Split the Curse.”
The curse is fifty-fifty. The escape is self-service.
And the centipede is hand-held.
Ridiculous. Perfect.
References (6)
- Official TV anime site futsutsuka.net
- TOHO animation, Episode 10 preview youtube.com
- ABEMA TIMES on Reirin and Keigetsu’s Episode 10 friendship times.abema.tv
- Episode 10 viewer recap used to cross-check the hostage, counterattack, and centipede scenes note.com
- TOHO animation, official Episode 10 centipede clip youtube.com
- Nagoya City, “Centipedes and house centipedes city.nagoya.jp
