Free! Episode 7

“Today, I become free.”


Impression:
WELL THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY.
Shit hit the fan today, and holy macro, it was intense. First of all, I was not expecting the feels bomb that Rin dropped. It absolutely broke my heart to hear that his father who had once dreamed of becoming a Olympic Swimmer but put that dream aside after he had gotten married had Rin and became a fisherman – who turned out to be one of the many victims of the same tragedy that Makoto had lost a dear friend in. I felt that Rin’s side of the tragedy was delivered better than Makoto’s, which was definitely the first highlight of the episode. The second was the tensions before and then after the race when Rin had defeated Haru (and boy, did he have quite a lead at one point), and is the only one who is able to move forward both figuratively and literally as Haru was not able to proceed to the next round. The saddest part was when Rin dropped the bomb on Haru, declaring that because he won- he will never swim with him again. I gasped when he said it because oh shit. Haru was counting on this race, hoping so much to be free again, but now- since Rin refuses to swim with him ever again, that strips away every chance he has to gain his freedom.
Some people may be scratching their heads about why Rin said that, but I think he was referring to the competitions as such Rin’s strength is the supposedly the Butterfly rather than Freestyle and so it’s better for him and his team to enter the tournaments that is his strength. But at the same time, as dreadful as it is- saying that he won’t swim with Haru basically means their friendship is over which is hard to believe because Rin is so tsundere and is so lurvvvvv with Haru.
I can understand why Rin gets so worked up and is desperate to defeat Haru. He who intends to become an Olympic Athlete not just because it’s his dream, but it was also his father’s dream that he wishes to succeed. And to see someone like Haru, who is an exceptionally talented swimmer not care about competitions or acknowledge just how good they are nor are even dreaming to go to the Olympics is like a slap in the face for those like Rin who have to work for it. Now that Rin had finally defeated Haru, it will be interesting to see whether that was enough to help him move forward, and how it will impact his attitude towards swimming.
Now, was I the only one who found Nitori to be extremely annoying? OH MY GOD I CAN’T STAND THIS GUY. SHUT THE FUCK UP, ENOUGH WHINING ALREADY. He was jealous/upset how Rin was choosing Freestyle instead of the Butterfly and shit, but I am also convinced he is jealous that Rin is doing this just compete with Haru. This kid got “I hope Senpai will notice me” stamped on his forehead. I really can’t stand characters like him, they drive me up a wall.
And last but not least, it was so cute how Rei revealed he would like to participate in a relay after having watched the Olympic footage of it and become inspired by it! <3

Oh and can we appreciate this shot? This is my favourite cap this week!