Welcome back to another recap post of the wonderful My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! series. Let's refresh on what happened before the new episode airs tomorrow! In the last episode, Catarina discovered who she really was and the world she now has to survive in the place of the villainess of her favorite otome game, "Fortune Lover."

Doom flags are everywhere and Catarina has to do her best to avoid all of them so she can live a longer life this time around! Unfortunately for her, she's already engaged to Geordo and Keith arrived right on schedule, which follows the game's story. But it's no biggie. All she has to do is make sure things don't go sour with either relationship to avoid getting killed or exiled. Easy peasy, right? ...Right? Hmm...

**SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 2 AHEAD**

It's been several months since Catarina's memories from her past life came back to her, and ...she's still doing that garden thing to increase her Earth magic, huh? I'm 99% sure that method won't pan out for you, girl! Tragically, some of the veggies aren't growing. Geordo and Keith offer some assistance...

Oh my, it seems like they're both quite attached to Catarina! What does Catarina think of all this and how could their rivalry affect her as it intensifies?

That's not it at all, Catarina! Open your EYES! How oblivious can you be?

Being oblivious isn't the only glaring problem Catarina has. Her table manners are a total mess! She's been invited to a tea party ...how do you expect that she'll behave? I think she's just gonna gobble up all the food, after all, free food is best food, right?! Not to worry, dear reader, for Keith will be sent alongside Catarina so she doesn't misbehave. It's not a problem anymore! But wait, isn't she the older sister? What example are you setting here, Catarina?

First impressions are important, right? Catarina managed to properly introduce herself to the folks responsible for the party. And without Keith's help, at that! We're so proud of you, Catarina! So far, so good. We also get a first glimpse of someone closer to Catarina's age.

Mary is pretty shy compared to her sisters, who are way more outgoing. If you ask me, Mary's the cutest of them all!

Catarina is the belle of the ball at the party; people just won't leave her alone! Between wanting to introduce themselves, trying to befriend her, and talking endlessly ...Catarina is quickly reaching her limit.

I get it. Totally relatable!

What's this? Everyone's too busy chatting it up and no one's eating that wonderful spread of sweets on the table. A true CRIME! I don't blame Catarina at all; I too would be hitting up all those delicious cakes on display! Hm, but wait, is this how a dignified daughter of the Claes family should act?

Before Catarina is able to stow away the sweets to take home and gobble up later, Keith appears right on cue to remind her of her standing. She is the older sister, right? I'm beginning to wonder.

The galaxy brain solution to this predicament? EAT ALL THE SWEETS NOW. If only Catarina's mother was here to see all of this unfold right before her very eyes!

Of course, this comes back to bite Catarina, because her stomach ain't having none of that! She makes a strategic retreat to "powder her nose." Brilliant!

Phew, Catarina managed to save her dignity. (In more ways than one!) On her way back, she encounters a gorgeous garden she hadn't seen before. Look at those beautiful flowers! The amazing fountain, too! And at the center of that garden is...

...The shy and cute Mary! Why isn't she also gabbing it up like her sisters with all the other guests? Turns out events like parties with a big crowd aren't exactly her kind of thing. I'm sure many of us totally get where Mary is coming from here. 

Of course, our Catarina thinks it's because of her villainous and evil face that Mary won't show up to the party. (That's not it at all!) She turns the conversation to the elegant garden and how skilled the gardener is to grow such beautiful flowers, only to discover it's Mary herself who tends to the garden. Amazing! 

Catarina?! Down, girl! But she has to get the gardening deets from Mary, so she can level up her own gardening skills. She must do anything and everything to avoid those doom flags! Unfortunately for her, Mary doesn't have experience with growing veggies—but that's not enough to stop Catarina! If Mary could see the fields herself, maybe she can impart some of her gardening wisdom and tackle this problem together. Teamwork! (What's in it for Mary, though?!)

Turns out Catarina wasn't giving her vegetable garden the right amount of nutrients to grow. They replant the veggies elsewhere to see how they do with this new insight. Thanks to Mary's help, the garden is looking healthier. Take that, doom flags!

