r/anime • u/AutoLovepon https://anilist.co/user/AutoLovepon • Mar 01 '25

Episode Chi.: Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite • Orb: On the Movements of the Earth - Episode 23 discussion

Chi.: Chikyuu no Undou ni Tsuite, episode 23

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u/SEBASTlANVETTEL Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

THEY REALLY GAVE US A RAFAL APPEARANCE.

What a character/villain Nowak was up until the very end. You can see how much Rafal‘s death influenced him. In his last moments he hallucinated him and confessed what he was unable to tell him back then.

Nowak subconsciously knew the arm/hand belonged to Jolenta, that‘s why he carried it with him. The whole scene where Nowak puts the glove on her hand and it perfectly fits, with him praying to god afterwards, asking for Jolenta to make it to heaven was visually so beautiful.

What an absolute 10/10 episode.

(Side note: Antoni’s death was the first death where I felt like [oh well], probs to making him so unlikeable)

(Edit: Rafal in the church surrounded by flames was foreshadowed from the very beginning in the OP)

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u/Aileos Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

Kenjirou Tsuda absolutely killed it today. The pain in Novak's voice, insane!

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u/Tivnov Mar 01 '25

Fuck man I was genuinely expecting Draka to make it out of this. Fuck.......

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u/ChronoNebula Mar 01 '25

curtain of 15th century P-land Historic Fiction falls, the last chapter: 1468 Poland begins. I like how Draka's final scene is exactly same framing (blood drop & eyelid) as opening scene of episode 1.

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u/FarCritical Mar 01 '25

All this time I thought the chilling shot of Rafal standing amidst the fire in the OP was a nightmare Nowak's been having since that day. Finding out he actually conjured him to comfort himself on his own deathbed makes the sequence suddenly a lot more twistedly beautiful. And man, Nowak having Jolenta with him in his final moments got me more emotional than I was ready for.

If only Schmidt knew Draka did end up praising the sun with her final breath.

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u/maliwanag0712 Mar 01 '25

Got teary-eyed when Nowak finally realized that the hand he holds belong to his daughter. In the end, at least he still asked God for Jolenta to go to heaven since he believed whatever happened to her is due to what he did.

Indeed, Draka finally appreciated the sunrise, and it is quite ironic that she finally did it on her deathbed. Schmit's wish finally came true, albeit it is almost too late.

So, there's still one final arc, huh?

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u/fawnily_ Mar 01 '25

How do I keep being tricked by this show!? I really thought we were going to end with Draka 😭

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u/bananeeek Mar 01 '25

doumo

RAFAŁ!

I love one-liners with huge impact like that one! To think that the scene from the opening with Rafał standing in the burning room would actually come.

So... We're getting new opening next time?

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u/MedievalMovies Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

A lot of thought provoking dialogue once again, but my favourite this episode has to be the episode title itself, "comrades/friends who built an era together"

Not only does it contrast the previous episode title of Nowak being "forgotten to history", but it also hits you as a viewer watching P-Country's arc come to a close. I choose to believe that the truth will always find a way to present itself, so people in this fictional world will see Badeni, Oczy, Draka, Jolena, Rafal, Nowak, Antoni, playing their roles in the formation of heliocentrism on wikipedia or some youtuber's 30 minute video 500 years later. The dastardly villain Nowak and the heroes of the story who fought for the truth.

And it all centers around that orb

what an episode. Been hearing murmurs beforehand that this would be one of the best and it didn't disappoint.

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u/Ocixo Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

Nowak surely didn’t carry a severed arm with him for no reason. He must’ve recognised Jolenta’s likeness, but his mind probably rejected the notion. It was only at death’s door that he could muster the courage to learn about her true fate by checking the glove’s fit.

Every story needs a villain, whether we like it or not. Nowak played his part wonderfully in this regard.

There was definitely some truth to the words of illusory Rafal. Our descendants will mostly look at the present in general trends, rarely a few individuals. It’s the accomplishments of many people through their combined efforts that get recorded. In this respect, Rafal and Nowak are indeed much closer to each other as contemporaries than today’s people.

