Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc episode 3 recap and review: Nightmares of bliss

Yesterday, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc released its third epsiode, “Should Have Been”, and it was a deep dive into something extraordinary—the dreams of our formidable demon slayers.

Compared to its predecessors, episode 3 stood apart in that it tugged vigorously on the heartstrings of all those who watched it as they were reminded of the mental plights that these slayers go through whilst trying to save the lives of everyone and themselves.

If this small snippet has made you want to learn everything there was to know about the third episode, then you’ve come to the right place because we’re here to recap and give a brief review on Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc episode 3 so that you’re all set for episode 4.

Check it out, down below!

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc episode 3 recap

Episode 3 kicked off with every passenger, including our Flame Hashira and his three pupils, fast asleep on the deadly Mugen Train. There, our demon slayers slumber away, tied to four mysterious children who seem to know much more about this sudden sleep than we initially thought they did.

While asleep, our demon slayers dream of various things either akin to their personality or their overall character.

Initially, we start with the dreams of Zenitsu Agatsuma and Inosuke Hashibira, who both have dreams that are relatively normal in comparison to the dreams of their other two fellow demon slayers. Zenitsu’s dream is full of amusement and joy as he imagines frolicking away to a river with his romantic interest, Nezuko Kamado. Inosuke’s dream, while a bit strange, is also one of happiness as he dreams of being the leader of a group of animals resembling his fellow comrades. However, the longer they dreamt of these delightful adventures, the deeper they fell into the sea of forgetfulness, inches away from a loss of life through slumber.

Next, we have the dreams of our Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro; dreams that are, conversely, not as cheerful as we know this powerful Hashira to be.

Kyojuro recollects the moment he told his father about his recent accomplishment of becoming a Hashira, a title that his father also once possessed long ago. Despite this being a huge success for the family, Kyrojuro’s father, Shinjuro, expressed his indifference towards his son’s journey, believing that everything Kyojuro is doing was in vain since he will never amount to anything. Even still, Kyojuro’s heart remained unmoved, beating loudest for his little brother, Senjuro, who he vowed to always be there for.

This heartwarming moment was soon interrupted by one of the kids on the Mugen Train who appeared in Kyojuro’s dream, making it evident that these kids have the ability to infiltrate the demon slayers’ dreams and destroy the very thing keeping them alive, their spirit.

Moments away from destroying this fiery spirit within the dream, the girl assigned to Kyojuro is suddenly stopped by Kyojuro (in real life) whose fighting spirit was able to sense that something was going terribly wrong. And, thankfully, he wasn’t the only one able to sense this.

Tanjiro Kamado, thanks to his little sister Nezuko, was also able to recognize that he was asleep despite his dreams of his loving family being one that he didn’t want to awaken from. Deep down, Tanjiro knew that these moments of bliss were too good to be true, but it didn’t make departing from his family any easier.

With eyes full of sorrowful tears, he knows that he must awaken to keep both himself and his comrades away from death, however, he didn’t know how to do this. Desperately looking for an answer, he is greeted by one more family member, his father, who advises him to pick up his sword and do what needs to be done—take his life.

The episode ends here leaving us with feelings of heartbreak and sympathy as we have to navigate the brokenness that lies behind the hopeful eyes of some of our favorite characters. This episode was 100% the best we’ve had thus far and we can only expect it to get even better after this. Hopefully, episode 4 will have a bit more backstory explaining why Shinjuro has disdain towards his son’s accomplishments, but we’ll have to tune in to find out.

Episode Grade: 9.5/10

Watch new episodes of Demon Slayer: Mugen Train airing Sundays on Funimation, Crunchyroll, and Hulu!