And then Catarina leaves Mary with the one line that changes her life forever, making Mary completely affectionate toward Catarina. Turns out what Mary gained was a new friend! According to Keith, Mary hasn't been having a good home life, since Mary's mom was Marquess Hunt's second wife, which the family wasn't exactly too pleased with. This caused Mary's older sisters to treat her like she's a thorn in their side, verbally abusing her for most of her life. Geez, no wonder she didn't feel like hanging at the party! But thanks to Catarina, Mary now feels like she's not alone anymore. Yeah, friendship!!

Keith also mentions that her engagement to Prince Alan is set to happen soon.

Wait. Her engagement to Alan?

ALERT! ALERT! A NEW DOOM FLAG HAS ARRIVED!

Is it wise to befriend the girl who's going to marry the guy who is one of the conquerable routes in the game? Isn't that like saying "yes, I would like to have this doom flag, please"?! 

In Alan's route, he has a huge inferiority complex toward Geordo. But when the heroine of the game appears, he softens up and his relationship with his brother improves. A lovely story! Catarina barely appears in this story, so it should be okay, right? The rival for this route is Mary... So, does that mean she could either get exiled or die?

Nope, only Catarina. What kind of cruel joke is this?! Well, Mary is a nice girl, after all. And in the game, Catarina constantly bullies the heroine. There's gotta be a way to turn this around. Let's think more on the way Alan's route is supposed to go... Hey, wait a minute!

Isn't this EXACTLY what Catarina said to Mary? She said Alan's line first before he even had the chance to?! How will this affect the outcome? Will Mary even fall in love with Alan now? We'll have to wait and see how this pans out.

Things seem to be going smoothly. Does it even matter if Alan was able to comment on Mary's gardening skills?

Mary reveals that Catarina told her she's special for her green thumb. Of course, he couldn't dare say the same thing now, could he? This couldn't cause a problem for their future relationship, could it?

Of course, it would. Alan waltzes into the manor, demands to see Catarina and tells her to stop SEDUCING his fiancee! Apparently, most of the time when he invites Mary over, she declines because she's at Catarina's place. And when Mary accepts his invitations, all she talks about is Catarina! Wow, she's totally smitten by Catarina.

Instead of calmly talking and working things out, Catarina tells Alan he's full of it. Oh, and he's boring and has zero appeal. Real mature, Catarina! Alan takes this as a challenge and dares Catarina to a duel of her choosing! But... what's Catarina good at again?

Oh right, climbing trees. How could I forget? Look at her go! It's like someone pressed the Turbo button on a controller. Alan can't possibly win. He's unable to regain his dignity. And so he constantly visits Catarina to challenge her endlessly in tree climbing... and always loses. He doesn't want to give up though. He'll win no matter what!

Of course, this had to stop at some point. Alan comes by on a day when Geordo is also there and the situation gets really tense. To ease things, Catarina offers a different challenge: a piano duel! It's probably best that way since her mother is bound to find out about the tree climbing sooner or later.

To everyone's amazement, Catarina can hold her own in piano playing, but Alan is on a whole other level. He's exceptionally gifted at it, having everyone who's listening swooning over his beautiful music. But Alan won't take the positive attention lightly. His inferiority complex comes out in full display when Geordo compliments him.; he feels as if Geordo is secretly mocking him. 

Catarina, being the great pal that she is, chases after Alan to talk things out. Everyone has something they're good at and something they're lousy in—it's part of being human! Even the seemingly perfect Geordo has a weakness of his own.

Snakes! Now that Catarina knows Geordo can't handle snakes she has something she can use to her advantage when things get hairy. What precious knowledge!

But that would only work as long as Geordo thought it was a real snake and not one made out of paper. Whoops! 

This situation is too hilarious for Alan to continue to be upset. Look at that smile! I'm sure in her own way Catarina is helping Alan come to terms with his inferiority complex.

It seems like another doom flag was avoided, but when will the next one pop up? We'll find out tomorrow when the next episode of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! airs! See ya next time!

What's been your favorite part of the show so far? Isn't Catarina totally relatable? Let us know in the comments!

Catch My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! every Saturday at 10:30am PST / 1:30pm EST on Crunchyroll!

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