Spy x Family Season 3 Episode 3 Discussion

Man, there was some serious and mature shit in this episode, again something I wouldn't expect from a manga serialized on the Shonen Jump. Now we know how *********, or twilight from that moment on was recruited to the position he has now, ah yeah and how he meet franky (which I kind want to know how did he got in intel too).

Anybody else feel like they did not at all give enough time to this arc? Only one and a half episodes? Really? This is such good, healthy, actually meaningful material for Spy Family, and it’s already over? There is so much that got speed-runned over!

I thought the episode was going so strong until the meeting with Loid’s old friends. They literally reveal that they are still alive only to kill them off AGAIN literally two minutes later. This plot decision is fine on paper, and it does a good job of signaling a shift for Loid as a character, but why did Endo decide not to actually show the campaign? In order for us to feel Loid’s disillusionment and grief from the war we need TIME. A soldier doesn’t decide to throw away the apparent cause of a war overnight. There are whole movies that are just about this kind of awakening (All Quiet On the Western Front is one example). Hate is not unraveled that quickly! It’s a process! A journey! A transformation!

This critique also extends to the end in which Loid wakes up in his apartment. Again, on paper this is exactly the right ending. Using this war arc to recontexualize why Loid is doing what he is doing is brilliant, but it has come way, way too soon. The fact that we don’t even get any information about his first efforts as a spy is unbelievable to me. And that whole seen in which Loid commits to being a spy and sees children passing by him at the end was so weak to me. It’s not a bad scene on its own, but to transition out of hate and then all the way into this renewed sense of purpose does not happen this quickly.

Ultimately, I really don’t understand why the story isn’t being told to its fullest extent. What do we have to lose here? Is it because Endo is afraid too much of a war arc is too big a risk? This arc was finally pushing spy family into new, meaningful territory. After the Code White movie, a film that contributed literally nothing to the overall story, and a second season with only one major meaningful arc (the yacht arc with Yor) we needed something like this war arc. To throw this away this early is devastating for this season, and for the story overall. If Spy Family is to continue for multiple more seasons (which I assume is the plan) then real risks need to be taken. With this arc Endo has shown he is capable of taking real risks, but why won’t he commit to it? Why won’t he challenge the audience to reconsider what Spy Family is? And why won’t he dive deep enough into his characters? While I remain optimistic for Spy Family’s overall direction, I feel that they really messed this arc up. I hope that in the future Spy Family will reach a form that is truer to its overall potential.

“Take good care of your friends” 🥲 this episode hit right in the feels, seeing Loid’s backstory and knowing all he’s been thru and yet he’s still able to smile and be a great adoptive father to Anya is remarkable. This was hard to watch, but at the same time it made me proud of him and optimistic for what lies ahead.

Loid’s dad may have been cruel, but he was right about one thing. War isn’t a game. It’s horrible and not something to be idolized and Loid unfortunately learned that the hard way. Becoming an orphan, losing his hometown, losing his friends. Everything he held dear was stolen away from him so cruelly. The look on his face when that first bomb went off is haunting because in an instant, his entire worldview got turned upside down and the innocence he was able to live with before, was erased. As if that were not bad enough, he then loses his mom who was all he had left and had to be an orphan. No wonder he’d want to enlist early and lie about his age. Very real thing btw, my grandad did that to join the army after Pearl Harbor.

This episode made me appreciate Frankie even more, I didn’t think it’d be him of all people to help restore Loid’s humanity. I think this whole arc is a perfect example of how easy it is to do horrible things to other humans when you dehumanize them. Sadly we see that happening all around the world right now. Calling your political rivals “enemies of the people” or blaming marginalized(LGBT, immigrants etc) groups for your problems. It becomes easy to do cruel things to them when you don’t see them as human. History is a cycle.

The way Loid reverted back to a little kid when he found out his friends had survived.. and then that elation was quickly dashed when they got killed in the Roberts campaign.. just pain man. I imagine at that point, everything just starts feeling numb and you lose your motivation to live. The intelligence department found him at the perfect time really. They didn’t say it, but it’s obvious Loid’s doing all of this to prevent kids from going thru what he did and so seeing Anya happy is all the motivation he needs to keep going. That headpat she gave him at the end was sooo sweet too. Beautiful episode

I like how Westali's standard rifle is the FN FAL...

