Konosuba season 3 episode 8 review: Kazuma and co defeat the hydra as Darkness leaves the party

Konosuba season 3 episode 8 was officially released on Wednesday, May 29, 2024, bringing with it the exciting continuation of the smash-hit anime series’ third season. Likewise, fans were excited to see the resolution of Kazuma and co’s first attempt to slay the local hydra, which was dealt with in the episode’s opening scenes.

From here, however, Konosuba season 3 episode 8 took a somewhat more serious turn, clearly showing that there was more to slaying this hydra than Darkness was letting on. Likewise, this led to a shocking reveal at the end of the installment which seemingly sets up the plotline for the remainder of this season.

Konosuba season 3 episode 8 teases Kazuma’s party splitting up in the final moments

Brief episode recap

Kazuma is revived by Eris once again in Konosuba season 3 episode 8's opening scenes (Image via Drive)

Konosuba season 3 episode 8 began with Kazuma meeting with Eris once more after failing to defeat the hydra. Eris initially treats it like a joke, but she’s quickly interrupted by Aqua calling out to Kazuma and urging him to return. He’s shown to be covered in digestive fluid after being swallowed, having digested everything on him but his sword.

The group then returned home to Axel, where Aqua said that the hydra will likely be busy re-dirtying the lake for a while. Megumin commented on how when Aqua says things like that, there’s always a pitfall waiting.

Darkness then approached Kazuma while he was still in the bath, apologizing for forcing him to help her. He brushed it off and said it was fine, but Darkness was clearly bothered by something as she departed.

Kazuma then asked if there was a reason she needed to kill the hydra, which she denied but this was obviously the truth. Konosuba season 3 episode 8 saw Kazuma reassure her that they’d defeat it the next time they fought it, inspiring confidence in her as well.

Meanwhile, Aqua and Megumin were getting yelled at for upsetting the hydra and not killing it as Kazuma and Darkness arrived.

Aqua and Megumin start trouble for the group in Konosuba season 3 episode 8 (Image via DEEN)

It’s then revealed that the royal knights they were planning on coming were busy recovering the treasures which Kazuma and Chris had stolen. It was then revealed that the thieves were hiding somewhere in Axel, which a Crimson Demon fortune teller confirmed. The guild then asked everyone, including Kazuma, to help. However, he instead shut himself indoors, obviously knowing that he was the thief.

Konosuba season 3 episode 8 saw Aqua spending her time nurturing her “dragon egg” by channeling her magic power into it. Megumin and Darkness then burst in, revealing their plan to wage a war of attrition against the hydra. However, Aqua was key to their plan but refused to help, prompting Megumin to explain that she wants to avenge his death at the hydra’s hands, which caused Kazuma to blush.

She and Darkness then explain that they’ve been harassing the hydra every day, arguing that it has to be dealt with and this will whittle down its magical power. Kazuma then said he’ll get serious about the hydra when the rain stops, which won’t be happening any time soon. Darkness and Megumin, meanwhile, continued their routine as the rain continued for several days.

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Konosuba season 3 episode 8 saw Darkness come home injured one day, revealing that the beast ambushed her and Megumin due to being so bothered by them. Kazuma then began fixing her armor out of “boredom,” telling her she better not run back out once it’s fixed. Darkness adds that this reminds her of their hot springs visit when he also repaired her armor on the way there, saying it would be nice to go back there one day.

Megumin then woke Kazuma up in the middle of the night, revealing she and her armor was gone. Kazuma told her and Aqua to go chase after Darkness while he made some stops first. After catching up to Darkness, Megumin demanded to know what was going on, with Kazuma and the entirety of Axel arriving at that moment and calling out her name.

Konosuba season 3 episode 8 then saw Kazuma reveal that everyone was there to help her with the hydra, which she eventually accepted. Kazuma then coordinated everyone as they fought the hydra, first using Darkness to distract it before having thieves bind a weight to the beast and tie up its heads. The archers then fired steel cables onto the rope binding the hydra, starting a tug of war to keep it in place.

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Kazume then had himself launched at the hydra, landing on its back and using Drain Touch to siphon its magic power. However, the beast then rolled over in an attempt to crush Kazuma, with Darkness saving him at the last second. Kazuma then spammed his Drain Touch spell in an attempt to further weaken the beast since Darkness was about to give out against its body weight.

Konosuba season 3 episode 8 saw the beast weakened to the point where it wasn’t regenerating, prompting Megumin to use Explosion Magic boosted by the other mages’ power. The episode then revealed that Kazuma and co were successful, with Darkness saying that she feels better. However, she emphasized that this wasn’t because the hydra was dead, but because she remembered just how much she loves everyone in this town.

She called herself truly blessed as Kazuma made fun of her, with the episode then seeing everyone but Darkness return home. There, they found a letter waiting, in which Darkness revealed she had left their party and returned home but not specifying why. The episode ended with Darkness being shown taken home in a carriage as she called her adventures with them the greatest days of her life.

In review

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Konosuba season 3 episode 8 does a fantastic job of advancing both the overall plot of the season and the development of certain characters without sacrificing anything major. Comedy, sakuga, action and more can all be had in the episode alongside these developments, which has been a recurring strength of the third season thus far.

It’s also welcome to see such character development for Darkness, who is clearly dealing with something which is very heavily weighing on her mind. While the series isn’t necessarily stagnant with any one character throughout, it’s very arguable that Darkness’ gag-like role results in her often being left behind with respect to growth and development.

In summation

Overall, Konosuba season 3 episode 8 serves as a great celebration of both Kazuma’s party and the core approach the series has taken. However, this is parlayed into a major shakeup to its formula via Darkness’ apparent departure, which will likely serve as an overarching plotline for the season’s final episodes over the next few weeks.