Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets The Wise Wolf – Season 1 Episode 12 Recap & Review

Price of Betrayal and Price of Gold

Episode 12 of Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets The Wise Wolf begins with Lawrence freeing himself from the trap the Remerio Trading Company (RTC) men from the previous episode put him in. Lawrence traverses the forest and encounters Holo. He tells Holo that the RTC betrayed them. Holo knew that was the case as soon as she saw Lawrence in terrible shape. 

Holo grabs her cloak. Before Lawrence can say something to her, Holo stops Lawrence and asks him to hear her out. Holo says she isn’t against the idea of murdering humans. However, Holo reveals she went on her knees and forgave the big wolf for his arrogance. Although Holo is fine doing so, she’s enraged about Lawrence’s good-natured persona. 

Holo suggests they travel to Ruvinheigen and deal with Mr. Remerio. Lawrence disagrees and argues they should save Nora. Holo refuses. She argues Nora and Enek won’t view her kindly if they realize she’s a wolf. Lawrence tells Holo if she saves Nora he’ll fulfill her wish. Also, Lawrence doesn’t mind her hurting Liebert and the others. 

Holo accepts Lawrence’s terms, transforms, and asks Lawrence to hop on her back. Lawrence reminds Holo that Nora plans to quit her shepherd gig after this smuggling operation ends. Holo requests Lawrence bring her many honey-pickled peaches to thank her for her assistance. Holo and Lawrence arrive in front of Liebert, his goons, and Nora. 

Lawrence hops off Holo and Holo attacks Liebert’s men, one-by-one. Suddenly, Liebert attempts to bribe Nora and Enek to protect him. Nora and Holo face off, causing Lawrence to panic. Remember, Nora doesn’t know Holo is the wolf in front of her. Nonetheless, Nora stops Enek from attacking Holo. Holo leaps over Nora and attacks Liebert. 

Lawrence wanders over to Nora and Enek. He tells the two that the wolf is Holo. Holo wanders toward Nora and Enek while carrying Liebert’s body with her teeth. Lawrence asks Holo why she didn’t kill Liebert. Holo says she would’ve but she knows Liebert’s carrying gold. She says it would’ve given her stomach problems. 

Lawrence retrieves Liebert’s gold and Nora asks Lawrence how he survived. She reveals the merchants told her Lawrence and Holo were eaten by wolves. Holo tortures Liebert and Lawrence entices her to stop. Then, Lawrence asks Liebert why he betrayed them. Liebert says Mr. Remerio betrayed them, not himself. 

Lawrence tells Liebert to be honest with him. Liebert confesses. He says the amount needed to pay Lawrence was too much. Therefore, Remerio wanted Liebert to do something about that situation. Also, Liebert reminds Lawrence that they’re equals. Lawrence punches Liebert and tells him he’s not like him at all. 

Lawrence tells Nora the RTC betrayed them and planned to kill her. Therefore, Lawrence insists, he, Holo, and Nora flee with all the gold. Moreover, Lawrence doesn’t want to resort to violence, even if the RTC will go after them. He argues that there may be other measures they can rely on to solve this dilemma.

Lawrence says they should choose one that’ll lead them to an ideal future. Holo understands and asks Lawrence to do as he pleases. Lawrence suggests something to Nora and wanders somewhere with Holo seconds later. During this traversal, we enter a flashback. In it, Lawrence asks Nora to do something special with the gold. 

Lawrence learns that the gold they smuggled wouldn’t be enough to satisfy the RTC debt. Holo says this would be the case if Lawrence decided to split the gold with Nora. After more chatting, Lawrence hops on Holo’s back. The two travel to Ruvinheigen. Lawrence wants to help the RTC because he argues it’ll improve his and Holo’s profits. 

Lawrence asks Holo to leave this RTC debacle to him when they arrive. While Holo drinks wine at a bar, Lawrence chats with Remerio at the latter’s company. Remerio’s currently tied to a chair. Lawrence demands Remerio buy his gold for 500 Lumione coins. Remerio refuses. Lawrence shows him a secret box Remerio stored in his chimney. 

Lawrence says he’ll sell this gold elsewhere. He uses other persuasive tactics to get Remerio to craft a statement of debt. Lawrence frees Remerio so he can write and sign this. Remerio asks who will be owed the money. Lawrence tells him it’ll go to the Rowan Merchant Association (RMA). He says he won’t collect all 500 Lumione alone and is certain the RMA will pull this off in ten years.

Remerio complies. Lawrence meets with Jacob to discuss the statement Remerio wrote for him. Lawrence says he has gold for Jacob. Jacob says he’ll buy this loan off of him for 30 Lumione coins. Jacob says Lawrence will receive 100 Lumione coins once the RTC gets back on its feet. Lawrence leaves and regroups with Holo at a bar.

Lawrence says they broke even regarding everything they’ve done with Nora, the RTC, and the RMA. Lawrence says the “further profits” helped them recover from their losses. Holo asks Lawrence if they should trust Nora with the gold. Lawrence says if Nora flees with it, they’ll go after her. Holo withholds her second question and argues Nora should arrive in Ruvinheigen soon.

As they head toward Ruvinheigen’s entrance, Holo brings up the moment she and Nora had a stare-down. Holo recalls Lawrence calling out someone’s name during this situation. Lawrence tells Holo he doesn’t know. However, Lawrence believes he said Holo’s name and jokes about it, much to Holo’s annoyance. Next, Lawrence says someone’s name but Ruvinheigen’s bells go off, making it difficult to decipher whose name he says.

Then, Nora arrives with her sheep and Enek at her side. The episode closes with Nora greeting our protagonists at Ruvinheigen. 

The Episode Review

As expected, Lawrence and Holo found a way around their Remerio Trading Company and forest issues. While the episode doesn’t give audiences the best explanation of how Lawrence resolved matters with Remerio, it’s great seeing our heroes in a better state of being. Moreover, the whole Holo, Nora, and Liebert situation will leave fans somewhat mixed. 

Although the battle and confrontations were intense and engaging, the visuals and animation looked choppy at points. This made matters feel less impactful than they should’ve been. Regardless, it’s nice knowing Nora didn’t flee with all the gold. It shows that Nora established a solid partnership with Lawrence and Holo despite her current status as a shepherd.  

Although it’d be great to see Nora accompany Holo and Lawrence during their journey, we’re certain Nora’s arc in this story has come to a close. If that’s the case, the story handled her character wonderfully.

Overall, this was an okay chapter of Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets The Wise Wolf. It has some touching and dramatic moments that’ll keep audiences invested. However, the scenarios surrounding Ruvinheigen’s trading companies and associations should’ve been handled better from the explanatory side of things. Regardless, we’re excited to see where Holo and Lawrence’s journies continue from here.