This second season will introduce new characters and give viewers a new series of shocking moments. Subaru, Emilia, Rem and the others will have their hands full of new challenges in this new season, so it is important to catch up on everything that happened in the first season.
The return of death
The defining aspect of Re: Zero from other isekais is that the protagonist, Subaru Natsuki, has the ability to "restart" his life every time he dies from a randomly fixed time point. This removes anything he has done in time between that point and his death, and is part of a curse by Satella that he uses to his advantage to save the lives of his loved ones. Although it is indeed an extraordinary power, the experience of dying so many times hurts Subaru mentally.
There are three penalties if Subaru tries to reveal his ability to another person. First, the witch's hands will try to silence her, causing immense pain in her chest. Second, anyone who hears their secret will die. For example, in episode # 17, Subaru tries to tell Emilia the truth about her power, only to find out that she died in the process. Finally, revealing this will also attract nearby demonic beasts to assassinate him. This happened multiple times during the first season, and it not only put Subaru in danger but other characters as well.
The Royal Selection
At the end of the first season, the Kingdom of Lugnica was in the middle of a process known as the Royal Selection, to choose a new ruler. There are five candidates to become the new queen: Emilia, Crusch Karsten, Priscilla Barielle, Anastasia Hoshin, and Felt. Karsten, Barielle and Hoshin have power and wealth on their part, putting them at an advantage against the others despite their conceited attitudes.
Felt is mentioned to possess "royalty blood," but this has not been confirmed. On the part of Emilia, while she is "sponsored" by Lord Roswaal L. Mathers, she still has to face the stigma of being hated by the people due to being a half-elf and her resemblance to the witch Satella, the Witch of the Envy. Emilia hopes to rebuild relationships between humans and demi-humans by becoming the queen.
The Witch of Envy
As mentioned above, the Witch of Envy is an infamous entity among the citizens of the Kingdom of Lugnica. This is because she murdered the other six Witches of Sin (this is what is known until the anime) in conjunction with half the world. This caused great damage to the kingdom (which is still felt even after several years), making the mere mention of the witch's name in public considered a crime. Satella was a half-elf, and this fact caused a rupture between relations between humans and semi-humans. This is what Emilia is trying to fix, but it is a titanic task.
The Witch of Envy has also shown a certain attachment to Subaru. She was the one who summoned her to this new world in the first place. Her attachment has also been demonstrated through the power she gave him and until now (in the anime) it is unclear if she has any feelings for him.
The Witch's Cult
The Witch of Envy also has a cult of loyal followers. They are known simply as the "Witch Cult," and it has been around for over 400 years since witches were active. Not much is known about the cult, but the knights of the kingdom are instructed to finish them off immediately if they find any members. The group also follows their "Gospel" to the letter, which shows their followers how to achieve their ideal future. It was also revealed that only the owner of the book is able to read it.
This group is mostly created by followers of the Archbishops of Sin. Each Archbishop represents one of the deadly sins and the Petelgeuse Romanee-Conti leader featured in the first season was the Archbishop of Laziness. Petelgeuse was defeated multiple times in the first season, but he possesses the ability to possess different bodies through his spirit, which is why it took so many "timelines" to kill him. And even though he's dead now, it doesn't seem like the cult's activities have stopped.
