Spy x Family Episode 40 Review – Best Episode?!

Episode 40 was probably the darkest episode thus far in Spy x Family. It showed the painful memories of Twilight as he lost his parents and became a hateful soldier. But this was also arguably the best and most important episode thus far. It highlighted the central themes of the show in a beautiful and insightful way. It showed that what matters to Twilight now is creating a better world for the next generation, so they can enjoy a childhood without war. It also cautioned against the evil of ignorance.

I wish I could do a full breakdown of everything on my mind after watching this episode. It was a profound and beautiful installment. There are several interesting points of discussion to flush out. But I simply don’t have the emotional energy for it. I’m doing my best to stay afloat in terms of both physical and mental health, and writing tends to help, but it’s not easy lately. Anyway, all I could muster up this time were the following notes on Spy x Family episode 40.

Note: Episode 40 is equal to Season 3 Episode 3.

Episode 40: ■■■■’s Memories II

Episode Rating: 10/10

The episode picked up with young Loid (whose real name remains unknown) waking up after being struck in the head with a brick. Luckily, his helmet protected him from a more serious injury, but the city around was in a disastrous state. The old lady who had just been selling croquets was now dead under a pile of rubble. Loid’s mother came to get him and they fled to another city and stayed with some relatives. Loid’s father never came back. He probably died in the bombing.

Just when Loid was starting to get used to his new life, disaster struck again and the city was bombed. This time, Loid’s mother was one of the victims. From then on, Loid lived on the streets until he was old enough to pass for an eighteen-year-old. He lied about his real age, took the fake name of Lorand Spoofy, and joined the army of Westalis. For several years, he fought in the war against Ostania.

Interestingly, Loid first met Franky during his time as a young soldier. Franky was an Ostanian soldier who deserted. He begged for his life and was so humorously pathetic that Loid let him live and gave him a cigarette. But then Franky started talking about how the war and hatred were just ways for the oligarchs and higher-ups to control the common people. He pointed out that Ostanians were told that they were attacked by Westalis first. People on both sides were ignorant of the truth.

Loid wasn’t happy to hear this kind of talk, still believing that Ostanians were evil and the sole reason for the war. He raised his gun to shoot Franky, but Ostanians suddenly attacked. Franky and Loid parted ways, each escaping in different directions in the dark forest. Since he sustained some wounds, Loid got a break from the front lines. He was shocked when one day, three familiar soldiers approached him and called him by his childhood nickname. They were Loid’s three friends who used to play with him in the warehouse. It turned out that they survived the bombing.

Loid/Lorand was thrilled to see his old friends again, but unfortunately, they were just being sent out on a mission called the Roberts Campaign. This was a deadly mission that took the lives of many soldiers. The only things left that came back from Loid’s friends were their dogtags. Loid’s hate for Ostania continued. But he also began to wonder about things and wish he could make real changes. It’s at this point in the episode when Loid states, “Ignorance is such a weakness. It’s also such an evil.”

This is probably my favorite line in Spy x Family. In the idiocracy of the US, and in other places where fascism is gaining a leg up, it’s more important than ever for people to educate themselves and practice critical thinking. If you don’t, people will try to control you with false information and turn your hatred toward those who don’t deserve it. Staying willfully ignorant of important issues is also one of the most disgusting things in the world, in my opinion. Sorry for my US-centric perspective, but it’s where I live, and its democracy hasn’t been this much in danger since the Civil War.

(Side note: Crunchyroll’s translation said “Ignorance is such a weakness – it’s also such a sin.” However, looking at the Japanese, the word used is aku meaning “evil” rather than tsumi which would mean something closer to “sin.” I wanted to make this clear because 1) it’s more linguistically correct, and 2) it gets rid of the religious language. “Sin” implies belief in a deity, since it’s technically an infraction against a God or gods. “Evil” is much more comprehensive and makes sense to those like myself without a god belief.)

The rest of the Loid flashbacks showed him being scouted by a weird man in a trench coat and fedora. He was a spy and he recruited Loid as a new intelligence worker. The spy was voiced by Kenji Tsuda, who delivered the character in an extremely entertaining way. What a humorous yet insightful character. I hope we see him again at some point.

The episode ends with Loid waking up to his family and having a cute moment with Anya where she patted his head after sensing that he’d had a nightmare. There’s definitely more worth discussing, but like I explained in the intro, I have no motivation lately, so this is all for today. I just want to add that episode 40 is arguably the best episode of Spy x Family.