So we continue where we left off on the rudest cliffhanger. And they freaking did it again with the opening placement! …AND THEN AGAIN with the flashback! I’m not sure if anyone expected them to kiss, but they shut that down pretty dang hard after like three different instances of cockblocking for the viewer lol. Though I did cackle at the animation that went in to show Yor just chop the top off the wine bottle. Anyways, things go from awkward to chaotic real fast. Especially when Yuri just straight up wants to stop the kiss from happening… EVEN THOUGH HE’S THE ONE WHO WANTED THEM TO DO IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. But dang, they put way more animation into Yor coming to kiss Loid than they needed to lol. And of course everything ends up in violence as they always do with drunk Yor.
I can kinda understand the attachment Yuri has to Yor since they’re the only family they have left… but he definitely takes it a bit too far where it treads on VERY weird territory. Though I do admit that I can’t dock him for wanting to marry his sister as a kid because… I feel like that’s just normal for siblings to think that way since they have no comprehension between different kinds of love. It becomes a problem if they still think that way when they’re adults, which is why Yuri’s affections for Yor feels quite problematic. Though I do feel like Yuri does deserve some respect for not FULLY going into the incest route as he does support Yor in marrying someone else and finding happiness with that person. And literally the main reason why Yuri doesn’t accept Loid is because he was left completely in the dark about him and his relationship with Yor. Which is honestly fair. I too would be extremely reluctant to accept my sibling’s marriage to someone I had never met before. Despite Yuri’s unhealthy obsession with Yor, the two have an irreplaceable bond and care deeply for one another. Yuri is still weird though lol. Like bruh, those pictures in his locker was SUPER creepy. You cannot convince me his obsession with Yor isn’t weird.
After such a chaotic visit, we delve a little more into Loid’s character and his mindset in the second half of the episode. Due to finding out about Yuri being part of the Secret Police, Loid’s suspicions soon extend to Yor. Which is both sad and hilarious because on one hand, he feels like he can’t trust her due to her possibly being in collaboration with Yuri on finding Twilight but other than that, he doesn’t find anything else suspicious about her. And because he’s subconsciously distancing himself from her due to his suspicions, Yor’s self-esteem takes yet another hit on whether or not she’s doing a good job as his “wife.” Even Anya seemed distraught over this development and tried to defend Yor, only to pull back since she mostly didn’t want to reveal her and Yor’s secrets. And while Anya is a telepath, I feel like a lot of kids can kind of sense when there is something going on with their parents. So when put into a situation like this, I’m sure that the kids would feel incredibly anxious. Which is probably why Anya seemed a lot more quiet and nervous than usual about the whole thing.
The fact that Loid can’t trust others is really sad. I can’t blame him since it makes sense considering his profession. But it’s still sad how his suspicion puts distance between him and Yor, who interprets the distance to her doing something wrong. The two really need to exercise more communication, but considering their relationship was built on hiding their identities, it makes sense that there isn’t much communication going on. But man, it did feel kind of far for Loid to put a bug on Yor to see if she was hiding anything. Again, I understand given his circumstances, but it doesn’t make it any less wrong. But then he REALLY oversteps his boundaries by having him and Frankie pretend to be part of the Secret Police and try and scare Yor into revealing any ties to them.
However, I am glad that despite getting the proof he needs that Yor isn’t associated to the Secret Police, he does actually feel bad about putting her through all that. It’s almost as if there are two sides of him that are fighting with each other. On on hand, his spy side tells him he needs to be suspicious about everyone and can only rely on himself. However, on the other, the human side of him is wondering if he could put his trust in others. I’m also glad that he and Yor actually talked through her self-deprecation of being a “good wife.” Finally exercising some good communication and actually being a little bit vulnerable with each other. While Loid didn’t completely tell Yor about himself, he was still very much talking about himself while talking as if other people go through this. And it’s sad because it seems like all this time as being the master of disguise and having to don on several different identities, Loid probably has lost sight of his “true self.” We know Twilight, the greatest spy but we don’t know the true person behind the alias. And as he said, putting on act all the time can be tiring, which is probably why the person underneath Twilight peaks out at times while interacting with his forged family.
The moment he had with Yor at the end of the episode was probably the most genuine he’s been with her without any lies or manipulations. In a way, I think Loid views Yor as a breath of fresh air since she’s just doing her best without any ulterior motives (as far as he knows at least). The best symbolism had to be Loid pushing aside his spy instincts and choosing to put his trust in Yor by him crushing the listening device and throwing it away. At this point I think Loid is officially starting to develop feelings or at least becoming more aware of Yor as a woman rather than just a “part” of his plan. And this moment made me realize that it was probably best that they hadn’t kissed yet since I think it would be a lot more meaningful if they have their first kiss once they develop genuine feelings for the other. I’m definitely loving their development and seeing them grow closer to each other. One day we will have that kiss and it will be wonderful hopefully.
But I think the most telling moment that the three are finally starting to grow closer and be on the same wavelength was how all of their cups were arranged. While the handles are facing in different directions as they all still have their own set of motives for being part of this fake family, they’re all starting to truly bond with one another and it’s honestly really heartwarming.
Compared to last episode, this felt a lot better paced. Probably because they went back to covering two chapters into one episode. I also really enjoy seeing the characters develop and seeing how they’re growing closer to each other. It’s also interesting how we get to see a lot of how Loid processes things and how being part of this family is changing him, yet we still don’t really know much about him personally. It feels like we are slowly peeling back a layer of his to eventually see the real him. There’s also a little bit of a hint on Loid’s backstory with how he seemed to envy how close Yor and Yuri were as a family. And with that brief flashback of him as a kid crying in a destroyed city all alone in episode 1, we can already assume that he lost his family in a tragic incident. Leaving him completely alone without any familial bonds. Looks like next week will be focusing on more school shenanigans, which means more Anya and that ensures it’ll be a fun time.
