Man, I feel like this episode was paced absolutely perfectly and the animation was top notch. There weren't a lot of still shots with bobbing heads or lips moving. Nearly everything had some sort of intricate movements, making this episode gorgeous. I think this episode also captures the brutality, seriousness, theme, and overall direction that Fate/Zero was going for. We saw the transition from Episode 11 to now, slowly head towards a darker and moodier atmosphere and I think this episode hits the climax of it so far.
Having said that, there were particular aspects that really stood out to me of why this episode is so good. Rather than dedicating one large continuous portion of the episode to a fight, they broke it up with dialogue in-between. I enjoyed this partially due to the fact that it keeps the dialogues interesting, but it also pulls the audience in more to enjoy the fight, since it isn't mindless action. I'm not saying they should do this for every fight sequence, but the combination of the two works really well for the episode.
Another is the brutality of the scene between Sola and Maiya. Instead of going for a gory approach showing everything, the subtlety that they showed when her arm was hacked off and how she responded was great. It still captures the horror of the situation without showing everything. It's more direction and capturing the essence of the scene and I thought they did it awesomely.
Thirdly, Lancer's death scene gave me shivers. It happens so quickly and this is the only scene - to my memory - where Lancer screams, shouts, and yells. Because I've never seen him so emotionally out of control it hit me hard. We get a real glimpse of how important a knight's honor, valor, and chivalry is to Diarmuid.
I also enjoyed the conversation between Kiritisugu and Saber. Finally they have a formal conversation about their perspectives. To continue off of Episode 11, I think Saber's idealism and view of battles differs extremely from Kiritsugu's. He views all battles, fights, wars, or anything of the sort as evil. There's no honor in it. There's no honor in killing, murder, death, and something so tortuous. In a way, the result is the same but the "means" are different. Not so much means but how one views battles. While Saber's is skewed by viewing it as honorable as long as one remains chivalrous and respectable, Kiritsugu believes that the end reveals how horrid such a thing is. Great dialogue, one that deserves more praise than I can put into words.
Lastly, Kayneth's characterization. Throughout the entire series we don't get a big development of him. Rather, we see bits and pieces of his cruel, arrogant, and prideful personality. This was a disappointing part for me in the series since I want characters in the show to be developed to a certain extent. However, this last bit showed a different side of Kayneth that I didn't expect. He was torn on winning the Grail or caring for Sola. Despite being screwed over by her, he still wanted to save her and his own life by withdrawing. He understood that the Grail isn't worth it anymore. It's a sign of humility in a way because he understands that he no longer has a place in this war anymore. It was quite a sight to see.
I'm pretty sure there's more but this is it for my thoughts.... for now.