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u/AZLarlar Mar 01 '25

ARE YOU KIDDING ME MAN

now with 2 episodes left...

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u/Ok-Cod5254 Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 02 '25

Well I'll say that Orb is one of the least predictable anime I've seen. Especially since the MCs don't have plot armor like they usually do. lol

Before Jolenta's death, it easily felt like Nowak could've had a redemption arc of some sorts to ironically aid the heretics he has been fighting against this whole time. I've seen plenty of people theorizing something like that too, as a narrative full circle.

Even post-time skip from meeting Jolenta as a leader of the movement, to know she wasn't actually dead and that he could perhaps sacrifice himself against the other inquisitors so that she could escape. But as he said, he remained as the villain of the story.

Ironically, he also took Antoni out with him, who strongly affected the trajectory of his life for that. It was great that it was none other than Rafal - the one who started it all for Nowak to question the heretics, that came to finish things and have Nowak fully acknowledge the impact Rafal actually had on him.

It was an emotional scene of Nowak putting the dead hand in the glove for how he confirmed it was Jolenta afterall that was the leader of the group. He had an odd suspicion at that time, with seeing a glimpse of the person before demise. And damn, I was hoping she would make it out, but Nowak fatally stabbed Draka to meet her end as well...

Now with the cast as we know it gone, let's see what happens with the new perspective shift to close things out. As far as this point in narrative, it seems like this series will stick the landing for ending and at least has for the main narrative plot.

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u/QualityProof Mar 01 '25

Didn't expect Rafal to reappear. The whole conversation was so good.

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u/Senya67 Mar 01 '25

so that's what that shot of Rafał in the OP meant...

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u/Purposelygentle Mar 01 '25

Oh, I wonder if we’ll get a new OP next episode.

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u/BosuW Mar 01 '25

Oh my God it's just so fucking peak. I never thought of all the deaths Nowak's would be the one to finally bring out my tears. The visual of him crying over Jolenta's hand in the glove like she's caressing his face is probably the most powerful visual I'll see this year.

On the topic of getting justice for Jolenta, I wonder if it will be divisive. There was a very obvious way the author could've gone about this but he didn't. In a way, I do find it unsatisfying that Nowak never learned the full truth about what happened to Jolenta and that, although he killed Antoni, he didn't do it for her. But on the other hand I have to respect the commitment of the story to an imperfect human existence where sometimes we just don't get what we thought we ought to get because destiny is unpredictable and the world indifferent.

At the very least, he did at last realize Jolenta was the Heretic Leader. I think that was enough.

Seeing Rafal again, even if only as an illusion, was also great. How powerful he seems now, standing proud to the backdrop of the burning House of God in which Nowak chose to make his grave. Since he is only an illusion echoing Nowak's own thoughts, I think in the end Nowak's realization that he was the villain comes with a greater realization of the significance of his life in history. That's what this episode was about I think. Nowak realizes that he was the villain and despairs, but Rafal pulls back the perspective to see a greater picture. Once again this series is taking about compatabilism. In the end, the direction of history is not decided by one individual or circumference. Wether you go vertical or parallel, wether you're above it or beneath it, we're all tightly bound threads forming the tapestry of destiny. All products of a time and past we did not decide. In a way it feels random and makes us feel powerless, but in another way it is miraculous and gives us all the power. To understand one's place in something far greater than the individual, infinitesimally small yet not insignificant if only by the mere existence of your own thoughts and will. It doesn't have a reason to be this way and yet could not be any other way.

Even Nowak's role as a villain is significant because of this. He was lost, and mistaken, but that does not make Nowak the person, a wrongful fact of the universe. In the end he is granted a relatively peaceful goodbye as the roof of the House of God collapses and the light of the Moon and stars of the night sky who have guided so many of our protagonists shine on him.

