Viewers of “Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation“They already expected that the end of the second season would leave a very sharp division of opinions, and this was reflected even more with Norn's speech right at the moment Rudeus asks Sylphiette for permission for Roxy to become his second wife.

While Sylphiette remains silent and Rudeus begs for forgiveness on his knees for failing to keep his promise to be faithful to her, Norn, his blood sister (since Aisha is his half-sister), strongly criticizes his actions. While she understands that Rudeus would not have been able to save her father, she is frustrated to realize that her brother had time to sleep with another woman while the pregnant Sylphiette awaited his return.

At the same time, Norn criticizes Roxy for taking advantage of Rudeus's weakness after his father's death, and regrets not being "mature enough" to step aside and not intervene in his life. Roxy accepts these words and heads for the door, only to be stopped by Sylphiette herself. Sylphy admits she expected Rudeus to get more women, considering his personality, and accepts Roxy into her family.

While this constitutes a happy ending for Rudeus, Norn's monologue (powered by Saya Aizawa's spectacular voice acting) It served to establish debate among fans. Norn's words were pretty much what part of the "Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation" fanbase criticized about Rudeus, and there was no shortage of comments:

• «Now I understand why I hate Norn so much, because she tells her truths to the shitty protagonist that fans identify with so much.».
• «This fandom reverts to a basic harem mentality every time the girls join in, but they also address the deeper meaning of the show at other times. This situation was the profound thing they're talking about; what he did was wrong because, as a married man who said he would remain faithful, he actually didn't. Sylphie, knowing this would happen, probably shouldn't have let him make that promise, as it places an unnecessary burden on him. Roxy knows what she did was wrong, but she did it for what she considered a good reason. There's a complexity to the situation that I'm glad Norn helped to show. Because if you want to watch someone just collecting girls for the plot, there are dozens of different anime for that. The things I wanted to be said were said by all sides. I'm an anime viewer who continues to watch Rudeus struggle in life to become a better person.».
• «She was telling the truth».
• «Well, Norn had the most realistic reaction. I would have done the same in that situation. Remember, I didn't know what Rudeus went through.».
• «I don't quite agree. Norn wasn't angry because Rudy cheated on her; she was angry because polygamy is worse than anything else when it comes to Millis. She's imposing her religion on the family, of which only Zenith is religious. It was also pointed out how hypocritical she was, given that her father did the same thing, but probably worse, since Paul kept it a secret and continued to lust after her, while Rudy basically told Sylphie immediately and wasn't going to marry Roxy either until Elinalise convinced him. And although she didn't know it, she really hurt Roxy with the comment about the boy, which is Roxy's biggest insecurity. I don't hate Norn or anything, since she's just a girl. Not to mention she's speaking for Sylphie, which I really dislike, especially since Sylphie has basically always been okay with Rudy having another wife. She expected him to do so even before they got married, and she even said it would be okay for him to take a concubine.».
• «I disagree here. Norn wasn't angry because of her faith in Millis. She's perfectly aware that neither Rudeus nor Sylphie are believers. Although he said this, it was ultimately because when you're in that state, you just want to put everything on the table, including the idea that God is against this relationship. Even Rudeus admits this in his thoughts.».
• «This begins Norn's arc to be the best character in the series.».
• «At the end of the day, she has no say in this.».
• «It's ridiculous how many people try to act like she can't criticize Rudeus just because Paul had two wives long before Norn was born.».
• «I understand that Norn is a girl and doesn't mean what she says. But, my God, what a hypocrite and fanatic she is. It didn't even occur to her that her dear father did the same to Lilia. What's even worse is that Paul didn't even tell Zenith about the affair until Lilia herself confessed. Besides, Paul wasn't in the same situation as Rudy at the time. Of course, it's still wrong for Rudy to cheat, but he realized his mistake and confessed as soon as he got home... What infuriated me most was how he insulted his stepsister without even realizing it. Not to mention that Norn is arrogant and imposes her religion on the rest of her family... she was mainly angry because Millis didn't allow the polyamorous marriage, not because Sylphie was cheated on. Overall, the character writing in Mushoku Tensei is excellent. Norn is a very well-written character; that doesn't mean I have to like him.».
