The following contains spoilers for To Your Eternity: Season 2 Episode 4, "The Young Man Who Can See", now streaming on Crunchyroll.
After his introduction in the previous episode, it was only a matter of time before To Your Eternity shed further light on Prince Bonchien Nicoli la Tasty Peach Uralis. Established as a major new ally of Fushi's, Prince Bon breaks the mold of previous companions by being a broadly comedic character.
Despite his cowardice, Episode 3 showed that Prince Bon was mostly content with himself and a happy and supportive family. This came in sharp contrast to characters like March and Gugu, who, despite offering similar moments of comic relief, still had plenty of tragedy baked into their debut episodes. Even in their introductions, it was clear how Fushi might offer them a sense of found family -- but the trajectory of Bon's character arc was a lot harder to read.
To Your Eternity's Bon Has the Ability to See Ghosts - Including Tonari
Episode 4 offers some perspective on To Your Eternity's newest addition with a back-half dedicated to detailing Bon's backstory, narrated by the prince himself. Bon explains he has a gift that allows him to see ghosts, a number of whom he befriended as a child. This includes Tonari, who imparts to the young prince bedtime stories about Fushi. Fushi's late ally tells the prince that his abilities could be of use to the immortal, and advises him on how to track Fushi down later in life.
Bon's abilities come as a cause for concern for his mother, and things reach a boiling point when his sister finds him talking to thin air. In actuality, the young prince was talking to a girl he was smitten with who was trespassing on the castle grounds -- implied to be a younger version of Bon's male-presenting squire, Todo -- but the incident serves as a pretense for Bon's mother to call an exorcist, who ties Bon up and cuts open his arm.
The scene muddies the waters on Bon's previously serene home life -- while his mother was previously shown as a benign figure, her actions here paint her in a rather more sinister light. For now, though, the incident doesn't seem to leave much impact on Bon or his perception of his mother, and isn't the main impetus for his character in the present.
Is Bon Too Unlikable at the Moment?
Instead, Bon's main motivation comes down to being snubbed for the position of king in favor of his younger brother, Torta. When he angrily confronts his father over it, the current king points out that Bon wastes all his money on frivolities, while Torta contributes to humanitarian causes. Bon furiously vows to capture Fushi in order to restore his honor, looping back around to his introduction in the previous episode.
It's a decision founded on immaturity on Bon's part, a deliberate character flaw from which he will most likely develop. Still, it's a little frustrating that To Your Eternity -- for now, at least -- glosses over the dramatic parts of his backstory in favor of him being motivated by petulance toward his brother.
Characters having personal flaws to contend with is the source of any worthwhile drama, but Bon currently straddles the knife's edge of being more unpleasant than he is compelling. After making prior companions such as March and Gugu so effortlessly endearing from the get-go, it's a shame that To Your Eternity has since struggled to repeat that success with subsequent allies, with Tonari being a similarly hard sell in her debut last season.
Fushi Learns What Awaits Him at the End of His Quest
Despite being a mostly Bon-centric episode, it also features a notable development for Fushi. When Bon asks the immortal what will happen upon completing his task of gaining worldly knowledge and defeating the Nokkers for good, the Beholder emerges and cryptically reveals that Fushi will gain ''freedom'' -- a goal the characters acknowledge as too ambiguous to construe as anything concrete.
Still, it's interesting that To Your Eternity has, for the first time, signposted its definitive end. With a new indication of what lies in wait at the conclusion of his quest, Fushi sets off alongside Bon and Kahaku to vanquish the Nokkers at the episode's end. After a promising premiere, Season 2 has struggled to sustain that momentum. Hopefully now that the groundwork has been laid, To Your Eternity's newest season is finally off to the races -- and can provide its newest character with some worthwhile development moving forward.