Quick Summary • Best Moment • Setup • Delivery • Other Posts
SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 7 – Quick Summary
In SPY x FAMILY Season 2 episode 7, “Who Is This Mission For?,” Yor faced off against a deadly assassin – in full view of the other ocean liner passengers! Even if she could protect Olka Gretcher and her baby, the display will likely convince the captain to turn around – ensuring the mission failed. And worst of all – Anya was among the spectators! How will Yor get the situation under control? Or can she? And how much longer will Loid need to try on vacation clothes?
Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.
Favorite Quote from SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 7
Anya came to a new understanding of parental authority in this episode. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Anya thought fast on her feet in this episode, didn’t she? That’s nothing unusual. The kid’s whip-smart (in some aspects, anyway!). In this episode, she demonstrated her quick thinking by pretending that Yor’s battle against Sickle-and-Chain Barnaby was a circus act. That gave Yor time to regroup and come up with a strategy.
As she thought, she continuously dodged Barnaby’s attacks. The guy was good – he kept Yor from getting into close-quarters combat range. But he wasn’t good enough to actually strike her. Then he stopped, realizing he had blown his cover. Yor still seemed uncertain how to proceed. That’s when he considered simply killing Yor and everyone else around her.
Did Yor sense that the target of his blood-lust now included Anya? Or did she just use the time to come up with a plan? Whatever the reason, Yor switched to a hitherto unknown level of performance. Moving at a speed that was Yor-specific, she pinned his chain to the floor using one of her weapons. Then she spun behind him, wrapped him in his own chain, and used something that looked to me like kyusho-jitsu (though I’m admittedly a little shaky on that).
She knocked Barnaby unconscious so fast he remained upright.
The crowd cheered, but Anya stood still.
“Mama is terrifying,” Anya thought (04:28). “I think I’ll start listening to her a little more from now on.”
See? Isn’t Anya smart? I think she’s smart.
Favorite Moment from SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 7
Loid decided he would face whatever came – even Anya’s expressions! Interesting framing, too. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Setup: Yor’s Existential Crisis
I was so tempted to pick Yor’s 3:42AM introspection as my favorite moment. It had everything I looked for in a bleak, dead-of-night moment of reflection. She’s at the top of her game. Yor knows how to handle herself in any assassination-based situation. And yet, there she sat, missing her fake family of Loid and Anya, wondering what she was fighting for.
I love those moments. They show what’s really important to a character – even if the character isn’t sure how to articulate it yet. Yor clearly longs for a family. She loves what she has with Loid and Anya, though it’s strange to her and she doesn’t quite know her place. Yet, it’s beginning to interfere with her profession. I’m really looking forward to how she works though that.
But I’m choosing another moment as my favorite. It’s similar to Yor’s reflection. Given how much I’ve looked forward to a Yor-centric arc, even I’m surprised at my selection. But when it comes down to it, I think there are two reasons for my decision. I’ll get to them after I describe the moment.
Yor tried to decide what was important to her. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
Anya was still fast asleep in their cabin when Loid went onto the deck. Leaning against the rail, he stared into the sunrise across the ocean (which was a beautifully animated scene, by the way!). The previous day had been hard on him. No matter what he did, Anya wasn’t happy. We knew it was because Anya wanted to help Yor. But Loid didn’t know that. All he knew was that even after a fun-filled day, Anya looked angry at dinner.
Anya saying it was because she missed Yor might have helped. But Loid still felt like a complete failure as a father. Which stabbed deep into his self concept, which was the utterly competent, highly adaptable top spy in Westalis.
Delivery: Loid, Not to Be Outdone…
Thinking back on Anya’s words and withering expressions, he concluded (15:04), “There are still many unknown things in this world.” He feared that he had become over-confident. Now, we know that raising children is hard. We suspect that raising Anya is even harder. But Loid didn’t shrink from the facts as he saw them.
I loved his recognition that many people ignore what they don’t understand, or things beyond their control that could harm them. Or – even worse – how some people will label a danger and pretend that label gives them some control.
This episode had some beautiful shots. Capture from the Crunchyroll stream.
As if he were rebuilding his character in real-time, Loid thought (15:33), “I’m… I’m a secret agent. I do not fear the unknown.”
