SPY x FAMILY Episode 9 Review – Best In Show

Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts

SPY x FAMILY Episode 9 Review – Quick Summary

In SPY x FAMILY Episode 9, “SHOW OFF HOW IN LOVE YOU ARE,” Yuri Briar asked Loid and Yor to kiss to prove they were married. Loid was ready to go, since his experience and training prepared him for such an emergency. Yor, though, could not face such a situation sober. So she inhaled some wine and suddenly found her courage. But is Yor we’re talking about. Did she actually kiss Loid – or wreck the neighborhood? And how will Yuri respond to either event?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from SPY x FAMILY Episode 9

Anya’s reaction was understandable, given the seismic tremor she felt! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I’m going to pick an Anya quote, because my favorite moment’s all about Yor, and I don’t want this review to be one-sided!

Although, even Anya’s quote is based on Yor. Drunk Yor tried to kiss Loid to prove the two were married. But even drunk, her maiden mode kicked in, and she tried to slap Loid. Loid’s a seasoned spy, so dodging the slap wasn’t hard. Yuri, however, was already in flight (as in, he threw himself at them to stop the the kiss, because, well, he’s Yuri), and Yor slapped him. Hard. He not only flew through the air. He spun as he went. And he hit so hard that the house rocked.

Anya sat up in bed. Bleary eyed – very, very bleary eyed! – she looked around and said (04:04), “Izzit the end of the world?” Then she crashed back onto the mattress, grabbed her stuffed animal, and went back to sleep.

It wasn’t the end of the world. Not for Anya, anyway. For Yuri, though, well, let’s just say he had a difficult night.

Best in Show Moment for SPY x FAMILY Episode 9

Yor is serious about protecting her family. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Setup: Yor, the Good-Hearted Assassin

I hope you don’t mind me gushing for a moment, but damn, I adore Yor. She’s powerful without being arrogant. She’s principled without being cruel. Yes, I know she’s an assassin. But despite that, we’ve seen she doesn’t rejoice in death. She’s doing what she thinks she needs to, because she needs to, when she needs to. 

And boy, is she serious about protecting her family – whatever she perceives that to mean. She proved it in my favorite moment.

This episode’s opening was everything I’d hoped it would be. It was true to the characters; its humor derived from the characters themselves; and it was excessive in the way I’ve come to expect SPY x FAMILY to be excessive. And then it got real.

Loid almost seemed sincere when he thanked Yuri for protecting Yor until now. Maybe he was! Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

I’m going to switch to writer mode for a moment, because that’s how I saw the scenes leading up to my favorite moment. When you establish characters and write their scenes, sometimes, the characters take over, and you feel more like you’re chronicling what they’re doing instead of actively writing the scene. I imagine, but can’t of course prove, that SPY x FAMILY’s writer had that feeling when he wrote the scenes where Loid doubted Yor.

Loid didn’t want to doubt Yor. I didn’t want Loid to doubt Yor! But he had to, being Loid. He could not not doubt her and remain true to his character. So it had to happen. What elevates this episode is how Loid felt about it, because he, a dispassionate spy, felt terrible even as he knew it had to be done.

Delivery: Yor’s Clarity of Speech

Donning a Secret Police disguise and enlisting Franky’s help was logical. The need to prove that Yor was not working with Yuri in his role as an actual member of the Secret Police was likewise logical. But I felt Loid’s pain in forcing the confrontation. 

Dropping out of writer mode and switching back to viewer mode, I felt for Yor’s predicament. She’s living in a dark world. She’s doing her best. Her love for her new family is real; and certainly, her love for Yuri is real. These two disguised men threatened those bonds. Did your hear the emotion in her voice as she protested her innocence?

They threatened to take her family into custody. When she still didn’t seem to cooperate, Franky moved forward to take her into custody. 

Franky, just moments before Yor nearly removed his arm. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.

Yor’s switch to combat mode happened in about .1 seconds. She damn near ripped Franky’s arm off. The pleading and scared young woman disappeared. As she held Franky on the ground, she looked at the character Loid pretended to be. And she spoke from a place of profound conviction.

“My younger brother and husband are both kind and upstanding members of society,” she said (18:16). “If you ever unjustly harm either of them, I frankly do not care if I’m dealing with you two. I will show no mercy.”

I mean, seriously, how could I not choose that moment as my favorite? In that moment, she brought everything she was into a single stance: loving mother, tentative wife, gentle sister, and ultra-violent Thorn Princess, encapsulated in three sentences. 

That’s peak Yor, that is!

What did you think of Anya almost exposing her mind-reading abilities to Loid and Yor? What were your favorite moments in this episode? Let me know in the comments!

SPY x FAMILY Episode 9: Other Posts

Other Anime Sites

• Reddit: Spy x Family – Episode 9 discussion
• Anime Evo: Spy x Family – 09
• I Drink and Watch Anime: Spy x Family episode 9 – Briar Family Issues
• RABUJOI: Spy x Family – 09 – Best Selves

This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)

• SPY x FAMILY Episode 1: OPERATION STRIX
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 2: SECURE A WIFE
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 3: PREPARE FOR THE INTERVIEW
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 4: THE PRESTIGIOUS SCHOOL’S INTERVIEW
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 5: WILL THEY PASS OR FAIL?
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 6: THE FRIENDSHIP SCHEME
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 7: THE TARGET’S SECOND SON
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 8: THE COUNTER-SECRET POLICE COVER OPERATION
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 9: SHOW OFF HOW IN LOVE YOU ARE
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 10: THE GREAT DODGEBALL PLAN
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 11: STELLA
• SPY x FAMILY Episode 12: PENGUIN PARK