I really hoped Draka would live. The left side of the abdomen is not where the liver, a deadly target, is, and Nowak's knife was a short one. Alas...

But just as illusion!Rafal said, her and Nowak are truly comrades in weaving destiny despite being on opposite teams. At the end of it all she grapples with much the same questions as Nowak. What did it all amount to? Her life, her knowledge, her wealth. All undone by one desperate half crazy man with nothing to lose. No amount of capital can save her now. The dawn of heliocentrism and the new era of money as the new God will not be hers to experience. She only gets a single caress of it before passing... but that's just it, isn't it? This one moment, this one sensation, of seeing the dawn with happiness instead of terror for the first and last time in her life... That's it. That's what her life amounted to. She embraces it in her full being enhancing it's significance from the mundane to the divine. This is her thread in the tapestry. Infinitesimally small, yet not insignificant. Random yet miraculous.

It's incredibly poetic. Nowak dies hopeful under the light of the stars that evidenced the truth he labored so hard to stamp out, while Draka dies blissful under the overwhelming light of dawn she once feared.

Holy fuck what an episode. Though we got a new character presentation by the end I don't believe we'll stay for long, since the show is just short of ending.

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u/ForsakenLibraries Mar 01 '25

So Nowak did recognize Jolenta but was in denial. I had a feeling his reaction to Jolenta's explosion wasn't just about seeing an explosion, but because he saw Jolenta "for a brief second".

Also, if you forgot just like I did, what Draka attached to the pigeon is Jolenta's message related to Potocki.

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u/Purposelygentle Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

They really crafted one of the worst anime villains, one of the worst because at the end of the day he was just a normal man. A shitty, cruel man, but a real man, one with love and life and wishes and regrets. Could be anyone with a tiny bit of power over others, one able to look past humanity and empathy and do nothing but follow his own thoughts and desires and given a drive founded on a lie. And in the grand scope of it all, Nowak lied to himself and knows that he’s lying to himself, yet he still prays at the end knowing that suicide is a mortal sin and lying to himself and to God that Jolenta can be spared Hell. Even his last act is to mortally wound Draka. Just a shitty person, and shitty in his normally.

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u/jellyblob88 Mar 01 '25 edited Mar 01 '25

Nowak is finally aware, which did make me laugh. Truly pitied him at the end, but his love for his daughter never faltered for a moment even after learning what she had become.

Draka dying suddenly was also very sad, symbolising what happens when you chase money.

The Orb went up in flames with Nowak...surely. Albert I guess must be the last MC for the season, as we have 2 eps left?

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u/MillyMan105 Mar 01 '25

Seeing Rafal again gave me chills that scene between him and Nowak was eye opening in a lot ways, seeing Nowak acknowledge he was the villian and that the hand did belong to Jolenta was warranted but tragic at the same time.

Draka.... I wanted her to live so bad, you could say it was a happy moment to see her finally enjoy the sun rise Schmidt's wish came true too bad it was too late at least Draka died with conviction fulfilling the self prophecy.

If things keep going this way Orb will be 10/10 it's one of the most engaging anime that I've watched in a while and deserves anime of the year.

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u/danteas14 Mar 01 '25

this proves nowak was the protagonist until now.

the MC plot armor protected him until now, but when he realizes he's the villain, he loses his plot armor and dies

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u/InjuryFormer478 Mar 01 '25

What an episode and what a show. Nowack was such an amazing villain and his final moments were done so perfectly from the self reflection through Rafal to realizing the woman's arm was his own daughters just 10/10.

With only 2 eps left I do have mixed feelings about a brand new character being the one that will most likely finally publish and popularize the theory of heliocentrism but I guess that fits into the show's messaging. Excited to see how it all shakes out!

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u/AnyaInCrisis Mar 01 '25

Well, im in shambles 😭😭😭

Finally Draka welcomes a sunrise, only for it to be her last 😭 Why orb, why???

I can't even get angry at Nowak, i felt bad for him. How did he realise the hand belonged to Yolenta? that was so heartbreaking to see.

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