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Mizu glares through blood and makeup

Blue Eye Samurai Episode 5, Explained

The Netflix original animated series Blue Eye Samurai tells the tale of Mizu, a ronin seeking revenge on those she feels are responsible for her motherā€™s death. Mizuā€™s tragic backstory comes to a head in episode 5 of the series.

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Normally stoic and closed off to those around her, Mizu experiences an extended flashback in the first seasonā€™s fifth episode, which reveals to viewers her deeper motivations. More than providing some action-packed tragedy, the fifth episode sets the tone for the second half of Blue Eye Samuraiā€™s inaugural season. Hereā€™s what occurs in the seriesā€™ fifth episode and what these revelations mean for the show and its protagonist.

Blue Eye Samurai Episode 5, Explained

At the start of the fifth episode, Mizu is defending a brothel from a small army of assassins in service to the villainous Hamata. Mizu suffers an injury during the battle, which triggers a flashback to her youth, when her mother saved her from a gang and arranged a marriage between Mizu and a samurai named Mikio. Mikio lives in disgrace, but he and Mizu bond, with Mizu learning to love her new husband through their mutual appreciation of horses, with Mikio giving his bride a stallion named Kai.

Mizu slices through blood

However, after Mikio and Mizu begin a friendly sparring match, Mikio witnesses how violent his spouse is, disgustedly calling her a monster. Some time later, soldiers arrive to collect a bounty on Mizu head, only to be killed by Mizu. Mikio and Mizuā€™s mother accuse each other of tipping off the locals about Mizuā€™s location, resulting in Mikio murdering Mizuā€™s mother. In retaliation, Mizu avenges her mother by killing Mikio.

What Episode 5 Reveals About the Future

Beyond unveiling Mizuā€™s blood-stained past, the fifth episode concludes with a traditional puppet show presenting the story of the ronin and his bride. As the puppet show comes to a close, Akemi is seen talking about her own experiences meeting the demon from the show. As she recalls the demon was consumed by darkness, she reveals her teeth have been stained black.

What Episode 5 of Blue Eye Samurai Reveals About The Future. The character Akemi speaks to a group of five other women.
Akemi speaks with other women

This sequence is eventually revealed, over the course of the season, to take place some time after the events of the entire season. Akemi does indeed meet Mizu, saved by her from the evil Fowler, witnessing the lengths to which Mizu will go to attain her revenge. The stained teeth is a reference to her arranged husband preferring his brides to blacken their teeth with charcoal, which he finds attractive.

With this coda, episode 5 of Blue Eye Samurai contains three timelines: A fight for the brothel set in the present, a flashback to Mizuā€™s past, and a flashforward to Akemiā€™s marriage in the future.


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Sam Stone
Sam Stone is a longtime entertainment news journalist and columnist, covering everything from movies and television to video games and comic books. Sam also has bylines at CBR, Popverse, Den of Geek, GamesRadar+, and Marvel.com. He's been a freelance contributor with The Escapist since October 2023, during which time he's covered Mortal Kombat, Star Trek, and various other properties. Sam remembers what restful sleep was. But that was a long time ago.