• «I think Norn, with her perspective, certainly has the right to explode, but my son was on the verge of despair, and they needed Rudy to pull him through. Can you imagine crossing the desert with two people who were effectively disabled? The sun was blazing, one of their main mages dehydrated and in a bad state of mind. The group would have crumbled. The reality is that Rudy wasn't in the right frame of mind, and while Roxy argues that she took advantage of him, and to some extent she did, it actually made the trip back less stressful.».
• «Think about it, not only did your brother (with a great reputation) not bring back your father, but he also brought back your mother in an unpleasant condition, brought home a new girl, and cheated on his wife. People put him on a pedestal just so he can disappoint them. That really hurts.».
• «I mean, she basically had the same reaction Rudy had with Paul. So, honestly, I'm not surprised. It must run in the family.».
• «I mean, it's understandable... She lost her father, only to see Rudy bring in a second woman... Of course, as someone who depended so much on Paul, she's angry. As Norn said, she understands that Paul is gone. But this is this and that is that... But the problem is, her own mother was in the same situation. That's the only reason he has a sister. Even that was explained. I was very satisfied with this episode and everything that happened around it.».
• «I would be mad too, but then again we're watching Mushoku Tensei, wait until you see who Norn ends up with, real life morals don't work in this series since it's completely fictional and you can beg all you want, the reality is that any spouse in this universe can have polygamy».
• «Even if it's the norm in their world. What really happened to us was quick from their perspective. "Oh, hello Norn, our father died, and Sylphie, I tricked you."».
• «Reasons why I love Norn. You don't have to agree with her, but she made some positive comments. As a Sylphy fan, I was very disappointed with the situation. I'll ultimately accept everyone's decision.».
• «Classic Norn, you know a series is so good that you know how the characters are going to act, not that it's predictable, but it means you UNDERSTAND the character».
• «A child will react without thinking. Do you blame her when Rudy came home and told her that her father was dead and her mother was in this condition?».
• «Who wouldn't be? It's exactly as he said. There's a worried pregnant wife waiting for him at home, and when he arrives, he literally has ANOTHER wife in tow. How the hell do you process that without losing your cool?».
• «I don't like Sylphie. She's so passive and self-deprecating that she sometimes feels more like an object than a real person with wants, needs, hopes, and dreams. She feels out of place, especially in a story whose main themes are self-improvement and self-worth reconciliation.».
• «Marriage is like any long-term investment. You have to factor in the upkeep costs because these things will happen. Sylphy is just a shrewd, perceptive woman who's glad Rudy didn't bring home some random woman.».
• «This is the result when people don't live in reality. Before marrying Rudeus, she was already preparing herself, recognizing that Rudeus would likely be a womanizer like the rest of her family. She also said that Rudeus is the man of her dreams and that she loves him more than anything and wants to support him and make him happy. Sylphie knew what she was up against by marrying Rudeus; she's not delusional. I didn't expect to try to change her nature like all those other foolish women.».
• «The strange thing about Mushoku Tensei is that the author takes the concept of "another world" much more seriously than your typical isekai. The standards are different. The social norms are different. What is strange to us is accepted in much of their society.».
• «It definitely shows that Rudeus has a problem if Sylphie predicted this. But even though I have a moral problem with polygamy, I obviously can't stop Rudeus. Luckily, everything worked out, because of course it did. But I'm happy that Sylphie is happy, but I still have problems with everything.».
• «I recommend reading NL Vol. 12 chapters 14-15 to understand the full context of this scene. The truth is that the anime cut out many small but important details in this scene and the previous one (Rudeus and Elinalise's conversation on the snowy mountain).».
• «This is truly the worst thing that can happen to a woman, to find out that the man whose child you are carrying is sleeping with another woman and to receive this with “happiness”.».
• «In a world without child support, it's dangerous that a pregnant woman shouldn't be alone. You probably don't have a good choice in this matter if the man truly wants or has a second wife. It seems like there's a lot missing from this man's romances.».
• «Everyone should understand that in their world, it's still acceptable to have one or multiple wives, as well as concubines. Rudy was still under the universal understanding of our world about monogamous relationships. Rudy was against cheating until Elise presented the solution of also marrying Roxy. I don't want to blame Roxy alone for jumping on him when he was vulnerable, but that was the only sexual encounter they had. Rudy still liked and respected Roxy so much that he gave her the option of having a "fling" alone for the rest of the trip.».

Source: reddit