‘Delicious in Dungeon’ review: The Canaries arrive in “Egg/The Golden Country”

It’s another egg-cellent episode of Delicious in Dungeon with episode 21, “Egg/The Golden Country” this week! As things start to get more weird within the dungeon, Laios’ party find they aren’t the only ones that are set on a course toward the truth. Additionally, more about the dungeon and Laios’ place within the grand scheme of things is finally revealed. 

Finally, time for the Canaries!

I’ve been waiting for “Egg/The Golden Country” to drop since episode one for one very specific reason: the Canaries. After teasing in “Giant Frogs/Aboveground” and “Harpy/Chimera,” the elves make their appearance and it is worth the wait. They’re a group of elves from the West whose skills specifically for conquering dungeons. After  pressuring the Island Lord, they’re heading to the island in order to take the dungeon back. “Egg/The Golden Country” doesn’t name-drop all of the Canaries, so I’ll do it for you. The captain is Mithrun with Pattadol as his second in command. After that is Cithis, Fleki, Lycion, and Otta. Other than Pattadol, the entirety of Mithrun’s squad are criminals who have experience with ancient magic in some form or another. 

Right off the bat, the Canaries make it obvious that they’re here for business. Throughout the whole scene, they’re pressuring the Island Lord to sign the paperwork that allows them to take over the dungeon. Lycion, in particular, tries to hype him up by complimenting him while the others seem to pressure him in the typical manner. It’s clear that they have a plan of attack, but Kabru stops them by explaining what happened when another Canaries squad took over the dungeon in his hometown. Luckily, or unluckily some might say, his desire to take care of the dungeon on his own catches the attention of Mithrun who believes Kabru is up to something. 

Laios is special, it turns out

All the while this is happening on the surface, Laois’ failure to share vital information is back once again in the dungeon. After seeing things for some time and chalking it up to mana sickness, it finally comes to light because of Izutusmi. This actually works out for the party because the ghost that Laios was ignoring— even though he so kindly helped them out in “Red Dragon III/Good Medicine”— leads them to The Golden Country. Here, the party meets Yaad, the oldest fourteen-year-old ever. He reveals that Laios is, in fact, part of the prophecy that the Winged Lion who is trapped at the bottom of the dungeon has told the people. 

Thanks, Kensuke.

A lesson in eggs and Minotaurs

If you thought you were going to get through this review without one mention of the minotaurs, you thought wrong. I’ve been patiently waiting for this blink-and-you-miss-it scene to happen for weeks. In fact, I was nervous that they wouldn’t include it simply because of how out there it is. The design of the minotaur is nothing short of amazing to me purely because of how much detail there is. Additionally, to design the female minotaur similar to a cow with four utters is something I have never seen. I have to give props to Ryoko Kui once again for her character design. 

I want to highlight Senshi’s discussion of eggs in “Egg/The Golden Country” because it recalls something Marcille said in “Hag/Nightmare.” While cooking eggs, he begins talking about how her comparison of souls to eggs is accurate and how similar the two things are. It might seem he’s channeling a fake philosopher trope, but I disagree.

As the member of the party who dislikes magic the most, this discussion shows how much he listens to Marcille and how he takes her words to heart. This growth is more important than people might think because Senshi has only known Marcille for a small amount of time;especially when compared to how long a dwarf can live for. This subtle change in his personality is a major turning point in how he views Marcille and magic.

“Egg/The Golden Country” is another great example of Delicious in Dungeon’s worldbuilding setting up things weeks in advance. Between The Canaries, the prophecy, and the lore of the people in The Golden Country, there are a lot of things in motion. Things are moving quickly now that all but one of the main players are here, audiences should be ready! 

Delicious in Dungeon is available now on Netflix.

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Featured images: © Ryoko Kui / KADOKAWA / “Delicious in Dungeon” PARTNERS, Netflix