Shirasho said:It's about time we had some upward direction on this emotional rollercoaster.
This is how you do character development. By itself this episode was nothing extraordinary. We've seen it before in so many other shows. What sets this apart is that we have a character with depth and a real, relatable emotional struggle who finds his first bits of happiness in the thoughtful and tasteful intrigue of a stranger.
That scene, because of the context surrounding it, has some ridiculous impact and holds a lot of truth a lot of "outsiders" don't understand. A lot of people without depression talk to people with depression and halfheartedly ask whats wrong or flat our deny the depression altogether, sometimes goes so far as telling the person to build a bridge and get over it. If it were that easy to get out of depression it wouldn't be such a serious and common issue. All it takes is a simple extended hand; One that is filled with genuine intrigue which treats you with respect; One that acknowledges you have authority and omniscience over your own mental domain; One that wants to genuinely better themselves by learning from you. The first step on dealing with depression is making the depressed feel like they are wanted.
Sadly not a lot of people care about what others have to say, and fewer still are willing to extend that hand and see things through. That scene was handled in the most tasteful way possible and I am extremely glad to see this series handle this kind of topic with the respect it deserves.