This review contains spoilers for Chapters 126 and 127 of Under the Oak Tree Season 5.
I knew that when Season 5 of Under the Oak Tree returned, it wasn’t going to be rainbows and roses. But frankly, that was the least of my worries because finally, finally, Maxi and Riftan were going to be together again.
A lot of things happened in Season 4. Maxi went on her first campaign with Riftan but it wasn’t long before the two had to part from each other as Riftan made his way to fight in the war. With news of the battle stuck in a stalemate, Maxi is driven mad with worry and decides to stow away among the female clerics who will be taken to the battlefield to tend to the wounded soldiers in the hopes that she can find Riftan. And that she does.
Season 5 continues where the previous season left off with an, understandably, enraged Riftan when he discovers Maxi in the middle of the war. I have to give credit where credit is due: instead of getting angry at Maxi where their conversation will likely devolve into an explosive argument, Riftan walks away to take a breather and when he comes back, he’s much calmer.
His calm doesn’t last long with Princess Agnes’s arrival who suggests that Maxi become a mage. The thought of Maxi being in danger sends him into a rage again that ends with him curtly and coldly saying: “Fine. Do you as you wish. You’re going to do what you want regardless of my objections anyway.”
Riftan’s overprotectiveness isn’t new. He’s always been extremely concerned about Maxi’s safety and comfort, one because he loves her deeply but also because he fears that her life as a Calypse would pale in comparison to his perception to her past life as a Croyso. He continues to be under the misconception that she lived a comfy lifestyle as a noblewoman… and Maxi, terrified that Riftan might not want her anymore, isn’t helping matters by not clearing things up.
Having such undivided attention from someone like Riftan was a foreign but welcome experience for Maxi who has only known cruelty. Riftan’s love, comfort, and support has bolstered Maxi’s once non-existent courage to see the world for herself–all the good and the bad. Love has given her freedom.
Unfortunately, the man who has given her that freedom is also wary about giving her too much, and that can do much more harm than good. If I were to choose a metaphor, Maxi is like a bird. Before her marriage to Riftan, her wings were broken, and she’s trapped in a filthy cage. Riftan comes along, tends to her injuries, treats her like a prized bird, and replaces the cage with a fancier, more comfortable one—but it’s still a cage.
And now, she has begun learning magic and develop her skills as a healer. She’s no longer the same timid woman who set foot in Anatol.
Maxi doesn’t want to hurt Riftan; she loves him so much. But love doesn’t mean having to tiptoe around your partner to appease them or to mold yourself into the image that they have created for you in their head. And I have a feeling that that’s something Maxi will have to learn in this season.
Agnes, along with Ruth, is one of my favorite characters in the series. She’s the kind of person you’d want at your side in a fight–one who will not back down in the face of adversity, even if that adversity is being irrational and unreasonably cruel (here’s looking at you, Riftan). I love how self-assured Agnes is, and, although Maxi is still wary of her, I can tell she’ll be a very good friend to Maxi, especially because she’s the one who reminds Maxi that she’s opened the cage and she “possesses a will of [her] own.”
I’m truly excited to see what happens next. Fingers crossed that after 120-plus episodes, this season will be the one where Maxi and Riftan finally talk.
