| pokoko said: And I still want to know why people forgot Rem. |
The White Whale is Gluttony, or at least an agent of Gluttony. It's said as almost little more than a passing comment around the beginning of episode 18, but as Gluttony (or an agent of), when the White Whale consumes, it consumes all. Flesh, muscle, bone, even existence. That said, facing the White Whale and losing does not necessarily mean being consumed. It very well could have been that the fog dispersed before the Master Swordsman and the entire punitive force could be completely consumed. From my brief reading, the Master Swordsman vs the White Whale is actually a decently important plot point, so in time, it's sure to be revealed in full. After all, it seems every important character who is masterful with a sword has some important role to play in the Re: Zero story.
That said, anybody expecting Subaru to do a permanent 180 into a permanently smart, capable, and not at all emotionally fragile protagonist, is probably expecting a little too much. That would be piss poor character development if your protagonist just did a permanent 180 shift and abandoned all factors that had led them to that revelation to begin with. Like when facing the Bowel Hunter, Subaru's confidence and certainty comes in spurts after many mistakes. Those mistakes may become fewer, but Subaru is ultimately still going to be Subaru.
