Is Echidna Evil? Why Is She Helping Subaru?

Echidna was first introduced in the series as a dainty and beautiful woman who was ready to help our protagonist in every way possible.

However, after her identity as the Witch of Greed is revealed, many fans have started to believe that underneath her cute exterior lies something sinister and evil.

Season 2 Episode 9 of Re:Zero once again reminded us why it reigned as one of the best series in the thriller and isekai genre.

While Satella’s appearance and Roswaal’s confession took most of the audience’s attention, many did not fail to pay attention to the tea party, and specifically, Echidna’s actions.

From the moment she first appeared on screen, just her identity as the Witch of Greed warranted suspicion from the viewers.

From that moment on, every word spoken out of her mouth, every action, and gaze has been closely followed and scrutinized by the fans.

In the beginning, while Echidna proclaimed herself as evil, fans have been unable to find anything to confirm that fact.

Everything she does and says perfectly matches her pure appearance and many are starting to wonder what she really is like.

1. Is Echidna Evil?

Echidna is not evil, but a sociopath who puts the attainment of knowledge above everything else. She is not inherently or deliberately malicious; however, she will not hesitate to employ any means to acquire the information she wants.

Echidna is the Witch of Greed, who, despite being killed by Satella, lived on by manifesting her soul in a dream-like realm of her creation.

In this realm, she could commune with the living who entered her sanctuary. She also gathered the souls of the other five witches and allowed them to appear in her realm.

From the beginning, Echidna herself stated that she was evil.

However, many doubt her words because she hasn’t done anything bad yet, and in fact, despite being a witch, she seems quite normal so far.

However, this is the part that concerns some viewers. After all, there must be a reason why she’s called a witch, right?

Many fans have drawn parallels between the scene where Echidna and the other witches meet, to the introduction of Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the Lambs.

In the 9th episode, we’re shown how crazy and twisted the other witches are, much like the other patients at Dr. Chilton’s asylum.

With Echidna, whose ordinary behavior mirrors Hannibal, we can’t help but question what she is like beneath her calm exterior.

Every witch has two colors representing them, and in Echidna’s case, those colors are black and white. This gives us a hint into what her personality might be like.

While she looks ethereal and pure (reminiscent of white), there is bound to be darkness and evil (associated with black) lurking within her.

In one scene of the light novel, Subaru asked Echidna about the identity of the person Beatrice was waiting for.

“Maintain the Forbidden Archive and give it to ‘That Person’. There’s no limitation because there is no true answer. I used her as intended and I can watch what her choice is.

How rational, isn’t it? Of course, not choosing anyone and spending 400 years is also a consequence.

Agonizing over abandoning the contract or not, and choosing her own death is also one of the consequences. I think it’s wonderful.”

Echidna

Here we can easily see how cruel Echidna is. Without taking into account Beatrice’s suffering, she made her wait for hundreds of years just to see what path she would choose.

All she considered was her desire to know the conclusion of this inhumane experiment and not her creation’s emotions.

This shows us that while Echidna seems to have a moral compass, in the end, beneath her sweet looks lies a greedy witch who will do anything to satiate her thirst for knowledge.

While not inherently evil, this quality of hers makes her a character who’s more black than grey.

2. Why Does Echidna Help Subaru? Is She a Villain?

In arc 4 of the light novel, after the other witches advised Subaru to be cautious of Echidna and her contract, the latter was forced to reveal her true intentions.

Echidna helped Subaru to access his ‘Return by Death’ ability as he was the only person who could satisfy her ‘Greed.’

Echidna felt that as a researcher, and someone who wanted to know everything, seeing how the situations would play out differently with every new restart due to ‘Return by Death’ was a dream come true.

She basically claimed that once Subaru signed the contract, she would sometimes not reveal essential information and make him suffer, just to see different results.

She helped him not because of her genuine desire to do so, but because of ulterior motives.

This makes Echidna an anti-villain whose goal of gaining knowledge is good, but her means of doing so are evil and undesirable.

3. About Re:Zero

Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World is a Japanese light novel series written by Tappei Nagatsuki and illustrated by Shinichirou Otsuka.

The plot is based on Subaru Natsuki, the protagonist who gets sucked into a fantasy world on his way home from the convenience store.

He gets attacked by a group of thugs and is beaten to a pulp immediately, but this girl from the fantasy world named Satella saves him.

To return the favor, Subaru helps her find the stolen insignia. They both get murdered by a mysterious force in the end, and Subaru wakes up with his new ability to reverse time upon his death.

A sociopath that puts the attainment of knowledge above all else, but not inherently or deliberately malicious.