So Franky was an Ostanian soldier who deserted, that's actually cool, but I wonder how and why he still lives in Ostania now...

@MadanielFL What intrigued me more was that despite the idea that it was the Eastern soldiers who attacked, it was the Western uniforms that suspiciously resembled those of the Third Reich, while the Eastern uniforms could easily be called Soviet or American.

@Epiroogu It's actually complicated, so I wouldn't try to analyze it too deeply.

@MasterHavik This episode is literally about Twilight ignoring questions of patriotism, as they are used to create antagonism between the populations of two neighboring countries. He fights to save children from experiencing the same thing he did.

@Sheol01 Children have done this in every war, if we're talking about it. Some for personal reasons, others out of pure patriotism. Especially in the early days of conflicts, when many people were hyper-motivated and hadn't yet fully grasped what war was. All Quiet on the Western Front Remarque shows quite well how this works and how officials exploited it.

Mod Edit: Please don't start a political discussion here, this is a thread about this episode and nothing else.

@RobertBobert Nah man. He loves his country. He wouldn't use a fake name to enlist early if he didn't. He wouldn't be working a much dangerous job if he didn't. He can do two things at once my man. Like what he does to try and make sure another war doesn't break out is in the interest of his country. He loves his country and that's patriotism. Him saying what he said to the scout was him just trying to put on a show because the guy was legit and knew who he was really. So him saying, "Nah man I don't care about that stuff," is him just trying to be cool.

I don't know why the arc censored his name, but i guess it's for something important in the future... i guess, at least

@MasterHavik Again, you're confusing the context. He objectively loves his country, but his fight is built on protecting children first and foremost. And his words about the lack of a goal in the fight were precisely about that. The entire episode was literally about how blind patriotism leads to intolerance and antagonism.

I don't think Loid joined war or became a spy because he "loves his country" per se. I think it was clear he became a soldier because he wanted revenge on enemy. He then became a spy because - kids.

Loid doesn't want innocent kids to experience what he experienced, simple as that. It doesn't matter if they're Westalis or Ostanian kids. Therefor it's in a way wrong to say he does all the spying and killing because he "loves his country". He cares about Ostanians too, Anya included.

You can't always 100% be sure your country is on the good side in wars, therefor it makes sense to "simply" stop wars from happening and that's what Loid decided to do. "Being patriotic" usually means you blindly follow orders since you don't question actions of your own government and justify senseless killings and destruction.

@Sigmar-Unberogen I do agree you can't always be 100% sure your country is on the good side but I disagree he isn't patriotic as it is because the shit he pulled only someone who loves their country would as there were young American men lying about their ages during the Civil War so they could fight for the cause they believed in. We know Loid cares about the other side but he also loves his county as he wouldn't be doing this job and would take on a role of more of a politician trying to bridge the gap between the two if he wanted more of a major impact. Though you can see him showing love for his country but also not wanting the fighting to keep going. It's impossible to say he doesn't love his country as he is putting a lot at risk to do this job as a spy.

@MadanielFL What intrigued me more was that despite the idea that it was the Eastern soldiers who attacked, it was the Western uniforms that suspiciously resembled those of the Third Reich, while the Eastern uniforms could easily be called Soviet or American.

@Epiroogu It's actually complicated, so I wouldn't try to analyze it too deeply.

@MasterHavik This episode is literally about Twilight ignoring questions of patriotism, as they are used to create antagonism between the populations of two neighboring countries. He fights to save children from experiencing the same thing he did.

@Sheol01 Children have done this in every war, if we're talking about it. Some for personal reasons, others out of pure patriotism. Especially in the early days of conflicts, when many people were hyper-motivated and hadn't yet fully grasped what war was. All Quiet on the Western Front Remarque shows quite well how this works and how officials exploited it.

Mod Edit: Please don't start a political discussion here, this is a thread about this episode and nothing else.