Always a Catch!

This episode basically exists to remind everyone that Maria is built different.

After several episodes of politics, romance, and nobles being nobles, Maria finally gets the opportunity to do what she does best: punch people.

A lot of people in this show keep making the same mistake. They look at Maria's fancy dresses, noble status, and cheerful personality and immediately assume she's some fragile young lady who needs protection.

Then five minutes later they're picking themselves up off the ground wondering what just happened.

The bandits this week were the latest victims of this phenomenon. Watching them underestimate Maria over and over again never stopped being funny. The guy she literally knocked out and dragged through the forest somehow still thought she would be easy to kidnap later. At that point, I think that's just natural selection.

Honestly, I almost felt bad for them.

Almost.

What I really enjoyed about this episode is that it finally lets Maria show off why everyone keeps talking about her martial arts background. Up until now we've mostly been told that she's strong. This week we actually get to see it. And perhaps more importantly, we get to see how much she enjoys it.

The moment Maria realizes she might actually get to throw hands again, she looks happier than she has during half the romantic scenes in this show.

Renato should be worried.

Speaking of Renato, he's mostly absent this week, but somehow his presence is still felt. Every episode keeps reminding us that these two are separated right now, and I have a feeling Renato is suffering significantly more than Maria is. Maria is out here fighting bandits and climbing around the countryside while Renato is probably staring dramatically out a castle window somewhere.

The action itself isn't anything spectacular. The animation definitely isn't trying to become the next big action anime, and most of the fights are over before they really get going. But honestly, that's not why I'm here. The entertainment comes from watching bandits realize they've made a terrible mistake.

And every single one of them made that mistake.

Next week's episode looks like we'll finally spend more time with Maria's family, which should be interesting. We've heard a lot about them already, especially her father, so I'm curious to see how that situation plays out.

Also, if Renato doesn't reunite with Maria soon, I think he might actually die.

Final Verdict: If you've spent the last few episodes wondering whether Maria's reputation as a martial arts prodigy was exaggerated, Episode 5 answers that question with a very firm "absolutely not."

The bandits never stood a chance.

Well, it turns out the suspicious-looking guy from last week's cliffhanger isn't an assassin, secret mastermind, or evil noble plotting world domination.

He's just a flirt.

A flirt with an extremely punchable face.

Honestly, I still don't entirely trust him, but for now he seems more interested in causing romantic misunderstandings than political disasters.

This episode mostly focuses on the aftermath of the assassination attempt. Security around Maria gets tightened, the investigation continues, and everyone tries to figure out who was behind everything. Despite that setup, the episode never feels particularly tense. Instead, it leans heavily into what this show does best: letting its characters be adorable.

The queen remains one of my favorite side characters. Every episode she seems to find a new reason to become a bigger Maria fan, and I'm completely here for it. Watching a queen completely lose her composure whenever Maria is involved never stops being funny.

We also get a flashback showing Maria's childhood and her relationship with her father. It's not a huge emotional gut punch or anything, but it adds some nice context to why Maria ended up the way she did. The contrast between her current confidence and the way her family situation changed after her younger brother was born gives her character a little more depth.

Of course, the real stars of the episode are still Maria and Renato. These two continue to be ridiculously cute together. Renato watching Maria train, the casual flirting, and the public handholding all felt like the show reminding viewers that yes, these two are very much into each other.

And then the episode ends by separating them.

As a precaution, Maria heads back to her home kingdom while the investigation continues, which means next episode is probably going to bring family drama back into the spotlight. Judging from the preview, we're also getting more punching.

Which is always a good thing.

Final Verdict: Not a huge plot-heavy episode, but a very enjoyable one. The cast continues to be incredibly likable, the romance remains cute, and the story does a solid job setting up what's likely to be the next major arc.

This episode was honestly just a giant Maria appreciation episode, and I'm completely okay with that.

So Renato's plan from Episode 1 seems to be working out surprisingly well. He's still somehow the crown prince despite trying to throw the position away, but it looks like Aida and Placido are getting along just fine anyways. Meanwhile, Renato skipped several steps and went straight to proposing to Maria. Dude is moving FAST.

A big part of the episode revolves around Maria preparing to become the future crown princess. Naturally, that means etiquette lessons and learning how to interact with nobles. The funny thing is that Maria barely seems to need help with the latter. She has this incredible ability to walk into a room, be herself for five minutes, and immediately win everyone over.

Seriously, she somehow manages to befriend what looked like a villainess-type noble girl without even trying. Then she meets the king and queen and somehow wins them over too. My favorite part was easily the queen. She starts off looking strict and intimidating, only to completely drop the act and start talking about how cool Maria is. That got a genuine laugh out of me.

What I continue to love about this show is that Maria isn't some genius mastermind accidentally winning people over. Half the time she just seems to be operating on pure good vibes and sincerity, and somehow it's working. It's impossible not to root for her.

The only thing she seems completely incapable of handling is Renato. Every time the guy gets close to her, she immediately short-circuits. I'm honestly not sure whether Renato is secretly superhuman or just powered entirely by love at this point, because Maria cannot escape this man's embrace no matter how hard she tries.

The romance is progressing surprisingly quickly, but it doesn't feel forced because the chemistry between the two is genuinely fun to watch. Renato has also become way more likable than I expected after Episode 1, which helps a lot.

Final Verdict: This show continues to be way more charming than I expected. Maria remains an absolute joy to watch, Renato is turning into a surprisingly solid male lead, and every new character seems to end up joining the Maria Fan Club within minutes of meeting her.