Thank God for Mark; he has a good head on his shoulders, and he and his wife were able to get everyone to actually use their brains. Of course, him not blindly following Alicia is what I like too. Alicia's answer is what he wanted to hear. Talking about her wanting to expand her horizons. Also liked how he is perceptive that Luna would be their future king. Of course, Meynard was perceptive enough to jump in.
With the topic of heroes, Meynard never received the help of a hero. It can be understandable why his views on them are what they are because they were never coming to help him. I guess for him Drel is closer to a hero than any of the proclaimed heroes.
It's interesting to note that the spider's poison has an effect on Dark Ichor. Of course it is more temporary since it seems Meynard overstates how effective that poison is. Delaying her healing abilities definitely did put Alicia in a tough spot. Honestly, Klen waiting so long to give Alicia the Regalia sword honestly speaks more to the lack of awareness that he keeps having in these situations. But, man, the strength of the Regalia was really put on display.
One thing that the end of this episode made clear is that Drel is a bigger threat simply because he has the backing of one of the Lord of Dark Beasts. The seal placed on Clevatess is more serious because of that. Though it makes me wonder why Drel has the support of one of them.