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Spy x Family episode 25 – Dad

Irina

It’s a good thing we already got the announcement of a second season and a movie. I would have opened this post with a mild rant about how they can’t just leave us in this spot. I mean this is the most significant progress we’ve seen for Operation Strix but it’s only the very tip of the beginning.

We need to know if what Loid managed to do today actually materializes into a future opportunity. Also, Damian now has a reason to think that Anya might like him. And Damian is more than happy to think that so that’s bound to cause some misunderstandings in the future. Right? We need to know that too! At least, I do!

I like when Spy x Family goes into mission impossible mode. You know, when we get detailed maps of the settings and/or areal views, and the narrator calmly lays out all the stakes for us. It’s such an OG episode structure, like all those crime miniseries in the 60s. And it works so well with this show.

I haven’t talked about it much but Spy x Family is a period piece, right? I haven’t exactly pinned down the year the action is taking place and since it’s in a fictional place it could very well be in a fictional time as well (if you know what I mean). They do mention that they are in the middle of a long and contentious cold war that Twilight and the others are trying desperately to stop from turning into an actual war. And we do have one of those in our history. It took place between 1947 and 1991. I’ve been putting Spy x Family vaguely in that era as well. It’s a long span of time mind you. Maybe the ’60s? Yor does wear pants at times and short skirts. Boys and girls study all the same classes. I figure it’s not earlier than that.

I could actually go on about the era for a while. Once I started thinking about it, it was a surprisingly fun exercise. Like when does psychiatry become recognized enough to be available at a general hospital? What era does Yuri’s uniform belong to? When are the cars from? All of that!

And then they have that scene with the scholars and I just think oh, it’s Harry Potter. I must say, I never realized before this moment how bitter I am that not a single one of my school uniforms included a cape. What’s the point of being stuck with a uniform if you don’t even get a cap?

The theme of the episode starts to get established in this second sequence. We have Anya who says things like she’s not sure if her dad loves her but she believes in him because she’s sure she loves him. It’s a very Anya thing to say. And it’s difficult to not find it touching, especially if you happen to be the father in question.

And there’s of course the strained relationship between Damian and his dad. Throughout the entire season, we’ve had ample evidence that Damian does not come from a very caring home and that his family is not overly supportive or present like the Forgers are. Not just his dad at that. In fact, his almost neglectfully withdrawn father is the family member with who Damian seems to have the best relationship. We haven’t heard anything about his mom and his brother seems to be somewhere between completely disinterested in Damian and mildly belligerent toward him.

When you really think about it, Damian is a lot kinder than his upbringing would have justified him to be. I’m rooting for you little guy!

I love the first meeting between Twilight and Desmond. It’s simple but efficient. Twilight’s reason for being there is completely justified and impossible to disprove. The fact that Damian found the keychain himself, without prodding and before Loid even got there, makes it that much more natural feeling. Twilight was even able to use what could have been considered one of Anya’s biggest faux pas, the fact that she punched Damian in the face almost as soon as she met him, as an excuse to keep the conversation going. Twilight is really good at his job.

But it’s not enough just to be there, is it? He has to find a way to get into Desmond’s good graces. The father’s first name is Donovan. I know that. But for some reason, I don’t think the name suits him at all. So in my head, he’s just Desmond. Anyway, Desmond, is a very tough nut to crack. I wonder why they don’t switch their target. Surely there must be at least one other person who has all the information they need.

For the moment, Desmond is the only target of Operation Strix, and Twilight’s only in is the fact that their children are in the same class. Or to put it on a higher level, the only point of commonality he can freely exploit at this time is that they are both fathers. So that’s exactly what he does.

Now some of you may point out that Twilight is not technically a father. And you would be technically right. (The only type of right that counts) But on this blog, we consider adoptive parents to be parents. Loid Forger has paid his dues and does what he could to make a traumatized and abandoned girl feel like she has a family. That makes him a dad.

And apparently, he knows exactly what that means.

I remember really liking this part when I first read it in the manga. But I didn’t know why. It’s not that big a deal. Loid is simply giving one of his speeches. He does that all the time. Sure there’s a tension that comes from the fact that he and Desmond are finally face to face. It’s what the story has been building to. But at the same time, we don’t know Desmond at all so there’s no attachment to that character. He did surprise me a bit. He’s more detached and coldly relaxed than I thought he would be. Still, that doesn’t justify how much I got into this scene.

But now that I’ve seen it again, I think it might have been seeing Loid tacitly embrace his role as a dad. I’m a sucker for stuff like that.

I mentioned it before, but I think Damian is not such a bad kid. He just desperately wants to be loved. First and foremost he wants his father’s love and he’s probably been chasing after it his entire life. He’s in a spot where it almost feels like his betraying something if he lets go of that. But he also wants his peers to love him. Not just want to use him as a connection to his father. And slowly, he’s getting used to the idea that he might want Anya’s love as well. For reasons… Cute, init?

Spy x Family feels very much in the air at this point. It’s not a good place to stop. I felt a lot more resolution at the end of the first cour. I think the solution would be to start season 2 in spring of 2023. ‘Cause I don’t want them to rush and do a bad job!

Some of you might know that I am a manga reader when it comes to Spy x Family. Well, in my opinion, the best is yet to come for the anime. Maybe for the manga as well, it’s far from over. But the last few volumes have been in my opinion the most exciting in the series and I’m really looking forward to seeing them get animated. And when I do, I will share the experience with you guys!

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