Spy x Family is back with a third season! Though I enjoyed this installment, it seemed a bit weak for a season opening. At least, that’s what I thought about the first half. The second half – with Fiona and Franky – was a bit more interesting. Let’s review.
Note: Episode 38 is equal to Season 3 Episode 1
Episode 38: Berlint Panic |
The Informant and Nightfall
Episode Rating: 7/10
While on an outing to the park, Anya ran ahead with Bond, eager to go toward the colorful balloons. But Bond suddenly halted and experienced a vision of the future. Someone rushed into the area driving a construction vehicle with a huge claw at the front. The machine started uprooting trees and throwing them around, causing panic in the park and potentially harming people. A moment after Bond saw this scary vision, Anya overheard the thoughts of an angry, bitter man staring at the park on his way to work. Anya knew she had to follow that man because he could be the driver.
By telling her parents that she wanted to go home and study, Anya convinced them to start moving in the direction of the angry man. Before long, the Forgers saw a construction site. The angry man from earlier was working there, operating the clawed vehicle. After a bird pooped on his face, the already furious man completely lost it. He started rampaging. Luckily, Yor was there to rescue a nearby pedestrian, while Loid jumped into a second construction vehicle to battle the crazed worker.
After a short power struggle, Loid won the battle between the machines. (It was cute when Anya called it “Papa’s Tank Battle!”) Thanks to the Forger family, crisis was averted. Later, at home, Anya suffered through a study session with her father. To make things worse, Yor said she would be cooking dinner. I’m really tired of the “woman who can’t cook” gag, so this extra punchline wasn’t funny. they need some new character gags for Yor and less repeating of the same (bad) joke in the third season.
That was the first of two mini-episodes in this installment. The second mini-episode focused on Fiona Frost (AKA Nightfall) and the mission that led her to work alongside Franky for a chaotic adventure. I don’t particularly like Franky as a character, and I actually dislike Fiona most of the time. However, surprisingly, this mini-episode was quite enjoyable. The action was fun, the voice-acting was great, and I think I appreciate both characters a little more now. I’m also interested in potentially shipping them.
It started when Fiona was sent to acquire a forgery of a signature needed to prevent political chaos. When Fiona asked Twilight, he recommended a local informant who might be able to help. It turned out to be Franky. He and Fiona did not get along well due to him being a little creepy and her having no patience. Nevertheless, they set out together to find Franky’s friend, a man who could forge the signature.
They put on disguises and found the man they needed at an “underground” party. At first, he refused to help Fiona. However, after she saved him from secret police forces, the old man changed his mind. During their escape from the enemies, Franky risked his life to push Fiona out of the way of a bullet. It turned out she didn’t need him, but it’s nice to know he looks out for those around him. Franky then led the old man and Fiona back to safety via an unused subway tunnel. Despite the fact that she threatened to kill him at least once, Fiona told Franky she would be back to work with him in the future.
Quick tangent. It has occured to me before that Spy x Family could potentially have a innaccurate or problematic take on Cold War history if indeed it’s supposed to echo the one in reality. Ostania is loosely based on East Germany and Westalis is loosely based on West Germany. History tells us that East Germany was an authoritarian communist state with severely limited freedoms for citizens. In Spy x Family, it seems more like both sides are equally full of issues. (That being said, I think it’s only Ostania that has an authoritarian secret police force, which is pretty bad.)
In this installment, Franky said he wasn’t on either side, but that he disliked the current policies of the East. This seems to be what the anime wants us to lean toward. To be honest, I don’t know if that’s problematic because I have learned so little history of Germany and the Cold War. Clearly, before I start saying Spy x Family has a problem, I need to do more research. If you have any thoughts, information, or good sources on the politics or history in Spy x Family, please share in the comments. That’s all for my thoughts on this episode. Sayonara until next time~
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 
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