This episode was devoted to building up the queerats as a legitimate threat, not just to Saki and her small group of friends this time, but to all humans. So it is strange that, at the start of the episode, I actually felt pity for the queerats- I had no idea they were controlled by humans to the extent they are, I thought they simply kept a wary eyes on them, using their cantus as a deterrent against bad behaviour. This soon changed, however, the confusion stirred by not knowing for certain who the true perpetrator of the attack on the Spider Wasps was, or their motive, thanks to Squealer’s elaborate theories, and the authorities seriously considering them, making it seem as though the queerats may actually have the upper hand.
And it wasn’t just the unknown identity of the group that orchestrated the attack on the unsuspecting Spider Wasps that made the queerats seem as though they could be genuine adversaries. A lot of characters seemed uneasy that the queerats vastly outnumbered them- if all the shots of sweaty faces whilst their numbers were being discussed is anything to go by. If the queerats were to turn against the humans, they’d be in a lot of trouble, even with their cantus. So imagine just how much more trouble they would be in if they outsmarted them also? Squealer’s silver-tongue has swayed Saki and Satoru at several points in the show already, and now also those in charge of Hayring, so it is altogether likely they possess an intelligence that rivals theirs. And then there’s the strong possibility of them possessing a library full to the brim of human knowledge…
Further suspicion of the queerats was created when, for the first time, Kiroumaru was portrayed as a possible threat. The image of him covered in the blood of his enemies, his sinister grin, and the revelation his colony used narcotics to improve their fighting capabilities made him seem anything but a swell guy queerat. Had not his entire army (perhaps including himself) been slaughtered by the end of the episode, Kiroumaru being the baddie may have been an interesting route to explore. He could’ve been the secret final boss like at the end of a video game- we’ve been led to believe Squealer is the main villain, but all along Kiroumaru had been waiting for the right opportunity (Squealer becoming complacent) to crush him, before turning on the humans.
Nevertheless, it seems as though Squealer will be the final boss after all. I wonder what he did in order to convince the Spider Wasps (a colony originally affiliated with Kiroumaru’s Giant Hornet colony) to side with their attackers (the Goat Moths, a part of the Robber Flies’ conglomerate)? Perhaps it really is as Squealer says: the Spider Wasps were ordered to kill off some of their own, making it look as though they’d been attacked. Then, tired of being treated like “pawns”, they joined the Robber Flies’ alliance where each individual is given their own set of rights. If that is the case, perhaps Kiroumaru, and the colonies beneath him, were the bad guys after all! Or perhaps the Spider Wasps really were a part of the Robber Flies’ group all along, and this supposed ‘attack’ was to provoke the Giant Hornets into fighting them, and losing when part of what they believed to be their group suddenly turned on them? It’s so confusing!! Which is another excellent way in which this episode makes the queerats out to be the bad guys- the confusion helps breed mistrust, and it’s so much easier to suspect a group of being dangerous if you don’t trust them.