Pretty cool, right? Ah, but it’s not half as cool as my favorite moment, which is when Loid thought (15:41), “No… I fear it as I should, and then deal with it.”
That’s adulthood in all its glory. That’s how an honest adult should live. It’s my favorite moment because of what it says about Loid: he understands who he is, he understands the world he lives in, and he understands that there are parts he doesn’t understand. And he’s still determined to deal with it.
The second reason is that this is the very philosophy I’ve tried to live my whole adult life. I want to understand the world, as it is, without filter and without agenda. Then I want to evaluate how to deal with it. Because I don’t know much, but I know this: I can’t cause real change unless I know the real problem. And I don’t want to die realizing that, “Oh, if only…” It’s a small thing. But it’s important to me.
What did you think of Anya having so much fun that she lost track of her mission? What were your favorite moments in the episode? Feel free to share in the comments!
SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 7: Other Posts
Other Anime Sites
- Reddit: Spy x Family Season 2 – Episode 7 discussion
- I Drink and Watch Anime: Spy x Family episode 32 – Seafaring Family
- RABUJOI: Spy x Family – 32 – Bread and Circuses
This Site (Crow’s World of Anime!)
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 1: FOLLOW MAMA AND PAPA
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 2: BOND’S STRATEGY TO STAY ALIVE / DAMIAN’S FIELD RESEARCH TRIP
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 3: MISSION AND FAMILY / THE ELEGANT BONDMAN / THE HEART OF A CHILD / WAKING UP
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 4: The Pastry of Knowledge / The Informant’s Great Romance Plan II
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 5: Plan to Cross the Border
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 6: The Fearsome Luxury Cruise Ship
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 7: Who Is This Mission For?
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 8: The Symphony Upon the Ship
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 9: The Hand That Connects to the Future
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 10: Enjoy the Resort to the Fullest / Bragging About Vacation
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 11: Berlint in Love / Nightfall’s Daily Life
- SPY x FAMILY Season 2 Episode 12: Part of the Family
15:41 is the true definition of courage.
Absolutely!
This was really a fun episode! I loved the part where Anya plotted to distract Loid with activities and then sneak away to help Yor, only to totally forget her own plan and end up having fun the whole day. It’s such a little kid thing to do. Super cute!
Anya’s portrayal as a real kid is one of the things I like about this show. She’s a little older than my grandson at this time, so thinking of how he might react to similar situations is a lot of fun.
It’s funny, I loved Loid’s sunrise scene too, and it was gorgeous, but I read it as being largely comedic in nature, since the ultimate “unknown” of which is speaks is not espionage or assassination, but childrearing, and knowing what makes your child tick. Like he was being overdramatic and entirely overanalytical.
Compare that to how quickly Anya assesses what Yor needs (the circus cover) and also how quickly she assesses that Loid needs to be told she’s having fun.
Ultimately, I think Yor and Loid do themselves no favors by keeping their true identities secret from each other. If they *have* to be in this business one way or another, I feel like the current vulnerability and longing each of them feel would be at least somewhat mitigated by the fact they know who each other are and even work alongside each other.
None of the remaining assassins would have a chance if Loid and Yor were working in concert. I understand Anya’s own fear about Loid learning about Yor leading to the end of the family, but I feel the ED of them in their Twilight and Thorn Princess garb (before turning back to their “home clothes” in Anya’s drawing) is a image that I hope is prescient rather than aspirational.
Loid, Yor, and Anya, all knowing who and what they are, and being all the closer for it. The tension of all the secrecy is the thing keeping them from being a *real* real family.
I suspect the sunrise moment was partly comedic, too — and I think that’s one of the show’s strengths. It can convey thematic goodness through humor.
I also suspect you’re right about the effects of them hiding their identifies from each other. Putting aside the relationships of their respective organizations, Yor and Loid are in a great position to understand the other. The energy of maintaining the facade is taking a greater and greater toll. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it resolves.
Just thinking about Yor and Loid fighting side by side made me remember when he proposed to her — and how well they fought together, if even accidentally. That could be epic, as long as their handlers didn’t take issue with it. Which they probably would, at this stage.
I hope the show allows them to become a real family, though I also hope it’s not in an easy/trivial way.